I wish they would sing and dance with reckless abandon forever! Carefree. Confident. Rockstars!

Yes! We rocked it didn’t we?!

Elia – 10 Months

See those fingers?  She can SNAP like a grownup!!

She gives the BEST stinkeye on the planet!  We get it all the time.

Lael – 4 and 3/4 as she likes to say

Michael + Cristina, my cousin and his dear soon to be bride…what a delight to photograph, thank you for trusting me! May these photos always make you smile and may they always remind you to laugh together all the days of your life – a motto my hubby and I live by. We wish we could be with you to celebrate your big day. We can’t wait to have you home with us. LOVE YOU GUYS!  Enjoy.

A little insert from their invites…

Look at that smile and those gorgeous baby blues! What a treat it was to photograph Lexi and her beau, DJ. The fun clothes, the texture, the colorful junk…my photo heaven! We were in a race against the rain and made it through the last shot with just a few sprinkles falling on us. Lexi was down for getting dirty and up for anything I threw her way. I’m not sure her clothes survived, but I hope the images were worth every junk stain.

DJ headed south to play hockey so Lexi’s heart is a little heavy and I’m hoping these images make her smile. Soon she’ll be tearing it up on the volleyball court and working hard to finish her senior year which will make the time apart and her senior year fly by before she knows it.

With her beautiful smile, those bright blue eyes and her funky hair (care of her fun employer Charlotte Rouge Hair Spa) you can’t miss this cutie in a crowd.

Thanks for trusting my vision. Keep your chin up and keep smiling!

Enjoy!

This little boy has made a mark on my heart that is difficult to explain…

I think it’s a combination of a few things…sharing in the miracle of pregnancy and birth with my cousin, girl friend and business partner was a treat and blessing beyond what I can express. Savoring the moment of learning a little boy has been born was such an awesome surprise! Capturing Pius’ first images as he came into this world and greeted his Momma with open eyes that stared into her soul was breath taking. And, I think top on my list is the mark this little guy will leave on us and especially the baby in my belly – it’s a joy that melts my heart. For almost 33 years I have cherished my relationship with my sweet cousin and watching our three year olds light up when they see each other brings a pitter patter to my heart. Marek and Lael are 5 months apart and Pius and this little one in my belly will be too and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them.

It has been awesome watching your family grow, you guys have done an beautiful job raising your babies. The tenderness that Jahnna and Zavier have shown to Lael is so special and it means the world to me that they take time to make her feel so loved,  Thank you for letting us share these moments with your incredible family. We are blessed to have you in our lives!

Enjoy!

I have been dreaming of this shot for quite some time and I needed the perfect fit to make it a reality. Kelly’s Tire Station has been apart of our family since my dad was a little boy so having a family baby boy this summer made it perfect.

The smiles he was giving me were to die for!

I mean seriously, look at this smile!

And there’s another one!

These guys came to me for a little happy birthday to Dad photo shoot! They bantered back and forth, teased each other and laughed at me for my crazy suggestions the entire shoot, but I think in the end they had a good time and hopefully we got a few shots Dad will enjoy.

Are just so stinkin’ cute together!

These two have a story much like ours…they began dating at 15, dated through the remainder of high school, headed off to a bigger city to brave college together, moved home, got married, became parents to a little chocolate lab to ease into the role of parenting and now after 15+ years together they are entering the most fulfilling role yet. Your new little guy will be here so soon and he is going to fill you with more love than you ever knew your heart was capable of. Like us you’ll likely wonder why you waited so long to have a family. You wouldn’t trade those years of fun and being together for anything, but the joy your little guy will bring you will give you reason to wonder. You are going to be such wonderful parents. I can’t wait to meet him and take his first photos – I have some fun ideas in mind for his photo debut. Stay tuned. Enjoy!

…to be able to make such a fun family smile! It’s especially nice to be able to do it all for such a wonderful cause. You might remember the giving is awesome campaign from around Christmas time. You can read my full blog post here. This is one of the families I chose and couldn’t have been more honored to do there shoot. Sharlot, Rachel, Cynthia, Shantel, Kenny & Drew you guys were so much fun to work with, thank you! Sharlot – you are so tender with your kids it warms my heart to see and feel the love you give to them. Raising five kids on your own and working so hard to support them is commendable! I hope my glimpse of your world makes you smile for years to come. Enjoy.

Below is the nomination this special family received.

The nomination for our third family came from Tonya Garnett and here is her story.

Her name is Sharlot Evans.  She is such a nice, sweet, hard working person and has gone through a lot.  She and her soon to be ex husband have five kids together.  She always worked full time while raising her kids. Her kids are all nice, well behaved sweet kids and all of them have such a nice personality.  She goes above and beyond for her children even while in a bad relationship with her husband.  She took on many of the responsibilities; school, work, practices, bills, etc.  She never let anything hold her back when it comes to her kids.  She always made rent, car payments, provided for all five children.  All her children are so nice and a delight to have around. Even though all these things were going through her life she still made time for family and friends and is always a person you can call on when you need help.  Sharlot works at the Cancer Treatment Center here in Fairbanks.  Sharlot always thinks of creative ways to make life interesting and fun for her kids with activities and outings!  Even though she has five of her own children she still babysat for her cousins and other family members.

I just think that she needs something special, especially during this holiday season.  She is such a neat loving smart person and she only deserves the best.  She is really an inspiration and we are so glad to know her.  If you meet her you can just feel the genuine person she is; loving, nice, and goofy and she is contagious by making others smile and feel good around her.
She’s just had a tough year and I think something special can probably bring up her spirits.  Her and her kids are all very beautiful people and they are such a joy to be around.

Thank you Cassy!  You too are an awesome person!

Sam was so easy on me…smiley, happy, calm, patient and so much fun to watch! I photographed his parents and older brother, Bo, as a newborn 3 years ago and now there’s Sam who just turned 1 and a new little guy due in October. I love watching families grow and being able to capture them in varying stages of their lives. It’s such an honor to have so many clients who return time and again. I love my job! 

Just three days old and she couldn’t have been more content, cooperative or yummy! I’ve been dreaming of these outdoor shots and Hayden was the perfect fit. When her Momma and Daddy came for their maternity shoot I started talking about my vision for their newborn shoot and they were stoked and willing to try anything. They trusted my art and just let me do my thing…my favorite!  

The first shot is my favorite from their maternity shoot which leads me to a topic I’ve been wanting to approach on the blog…I do a ton of maternity and ‘hottie’ shoots, but have thus far been apprehensive about blogging these shoots. With client approval of course I’d like to blog some of it, but wanted to see what my blog readers think about posting semi-nudes on the blog. Please shoot me an email, leave a comment, call me, whatever, just let me know if those are posts you’d like to see more of. If you’d like to see more of that line of my work check out my beautiful bodies section in my galleries on my site. 

Back to the adorable, sleepy, happy and healthy, Hayden. Enjoy!

Stunning, graceful, quiet, confident, humble and gracious are all words that come to mind when I think of Carolyn. She came to me via a referral from a maternity client of mine in search of a photographer to shoot a modeling portfolio for her. She didn’t know what sort of a look she wanted to go for so I suggested a couple looks and locations and the shoot was born. ‘The look’ came so natural for her. I guided her through the maze of locations we attended and described ‘the look’ I was going for with each and she rocked it each time!  What an invigorating shoot for me!

She’s a local girl headed for Florida where her hubby is stationed with the U.S. Navy. She was ‘discovered’ in Jacksonville a couple years back and did a couple fashion spreads for Jacksonville Magazine and another publication in the area.  Now that she’s headed back she’s hoping to get paid for being so stunning (my words of course, not hers, she’s too humble to say so ). 

Like what you see? Well if so this brings me to my next subject…my senior shoots…this is the kind of concept effort that goes into my seniors and I’m super excited to debut some of them in the coming months right here. Stay tuned for my ‘Class of 2010 Hotties’ you won’t want to miss them! If you know a senior who is interested in a shoot so far from traditional they won’t know what hit them then pass them my way, I’d love to chat. In fact, mention ‘the top model’ blog post when booking your senior shoot and you’ll receive a complimentary set of rep cards.

Back to the beautiful Carolyn…

In the words of Gwen Stefani…’You’re a super hot female…you’ll get your million dollar contract.’

Next top model? I think so.

Enjoy!