Self Portrait I heart photos

I dont know about the rest of you.. but as a photog myself.. I try to stay on the other side of the business end of my lense...however I do have a few pics of myself!

I heart Faces Photo Challenge: Paper

This one was easy for me! This is my reaction when hearing my brand new daughter cry for the first time... so many things going through my head before that moment.. then suddenly the silence breaks with a brand new voice....a new soul has entered into the world.. It instantly brings tears to your eyes to know that after nine months your little one for whom you faught so hard to get here... is safe.

Baby Hope!

Some of you may know..others may not.. our little Hope Everhart was born October 25th 2010 at 8:32 am at Obici hospital in suffolk Va. She was 7 lbs 11 oz 19 inches long. Because she was breeched I had her by c-section. All went well.. and a week has passed and no emergency surgery this time PHEWW! (I had a emergency apendectomy a week after addy was born!) Little "Hopes" is doing well and nursing like a champ. Her sisters LOVE her to pieces and want to hold her all the time! A more interesting story of the birth... The nursery had taken Hope to do her hearing screening before we left the hospital. I took that time to gather my things and prepare to go home. The nurse knocked on the door and wheeled in the baby... I noticed she wasnt wrapped in the blanket i sent her in... and she had a ton of dark hair.... it was very soon clear.. this wasn't my baby! Infact she may have been..Asian! I let the nurse go on and on about how cute she was... then I said "shes very beautiful but... uhh thats not my baby!" The poor nurse looked at me like PLEASE tell me you're being a smart ass! She looked down at her paper and realized she had the wrong room! I am sure that was the most embarassing day in this womans entire career! Luckily moments later a different nurse came in with the REAL Hope and she was safe with us!!

Early Christmas Shoots!

Are you wanting to Book a Shoot for Christmas Cards with me this year!?

Fear not! I may be about to pop However I am still accepting sessions and its the perfect time to go ahead and get those christmas pics done! All Christmas Session Families will be entered in a drawing to win a Free 10x12 canvas print of Any image they choose even pictures from past sessions!

My Daughter's C-section is SCHEDULED for October 25th, however she may come sooner. I am not sure how soon I will be taking sessions after she is born.

I heart Photos Week 37

This summer I found a really neat 1940's truck that was in the perfect position to catch the awesome late afternoon sunlight! Not sure who's truck it was..but it served its purpose for me!

Its Beachie!

I was so excited this past weekend I got the chance to do a shoot for my Cousin Sarah and her family! When we were growing up Sarah and I were stuck together! Everyweekend together.. going to the beach and stalking Hanson! ;) Its so hard to believe we are married let alone parents!! We would lay on the couch watching TLC's Wedding Story dreaming of our big day! Come to think of it we both ended up eloping! Check out some of the great shots I captured of them!

Jamison wanted to take a picture of me!

I heart Faces Photo Challenge week 35

I heart Faces : photojournalism Challenge

I took this picture in honor of the Wives and Families who have lost a loved one who faught for our country. You hear a picture is worth a thousand words... this is truly more then a thousand to me. What words come to mind when you see this picture? I think Brave, Strong, Dream, America, LAND OF THE FREE!

Kevin and Hannah

I recently did a session for a young couple Hannah and Kevin. Normally I book sessions atleast a month in advance but I had to do this session for this special couple! Hannah explained Kevin would be leaving the next day to Afganistan for a year. The session was filled with many sweet pictures which were full of love and emotion, but these three really had the emotion that I was hoping to capture. Hannah was hanging on every kiss.. every smile.. in these pictures it was as if she was memorizing every outline of his face... every twinkle in his eye... the way his nose scrunches up when he laughs and the way he touched her face. Thank you for your service Kevin and come home safe!

Aloha from Obici!

For those of you wondering "why are my pictures taking longer then usual this time?" I am late in my pregnancy and having Preclampsia issues! So please be patient! I appreciate each and every one of you!!

Tea for Two!

I am so excited to start offering these sessions! I tried this ides with my little girls Tatem and Addalyne and it was a hit. We used real cookies and juice which kept them happy and occupied throughout the session ofcourse! One of my favorite things about being a mom to two { almost 3 } girls, is being able to doll them up and do all the girly things with them! Capturing them at play doing what they love to right now at this age is something I think they will look back on with fond memories. For them it wasnt just another photo shoot mom is making us do! It was a fun afternoon playing outside pretending and laughing and make-up and dress ups!

I would love to share the fun with your little princesses! This session can be done on location at your house if you please. I will provide dress ups and all props, however any your own dress ups are also encouraged!

I heart faces Beach Fun Photo Challenge!

As many of you know I absolutly

adore the beach!! Back in my teens most of my days were spent surfing my days away and soaking up sun in Virginia Beach; So this IHeartFaces photo challenge wasn't to hard ;) Here is one of my beachie pics!

Fix it Baby!

I had the chance to participate in http://www.iheartfaces.com/ Fix it friday heres my edit!

I edited the image in Lightroom 2 using Love Faded Preset. I cropped the image slightly and increased the brightness only on the subject.

If you are a photographer and have not visited Iheartfaces you are missing out! They are a great wealth of info! I have also found many other helpful sites from visiting this one! I am often looking for new actions and presets and get tired of seeing/using the same ones! One I found really interesting is photo flavors not many sites offer a "Taste Test" a sample of all her goods. Actions, presets and textures!

Ashoff Family

I have been trying to do the Ashoffs family pictures for a little over a year now! It was like the shoot I could never book! I finally got the chance to meet up with this family at their new home in Midlothian Virginia! Kelly and John invited me to their home to take some newborn shots of their 5 week old twin boys and their adorable 2 year old daughter. Although the boys were wide awake I think we got some awesome shots! ViewMore

Secrets Of a Newborn Session

So I had several people ask me how I get newborn shots in. I figured I would write a blog for all the tips I have found helpful!

Props:

current styles have babies being photographed in baskets, decorative plates, vases ect.

Many of these items can be found at walmart or target... just a few examples. Not every client is going to have the perfect wood floor beige floor background that you see in so many newborn pictures. For this reason I purchase different fabrics from fabric stores. Be sure to buy enough of the fabric to cover your back ground area.

Examples:

Dark brown leather fabric

Pink girlie paisley fabrics for girls

cheese cloth

lace

A queen size white sheet

A queen size black sheet

The materials that work best for laying a baby on inclusd thick light colored blankets (white, cream, off white) The fuzzier the better! babies love soft fluffy things to lay on naked.. they tend to work with me on fabrics pleasing to the touch vs netting and harsh fabrics that scratch.

Tricks of the trade:
Many people wonder how to get the shot of just the parents hands holding the baby. There are many different ways to do this.. this is how I do it. I use a queen size sheet, drape it over the parent, place the sleeping baby on mom or dad. When the baby is settled I place the parents hands where I need them. The below picture this pre-edit. The baby is laying in mom's lap; where she was most comfortable!














This is the edited version. I opened the photo in lightroom 3. I selected a black and white preset. I then used the brightness brush and turned the setting to zero and darkened the sheet around baby Kenley. This didnt flatten the wrinkles of the sheet completely so I hit new and continued this cycle until the photos background was black.



this also works with the white sheet. However you increase the brightness to the highest setting!





















I tell all my moms if a bath makes your baby sleepy do it! If feeding them on the spot makes them sleepy do it! Schedule your sessions around the babies sleeping schedule. The harder they sleep the more you can do with them!























Sometimes All the attention is just over stimulating for the new baby.. when all else fails... I always bring a blow dryer! The hum of the drier calms the baby and the soothing heat also relaxes them!

I prefer to use my 50mm lens.. its my fav!