Sunset

I had a GREAT shoot out at a nearby lake a few weeks back (yes, behind as usual). This family frequents this lake beach often so it was a treat to be able to photograph them in a place that is special to their family. My favorite part of the session was these silhouettes at sunset. I just can't get over how fun I think they are. I was hoping for clouds to add drama to the sky that evening, but I still think they turned out wonderful. I adore this family and I hope they adore their images just the same! Don't worry, I have plenty more with your faces visible...this is just all I have time for tonight.

Swamped by Families!

I am absolutely swamped in family pictures! Tis the season for them. I loved getting to meet this sweet family of 4. These boys were so cute and SO WELL BEHAVED. I especially could not believe how good the 4 year old was...I myself have one of those, but with a camera out, mine is a whole lot more challenging! I am trying to stay on top of all my work...so here are a quick few.

A Record

I am not going to tell you how long, but this was a record shoot because it was my fastest shoot ever! No, it was NOT my idea. It made me kinda nervous to get in and get out so quick. It was the Dad's idea you see below. He is a hater of the family pictures. After the shoot I told the Mom that for being a hater of family pictures, your husband acted like he was enjoying himself and looked consistently photogenic in every picture. She said he does that so he can get the shoot over with quicker. I don't know, Ryan...you look like you are sincerely having a good time!

I LOVE this first shot. It was my favorite of the session. I just think it is so cute. I love getting my families to interact and play.

This little ham was killing me with cuteness. It was impossible to pick her pictures...she was adorable in every image.
While I was photographing these 3 sitting up together...all the sudden they melted into laughing on top of each other. I never got what was so funny, but I did get the picture.
Cause family life is quite often about the baby.
Shannon, I put them in the mail today. Enjoy.

Dinner Time!

My beautiful cousin, Kasey was married last month. It was SO NICE to see so much family that I hardly ever get to see because we all live SO FAR away. Kasey had planned a lovely dinner for family and friends the night before the wedding. This dinner was the only time during my trip that my hands were not busy with my boys. So I brought my camera along...just in case I did not see anyone photographing the night. I kind of self proclaimed myself as the wedding dinner photographer. It was EXTRA fun to capture my cousin's carefully planned details and the expressions of relatives I love. Congratulations you two!

Meet my beautiful cousin, Kasey and my handsome new cousin, Jake.
A few of the night's details.
Cousin Mindy is modeling the delightful name card place setting that each guest received...a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory carmel apple. Delicious and perfect for a fall celebration.Bride chose salmon for the night...Groom chose beef. I hail from the Pacific Northwest...I HEART salmon. I want to eat this right now, it was SO GOOD. My sister and I attended the dinner together and we each ordered something different so we could share and get some of each.
This is my dear uncle and aunt (parents of the bride). I love how happy they are. And if you know my Mom, you can tell this is her brother. I think they look quite a bit alike.
Both of the Dad's toasted the occasion. I love the adoring bride and groom are as they watch their parents.Entertainment for the evening included the adorable nephew of the groom singing the sweetest love song of which I can't remember right now or I would tell you what it was. He melted everyone!
Kasey and Jake each took a little time to talk. Cousin Kasey might have accidentally said something kind of embarrassing...you kind of had to be there...but just know it was hilarious and everyone laughed. I am glad I caught the reaction on these two's face.
What beautiful people starting a beautiful life together. I am honored to be related.

How quick they grow...

Baby Bronson came back for 3 month documentation. Lots less tears than his infant shoot!

I love that his plump lips are thinking about smiling here.

This little guy was being so good. Hanging out on his back- calm and easy going- playing with his blankie and his feet.

Ya, you guessed it...the rents are Buckeye fans.And a dreamy little treat...baby drifted off to sleep. Nice peaceful ending to round 2, huh Carrie!

Tis the Family Season

I have been up to lots of families of late. Seems people want a current pic of the fam to go out with the Christmas card this time of year. We did this family's shoot in their new housing development. It was beautiful, every direction I looked there was a view. 5 kids...seems like this should have been an out-of-control-hard-to-manage shoot, but these kids were super well behaved and did great. We beat the sun up and actually had to wait around for the light to come out and play. I am always so good to consult my sunrise/sunset calculator...I don't know what happened this morning. Anyways, here's the cute family...

I love that the baby is putting her hand to the forehead like she can't even handle how silly her siblings are being!We got something current of each of the kiddos.



This silly kid was cracking me up making these funny mouth movements then he would give me a perfect happy smile freeze for 2 seconds then he would go right back to funny mouth movements then freeze a darling smile...over and over for his whole turn. I was seriously laughing. Ya, I know, the most amazing head of hair you have ever seen on a 4 year old. Beautiful for sure.

It was wonderful to see you guys. See you again in the spring! Can't wait to see it all in bloom!

Aunt Traumatize

So meet my adorable, curly, red haired, fair skinned, green eyed niece, Caitlin. It is amazing we are even related, right?

Pretty much as soon as we started (this is image 4 of the whole shoot) she got mad at me then scared of the camera.So we gave her some time to cool off then changed locations and started back up again. She is still being scared of my camera.I LOVE this top pic. She was being such a girl (dramatic) about this photo shoot whole thing. My sister and I were laughing at her burying her face into the bench. But my sister pulled her doggy out and that made her happy.

So we kind of gave up on the Caitlin solo shoot, and turned the shoot into a mother/daughter play shoot. And I think it turned out... ...super cute!
And we did finally get her warmed up and away from her Mama (my sister, Lyns) for a few solo shots.

I love Caitlin's face. She was happy with Mom then remembered me and my camera. She tuned to see if I was still there. I was. This smile faded and then she frowned at me! Glad I caught the smile!Love these rare green eyes. This was my last image of the session. Just prior to this image my sister said Caitlin was done and we should quite. I am kind of stubborn when I have a camera in my hands...I pushed on. Lyns was right, Caitlin was so over the picture taking. I feel like instead of being fun Aunt Whit to this little niece, I have now earned a new title, like Aunt Traumatize or something like that. Sorry for the trouble, Caitlin. I do love you sweet girl. I has so much fun with you and your Mom. Missy you!

Itsy Bitsy

I love to photograph an itsy bitsy baby. This new little baby boy was indeed an itsy bitsy at about 10 days of life. He was very well behaved and very non-vocal which is always a treat, cause no one likes to hear a baby cry. As with many infant shoots, the binky worked its wonder in between many of the shots. I think this baby is beautiful and I LOVE, LOVE his sweet little face in this image. His sleepy little eyes, his perfect little nose, and his shapely little lips...can I say little one more time?



I always love taking a few of baby and Mama. Seems like babies are always most comfortable right here in Mommy's arms.


Cute that this baby looks like he is trying to say something to his Mom. Ok if not in Mom's arms, seems like right here in Dad's is the next best place on Earth for a new arrival. Looks like baby doesn't mind his big sister's arms either. Once we got sister warmed up, she would not stop being so cute and lovey and sweet with her new brother.

I have to go off on these outfits for a little bit...cause I am in LOVE with them. I just think the whole sailor look is so terribly classy. My Mom got a sailor dress when my older sister was a little girl and every single one of us 5 girls in my family wore it when we were the size to fit in it. I think it is one of those classics that is forever in style. Baby's Mom said her sister picked these up on the East coast...truly a find! I think our baby was getting hungry! I had to throw this one of the girls with their "Gammy" in. They are obviously happy that the new baby attracted this special visitor. My two sweet Grandmothers have been gone for quite a while now. This picture makes me miss each of them. Lucky I married into more sweet Grandmas cause you just can't have enough of them!

Back Up

A photographer friend of mine asked me to be back up for an hour at a wedding recently. Here are a couple to share from the hour.

Many churches in the area do not allow flash photography during the ceremony...so I was forced to shoot available light.
The massive wedding party! I had forgotten how its kind of fun to be the "2nd" photographer. I liked just being there documenting without all the stress and directing and attention...
Short lived cause short on time...so I photographed groom and groomsmen.
I love the columns with the little bit of angle in the shot...ooh, and I also love the ruffles.

Baby Ayden

Sweet, sweet, sweet baby Ayden. This little guy loves his Mama. Quite often I can soothe a fussy baby. I have some pretty good infant calming tricks up my sleeve. But baby Ayden held out for his Mommy every time. There was A LOT of binky in and binky out through out the whole shoot which requires teamwork between Mom and I. I think the product shows we make a pretty good team, Cindy.

I LOVE this cute baby expression.

I know this picture and the next are pretty similar, but I just CANNOT pick which is better. I think they are both SO cute.

Ayden was pretty much done by this point. I begged him to hold out for some shots with his beautiful Mommy. I didn't want to stop, but he wanted to. I got something to show for the extra effort.

A BFF and Family

This is one of my dearest friends and her family. I photographed them when I traveled back to my home town of Mukilteo, WA not too long ago. We took these pictures in her parent's yard. It was a perfectly typical day in the Northwest...overcast, grey, and drizzly...I am getting homesick just thinking about it.



I thank Grandpa for all the smiley faces out of baby!



I am telling you, they DO NOT grow grass like this in TX. I would have happily rolled around and napped in this grass, it was SO soft. Again, props to Grandpa for his immaculate keeping of the yard.



This picture illustrates something I have thought about lots ever since my first was born. There is nothing like having your own baby. You can't seem to take your eyes and amusement off the little peanut cause you are so afraid you might miss something. You find yourself saying or doing such silly things in hopes that your teeny tiny might think you are a little bit funny and crack a little smile. I would do anything to make my babies happy.



I am mean, I made them lay down in the damp grass. Baby got to lay on his blankie. My favorite part is that Jill and Rich are touching. I don't know if I asked them to do that or they just did it, regardless, I like that part of this image.



Seriously, all credit to Grandpa Graham for the happy baby faces.



I love seeing the vast difference in eye color in the very same family. I doubt it makes anyone else think about this, but it always makes me think about my university days when I was fully immersed in my human biology studies...genetics to be exact. I love thinking about all the many alleles that play into eye color. Ya, if I didn't want to be a Mama at home with my boys, I would probably be teaching genetics and anatomy and physiology on the university level by now.



I love this baby's eyes. So does my camera. But this baby only has eyes for Mommy (and sometimes Grandpa).



It was so nice to spend time with you. I only wish it could be more often.

Baby Wyatt

Who loves this baby's blue, blue eyes? I know I do. Who loves this baby's fair, flawless skin? I know I do. Every time I work on these images I catch myself staring at the perfection of this baby's face...good work on this baby J and R! If you know me and babies, you know I love nothing more than wrapping a baby up as tight as I can in a snugly swaddle. Baby Wyatt loves this blanket...and he loved my swaddle. I love his blue eyes with the blue background with the blue in his blankie.



No, this baby is not a Texan despite the look of this here image. However, I believe this baby's great uncle is a Texan and was the gifter of the boots? Wyatt's Mommy brought this classic galvanized steel tub and hat...perfect compliment to the boots, huh!



I love the funny little look on his face...maybe saying something like, "Now this is kind of weird, me sitting in a metal tub?" I don't usually mess with the coloring of an image this much...is the post process too much or like-able here?



Nice smug little smile, makes me think he is a tricky baby.




And a few of baby playing with his beautiful mother...who is a bit intimidating to photograph.



Why you might ask?



Because she is photographed for a living. Maybe she looks familiar to you? Nordstrom, GAP, Eddie Bauer, bridal magazines, even a Wii Add...and now Whitni Parker Photography has photographed her :). "Only" difference is I didn't have to pay her to get in front of my camera!


It was my honor!

A Pile of Family Fun

Ha- Pile of fun, yes pun intended! Occasionally a name for an image comes to mind when I look at it. This one, "A Pile of Family Fun". Despite all the smiles, I did here some, "Oh my rib!" and some "Ouch, you're hurting me!" and some "I can't breathe!" and maybe some "OK, get off me!" during this shot!
How could it not be fun when Mom selects this image of her kids as one of the images for her CD? I love that when I asked for their best silly face, they all made the same exact one! Guess siblings do learn lots from each other. But of course, this one too.
I love to take this shot in my family shoots, it always tends to be one of my favorites of a family session...Mom receiving every one's attention!
And of course we took a few of those "hang on the wall" shots.Mom special requested that we do one of the "everyone lay on their back and look up shots" and it seemed like it would work...it was a slightly cloudy overcast day. But there must have been a whole lot of reflectiveness going on amidst those clouds cause when push came to shove, I could NOT for the life of me get them to all open their eyes at the same time. I was giggling so hard while I was taking these. Love the arms over the face on the littlest one :) and Dad's super squint.
Out for a family walk.
Thanks for a super morning you guys. You were terribly fun and playful...a nice combination for my camera!

Nathan and Amy...Now Wedded.

These two were married 7-11...pretty easy way to never forget your anniversary! Nathan and Amy are one of the sweetest couples I have ever photographed. They were so into each other it was like nothing else existed but them that day. They were so sincere and loving in all actions towards each other in ways that were completely visible. There ceremony had a few unique twists which makes things extra fun for the photographer. There was a time or two I was so touched by this sweet wedding, I had to remind myself to stop paying so much attention to the ceremony and keep taking pictures.

These are their shoes. They left them outside of the chapel as they wanted to start their marriage on holy ground, and one wouldn't wear shoes on holy ground.

You know the saying, "Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something blue. I think this is the prettiest "something blue" I have ever seen here on the bride's bouquet.

The grooms men messing around, helping the groom get ready. I love how happy all these guys look.

The ladies.

The guys in serious mode.

Ya, they almost stole the show. Cute, huh? They ended up needed a little bit of help to finally get down the aisle. It was adorable.

And the bride makes her entrance.

I just thought this was a cool shot in between two grooms men. I don't know why I like it so much.

Love father of the bride on Kleenex duty for all these ladies sitting next to him.

These two took the sacrament during their ceremony. Yes, that is red wine in that cup the bride is sipping...and yes, it made me a bit nervous with her white dress, not that I didn't think she could drink without spilling, you know what I mean, right?

The bare feet.

And this is something I have never seen during a wedding, these two washed each other's feet while quietly sharing their vows. It was really touching just to watch, I couldn't hear their words cause the music was too loud.



Ring exchange.

For me, as a photographer, one of my worst nightmare's is a short kiss, a peck if you will, at the end of the ceremony. If there is only time to snap one picture, you better hope it was perfect. I would just like to thank these two for the long and drawn out amazing end of ceremony kiss that went deep down into a graceful, romantic dip! I got plenty of kiss coverage.
Some post ceremony images.



I have to give credit where credit is due...the groom specifically asked for and staged out this image. Hope it is what you had in mind, Nathan.

Here is the first dance as husband and wife. They were seriously adorable. They were singing their song to each other. It was super cute.

And then the bride and her Daddy pulled a fast one on everybody. They started out with a traditional Daddy/Daughter Dance then busted into a little evolution of dance. They were a riot!

Happy wedding toast faces!

I thought is was a sweet moment, this is the Groom's Mom and Bride's Mom.

The ever popular send off with bubbles. And for them I wish a happily ever after. You two are lovely. It was my treat to photograph your wedding.

Baby Colton...Not a baby anymore.

Well, this nephew baby of mine here is already celebrating his first birthday! Wow how the time flies.

I LOVE his bright blue eyes. I tried some of these in black and white...but it just seemed like such a crime with eyes so pretty as these.




This is Coloton's favorite little friend (on the right). Colton's Mama wanted to document the bear, but it didn't go so well. We had to "sneak" the bear on Colton's shoulder to at least get something.


And our trick did not work too well, Colton found that bear and showed it a lesson for sneaking up on him!


And when we tried again and I started getting "the lip"...we knew it was time to move on to...


The CAKE SMASH!


Food always seems to buy me more photographing time...especially sweets!


Love that he found his candle and was sucking on it. I think he is hoping it is a candy candle?


Love his smiley face.


Sometimes when I am working on editing pictures, the pictures talk to me. And when I saw this baby's perfectly manicured chocolate beard, the picture said to me:


Ok this picture was not really supposed to be part of the shoot but it was so hilarious how this kid chugged, I mean CHUGGED down this milk after putting away all those bites of rich, chocolate cake.


He finished drinking that milk, then stood up...and we called it a wrap. No one wants a baby looking like this on the move at home!