Back in the springtime, I had the chance to book someone pretty special for a mini session with my girls. More than ten years ago, I was Sonni's high school English teacher, and she was a wise-beyond-her-years, poised, charming teenager. So smart. So talented at whatever she tried. Fast forward a decade, and Sonni McCune, of McCune and Co. Photography, is a polished and talented photographer and a wife (to another former student!!) and mother to a cute daughter just a little older than Larkin. She rocks the weddings and loves to photograph families and little children, too. 

It's been so neat to follow her journey as well as her business accounts on Instagram and Facebook, and when she advertised this sweet tea party mini session, using a beautiful image of her own husband and daughter (seriously, click the link to her website to see it for yourself-- it's one of the first photos!), I knew I wanted a spot in her lineup. I knew, just because of her one sample image, that I wanted my own Joe to be in a few of the photos. And I knew I was going to be so lucky to get new photos of my beautiful girls where I didn't have to do ANY OF THE WORK. Ha! 

See for yourselves-- Sonni is magic, and so are these photos. I love them! (And please don't let the months-later posting of them be any indication of how I feel about them...I'm just always behind when it comes to ANY photo sharing, mine or others. Yikes.)

Not just the adorable tea party moments.... but also the farmhouse steps... the field of flowers... the twirling, the little Larkin smooches... Sisters together. All of it. I am so lucky. These photos are a gift, and these three beloveds of mine are a gift. Thank you for taking the time to peek.

Five (Years Ago) For Friday: Missouri State Fair Family Photos

Five for Friday is a fun one today--- I'm taking you back FIVE YEARS to a family photo session I planned and dreamed about for ages, one that was so utterly perfect in so many ways that it's kind of ridiculous that all anyone ever saw from this was our Christmas card that year. Does anyone else do that??? Scramble like mad to get marvelous photos, use them on their Christmas card, then forget/fail to ever do more with them? No prints, no albums, no sharing online... Just a disc of beautiful photos doing no one any good? 

As your photographer, I implore you to STOP IT! Use that disc of images like mad. Share them everywhere. Print them huge! Commission me to make you a coffee table book! Something!! 

But as the flip-side person-- the client-- well... you can see that I'm as bad as anyone at taking my own advice. I mean, FIVE YEARS? We didn't even have Lucy or Quinn at this time. And there are so many sweet/cute/great photos here. Why are they not on my wall SOMEWHERE? (Actually, that's a long and irritating story re: weird jpg file not getting recognized by a canvas printing website and mama giving up after many many many many attempts, but I won't bore you with that tale.) 

I will say, in my defense, that even though we planned this session for weeks, and even drove 3 hours from home to get to the Missouri State Fair to make them happen, God had a sneaky plan in place that summer, and I ended up freshly pregnant with Lucy a couple of weeks before this shoot. So not only was I fluffing out a bit and desperately donning Spanx already, but then the weeks following our session, when I got my files from our lovely photographer, Kari Wright, I was just too first-trimester-ish to ever do more with them than make that Christmas card. 

But that doesn't excuse the four years afterward. Except maybe I was like, "Oh, those carnival photos that I love so much are obsolete now that Lucy is here. Darn it." Which is a normal thought, but in hindsight I am beginning to see the value in honoring ALL the family photos from EVERY stage of our family's life. From pre-kids to old kids with kids of their own, every family photo is part of the whole story. 

So anyway. Today was finally the day I remembered how little I had done with these carnival photos I loved so very much when we did them. And it's been the day I've been slowly getting them prepped and put into a Blurb coffee table book (finished and in queue to print! Yahoo!) and ready to blog. And here, five years later, I am so enchanted by them all over again. I don't notice that bloaty mama I thought I was here. I don't feel like anyone or anything is missing in these frames. It was us, right then, on a hot August day in Sedalia, Missouri, wrangling a mostly-unwilling 2.5 year old Noah, trying to stay photogenic even as we sweat under our fancy duds.  It was an adventure we'd planned for, Joe had tolerated me preparing for, and one that turned out so so well, in spite of the heat, the crowds, the naughty toddler, and the poor photographer who'd just barely met us (only a few phone calls to set it all up) and tried like mad to get the photos I dreamed of WHILE keeping Noah looking her way. (Bless you, Kari. You were magic. Your daughter was an AMAZING assistant. You made my carnival photo dreams come true, and I will never forget your willingness to take my call and let me be that crazy lady proposing crazy ideas to you, begging you to be our photographer.)

So enough meandering journaling. You wanna see my carnival family photo session, shot at the Missouri State Fair in August of 2010, by Kari Wright of Kari Wright Photography? Go ahead. Enjoy. I bet you a thousand dollars you won't love these half as much as I have been loving them all day today, as I finally give them a place of honor in my life story. 

"Get me OUT OF HERE, mom. Stop. Stop squeezing me."

Featured Photographer: Kara Layfield From Salisbury, Maryland

This week I get to tell you about Kara, one of the warmest, kindest, most supportive members of my photography circle that I know. She is so sincere, that even having never met her, I KNOW she is the "real deal". And hey-- the fact that her images are gorgeous and full of life is only a bonus. 

Meet Kara:

Name: Kara Layfield
Studio Name: Kara Layfield Photography
Location: Salisbury, Maryland
Website/Blog: www.karalayfieldphotography.com

And a chosen favorite photo of hers:

About the image…
1) Why do you love this image?  

I love the feeling I get from looking at this image. It has such a timeless feel and his stare just captivates me. When I brought it up in PS, I knew black and white would be a perfect conversion for this image.

2) What were your settings with this image? 

f/2.0, SS 1/1000, ISO 200

3) What do you love about photography? 

I love how I am constantly learning every day. I love getting lost in the moment, I love the high I get from knowing that I’ve captured something special for my clients. I absolutely love the moment when a client sees their portraits for the very first time. Photography is my passion!

4) What type of photography do you specialize in and why? 

Children & Seniors! I love how kids think and always do their own thing. I love capturing their curiosity and innocence. Seniors totally rock my world. I love to incorporate their interests into a session and let their personality shine. I must admit, when a senior arrives on location with super stylish clothes and accessories…I’m in heaven!

About your life?

5) What are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? 

Other than photography, I love being a Mom! It gives me the most joy and I love spending my free time with my kiddos!

6) Who or what inspires you? 

Life! I am easily inspired by a piece of furniture, an article in a magazine, beautiful textures/patterns and the way a flower pushes up thru the concrete. It’s just those little things that make me take a second look and gets my head spinning with ideas.

7) A good portrait means:

I have done my job right. It means that the client has received exactly what they wanted and more and it means that I have used my skills to the best of my ability. A good portrait is more than looking pretty in a frame, it means that I have captured something so special that it makes you stop and take a second look.

8) Where do you go for design inspiration? 

I love to look thru magazines or online design blogs. Sometimes a song on the radio will lead to a beautiful idea.

9) What are you still learning? 

Everything! I am constantly learning about photography. We are very fortunate to have such vast information available to us at the tip of our fingertips 24/7. If I hear a new term or editing style, off to Google I go.

10) What 3 words describe you/ your style? 

Real, Fun & Relaxed

Kara, LOVE reading your insights and thoughts. Thank you for sharing your talent with me and with others. Love it!

 *

{Next week, if I am not having a baby, I get to introduce you to the loveliest lady ever, Ms. Holly Olsen of Utah! Come back to check it out!}

Featured Photographer: Anelle Richardson From Ottawa, Canada

Name: Anelle Richardson
Studio Name: Anelle Richardson Photography
Location: Ottawa (and surrounding areas), ONT, Canada
Website: www.anellerichardsonphotography.com
Blog: www.anellerichardsonphotography.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook....155087674518164

So Anelle, tell my readers, why do you love this image?
I love the interaction between these two sisters; I love their laughs and how their fun personalities totally shine through! To me, the opportunity to capture these precious moments, is what I love most about photography.

What were your settings with this image?
ISO 200; SS 1/400; AP f2.8

What do you love about photography?
I love pretty much everything about it! I love getting to meet awesome families; I love playing with the kids and getting to know them; I love seeing the relationship between family members; I love being part of capturing the spirit of childhood.

What type of photography do you specialize in and why?
I find it hard to say what I specialize in. Because in my mind, I would then have to choose only one or two areas of photography. The truth is that I love photographing children, families, babies and newborns (in no specific order)

What are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?
I love photography (obviously); reading (non-fiction and fiction); my husband and kids (obviously not a hobby, but they are really awesome people I enjoy spending time with); and traveling.

Who or what inspires you?
I had to really think about this, because there are so many people who inspire me. I think it would be an injustice to choose any one person. I believe that every single person has something about them that can inspire us, if we take the time to get to know them and learn from them! If I am forced to choose only one person from the past and the present, it has to be Jesus Christ!

Who are some of your favorite singers/bands?
That is an incredibly difficult question to answer. I actually love a bit of everything. Well, if I’m honest, I’ll have to admit that I don’t like jazz! But I also don’t like music on all the time. Maybe because our home full of rambunctious boys is so busy and noisy that I don’t feel the need to add to it!

What is your favorite movie of all time?
Another one of those I can’t pick questions  

What would your ideal day be like?
My ideal day would pretty much be the same way it is now, with the exception that it will start a little later!

If you weren’t a photographer, what other profession would you like to pursue?
I love my life as a photographer, mom and a homeschooler, so I don’t think I would change anything. I am really blessed that I have the opportunity to the things that I love! If I had to choose anything else, I think that I would have maybe liked to have pursued journalism (which is what I studied) as a foreign correspondent.

(next week I am taking a break from the Featured Photographers, but come back the week after --barring a Lucy Arrival-- to learn about Kara Layfield from Salisbury, Maryland!)

Featured Photographer: Rachel Aberle from Wisconsin

Name: Rachel Aberle
Studio Name: Rachel Aberle Photography
Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin
Website: www.rachelaberle.com
Blog: www.rachelaberle.com/blog

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Aberle-Photography/105341522830501

 

What do you love about Photography? I love that photography can draw a viewer into the picture. Looking through a book of Annie Leibovitz, you can stare for hours at some of the images she captured. Sometimes its just that glance back from the subject that draws you in or shapes and lines within the picture that are captivating. With kids, I find this can be so much fun to capture as they tend to wear their feelings and emotions of the day on their sleeves. You are drawn right into their silliness, reflectiveness or whatever they may be feeling that day. 

What is your favorite movie of all time? Bridget Jone’s Diary!

Do you have happy and depressed moments during your creative cycle? Yes definitely. I think as photographers in general, we tend to be really critical of ourselves and our work. For myself, I love getting the shot I’ve visualized, but there are times when it doesn’t come off like I envisioned.

What do you believe in? Family

If you could attend one class/workshop this year, who would it be with? I will already be attending, with Miss Wende Trew and Kandi Lamont!

If you could live anywhere for a year, where would that be? Somewhere in France or Italy. Having traveled there, they have some of the most beautiful spots to photograph.

What is your favorite charity? A lot of charities involving children. I also have been linked to “sisters” with Women for Women International for the last several years. This charity funds other women in the world who go through a program to teach them skills/educate to support their families.

What one food could you eat every day? Chips n’ salsa

What do you love about Photography? I love that photography can draw a viewer into the picture. Looking through a book of Annie Leibovitz, you can stare for hours at some of the images she captured. Sometimes its just that glance back from the subject that draws you in or shapes and lines within the picture that are captivating. With kids, I find this can be so much fun to capture as they tend to wear their feelings and emotions of the day on their sleeves. You are drawn right into their silliness, reflectiveness or whatever they may be feeling that day. 

These are Rachel’s current favorite images:

Why do you love these images? I love her cat like eyes on the first one and the variety of colors. On the second, I love this image mostly because I remember when taking it, how she loved to pose for me. Her personality was just that, pose for the camera with that grin. Love it.

What were your settings with them? The first was shot at f/1.8, 1/1250 and ISO 200; the second at f/2.8, 1/250 and ISO 200

Thank you, Rachel! 

Stay tuned for next week's Featured Photographer,  Anelle Richardson from Ottawa, Canada!