flash that smile | nick @ eighteen months

Little Kid Photo Tip #819: When you think a shoot has wrapped, give it at least one more minute. Breathe. Breathe again. Maybe start to pack up. But leave the camera on and the lens cap off. Keep that finger on the shutter ... You never know when the best smiles will come.

a loving aunt | oct. 2012

The colorful leaves of fall came and went in a flurry this year. Was it because it was too dry this summer? Was it because the wind and rain knocked them all down? It's always a guessing game and a gamble trying to pick what day will best show off the colors of autumn for fall. Oct. 16 was a pretty good guess; not perfect, but still one of the best this year in St. Louis.

karalyn | faust park, fall 2012

Cute. Kid. Her curls sort of remind us of our niece's. But that smile is all her own.

having a little fun ...

i'll be two soon. too soon?

just having a conversation with the 'rents

It's a quiet family Sunday, but we just had to share this sneak peek of Jake & Michaela and 2-year-old Hailey. Love how she looks so grown up, just chillin' on the front porch with Mom & Dad.

tech specs: 2007 time travel

Just before one of our hard drives crashed and burned, I found this. Our sweet niece, back in '07. 122mm, f/4, 1/160 sec.

tech specs: megan at quail ridge

100mm, f/4.5, 1/250 sec.

tech specs: miley

85mm, f/2.8, 1/1250 sec.

tech specs: romeo and juliet

100mm, f/3.5, 1/50

oh, my(lie)

She's back and possibly more beautiful and adorable than ever! Mylie's curly hair caught us by surprise on Saturday, and her eyes and smile won us over. What a cute kid, dontchathink?

beautiful girl

Re-presenting...


My, how you've grown!

"i love my mom." we love this spot.

We're in love with a new spot on the map. It's a seemingly random patch of golden wildflowers along the interstate en route to our favorite park... Just add a splash of end-of-summer evening sun and a kiss of off-camera flash, and here's what you get:

2.2.4.3.

Get it? It's a tutu for a 3-year-old!

Yeah, not funny. Just thought the combination of numbers was interesting. Bad puns and all, happy 3rd birthday, Ella... and Amber, great job on the awesome handmade tutu. The colors are awesome!

lakeside beauty

Kids. Outdoors. And a million-dollar smile. So. Sweet.
Enough said.

If you don't like smiling, look away.

We warned you.

Meet Dominic!

We were honored to spend the day with Dominic to celebrate the Big-Oh-Three! He is such a sweet and loving little guy and we had such a good time (I even braved the penguin-themed party to hang with the Dominator). Dominic had a stroke in utero and consquently suffered brain damage to the basal ganglia, affecting his ability to suck or swallow. To learn more about Dominic and the mission his parents are on to give him the best life possible, visit: http://www.specialneedsconnections.com/

Matt and Hilary said it best with, "Dominic is our life; he is what makes our life complete... Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and our son is the best blessing that we could ever ask for."

Oh.

Baby.

sobrinitas queridas

Say hello to our nieces. Two of them, at least...

Last evening, we posted a few photos on Facebook -- "Dinner Time" was the album title, I believe. Way more raw and unrefined than these. Perhaps, because of it, with more character? Depends on what intrigues you. What fascinates you. What you like. There's something about taking the ultra-ordinary -- like a kid eating cereal -- and making it extraordinary -- based on angles and lighting -- that can cause greater impact than a photo well-scripted and perfectly lit... Both are "art," no doubt. Just comes down to taste as for which ends up in a frame.

For example, in our house you'd never find Manet, Monet or Rembrandt. Beautiful? Sure. Just that we're more the Alexandra Nechita-type. That is, if we could afford it.

For now, we'll just stick to framing the pictures we shoot and hanging them on our poorly painted walls. Oh, and about the shots: 1) 28mm f/5.6, studio light within 1.5' 2) 100mm f/6.3, studio light at approx. 4' 3) 50mm f/3.5, studio light within 2' 4) Exact same as #2.

the grand finale

It's been a wonderful year for us, no question. We've learned a lot. We've shot a lot. We've shared a lot. And so, 2010 comes to a close with one last post from two separate shoots.

These seven images were taken recently, all shot indoors (yes! it can be done -- just find enough light and enough space; a wide-aperture lens will help immensely.), and are sort of a flash-forward in time from a year ago when we met this beautiful girl and this charming lad!

For the sake of discussion, in most of these, we were able to create enough light using flashes to close down the lens to f/4 or f/6 -- except in one, where we shot "wide open." Can you tell which one?