It's a Bird, It's a Plane....It's Blake!

......faster than a speeding bullet!!!  If I could bottle this little cutie's energy, I'd be rich!  Blake just turned 5, which is fitting, because I described him to my husband as "having 5 times the energy of our 2 year old"!  Props to his mom and dad for keeping up with him on a daily basis!  This shoot took place on a Sunday morning at his house, which is on a beautiful piece of land with lots of trees, sun and room to run!  His precious little brother Ben got in on a little of the action too, and I captured some sweet moments between the two of them.  This family has been through some major trauma in the past couple of months with the health of little bro Ben, and it was awesome and inspiring to see him doing so well, toddling along behind big brother.  This families spirit definitely hasn't been dampened!  You can feel the positive energy and love all around them!  Although Blake may have been one of my most challenging shoots because of his energy level, he was also one of my most memorable.  He introduced me to his turtle Charlie, swung from a rope, brought out a science kit complete with test tubes, experiments and a lab jacket and even told me a few jokes!  I think I was really able to capture his mischievous little personality in the pictures.  He could not be any cuter with his white blond hair and big blue eyes, and as I was editing, I couldn't get over how many different "looks" he has.  I swear, if I wan;t there, I would have thought there were three different kids at this shoot.  All  in all, what a FUN shoot!  Remember this kids name; he may have a future as an Olympic runner!

Cash's Super Stealthy and Slightly Illegal 2 Year Photos!

First, let me say that I know this is an over abundance of pictures for a post, but he's my son, and I find him to be the most charming and adorable little boy on Earth, so I am indulging myself as his mama!  Second, believe it or not, these photos were taken in a matter of 20 minutes!  We set out to the Indianapolis Museum of Arts Gardens on a HOT evening after work determined to bang out the Cash man's 2 year photos.  Often, I get so caught up in clients photos that I forget to make time to take pictures of my own son!  The lighting was perfect and Cash was in a great mood (i.e., happy to be outside and ready to sprint at 90 mph.  Good thing my camera is faster than a toddler!)  I literally got maybe 10 shots in and a security guard came whizzing up on a golf cart asking if I had a photography permit.  Ummmm.....NO!  I have photographed at this location many times and never been asked for a permit.  He informed me that even though I was taking pictures of my son, with no intention of selling them, that since I had an SLR camera, or as he put it, "a camera where the lens can come off", I now had to have a permit, which I could have for the lovely price of $50 per day or $250 per year, to protect their "copyright" on the property.  Wait.....what????  This is a public area we are talking about and there are no real "works of art" to which I could infringe upon their copyright for.  Is there now a copyright on flowers?  Grass?  It must be on trees?!?  This pretty much infuriates me, as it's basically a racket for the museum to make money, and the gardens are also my favorite place to shoot.  As he pulled away I decided that we would leave the park with my "camera where the lens can come off" as he asked, but not before we walked through a secluded area and shot another 100 shots or so!  Shhh, don't tell!  So, this session was much shorter than I had hoped for, but I still think we got quite a few beautiful shots of the little man.  On our way home we stopped at the gardens at Garfield Park, where we had our wedding photos done 5 years ago, only to be told the SAME thing by a security guard there!  Apparently most of the parks that photographers frequent have taken this policy as of this spring.  I am all for supporting the arts and the parks, but this seems a little ridiculous.  So, I am off to find another little "legal" corner of the city for my shoots.  In the meantime, enjoy these super stealthy and slightly illegal photos of the Cash Man. 

Send in The Clowns!

I first had the opportunity to photograph the older of these two sisters, Grace, when she was only one day old in the hospital, and it was an absolute blast to photograph her again at age three with her new baby sister Abbey.  Some sessions, you are doing everything you can to eek out one smile from a toddler, but this little girl walks into a room and immediately owns it.  She came in, asked me where to stand, and immediately started posing.  I'm telling you this kid has twenty different facial expressions and poses to go with them.  What a ham!  It was all I could do to keep up with her! I see some kind of performance art in her future.  We had planned to photograph her baby sister as a newborn, but due to illnesses and scheduling conflicts, it didn't happen until she was 8 weeks old!  She was wide awake and gave me a run for my money, but she finally fell asleep for a few minutes and I got a few sleeping shots!  I love her chunky little legs and cheeks.  I can't wait to see if Abbey grows up to have her big sister's fantastic personality and sense of humor.  They will be a trip to shoot together when they are both posing!