Natural. Candid. Real. Beautiful. { The Blog. }

[ Sweet little bun in the oven ]

I knew from the second she answered the door that we were going to get along like old friends - and I was right.  We laughed and chatted and just enjoyed each others company.  Really - it was that fantastic.  Both of us had such a great time.  Emily - I can't WAIT to come back in a month and meet your sweet little baby boy!  How fortunate he is to have a Mama as sweet as you. ♥

Oh, and don't you worry about a thing - you are a natural Mommy.  It's easy to see.  You and that boy of yours will be so in love with each other very, very soon.  XOXO

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL - she {GLOWS}.  This next shot was in the nursery - sitting in a pretty window seat, looking outside at a very rainy day.  Isn't it so moody?  Lots of mood and emotion in this one.  I love it.  A lot.

One more for you, Emily (and Brad too - can't forget to mention proud Daddy-to-be):

ENJOY YOUR SNEAK PEEK!  I enjoyed creating it for you. 

Big hugs

XOXOXOXOXO

Christi

{ Another sweet bun in the oven + big sis }

So...the new and improved BALANCED me has a few new goals for 2009.  Are you ready?  The first one is a big one for me.  I am going to attempt to blog the sneak peek photos the day after the photo shoot.  Crazy.  Unheard of.  Maybe even a little unreasonable.  However...I work well under pressure.  And pressure that will be.  I am (repeat: AM) going to be timely in 2009. 

So, without further ado - you HAVE to see this sweet Mama and her oh-so-adorable belly.  Adorable.  Just wait until you see big sis.  Lively and precocious and animated and just fun to be around...

How about that perfect round belly? :)

Okay, I'm telling you - big sis Alivia is a sight for sore eyes.  Check out her girlie drama in the below photo:

And in this next one...

More sweet girlie girl drama - she should be in photos.  Am I wrong?

You know I can never resist the feet.  Oh, how I love little kiddo feet.

Last one for now - Alivia oblivious to the fact that I was on the floor, on my belly, taking photos directly in front of her.  The BEST kind of photos - when they forget that you're there.  Love this next one.  I can so hear her reading her princess stories to herself in her soft little voice. ♥

Enjoy your sneak peek, Shana!  It was an absolute pleasure meeting you - can't wait to meet your new little bundle! :)

{ Back for more of beautiful Christy }

I have no words to describe how much I love these images - so no chatting from me.  I can hardly wait to show you.  Christy, you are breathtakingly beautiful and as radiant as any Mommy-to-be could ever be.

You'll notice that my post-processing is a little different on all of these - I'm all about variety.  Hmmmm.  Maybe I wouldn't be working at 2:00 a.m. with about 4 more hours to go if I would just keep it simple.  Nah.  Simple = boring in my photography world.  :)

I had such a fantastic time with Christy and her husband - they (especially HIM) had me in stitches.  We laughed and laughed and laughed.  In the below image, Doug said something that cracked Christy up.  I took the shot at just the right second.  He was probably making reference to the crazy photographer girl lying in the grass, crawling around, coming very close multiple times to having her elbow in dog doodie.  We didn't know that we would be outside (unpredictable weather, you know) so they didn't get a chance to clear the yard of doggie landmines.  I survived with no dog doodie anywhere on my person.  Good thing.  I don't get paid enough for that. :)

 

Mmmmmmm, feeling the love in this next one.  Love it.

So, this next one was Christy's idea.  It's one of my favorites.  I won't let you in on what the 3 of us had to do to get this image.  I'll just tell you that it involved crazy photographer girl waaaaay up high, straddling a ladder.  It gets even better than that - but shhhhhh....I must keep it our little secret.  I'll just say this - let's hope the neighbors weren't peeking out their window. :)

Last one - I so love this one.  My favorite part - the picture in the background that is hanging on the wall is from their wedding day.  I'm all about symbolism.  And all sorts of emotions that some photos evoke.  I think that this is one of those photos...   

Enjoy Christy and Doug - baby Hunter is a fortunate little boy to have such wonderful parents - and I mean that completely.  XOXO

{ Working like the Energizer bunny }

Quick post of just one photo for Christy - as she sits on the edge of her seat waiting to see her photos...and as her husband sits on the edge of his seat, ready to ask me for the 14th time if he can please, please, please buy the digital files from their maternity photo shoot.  Seriously, he's ready to beg, barter, steal, whatever it takes. :)  It seems that I am asked this question more lately than usual.  The demand is there - especially over the past few months.  In this age of digital photography, more and more parents are wanting a DVD of images from their session.   Well...I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  You ask, we deliver.  I am in the process of putting together a package that includes the digital images (yes, Doug - that means the answer is yes!).  It's in the works - more to come when I get back from vacation. 

Parents - do you have any thoughts about this?  Anything that you would like to see?  Anything that you want me to know as I'm putting the new packages together?  Drop me a line.  I welcome your comments.

Without further ado - here is just one image that I love with 3 different looks from Christy's session.  She's beautiful inside and out, she's radiant, she's first time expectant Mama to baby boy Hunter.  She is pure joy.  See for yourself:

Just wait until you see the rest of the sneak peek - more beautiful images to come in a couple of hours.  I just HAD to let you all see this one right this very minute. :)

{ 2 is better than 1 }

Beautiful Laurie - you pull at my heart strings when I see these photos of you.  Wanting and waiting and waiting and wanting - and now you will soon be Mommy to not one, but TWO sweet little bundles of twin BOYS.  My dear blog readers - you will not believe how radiant she is.  Her joy shines outward - from deep inside.  Laurie, it was nothing but a pleasure.  You will be an amazing Mommy.

Sometimes when I'm post-processing maternity photos, I just can't help myself.  I like to put an edgy, almost urban feel to some of them.  I try not to overdo it on my child/baby photography, but those beautiful bellies bring out the artsy side of me.  I love the feeling in this next one:

I love it just as much in b/w....how about you?

Could her belly BE more perfect and round?  Can you believe that there are TWO in there?

Oooooh, how I couldn't decide between these - both beautiful in color or b/w.  What do you think, Laurie?  I lean a little toward the color one.  I do love the yellow wall in the background.   But the black and white is stunning, as well.  Hope those baby boys are letting you rest a little this week! :)