The Jivin' Johnson Crew

Hats off to my fellow MOPS mom, Tiffany, and her hubby John! Together they run a well oiled machine they call family. Phil and I have thought about one more baby, but I'm not sure I could manage 4 little sweeties with such finesse (especially when we have weeks like the past couple in my house!). I love seeing how personalities come out during a photo session. Each child is so unique and it shows in their smiles! Aren't they sweet?

What a sweet group of kids they are raising. All moms worry about picture day, but they did great! After having our pictures done recently, I can relate to that stress...the perfect outfits, the attitudes, the goofy grins!

I enjoyed having you all in the studio! Have a great Thanksgiving weekend together enjoying your family!

Swap Meet v1.0

Seven kids, two hubbies, and two photographers! Does it get more fun than that?
I've had the joy of getting to know fellow photographer, Tammy Chavies, over the past few months (Thanks Lori Camp!). Tammy is a wonderful photographer and I'm sure she's tired of me bending her ear and soaking up her advice! We met up at Polen Farm on Sunday afternoon. I'm beginning to be the "Norm" of that place!

We had so much fun with Tammy, John and their four kids! Tammy and John are the smoochin'-est couple I know (ahem...hence the FOUR kids!). I got a lot of lovey-dovey icky footage and I'm sure the kids will want all of those prints hung up in their rooms! ; )

I, too, had trouble picking from the set. Abby, Garrett, Jenna, and Brayden are so cute!



It's not often I'm on the other side of the camera. I must say I now know what those parents go through when the little ones aren't cooperative! Carson came out to our swap session with energy blazing! Tammy...I'm so sorry you had to work so hard to get our shots! But I LOVE my sneak peek! Thank you so much!

The Audia Crew

I've known Michele for awhile. I've had the honor of bossing her around! Really...it's true! Michele is one of my former (sad face) exercise clients. I miss teaching my classes, but I'm so happy with how God is growing my photography business. And as any busy mom knows, it's hard to balance everything!


Michele brought her busy family out for a Sunday afternoon walk around Polen Farm. It was a perfect November day...one of the many great days I've been surprised with actually! She was wanting family shots taken so that's exactly what we did...lots of them. : )

Michele and Tony's kiddos, Jake and Sara, are growing up fast and into all kinds of activities like cheerleading and football. Sara(sp?) is in middle school and Jake is in high school. It's cliche, but time really does fly!
They're black shirts and jeans made for some great black and white photo opportunities. I love black and white photography!

I had a great time, Audia family! Hope we can make this a tradition!

Down on the Farm

This shoot was so much fun! Lots of siblings, cousins, little ones, and friends = a great time for a photographer like me! I had plenty of inspiration working with my friend and former teaching colleague, Krista, and her beautiful family (Her hubby and own three + her sister and HER hubby and three kiddos + her brother whom I'm fairly certain couldn't wait to have my camera in his face).


We did our dead level best to get "that" shot of the whole crew. As you can imagine, with 11, it's a tough quest but NOT impossible and we got it. It'll be posted on the proofs soon. Stefan is Krista's youngest...now a big first grader!


This farm was a great location for some fun vintage shots. I have more, but too many to share on the blog. The older girls obliged me as we walked the premises looking for some farm grunge. The rustier the better!



Thanks for having me over to hang on the farm with your family. You know, I'm a farm girl at heart...well, that's somewhat true. I grew up on a small farm but I didn't like to weed, garden, mow, etc. Hmmm...maybe I'm more of a city chick. Afterall, I did wear high heel boots to the shoot (dumb move!).

All I Want 4 Christmas...

...is my two front teeth! This picture says it all! Alexis, do you think those teeth are in that box you're shaking? I'll bet they will be here in time for Christmas! In the meantime, enjoy the cute grin.

Alexis is an adorable 2nd grader. Look at those dimples! She's finally lost those teeth and her smile is contagious! I can't wait to get the whole family out for a session next week. Let's hope the weather holds for our cool evening shoot at the Greene. It's going to be so much fun!

Shaye - wonderful meeting you. Thanks for bringing Alexis to the studio!

She's Got the Look!

That song is pounding in my head as I go through these proofs. Liz is probably too young to even know what I'm talking about! But...she has "the look!" We had a blast in one my new favorite locations - the Oregon District. It's part photo session/part worldy education for a small town girl. Nonetheless it was a great spot for our urban grunge shoot.


My great friend and fellow photography enthusiast, Joey, went with us to assist. She has a great eye for detail and was SO HELPFUL! Liz made some quick changes in our makeshift dressing room and we took off around the block looking for grungy great spots - and we found them!

Liz is such a sweet girl! She just posed perfectly for her shots and beared the chilling temps and wind in her less than warm clothes (like her beautiful little black dress!) What a great sport. The only hiccup in the session was when we discovered we dropped one of her red converse shoes along the path! For those of you who aren't fashion savy, that's a fashion 911 call! We high tailed it off down the street and whew...found it! Really...we were that happy about it!

Liz's next photo stop is in our studio. Can't wait for it, Liz! Thanks for asking me to do your session. I loved it and now I hope you love these!!!!

Erica Senior Session

Fall Family Session

To finish off our picture takin' day...I grabbed my favorite assistant Shelby and headed up to Cox Arboretum. We met up with my dear friend and past teaching neighbor, Pam and her wonderful family that includes 3 gorgeous and spunky grandchildren.



We had a bright, sunny day...though shooting in that light is tough and creates some obstacles, I'm relieved we had a beautiful day on this reschedule.

The kids had a lot of fun kicking through the leaves and climbing the trees. Somehow, those cream colored shirts stayed clean and no one fell into the water! Can you say "SUCCESS!"


Thanks Pam for organizing this fun photo shoot. I'd be amiss if I didn't include a photo of my daughter's future blue eyed husband Ethan. I could just squeeze that happy little guy!

PTO Picture Day V1.0

All I can say is HOW FUN was this day! We had four 30 minute mini sessions followed by a large family full session in the late day. I can't wait to share their proofs and show my favorite shots from the day...remember these aren't the favs!
The day started in the studio with two girls near and dear to us, Alexa and Taylor. We decked out the set with some Christmas boxes (you can't see very well in these cropped pictures) and took some shots for their family cards.



Next, we traveled up to Polen Farm in Kettering. I'm so glad I had to search for a great place last week. We were able to get on the grounds to shoot until the start of the afternoon wedding. We started with the O'Neil family. Kellen and Conner are adorable...and lively! I love that!






Next came the King family. I think this first shot should be framed above the wood burning fireplace. Seriously, I love this shot. It's a reflection of the love and joy that this family shares! Jake and Michaela are picture perfect kids - can they give my kids some lessons?





We rounded out our outdoor trio with another family of four. I've known this couple for years and have rekindled a friendship with Angie during our early morning training runs. Their children are sweet & reserved, but I have a feeling they can be very playful & silly like their mom...back in the day!

Molley

Click on the link to see Molley's senior session photos! Enjoy!

Another one of my past students...yes, I'm old! Erica is graduating this year and moving on to great things in life as she works to get into college (which won't be a problem!).

Would you believe this girl joined the wrestling team as a junior? I know - crazy girl! But she's proof that girls can keep up with the boys!
We started our session at a beautiful little area in Centerville. She eyed this spot last year in hopes of doing her senior pictures there. I think we'll make a trip 2.0 in the spring when the bushes and flowers are blooming. The waterfall is gorgeous and I can't wait to return.


Then we headed into downtown Centerville. This was the toughest day I've had to work with light, but we ended our session with a beautiful sunset and one of my favorite pictures ever!

Can't wait to get some more outdoor shots with Erica and then head indoors with her good friend Molley for some studio time. Erica, it was fun hanging out with you and I'm looking forward to more!