Senior: Hayley

One word sums up this session: HOT!!! We did this session right when the ridiculously hot weather started this summer. The heat index was well over 100 degrees! And it was nice and sunny too. Of course it didn't help that 90% of the shoot took place in the sunny areas. lol But, it was a great success. Hayley braved the heat and we got some amazing pictures of her, my favorite taking place at the basketball courts! I loved those pictures. When I heard that she was into basketball, I thought, I need an outdoor court, rusty rim, and grass growing through the asphalt. I posted that on facebook asking if anyone knew of a place, and I was directed to this court, and it was EXACTLY what I had pictured!

Baby: Noah

Babies are always a fun break from the hectic wedding work. Its a time when you don't have to say do this or do that, you just let the baby be the baby, AND click away. Babies crack me up because they can be balling their eyes out and literally in a blink be laughing so hard they are then crying again because they are crying. lol Noah was no exception to this, I think in just an hour I got about 60 different facial expressions from Noah (okay, that might be a little stretch, but still...). Noah also had a fascination of looking at himself, so we brought out a mirror, and got some pretty awesome pictures of him admiring his good looks.

Stephen & Sara's Wedding

The last time that I saw Stephen and Sara is was New Years Eve 2009, it was COLD, windy and lots of snow on the ground. 7 months later, here we are in the heart of summer, hot, humid and sticky...but it wouldn't make photography interesting if everything were the same. That is one of the reasons I love being a photographer because I get to work in all extremes and in betweens! :)

Stephen and Sara's wedding was beautiful! Everything from the chapel to all the moments before during and after the ceremony. The most memorable at least for me was driving through the park looking for some locations and running into a medieval battle taking place. Oh yes, I don't joke. Easily 40+ men (yes, grown men) fighting with fake swords and other weapons in front of a 2x4 and cardboard castle front. All the while back at camp the women and children (dressed in medieval clothing as well) were cooking for those brave men! So it didn't seem right to just drive by, a picture was in order... I was speechless. lol

Travis & LeAnna Engagement

This was an AWESOME engagement session. Travis and LeAnna made it clear that they did not want their pictures to look to posed, which I'm a huge fan of. I hate posing couples and taking pictures. We've all been through high school and have done enough of turning our heads sideways and giving a cheesy smile. Real moments are far more special than looking at the camera and smiling... Not that those can't still be good pictures, but I love real moments! :)

During our session, we were shooting by some trees when we looked down a row of trees and the sun was breaking through the clouds in a portion through the trees, it looked amazing, so of course we got some pictures there! See the pictures below, Travis and LeAnna, were so much fun and the moments were so REAL!

Michael & Alyssa Engagement

For all my sessions in this area, I like to try and shoot at different areas if possible, simply because I don't want pictures to start to look the same among multiple sessions. So when Michael and Alyssa were ready to do their engagement pictures, I had a place in store that I thought would work perfectly. Now I know we all see railroad track pictures, but there is no denying how cool track pictures can look. :)

Kevin & Hillary Engagement

I always love a pet in the engagement pictures, it kind of gives the pictures not only a fun feel, but it's also a special bond between the couple...of course it's always nice when the pet is well behaved too. And Kevin and Hillary's pup was awesome to work with. This session was just a blast, and I look forward to their wedding coming soon!

Cecelia Senior Pictures

Back to my old stomping grounds of Ramsey, the evening was perfect for senior pictures. Sky was golden and blue, just a hint of clouds, a little warm, but not terrible. Bringing out Cecelia's personality was not hard at all. It was a matter of seconds and she was laughing, and just having a great time. I was looking at some other senior pictures prior to this session and saw a picture with a girl leaning agains a John Deere tractor, it was a beautiful picture, and ever since I saw it, I was hoping for a session one day to shoot with a massive tractor in the back. In the second half of Cecelia's session she said she had another location she'd like to hit, that location was on a farm...with a massive john deere tractor. :)

The session was a blast, and Cecelia's fun personality, and giggly style came out in no time. So I give this session a success.