Well, I’ve been dragging my feet on this for a while. I do slideshows for weddings, and I wanted to be able to put them on the internet for people to see. The program I use is not very web compatible. So, this winter I was planning on buying a web slideshow program. It was on sale this week, so I did it early. Here is my first attempt. It has a few kinks that I have to work out, but here it is anyway. I’m excited about it! I chose Shelly and Andy’s engagement session to try it on, because I loved their pictures, and I had so much fun with them this fall. Anyway, on to the show!

Here it is!

Wow, how time flies! It has been a while since I posted, and now I feel like I am so far behind. So, I’ll start with the newest, and work backwards! I did a session today for three cuties! I did these children this summer at the beach, and now they are getting Christmas pictures done. Here are some of my favorites…

I also went to a seminar this week. It was on making illustrations. It was a great class. The man who led the seminar was incredible. He had an illustration that took him 3.5 years to make. He took and used over 4000 images in the illustration. If you want to see it, check out his website. It is http://www.woodywalters.com. He told us how to incorporate this into our portrait business. So, I decided to try it with pictures of my daughters from the Junior Olympics last year. Here are the illustrations I made for them.

I also did a senior and baby this week too!
And her big sister….

There was another family that I did, but I can’t show it. It was a grandkids picture for a Christmas present for their Grandma. I’m not going to say how many grandkids, but there were a lot of little kids. It was tough! I ended up having to “build” a picture. I took the best one, and I ended up changing 4 kids heads on it, putting on better faces from other pictures. I worked on this one. (I bet all you grandma’s out there are wondering if that picture is for you, right? You’ll just have to wait until Christmas to find out!)

Yesterday I did Kelly and Nick’s maternity images. We had so much fun. Kelly is 8 months pregnant, and is beautiful!

Kelly asked me what type of photography was my favorite. I had a hard time answering that. I thought maybe weddings, because of all the joy and emotion. Then I thought seniors, because they are fun, and have a lot of personality. Kids are so cute and full of life, even though they are sometimes hard to do. Then there is the joy of having a new baby, and they beauty of a pregnant woman. What about the preciousness of a brand new baby? The innocence of new life? Oooohhhhh, it is so hard to choose! Then I started thinking about it, and this is what I came up with. I love all types of photography, but it is the people who make it fun and make me like it. If a customer is very excited about getting pictures, and they love the art of photography, and they are attentive and listen to my ideas and come up with their own, if they have a passion to create a beautiful portrait…. Well, that is the photography I love! So, no matter what the type…. Weddings, children, families, seniors, maternity, or newborn, it is the customer that makes it fun!

Kelly and Nick were soooo much fun. Kelly has an eye and a passion for great photography, so she was very involved in the process of getting some great images. She had some great ideas! Nick was such a good sport, going along with everything that we suggested! (Even with his shirt off…. Thanks Nick!)

The funniest thing for me was Kelly’s belly button ring! Every other pregnant woman that I knew with a belly ring took it out while they were pregnant. Kelly left hers in, so that was fun to take pictures of!

I did Amber’s senior pictures last night. The funny thing was her dad stood up in my husband and I’s wedding! And, not only that, but my sister is married to her cousin. It IS a small world. Amber and I had a lot of fun! I love to do seniors, they know just how to move and sit, and they don’t run around while you are taking their picture! Here are two of my favorites of Amber.

One of my best friends is a photographer. I met her in a photography class a few years ago, and we have been “photography friends”. When her brother got engaged, she wanted to do the wedding pictures, but she knew that she was going to be in the wedding, so she needed help. At first she asked me just to help her, and take the pictures that she couldn’t. Then, as the wedding got closer, she realized that she wanted to spend this day relaxing and having fun with her family and friends, not working. So, my responsibilities grew! She still wanted to have control and give her brother the gift of her style of wedding photography, so she did most of the bride and groom pictures. I played second photographer and assistant here. But, the rest of the wedding was mine. It was a fun day.

The church had some beautiful stained glass.

Then, after the ceremony, we went to Aquinas College. It was beautiful! There was a really cool door (I love cool doors) and some great brick work with arches.

Then, the reception was at the college too. It was quite a party! The dance floor was smokin’! It was one of the few weddings where everyone danced, and was having a great time!