Another tough guy. His mom only has ONE professional picture of him, at 18 months old & she is in the picture with him restraining (er, holding) him. She has taken him to a lot of different studios, but Connor would have none of it. He almost had nothing for me! But perserverance paid off in this case, and eventually he gave me these. Check out those amazing eyes!

They just get me every time. And I’m sure they are gonna get the girls, too, when the time comes!
Look at these guys. Evan & Addison had their pictures taken with their extended family here in the winter for their great-grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Their mom brought them back to capture a piece of who they are right now…before their little brother or sister arrives. I think he/she is destined to have these same baby blues!

Every age group has its special challenges when it comes to getting that one great image, but there are some that are harder than others. Three month olds are tough because they can’t sit up yet but don’t curl up like a newborn. 18 month olds won’t sit still for a minute. And then there are the 3 & 4 year olds, who have learned how to smile on command and don’t grasp the difference between a "real" smile and a fake one. They pose beautifully and do what you tell them to do happily…then turn on the cheese! Fortunately, these smiles are just as precious and fleeting as all childhood memories, and it’s fun to have them captured forever because in another year they will be gone for good.

Ava was very typical. Her mom & I worked hard to tease her into real smiles. My favorite shot, though, was this one by our creek. She was engrossed in the soft dirt but looked up when she heard a plane (OK, maybe we told a little fib about a bird) and I caught this expression.

Here is another of her that I love:

This is her little brother Jake. This little guy is barely sitting up, but he was just a doll. Look at his eyes…they are a beautiful shade of green/brown but getting darker as the weeks go by, and his mom wanted a good shot of him at this stage.

These are my friend Lisa’s sons, Zack, Riley, & Henry. She has wanted a big canvas of them for some time, but it took awhile for us to get together between the weather & their sports activities. They have the bluest eyes & the blondest hair! I can’t decide which I like best…can you?

This is Dana & Jeff, getting married on July 1st complete with fireworks! We can’t wait to do their wedding  (Jason LOVES to photograph cool stuff like fireworks with long exposures!).  Don’t they look  happy & relaxed…unlike most couples getting down to the wire!!!