Ah the life of a newborn, right?  This is my new grand nephew, just a few days shy of three weeks old. I always get a slightly shocked expression from people when I tell them that 3 weeks old is kinda old for newborn shoots. Typically, it's easier to pose them when they are days old. But no matter here, this sweet fellow was a pro.  

Details and candids. With newborns especially, I like to capture both. These sweet features one forgets when being so blurry eyed from lack of sleep. When in the newborn stage you might think this is going to last forever. But that's only because you are awake for most of it. Speaking of awake, our little guy gave us plenty of darling expressions. Such a bright little guy taking in the world.

Congrats you two on your beautiful little boy!!!

What’s a guy to do in order to surprise his girl? Well, how about giving her the car of her dreams.  That’s an amazing start!  Last Saturday I was asked to help document part of this special day for a wonderful couple who were just about to be engaged.  But before he popped the question, he thought he’d give her a MINI Cooper first.  Wow!!!!! 

Above sits the pretty little car, parked in front of Starbucks waiting to be claimed by it’s new owner.  Below is the window from the hair salon above Starbucks. A family member told the ladies of the salon what was going on and asked if she could shoot from their window. Looks like she was welcomed with open arms. I was told more ladies gathered at that window to watch as this car giving event unfolded.

Oh, here they are coming out of Starbucks. He just told her that the car was hers.  Notice her posture of disbelief.  Practical jokes run strong in his family so I can understand her skepticism.  Why, I was told I should show up in a disguise that day.  I was the only one in disguise and I’m not family.  Looking back it makes me wonder if they were playing a joke on me.  Hmmm.  Anyway, now you understand - you just never quite know with them :)

Stunned, she watched as he opened the door of the car, then he gently guided her to the driver’s side, and walked over to the passenger side.  All this time she kept saying, “You did not buy me a car!!”  When he opened the passenger side door, she finally was convinced and said something like... “You bought me a car!!  You bought me a car?  You bought me a car for Valentine’s Day?!?!”  And he replied, “I love you!”  Awwww, so sweet!

I cropped close on the photo above so you can see more clearly, her pointing at herself in disbelief, and the joy on his face, just to watch her reaction.  The Starbucks coffee cups with the hearts printed on them are a nice touch too, I think. Below is a thumbs up to the cameras.  Phase one is going very well!

And off goes the happy couple.  Later that day he proposed and she accepted!  Meanwhile, below is reaction from the barista who served them.  Apparently Mr. Barista made a joke that someone was going to win a car that day.  To which the girl replied, "that is my DREAM car."  "Wouldn't it be better in black?" responded our romantic suitor to throw her off.  Without hesitation, "no red.  Definetly red."

After they drove off Mr. Barista was so surprised that he had been talking to the actual owners of the car he just had to come out and share his side of the story with the family.  Bottom right, are the happy family members/camera crew posing with the barista.

Congrats to the happy couple and Happy Valentines Day to you all!!!

What do the above four photos have in common with each other?  They are part of my 365 project this year where I take a photograph everyday.  I joined two Flickr groups to help keep me accountable with my goal.  One group is for daily photos where members shoot whatever they like and post it.  The other is a 52 week group where a theme is given at the beginning of the week and everyone has the option of using the theme to motivate them or go off on their own path.  It's so inspiring to see work from different, amazing photographers.  

My take on the daily photograph is to take a photo of the story of the day.  For example, the fourth photo at the top was when me and my kids made butter from cream.  It's great fun looking back on just last month to see those memories.  Looking back on my progress is encouraging too since there are times when I don't know what to shoot, or like yesterday, it was late and I hadn't taken a picture yet.  So I took a picture of the moon.  If you want to compile memories of your year or sharpen your photography skills, I'd highly recommend taking a photo a day.

Last year around this time, while making these carmel filled cookies, I enlisted the help of my kids.  Not only was the process faster, it was more fun.  And so, a new Christmas tradition was born.  It's so much fun, you might want to try it with your family too.

My kids are at the age where dress up is one of their favorite activities.  So they were so thrilled to get these Santa hats this year.  It was their idea to wear them while they worked and sang their own song, "The Chocolate Factory."

The cookie recipe is from my mother-in-law, and I believe she got it from someone at church.  Coming from those sources, lets just say, these cookies are irresistible!  I've modified it for my family, so I'm replacing the chopped pecan topping with sprinkles.  And here it is...

CARMEL FILLED CHOCOLATE COOKIES

2 1/4 cups of flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup of sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

48 Rolo candies, unwrapped (9oz. package or larger)

sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level off.  In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; blend well.  In a large bowl, beat white and brown sugar with butter until light and fluffy.  And vanilla and eggs; beat well.  Add flour mixture; blend well.  For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 tablespoonful of dough around a caramel candy, covering completely.

In a small bowl filled with sprinkles, dip ball into the sprinkles and place on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked.  Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets.  Cool completely on wire racks.

What we love most about this recipe is that everyone has a job that is simple enough for them all, but each job really makes a difference.  (Fortunately, they all like the jobs they do or else this wouldn't be such a happy tradition.)  

A little silliness with her dad while waiting for the cookies to bake.  

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

So here she is, my little, ahem, grand niece, at 6 months.  I can't believe she's already 6 months!  Here are some photos from baby's newborn shoot.  And again, the sneak peek of this shoot too.  She patiently endured many wardrobe changes, did she not?  The photo below was just for her dad. 

Baby was feeling a little tired of us all calling her name, making weird sounds at this point.  But put on the right hat, and all your worries just melt away.  Her mom said she loves this hat.  And sure enough, baby brightened right up when she noticed it was on.

I don't get to see this little lady very often, but I'm so happy for the photos.  Makes me realize all over again how important photos are to us all.  Just makes you feel a bit closer to the ones you love.

This session was done while we were in Michigan a while back.  I was so excited when my dear friend asked me to shoot her family photos in her neighbor's barn.  Where I live, there are not many barns around, so this was really a treat.  I have to say, this is the largest borrowed photo prop I ever used.  Fortunately, the neighbors use it for entertaining, not for keeping animals.  Whew!

Aren't they sweet?  This fellow did not want to cuddle up with his sister at all.  But he gave us a smile anyway.  Mature beyond his years I think.  Closeness like this might feel awkward at the time, but it's so moving when you actually see the final photo.

The mom in this family happens to be a friend I've known always.  We grew up together only a few doors away from each other.  I consider myself so blessed by her friendship growing up and now too.  This photo above reminds me of how easy it was for us to laugh as little girls together...at anything...at nothing.  Ah the bliss of childhood.  Such fun memories.

This pose of the happy couple above is a reenactment of a photo I took of them while I was starting art school taking a photography class and they were dating.  I'm not doing the math on how long ago that was.  They still look fabulous, though, don't they?

The mama of all these feet let me know about the current photo challenge at I Heart Faces.  The theme this week is feet.  Crossing fingers and toes for this one :)

Anyone can enter in their challenges.  For more details click here at i heart faces.

I quick peek of my little grand niece from today.  More to come!!

The location for this shoot is a sentimental one for this family.  Most of the photos I took were of the park across the street where this family lives in Westmont, IL.  They have clocked so many hours at the baseball diamond they nearly consider it a second home.  What a fun way to grow up!

The two kiddos above and the one below loved having their picture taken. And the camera loves them back, don't you think? 

I think what makes family portraits so powerful is including personal elements.  And that can be a favorite article of clothing a child nearly lives in, or a toy a little one considers as a best friend.  For this family, the main component of their story was their home and the park across the street.  So what is your story? Hmmm.

I am so excited to share with you a little vintage style, brought to you by my style savvy friend, Susan.  All of these beautiful coats are being offered at her Etsy shop, Sugarcookielady, along with other timeless treasures. Susan made my job ridiculously easy by providing me with a beautiful model (her sister), amazing coats with matching accessories, she scouted out this unique location (a private family graveyard), and was make up artist too.  All that to say that Susan is incredibly creative and talented and it has been so fun to work with her. 

I love this kind of photoshoot and would love to do more work influenced by fashion.  So, any of you high school girls out there who are going to be looking for senior pictures in the near future, I will be announcing casting calls in the spring.  And I promise, we won't be shooting in a graveyard.