MeKenna Val's Newborn

McKenna was such a troop, she didn't have a nap at all during the morning of the photo shoot. She was able to sleep just for a little but we did get really adorable pictures!

McKenna's Announcements

I don't design announcements very often but Shayna asked if I could make up a few samples for her and these were the ones I came up with:)

Nicole's Senior Pictures

I've been a huge slacker in uploading photos that I have done for the last few months due to my husband and I finishing building our house....only a few more weeks of it! Here are Nicole's 2011 senior pictures. I have watched this girl grow up into a beautiful woman. Enjoy!

advancedpro: week 3-Interaction/building relationships

This week we learned about interaction and building a better relationship with our clients. I asked my lovely models (amazing sister and brother in-law) different questions that they had to answer to each other to create some fun authentic moments.

Some of the pictures might look a bit grainy due to not have enough light in the house and having my shutting at a higher speed-but I loved these pictures to much not post them!

advancedpro: Week 2-Posing

This week we learned about "exhausting poses". This is where once you get them in the pose you want, how many different looks you can get from the one pose. Here are some pictures from Nicole's Senior's pictures (you'll get to see more from her session later):

advancedpro: Week 1-Preparation

I've been enjoying myself with taking classes from Brooke Snow that I just couldn't help myself when she offered an Advanced Pro class. This week we learned how to prepare ourselves so we are not winging it when we arrive at the photo shoot. We start off by drawing up a shot list and assembling a posing guide. I found that at first it was hard for me to find people who were going to be around with Easter weekend but then realized that my in-laws have an amazing farm and that I don't have to do all my pictures of people (even though I prefer portraits). Have a shot list was so helpful cause I was able to always refer back to it and generate new ideas! I loved how the majority of them turned out but here are few:

Class Week 4: Thematic & Conceptual Shooting PLUS a Self Portrait

For the last few weeks we've been challenged by our wonderful teacher to approach our photography as "photo essays" (a series of photos that tell the story.) This week, we were told to focus on telling a story in a single image! This was way harder then what it may sound like. So I decided to tell the story of mine and my husbands life at the moment:

We are building our first house right now where we put "sweat equity" into our home before we live in it. Not only are we building out our house but we are also building 4 additional homes with our neighbors. We are required to put in 35 hours a week at minimal. We usually are very tired, worn out, and sometimes make mistakes.

And last but not least with this amazing class, we have to learn to get out from behind the camera and capture ourselves at different stages in our lives. So here I am in all my 22 year old glory; loving every minute of it (even the very tiring moments)

Class Week 3: Conceptural Contrast/Decisive Moment

This week we were challenged to seek out opportunities for conceptual contrast along with finding the rare moments that is a split second. The first set of pictures are the conceptual contrast. This is contrast of subject elements within the picture. It was hard for me to choose my favorite pictures.
Big vs. Little (my cute husband with our adorable niece)



Agricultural vs. Rural(it's hard to see but behind this field plows moving dirt to make way for more houses)

The decisive moment is that rare moment; which I have to learn to be more patient about waiting for. I have to admit that this was a challenge for me, I usually like to snap alot of images and hope to capture these emotional moments. But I came to learn that when I wait, something magical happens! Here is my husband, Josh, and our niece, Hadley, playing together when I caught this:

Class Week 2: Point of View & Less is More

This weeks homework was a creative challenge for me. Not only did I take pictures how I normally would but I had to come up with 20 different perspective of what I was taking pictures of. Even though I had difficult moments, I love how it pushed me out of my comfort zone and got the pictures that I did! Here is the my first initial reaction shot and a few of my favorite perspective:




Here is the my mom making cookies; some of my fondest momeories of her while I was growing up:

Class Week 1: Character Details/Conflict

Sorry for not posting anything for months! My computer has been hit twice by viruses and has been away getting fixed. Worst of all, my SD card decided to only be read by the sick computer and no others. But it's back now and working better then ever!

I'm taking an online photography class 'Lifestyle: Telling the Story'. Here are some of the fun pictures of my niece Hadley along with her toys enjoying her element: