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Renton WA Family / Child Portrait Photographer

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Lil H’s 2nd Birthday…party!!!

Posted by leya on September 8, 2010 · 2 Comments 

 I rarely do events, but I LOVE this family.  I have photographed little H since he was a newborn.  So when his mom asked if I could photograph his party I set out to figure how this could work.  Events are difficult for a photographer (esp toddler birthday parties).  You get the lighting that you get.  You can’t ask the kids to stand here or move there.  You just have to be able to work with what you get.  I suggested (since I was already coming) that I come to their home a bit early and capture some family shots as well, because, those of you that have planned a big party REALLY want to take pictures right before the party…right? (that’s my sarcastic voice if you didn’t notice or don’t know me), but somehow it worked.  I always ask my clients what they are looking to get out of a session.  With events it’s a bit more difficult, but we managed to get pictures of the kids playing, the cake, parent hanging out and families together.  I think it will be a party well remembered.  And mom ordered a few accordian brag books for family members and she can view hers whenever she wants.

Here’s a peek.  Hope you enjoy!

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Filed under Clients, Toddlers, family · Tagged with , , , ,

Some of the nicest people…REALLY

Posted by leya on September 7, 2010 · 2 Comments 

Anyone that know’s this couple will say the same thing.  They are super super nice.   Kind, thoughtful, just nice.   We all know a few of these people.  Friends or family that we may not see every day, but you would do anything for them and you know they would do the same for you.  When you think of them, you really wish you could carve out just a few more minutes in the day to hang out just a bit more often.  I guess I’ll quit gushing.  Mostly I was just excited to share such a momentous occasion with them and have a few more moments.

I am so glad you are all healthy and well.  I miss you all!

Love, Leya

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Filed under Babies, Newborns · Tagged with , , , , ,

Catching up on June…watch to see some beautiful new life!

Posted by leya on September 7, 2010 · 1 Comment 

Remember those maternity’s from last month?  We’ll this month we get to see some of the beautiful new life that comes from being pregnant.  I remember those last few months and I am not one that does pregnant well, but seeing the new babies make’s it’s all worthwhile.  Now I’m blessed with my little ones AND get to see my clients new little ones…and I get to sleep all night…well most nights.

This family is just adorable.  I know I say this often, but it melts my heart when I see dads that are sooo involved.  What a beautiful family…I know this is late, but congratulations…J’s.

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Also, I am trying something different by posting storyboards instead of slideshows…please let me know what you think!! And email me if you’re comment doesn’t go through…(I got tired of going through all of the spam that seems to come from .ru addresses).

Filed under Babies, Clients, Newborns, Toddlers, siblings · Tagged with

Taking a day off…{Newcastle, WA}

Posted by leya on June 29, 2010 · 4 Comments 

As a photographer I am always looking at the side of the road…for…possiblities.  There never seems to be enough time to do all of the things I imagine.  Sounds like a Beatles song or something deep, doesn’t it.  But I’m sure we all feel similar.  Today, I grabbed the kids.  Not dressed special.  A big bag of candy.  And a promised trip to Target to stop by a trail I pass almost every day.  As the hikers wondered what we were doing the kids played and posed and I took pics.  They are getting sooo big already.  Couldn’t make up my mind on color or black and white, so I did both…

Press the FS (full screen)button on the lower right hand corner to view the slideshow BIG.

…and in case you didn’t believe me,  a video so you can taste a tiny bit of what happens when I’m trying to catch my kids pictures…

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What a wonderful gift…if I do say so myself :) {Snoqualmie, WA}

Posted by leya on June 28, 2010 · 1 Comment 

Some of my favorite clients gifted their friends a session.  I couldn’t think of a better gift than this.  I wish my coworkers would have chipped in when I was preggo w/ my first son and pre-purchased a session for me.  At the time my son was born, I didn’t know how important that moment would be and how it would change everything.  Not knowing if the recipients would appreciate their gift, I called to make sure they used the session.  They did and were thrilled.  Of course, I was thrilled when I got to their house and met Miss A and she was already the perfect lady.   Have I told you I LOVE attentive, daddies…I do.  I love to see it!!

Newborns are sooo funny.  They already have their definite likes, dislikes and personalities.  Miss A was very alert, pretty mellow and super strong.  At one point I caught her w/ her head up.  Her mom being beautiful didn’t hurt either :)

Of course one of my fav pics was the one with grandma, mom and new lil A.  I teared up when I saw the tears in the new grandmas eyes as well.  It’s really at these times that you realize how important these memories are and how much I love this job!!

Press the FS (full screen)button on the lower right hand corner to view the slideshow BIG.

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the H’s – isn’t she lovely? {Renton, WA}

Posted by leya on June 28, 2010 · 3 Comments 

When I look at the 2 girls this family has been blessed with that old Stevie Wonder song comes to mind.

Isn’t she lovely
Isn’t she wonderful
Isn’t she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we’d be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn’t she lovely made from love

Both of these girls were just beautiful!  Welcome, lil Miss A…..Hope you enjoy:

Press the FS (full screen)button on the lower right hand corner to view the slideshow BIG.

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C And J…waiting for the lil one{Renton, WA}

Posted by leya on June 28, 2010 · 3 Comments 

I love this couple.  Miss C helped me with my little girls when I was teetering on exhaustion and insanity.  Twins are wonderful, but very hard when they don’t sleep, throw up everything they eat and cry constantly (my girls both had acid reflux the better part of their first year).  I met Miss C through my church and it was such a wonderful experience.  Miss C, married Mr. J and now they are waiting for their little C.  That last sentence feels so children’s storybook like…ha ha.    Anyways, Miss C was sooo excited to share her pregnancy with me and has admitted that she thinks my girls have prepared her for ANYTHING…I have to agree.  They are both like family…in fact their crazy dog is someone that we found just left in an Alley behind the local Goodwill and is the sweetest dog ever!!  I included both animal family members because they are waiting too!!!  We love you!!

Press the FS (full screen)button on the lower right hand corner to view the slideshow BIG.

Filed under Maternity, Pets, Sessions, family · Tagged with , ,

The B’s ….loves me some beautiful family {Issaquah WA}

Posted by leya on April 30, 2010 · 4 Comments 

It’s so funny to me that so many sessions that sound like they will be the same turn out so different. My 4 maternity sessions that I’ve done in March and April have all been so different. I always ask clients what they expect to get out of the session and most people (if given enough time to think about it) have some definite opinions. Out of my 4 sessions, 1 was no belly to be shown, 1 was only belly, 1 was mostly urban and the last is just playing with tons of wardrobe changes and being silly. They have all turned out fantastic (IMHO -in my humble opinion :) ). The B’s wanted more belly and I have a hard time cutting off heads (I feel the expression of waiting should be part of the whole experience), but I think we accomplished that without chopping off too many heads. Thank you A, you were a beautiful, wonderful and gracious model! Now how many of you women reading just felt your ovaries twitch… :)

Press the FS (full screen)button on the lower right hand corner to view the slideshow BIG.

Filed under Clients, Elementary, Maternity, family · Tagged with

H’s, getting ready to welcome another member

Posted by leya on April 10, 2010 · 1 Comment 

I always say Seattle is 2 degrees of seperation. For such a big town, it seems everyone knows everyone. When Mrs. H emailed me, she reminded me that she is friends with 2 of my friends. One a close neighbor, with a beautiful family and the other, one of my best friends from college (in Southern California) that just happened to move up to the Seattle area to marry the man of her dreams. When she asked if I could come over to their home to photograph her family before they added another little girl, of course I agreed. Their little girl now is almost 20 months and I couldn’t help but focus on her too as she’s adorable…well the whole family is!
Press the FS button on the lower right hand corner to view the slideshow full screen.

Filed under Clients, Maternity, Toddlers, family · Tagged with

The N’s…cold and sunny!

Posted by leya on April 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

I love this family. This is the third time I’ve shot them. The littlest one is a couple in my newborn gallery. Mom is adorable, dad puts up w/ me and the boys are so much fun. I hope you like them as much as I did.

Filed under Clients, Toddlers, family · Tagged with

The K’s, wow, bundle of energy!

Posted by leya on March 30, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

I know and love the K’s. When I have a session of 2 brothers this age, I bring the wagon. Because a preK and a toddler makes for hard staying still type pictures. Mom had said she mostly wanted pics of them together because that’s the hardest for her. I love both the boys and I think we had a blast, but I have to say, I was exhausted driving home!! :)
Press the FS button on the lower right to see it full screen.

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Our day on the farm, dog park, well….not really

Posted by leya on January 20, 2010 · 2 Comments 

I had it in my mind that I had to have a VitaMix blender. We found one in Lake Stevens (which is an hour north of us) for a fantastic deal. A was with the grandparents so it was just J, me and the girls.
After driving for an hour the person had sold it to someone else without calling or emailing us…sheesh. It was a beautiful day and I had to take a couple pics of mountains in the distance. The flip side was we got to see one of J’s old friends that lives out that way and we had the dogs with us, so we had to find a dog park so they could get some exercise. When we made it to the dog park, there was also baby pigs and cows and sheep. As someone from the Los Angeles area, me and the girls were pretty excited about this.

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Our Girls are growing up….Kirkland, WA

Posted by leya on January 6, 2010 · 2 Comments 

Our little ones are getting older. A was with grandma, pa and Nona so we headed out on a trip for fish and chips. We took the dogs with us and took them to a park in Kirkland. It was sooo windy at the park that there was a guy on a surfboard with a sail. He actually caught air. If it were just me and J I would have sat and took pics of him, but as it was, 2 – 2.5 year olds were not going to sit still in a park and not be happy unless moving in 40 some degree weather.
So if you’ve read this far, here are a couple of snaps I got that day.
Moms, a new years resolution should be to keep that camera in the car. These simple moments really do make up your life and you’ll be glad to have these snaps later! :)
Click the FS (full screen) button – lower right corner – to see slideshow BIG and simple!

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The little P’s turn 2!

Posted by leya on December 6, 2009 · 1 Comment 

I know I say all of the time how much I love my clients. I really do.

If I don’t, we don’t keep working together (one of the advantages of having your own business).
I really love this family. I feel like we are part of the same family. Which makes taking their pictures (even when it’s 40 degrees and the girls aren’t too excited about it) soo much fun.

When we realized how cold the girls were, we went to their home and finished/warmed up. Mom really wanted the fall colors and I LOVE it when families have an idea of what they really want. I think we were successful!! Don’t you?
Click the FS (Full screen) button on the lower right of the screen to see the slideshow BIG

Filed under Clients, Multiples, Toddlers, family · Tagged with

M’s – such a fantastic addition

Posted by leya on November 10, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

Although I see the M’s most weeks at church (we have been making it a bit more often since I’m working less and the kids are getting older), it was so nice to see them in a new light. Their new addition (Little miss A) is so beautiful with so much sparkle.
It’s always nice to see people you know so happy and such great parents.

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Examples of Mini Session Pics from Oct

Posted by leya on November 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I haven’t had enough time since last time I did mini sessions and there are a couple of families that are still wrapping up, but I thought I’d give some examples of what you can achieve in 20 minute increments (I’m always impressed – esp with the little ones). I’ve chosen a few from each family of my fav’s. I didn’t want to pic one family over another so I’m not putting in one pics as a placeholder.
Press the FS (full screen) button on the lower right to view full screen.

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The E’s – some of my favorite people {Snoqualmie, WA}

Posted by leya on November 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I know I haven’t posted since May, which doesn’t give my clients a sense of “fame” and doesn’t give interested clients a view of my current work.  Sorry!  I’ll be caught up in the next month (although there is SOOOO many interesting things I’ve photographed since May so stay tuned…that said, here’s one of my latest clients….

This is the fourth year I’ve photographed the E’s. I’ve watched their little boy grow up and their little girl being born. I really do love working with my clients so that we really do feel like friends. The kids feel more comfortable and it’s so much easier for me. It really makes me love my job so much more. This time we get to see the newest addition to the family…little S. So adorable and I think it’s funny when clients ask if they can bring their dog because I’m such a dog nut and we have 2 BIG dogs on top of our already crazy life!

I’m ALWAYS excited when I can get siblings under 4 together, both looking and smiling.
Moms and dads with cameras and the photogs that are reading this know that’s sort of an elusive shot!
I included this because I remember when each of my kids used to try and EAT ME for kisses and I thought it was the most adorable thing and they don’t do it for that long!

Again, most of those that know me, know that I love the simple not posey posey pics. Kids really being themselves, looking, exploring and just being. I think those are some of the most beautiful pics.
One on my cousins once said to me that she looked back on some pics I had snapped of her son and she realized she didn’t have any profile shots except the ones I had taken and she was so glad later that she could remember this. I really believe even if you don’t have me take your pics, you should be taking the not just posed and smiling pics because that’s not always who the child is and you miss out on those little memories from this time.
I was so proud of the newest addition sitting still when we all know there a millions of things that puppies like to do besides sitting still for pics!

Sometimes, I wonder if people will get my “vision”. I LOVED this pic because little A was so worried about his new puppy. Anytime the dog left or ran to play, little A was watching and asking mom and dad. What a blessing the E’s have given him to grow up with such a wonderful dog. Personally, I think that’s one of the best gifts you can give a child…but I’m really a dog person!

Here’s the E’s

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Meet the R’s (well again)

Posted by leya on October 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

If I was to have my perfect dream, it would include photographing the same 100 or so families over and over, year after year.
Kind of a getting paid to hang out with my friends and give them wonderful memories of their families.
The R’s would be on the top of my list. Everytime I think our time together will be so hard, because they have 4 kids that are so young and everytime I am shocked with how well behaved they are. This time we were extra lucky to meet great-grandpa who told me that the newest member of the family and him are almost exactly 90 years apart. INCREDIBLE!

Lastly, I want to show you something so FUN I learned from shooting weddings. The funny face picture. I LOVE IT! Thanks Jenica ( http://www.lemondropsphotography.com/ )…it’s in here, I promise!

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Holiday – Mini sessions

Posted by leya on October 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I swear I do so many more sessions than I post here.
Seems like all I do is use my blog for mini sessions.
It’s just such an easy way of putting up information for people all in one place and I don’t have to email everyone that doesn’t want to hear about it.
So I proposed 9:00 – 1:00 (half day) so I’m not as stressed out later and your pics are more fantastic.

What I’m proposing?
20 minute session with the intent of family pictures for the holidays / cards / gifts

I would book the sessions every half hour for 4 hours (eight sessions total, 6 are available right now)

Why would I do this?
Some people weren’t able to get a full session this year.
Some people just want a picture for holiday cards or gifts for the grandparents
With the times as they are some people are only able to afford a smaller session.
I’m still short on time, so I’m trying to help all of my interested clients at one time.
You can share these digital files w/ grandparents and / or go in on the session or other fees with them.

When would this be?
Sunday, October 18th 9:00am – 1:00pm – you pick the 1/2 hour timeframe that works for your family (all are booked except 9:00)

How much will this cost?
$100 for the session fee
$7 for every digital image you choose (for each image purchased you will get a color version and a black and white version)

Where will this be?
The big red barn
Pickering Farms
Directly east of Costco in Issaquah

What will it include?
A 20 minute session. With an option to purchase any of the full resolution digital images for $7 an image.

More details:
There are a few locations we can go in the gardens.
We would do a few posed family pictures at these locations and I would snap candids of the kids and you in between the locations (they are close together and it would be a 15 minute walk for everything).
It will still be outside, but there are trees and a few outdoor structures in the gardens

How should we dress?
Bring 2 layers of outfits,
1 with umbrellas and coats that match
1 with holiday attire underneath
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and you will not be getting rained on in the pictures, but I would prefer the kids are comfy.
I have a very large black umbrella so if that works, you do not have to bring one.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH LITTLE ONES: Bring LOTS of bribes….if you want great pics, keep in mind we will spoil them for 20 minutes…most rules go out the window, just for this small amount of time. You can discipline them in the car after! :) We want happy smiling faces for pics.

How do I sign up?
Email me that you are interested (which date and the time that you want).
I will update a list on my blog with names – first come first serve.
All slots are already booked except for 9:00.

Once we have enough families responded to make it worth Jason and I leaving our kids(probably 3 more families), I will email you with a request for paypal ($100 for the session fee). You have not secured the spot until I’ve received the payment.
(sorry, but I had a few people cancel at the last minute this last summer w/ no deposit and can’t afford to be waiting for nothing). Paypal is quick and easy.
I will email a confirmation.

For 2010 (which I will start booking next Jan and will send out another email after the holidays for this) my fee will be $400.00
While my session fee is going up, it will include more.

* preconsultation on dress, location and your goal for the session
* 1-2 hour session
* travel to location of your choice, but have suggestions if you need them
* post production (color, tone, facial retouching)
* cd of full resolution images (minimum of 35 – usually it’s closer to 45)
* each image in color and black and white versions
* 5X7 leather album w/ 20 mounted images
* slideshow set to music (online for you to have “first view” of your pictures and also on your cd to view for years to come)
* upload of your images to mpix.com to simplify future ordering for you

Please email me if something is not clear,
Thanks so much,
Leya

Here’s the line up so far:

Here’s the list:

Sunday, October 18th

9:00 – 9:30 Leavitts
9:30 – 10:00 Krails
10:00 – 10:30 Lutons
10:30 – 11:00 Hostos
11:00 – 11:30 Penders
11:30 – 12:00 Ramsays
12:00 – 12:30 Ridges
12:30 – 1:00 Bells

Thanks so much for everyone’s quick response,
Leya

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One of the things you pay me for…

Posted by leya on October 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

So in my description of what you are paying me for I list post processing. Which most clients eyes just glaze over. Photographers are ALWAYS trying to find new ways to give their images some umphffff or differentiate themselves.
Nichole Van’s actions are some of my favorites (http://shop.nicholev.com/?splash ) and you can see some of her FANTASTIC work here: http://portrait.nicholev.com/?splash
I’m finally catching up on what has been a crazy year so I wanted to give you an example of a couple friends I shot in July and just had time to give them their “quick and dirty” proofs. So that is my “BEFORE”.
I’ve been wanting to play w/ higher contrast and textures, so I will list the actions I used for my “AFTER” if any of my photog friends are stopping by!
For the clients that have popped over to her site and are shocked at the price of these actions, textures, etc and if you tried them would see the amount of time it takes to REALLY learn photoshop (which I am still learning after 5 years and hope to be in another 20)….just think this is part of WHAT YOU PAY ME FOR….to obsess over the best actions, figure out how I want to tweak them and don’t mind paying for them because this is PLAYING for me and I LOVE IT! :)

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The B’s again….twice as much beauty and fun

Posted by leya on September 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I feel like I write the same post over and over, but I have to say…I LOVE MY CLIENTS. I know some people are scared off by multiples, but I love working with siblings that are the same age especially when the are sooo happy and get along so well.
This the the 3rd time I’ve photographed this family and I LOVE
1. Seeing my pictures up on their walls
2. How they interact as a family
3. The girls playing with each other more and more as they get older
4. Their first baby (see if you can find him in the pics)
5. The light in their home
6. Mom and dads fantastic attitude and willingness to go with the flow (I think the lil one’s get so much less stressed this way)
7. and lastly…all of the cute outfits mommy dresses in them (yes I know it’s shallow, but I am a visual person :) )

Filed under Babies, Clients, Multiples, Sessions, family, siblings · Tagged with

Yaaaay, finally for a GREAT friend! :)

Posted by leya on September 13, 2009 · 1 Comment 

I LOVE shooting in August (so warm and comfy). I LOVE shooting my friends, but this friend has a special place in my heart. Her whole family is wonderful and affectionate and warm. LOVE LOVE LOVE…alright too mushy for you…sorry. J is one of my great friends that we always (well most always) seem to make time to catch up in a sometimes crazy, busy world.
Sorry it took me so long! Hope you guys enjoy as much as I did taking them.

Filed under Clients, PreK, Sessions, family · Tagged with

A and T Wedding – Second shooter

Posted by leya on August 21, 2009 · 1 Comment 

In July I was asked to photograph a relatives wedding. In preparation of that wedding I knew I needed to second shoot to learn how weddings work, vs. families and children and newborns, like I normally do. I scoured the photography forums and found someone that was looking for a second shooter. I loved working with Jenica (www.lemondropsphotography.com) from day one. She’s a fantastic photographer and a genuinely nice/ good person. I shot a couple of weddings with her, then my cousins and then Jenica was short handed, I agreed to work with her again. She’s a bit far, so the drives a bit hard, but I LOVE working with her.
Here are some of the pictures from that wedding to give you a taste!

****FS button on the lower right to see Full Screen*****

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Whew, that was quick! :)

Posted by leya on August 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I love the L’s, this is my 3rd time with them an their family. I have to admit, thought, it’s a challenging session. Although,
I think any session with multiples is challenging. They have 1 year old boy twins, a 3 year old and 5 year old sister. So, this type of session is where my wrangling skills come in to play. Also, these sessions tend to be quicker because there is only so long that 4 children can play and be happy! I am surprised with all of my clients with many small children, how well behaved the kids are. Maybe part of that is that I’m comfortable and don’t get easily flustered, but I also think that they must share more often because there are more of them and they learn that lesson sooner than others…just a thought!
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OMGoodness, can you stand the sweetness

Posted by leya on July 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I love photographing this little girl. She has so many emotions and is almost the same age as my oldest.
She’s adorable, just like mommy and who doesn’t love shooting in full sun on the lake!!

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The wedding of the year 2009! :)

Posted by leya on July 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

My cousin got married in July. I had done 2 other weddings beforehand (as a second shooter) to make sure I knew what I was getting into and because there are no do-overs for weddings. Hubby and I made a great team….and except for throwing up in my mouth a bit when I realized there are NO trees in tri-cities (hence no shade) and the sun is straight overhead at 3:00 (when we were doing formals (every photographer out there understands this makes you want to throw up)…I think we did okay though. When my kids are in school, I’ll consider doing weddings again. They are alot of work (700 pictures), if I did it again, I’d cull it down to 300-500. That’s still alot of pictures to process! The bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome. It’s really wonderful to photograph everyone looking their best and at such a happy time (even if it was 100 degree weather!)

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Photographer meetup in Sumner – so fun to speak photography-ese!

Posted by leya on April 20, 2009 · 6 Comments 

Because of our whirlwind of familyhood (the 3 kids in less than 3 years), I have rarely had a chance to meet up w/ other photographers.
Just no time to leave the house unless it involved picking up diapers at Target.

Last Saturday, I made it a priority and met up w/ a few other photographers in Sumner. A bit of a drive and we shot in an alley of sorts….very urban and trendy, but not quite me. I loved this outing for so many reasons. I got to hang out w/ other people that get excited about combinations of fstops, shutter speeds and iso’s. I got to see everyone elses gear. I love to watch other people shoot and see how they interpret things. I got to shoot somewhere I normally wouldn’t choose and expand my horizons (which, I think, as a good photographer, you should always be growing and expanding. Once you get stale you are outdated!!) and I got to hang out w/ adults that don’t ask me for water & juice.  The only thing I don’t like, is that you don’t really have the time to make a connection w/ your subject. 

Here’s some of the pics I took (some where just headshots for us for avatars). If you’ve read this far, thank you.
Hope you enjoy the pics!

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Good friends, a park and a-wwwaaaaaaay we go!

Posted by leya on April 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I thought this session would be sooo easy because the weather was good, there would be no dad (no offense to dads that are easy at picture taking, but most I’ve met want it done as quickly as possible) and we chose beautiful gardens…oh, and mom is just one of the nicest people that you’ve ever met and we’ve been friends for awhile now. Lastly, grandma came along…now WHAT could go wrong?

It seems as soon as I become tooo confident, I find a hurdle. C and J really didn’t want too much to do w/ me. It never occurred to me that the gardens would be waaaaay more interesting that me and that every plant / water garden was really something to be explored and not just to be looked at. So while making sure to not offend any of the volunteers (J you know the inside joke here), we poked and proded our way along. I should say, I ran following, trying to catch them and get some great pictures. :)

All in all it was fun and I think we caught more great interaction w/ mom than anything. I wish I had pictures like these of me and my kids!!
Hope you enjoy!

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click the thumbnails below to make the pictures bigger.  Use your arrow keys to go back and forth between the pictures and escape or close to close the window!

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Mothers Day Spot Snapshots

Posted by leya on April 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

For all of the mothers day mini session participants, here is a sneak peak at the park and what it offers.
Keep in mind these are just quick snapshots that I took to give you an idea of what to expect.
On day of our pictures Jason will be there w/ flash, an umbrella, and other things to help get the lighting right.

The sunset pics I took today were just kind of gravy, but I had to take them (sorry).
The pictures are in order of our loop.
Make sure to park at the parking lot that is most southern (there are 2).
Once at the parking lot you will pass a grassy field and there will be a playground on the right.
WARN your kids that this will be their treat at the end – because you have to go right past it.
Then there is a trail that goes downhill to the beach area.
Notice Andre’s WHITE tennis shoes in one of the pictures…I kept this to show you what NOT to do.
It was a green background w/ his orange jacket and the first thing you notice is his WHITE shoes.
(Remember when I warned you about coordinating socks and shoes???? – here’s an example of what NOT to do).

The bottom of the hill is the beach area.  Keep in mind how your kids react to the water and what you are comfortable with.
There’s wonderful driftwood and lots of pepples to throw if you want some closeup shots of the kids that way.

Next there are also a few cabin like structures (one w/ a fireplace).
The last few pictures show Jason trucking up the hill (so you realize how steep this is – although I have pushed all 3 kids up this hill by myself so it’s possible).
Lastly we go across another grassy field and back to the playground (where the kids can play….yaaaay).
Lastly, I had to snap one quick shot of the pier that was starting to light up – guess we stayed to long to play with the zip line swing near the playground.

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Click the thumbnails below to open up the small pics and use your arrow keys to go back and forth between them.  Use the escape key or hover over the bottom of the window to find the close link.

Filed under Client Communications, JMK, Just Because, Mini Sessions · Tagged with

What NOT to wear playdate and suggestions!

Posted by leya on April 7, 2009 · 2 Comments 

Hi Everyone, After seeing some horrendous post on some of my photography forums about clothing clients had chosen, I decided to host a “what NOT to wear playdate”. All of the moms brought their kids in 2 outfits – a cute set that they would want their kids in and another set they wouldn’t. I had given them the same list I have given all of you and I will restate it here again. So far I have had no problems (thank you to all of my wonderful clients), but thought I might be pushing my luck if I didn’t bring it up again.

1. No short sleeved tops and shorts (any skin away from the face, will distract from your expressions).

2. Dark shoes and socks please (remember the picture of my son w/ the white tennies?)

 3. Avoid bright colors or patterns (esp character patterns).

4. Jeans are always good because they don’t show dirt as much if the kids decide to roll around on the ground.

5. Solid colors that coordinate are your safest bet.

6. You are welcome to email me if you have any questions!!! So with all of this in mind, I will show you all of the pictures.

Keep in mind w/ all of the kids it was at the end of the day, right before popsicles and I didn’t feel like moving them out of the sun, so besides all of the horible clashing, the lighting is horrible too, but you still get the idea.

IMG_2705.jpg

My favorite, what NOT to wear outfits!! NotToWear-63.jpg

and NotToWear-76.jpg (E, you DO get a door prize for the brocade vest…I took and extra pic for you for your avatar)… and if you can get past the outfits, the boys had so much fun

NotToWear-75.jpg and here’s the gallery if you are interested!!!  There’s a ton – in no particular order!  I included a couple of the garden because it was a beautiful day!

click any of the thumbnails and then arrow back and forth to see the next or previous picture

Filed under Advice, Client Communications · Tagged with

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