Karate Kids

Remember when you were little and you just got done watching the original Karate Kid or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and you just felt this burning desire to get up and start Kung Fu kicking and Karate chopping everything and everyone in sight all the while screaming, "Hai- Ya!!"? I do and what's funny is my kids do the same thing.

Baptism

Took this handsome little guy's baptism pics a couple weeks ago but couldn't do the outdoor since it was raining. After church we ran and took a few. I meant to take another picture for today but completely forgot so this will just have to do :)

First Studio Shoot

Even though my studio isn't totally ready, I did some pictures of my niece in there today. It was worse than I feared. It was just barely cold enough that she was miserable and wouldn't sleep much. She was still a trooper and did pretty good with the space heaters I used but it still wasn't enough. Help!!! This is the only pose we got her to sleep for.

One Not So Tiny Problem

Even though I got the room all cleaned out, there is still TONZ to do. Today I laid some wood flooring in one section and got a few backdrops hung. Fun Fun!! I am having one major problem. I have no way to heat the room. It's a huge room with not much insulation and no heating ducts. For most shoots that is fine but for newborns it's a nightmare. The studio has to be so hot I'm sweating for it to be warm enough for a brand new baby with no clothes on. Any ideas? Anyone that solves my problem gets a free mini shoot in my studio :)

A few things to consider -
The ceilings are 12 ft high and metal.
There is no windows or ventilation in the room.
It's a huge room (size of a 3 car garage).

7 Hours of Heaven

My sister-in-law is sick so I got to spend the day holding my niece and taking care of her. Today, was a good day. (In case you are wondering, my brother and his wife don't want any pictures of my niece on the internet so I fully respect their wishes and come up with creative ways to post pics of her.)

Motivated

Well, it's probably no surprise that when I get motivated to do something, I don't rest until it's done. Look how far I've come in photography in 2 years. Well, my studio is no exception. Yes, people, I got it done already. It's all cleaned out and ready for me to start hanging backdrops. The wall most likely won't be built for a while but I can still start using the space.

Found lots of fun memories while I was cleaning. This is one of them. A pic I took of my son when he was 6 and we took a trip to Lake Isabella. One of my favorite memories.

Future Studio

This is my future studio. It's a huge storage room under my 3 car garage. As you can see, I keep putting it off. There is just so much to organize and clean out. Everything behind the stack of cardboard circles will remain cold storage and I will have a wall built to separate it from the rest. Everything in front of the circles is going to be my studio. Yes, it will be huge and the ceilings are 12 ft. tall. SAWEEEET!!

I just need a kick in the butt to get it done. I've bought new lighting (not in picture), props, and backdrops, all I need to do is clean out the room. Sounds easy? It's not, just look!

Breakfast with Abby

Today I got to have breakfast with the most expressive little girl ever.

59 Candles

My Mother-In-Law turned 29x2+1
One of the kids said, "Next year your candles will burn the house down!!"

Apple Peeler, Corer, Slicer

Lately I've become obsessed with capturing images that show how little my girls are. I think I've realized just how much they change in so little time that when I see a moment happening, I want to preserve it forever in my attempt to keep them little.

Lu loves our apple peeler, corer, slicer. I saw her tiny face trying so hard to peek over the counter to turn the handle herself and caught the moment just in time.

Knitting

Thanks to photography, I knit. It's super easy and now that I have some spare time I'm getting caught up on all the knitting I've been wanting to do.

So far I've made one baby cocoon, one flower clip and 3 baby hats. Just in time for my niece's newborn pictures on Sunday.

For Mom

My mother's favorite flower is the orchid. She recently moved and trusted me with her orchid plant. When she gave it to me it had two growing buds on it. Today, one of them started blooming so I thought I would take a picture of it to let my mom know her baby is doing just fine.

I love my job

I started doing headshot mini shoots in December and I love them. They are super easy and fun. I got to love on this cute little man today. His mom told me he doesn't open up to people or let them hold him. That was before he met me. I think he loves me.

So In Love...

Be Mine

I had plans for today, oh did I have plans for today. Fun surprise for my hubby, an amazing Valentine themed shoot with my girls (complete with cupid angel wings!), then I got a phone call first thing this morning.

My sister-in-law was in labor and baby Maggie decided today was the day she wanted to be born.
I have to say one of my favorite things about being a photographer is being invited to participate in these most sacred of occasions to help capture the moments.

I enjoyed every minute. I laughed, I cried, I died a little when she started having problems breathing on her own. She is okay now, she is perfect, she is beautiful, and she is my niece. I love her so much already. What a perfect way to spend Valentines.

Pictures 0

Why take a picture of Lightroom on my computer screen? It's not interesting, it's not visually exciting, so why?? Let me tell you :)

In the 2 years I've been doing photography, my Lightroom "Pictures" folder has NEVER read 0 (Zero). Never. Not once. I've always been too busy or too tired and those old pictures could always wait. I had photos all the way back to last Easter.

I finally did it. I set a goal to get completely caught up and today, I did it. I started the weekend with about 50 folders of pictures to go through and edit and I just finished. My picture folder says ZERO!!!!!! My what a feeling. I now resolve to never get that behind again. I think ;)

Love Bus

I found out the day before that Abby needed a decorated box for her Valentines at school. All I had to use for the box was the one that all the Cherry Crush came in. It looked like a bus to me so I decided to make her a Love Bus. I stayed up past midnight working on it and was so excited to show it to her.

The next morning Abby woke up and I was so excited to show her. She looked at it and frowned and said, "I wanted a butterfly." Then she said, "It doesn't even have a window on the front." (That was the opening to put the Valentines in!!) Seriously!!! Ungrateful little...

Then my Lu walks in and picks it up and says, "Oh this is so beautiful mommy. I wish I had a bus like this." Now all of a sudden it's good enough for Abby and she wants to use it for her Valentines. I decided I'm giving it to Lu who appreciates everything mommy does for her.

I Can't Cook...

...but I can make some pretty amazing desserts which I guess would explain the plumpness of my figure :)

Crush

Here they are, my kids' school Valentines for this year. My friend, Steph Jorgensen found the idea online and together we came up with our version of this cute valentine for our kids to give their classmates. Thanks Steph! I'm sure she will be posting her's soon.

My kids have their parties on Friday instead on Monday, the actual day (LAME!!) so I had to get mine done sooner. I'm sure her's will be cuter anyway so maybe it's better I posted mine first!!


It says, "The Best Kind of Crush is the Kind You Drink."
I wanted it to say,
"The only kind of Crush my daddy says I'm allowed to have is the kind you drink,"
but that's a bit too long!!

Super cute and fun huh? Not very expensive either. They didn't quite turn out as cute as I had first thought but I still like them anyway.

PS - Thanks Brittany for the chalk on the wall idea from your engagement shoot. Yes, I brought soap and water and cleaned it all up before I left.

Getting Down To Business

The business end of photography has been my Achilles heal the last two years. I struggle with every aspect of it so when I got an email from a friend and fellow 365er Jess Bishop to attend a photography business workshop her husband was giving, I jumped at the opportunity.

It was amazing. He knows his stuff and gave us some great ideas and explained it in a way that my creative Right Brain could understand and process. Needless to say I have lots of changes coming soon. It may take a couple weeks to implement all my ideas but I will do it.

School Valentines

It's that time of year again to make Valentines for my kiddos to take to school. I wanted to do something different from last year so I put my friend Steph and I put our heads together and took a few ideas we found online and put them together to create something cute.

Here are the pics I took for them. Yes, I cut out part of it on purpose so you can't see until they are finished! Here are two pics I loved but ended up not using. Now that I see them edited, I'm questioning if I should have used these afterall!!

Time To Say Goodbye

It's time for me to let go, even though for some reason it's hard for me.

My 85mm f/1.4 is officially for sale (click to see ad).

This has been my favorite lens from the day I bought it a year and a half ago. It gave me some of the best images I've ever taken and It's always been in my bag. The bokeh and DOF of this thing is unlike any other. My hubby got me the new model that Nikon just came out with and is bugging me to sell the old one so I guess it's time.

Goodbye my amazing friend. Ironically enough, I took this picture with my new 85mm :)

Super Bowl???

I figure most people are going to post something about the Super Bowl but not me. I could care less about the game so I am busy editing and taking a picture of the one thing that keeps me warm during the freezing winter months. It's my super bowl and it's hotter than any football player ;)

Thank You

I didn't win, but it's okay. I had fun and it was great to see so much love from everyone.

For all of you who voted I wanted to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart...

Will Smile 4 Votes

Today is the last day to vote. I know I am probably so annoying by this point and I am sorry but I really need this so please take a minute and vote for me to win this workshop.

Click here to vote for me, Suzanne Plant.
(my name is about half way down)

How can you say no to this face?

Yes, it's that cold here

Eyelashes

Some little girls are just born with them. I am not one of them.

If You Love Me...

...then please vote for me. I'm trying to win a spot for a photography workshop and all I need is the most votes. Popularity contests have never been great for me so I'm begging. Please take a minute and vote for me, Suzanne Plant. Even if you don't love me vote, I'll love you forever :)
Thank you thank you thank you.

Click here to vote