Dana Joy | Baby Portraits

One day in December, I got this call from one of my teachers. It was to babysit her baby girl named Dana. I was SO excited! I recently crocheted these hats and I was just dying to try them on someone! I decided I'd bring some supplies for a photoshoot, and have one on our own. I tried getting her into this absolutely adorable Christmas dress, but that wasn't working, so I just kept what she had on, and tried to get a few shots with their gorgeous Christmas tree in the background. These pictures are by no means professional, but like Dana's mom said, they capture her emotions and faces very well. :)

Which pictures are your favorite: candid ones like the ones above (in a plain, old living room), or ones in a studio?

Dana Joy | 2 Months

 Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to photograph lovely Dana Joy. She is such a sweet baby girl! Her mom was my teacher for 4 years, and she also is my mom's good friend from college. So, you know, we know each other pretty well! :P

 We tried getting a lot of smiles out of her, but once she got tired, we wasn't going to stay awake and not be heard!

 I really like the one above, even though it isn't very clear, because it looks like she's praying! Isn't that adorable?!?

 Dana had such cute smiles, but she just learned out to "find her fist" so her fist was almost always in her mouth! I think this is my favorite picture!

 They had the cutest headbands for Dana to wear! 

 Dana has three brothers just like me, only all of her brothers are older. One is two years older than me, the other is one year older than me, and the last brother, Karl, is a year younger than me (I'm good friends with him).

 This was my first session with my 50mm and I have had countless amounts of compliments on the pictures already! It makes me so happy!

 I can remember vividly when Dana's mom told my class she was pregnant. Everyone was shocked because it had been 13 years since her last baby! We were all so happy for her and since I saw her almost every day, we could "watch" her baby grow!

 /\ Many people's favorites.

And of course, you have to capture those little details like hands!

Do you like photographing newborns/babies?

8-Month Old | Baby S

I've never done a 8/9-month old before, so this was really a fun session. It was my first paid session. I really enjoy the results. The whole process was hard because I also had to look after 3 other kids (ages 2, 5, and 7), but again, LOVE some of the photos I got. Isn't she adorable?!? It always looks like she's frowning, but it's just her chubby cheeks that make her mouth droop. :P 

Which photo is your favorite?

P.S. She was also my first newborn session. See those pictures and how I've improved HERE.

Baby L | Newborn Session

40 in 2012

2. Have a newborn session

Last Monday, I had my first boy, newborn session. Again, the baby wasn't quite a newborn, just like when I took photos of a newborn girl. They both are fairly young, just older than 3 weeks old. This was my first baby/newborn session with my Nikon. I have to say, it went pretty well! :)

 This whole photoshoot was almost completely out of the blue. One day I asked if I could take a family's baby's pictures, the next, I was at their house snapping away!

 Yah, yah, yah, I know. It looks weird that I took his photo right up his nose, but it IS cute! I mean, come on! :D

LOVE!! He {apparently} really liked me because he was really good and hardly cried. I didn't try any super awesome poses, but I did get some good pictures. 

 He was honestly, the happiest baby ever! It was SO cute when he laughed! :D

Haha, funny story! So I get to the family's house and they tell me that I can look around the baby's room for some cute outfits for him. I look around, and find the outfit above. Cute, right? (sorry, it's kinda hard to tell here) The parents were super nice, and the dad was willing put it on him. When the dad finished the last button/snap, he was blown away. He had never seen this cute of an outfit. They have TONS of baby clothes that people keep giving them and they just haven't used all of them yet. He's like, "When we go somewhere special, we are SO dressing him in this!" And a little bit later the mom said, "So, have you decided where we are going to have him wear that outfit?" And he responded back, "Anywhere." Haha! It was hilarious! And that isn't it! So the dad dresses the baby and puts him in the little basket I brought. Baby L falls asleep right away. He wasn't sleeping any other part of the full 3 hours I was there. It was SO funny! The parents were so pleased and were laughing really hard that he fell asleep in it. :D They said when they can't get the baby to sleep, they will call me to bring my basket and blanket. :P

Well, I hope you enjoyed my very all-over-the-place story and the pictures.

Which one was your favorite?

First Goal

5. Babysit for free

About a month ago now {I'm really behind, I know} I babysat two days in a row for free. The first time just made me so happy that I wanted to do it a second time! Both "sessions" were really short and I didn't really need the money for anything special. :) And, all of the kids I babysat were super cute and obedient, which makes everything more enjoyable, right?

 I babysat this girl that is now 5 months already! It's so hard to believe that I took her newborn pictures! Along with her I babysat her 3 older siblings... and three other boys that were just hanging out with us. :)

 The other boy/family I babysat for was this little two year old. He's super cute and easy to babysit. :D

P.S. Obviously these are old pictures... :) 

Have a good Wednesday!

Happy Birthday!

Fourteen years ago, I was born, a gift from heaven. Here are a bundle of pictures of how I've grown up. :D Enjoy!

 Baby me!

 Toddler me.

 I think that is the cutest picture ever!! ^^^

 Okay, so here are some of my birthdays/birthday parties.

 Preschool

 ^6th birthday

First grade

Be looking forward to recent photos! :D They are really cute! 

Sophia Joy|Newborn Session

 Here are a few of the newborn pictures I took. I still am not done editing them, so I'll probably do another post with a few more pictures.

 She was awake the whole time, except for a few at the end when she was tired and fussy.

 I'm sure you've seen the one above, I share it with everyone, everywhere. I honestly think it turned out the best.

 The family had the cutest hats and headbands for me! They added a pop of color and they were so awesome!

 I honestly did not like editing these photos. Why? Because I really want a baby sister now. Like REALLY badly! Haha! :D I know adoption has crossed my parents mind, but it's really expensive.

 I think a lot of the pictures didn't turn out, but I took so many that I think I got a couple of good photos.

She was almost 4 weeks when I took Sophia pictures. It's a little later than intended, but I'm sure the family will like a few of the pictures. This was my first scheduled session and my first newborn session so I was really excited about this!

That's all for now! Any advice? Do you have a favorite?