Bradyn

A few months ago I had the pleasure of taking pictures for Amber and Brady for their adoption blog. They had been married five years and waited...and waited. Then, they decide to adopt and started the long process. Three months after being approved by LDS Family Services, they were given the opportunity to become parents. Bradyn was born on March 31st and is beautiful.

Nate and I were able to take their first family pictures for them the day after they brought their little boy home. It was a really fun and special experience and we are grateful that Amber and Brady let us be apart of it.

Pictures in the Rain

This last Saturday I did a family shoot for a friend of mine. Her whole family was in town for her brother's graduation from college and it had been a while since they had a big family picture taken. Nate happened to be working this particular Saturday...oh I wish he had not been.

All day the sun was shinning and it was a beautiful day, then about a half hour before the scheduled time for the shoot, the clouds rolled in. I could hear thunder in the distance and knew that it would be a race with time to get all the pictures done before the rain came.

I was able to finish the group family shots, but when it came to the individual family shots, the rain started to REALLY come down. If I could do this over again, I would have made sure to have an assistant, my reflector, and my second flash. The dark skies which are usually so perfect for photos, made it difficult to make the picture appear warm, with their light complexions. I definitely struggled, but I learned a lot!

Mother & Daughter Shoot

We recently had the opportunity to take some pictures for Jana and Kennedy, mother and daughter. It was a lot of fun! It was a location shoot at Janna's preschool. This made it easy to find a lot of different backdrops for our pictures. Jana and Kennedy made this a pretty easy shoot since they are both photogenic!
We used both natural and studio lighting during the shoot. I also, was the photographer for the shoot as well. Nate was letting me "learn" the new lens. I am definitely more familiar with it now!

Tyler's Senior Pics

Two weeks ago, Nate and I went to St. George to take some senior pictures for Nate's nephew. It was a really fun excuse to visit family and take a vacation. I had a hard time coming back to snow after spending almost a week with all that warm weather.

Even though I am sure that Tyler did not enjoy getting his picture taken, I thought that they turned out really well. It took him a while to warm up to the camera, but when he finally did it was easy to get great shots of him. He was so self conscience about his smile, which he shouldn't be, all you have to do is make him laugh to get the real thing.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and find at least a few that you like!

Ryker's First Birthday!

Here are some photos from one of the hardest photoshoot I have done so far! When I got there, I discovered that one of the bulbs in our BRAND NEW light set was burnt out! Ugh! I had to improvise with a different lens than I had planned on using. It turned out to be a pretty good shoot in the end, but the group shot with all for kids only produced ONE good shot. It was a very good thing that Ryker was so adorable; he gave me some really cute pictures even though he was a little grumpy.

Summers Family Pictures

A couple of nights ago I took these pictures for the Summers family. Chantelle and I have been friends for a REALLY long time. It was fun to get to take these pictures even though I was having issues with our lighting equipment. Nate has been remodeling our bathroom so I was flying solo on this shoot, and indoor lighting is definitely HIS forte, not mine.

Zach, their little boy, was being quite the ham for the pictures and would only smile using reverse psychology on him telling him not to smile. It was pretty funny. Violet, the baby, was also a little difficult to get to smile but good thing babies look cute even when they are not smiling or even trying.

I ended up having to do a lot of head switching in Photoshop but it was worth it for the end result! I hope you enjoy the pictures Chantelle and Todd!

Amber and Brady

On Saturday I spent the morning with Amber and Brady Sibbett. They are an incredibly attractive couple that made it easy to take their pictures. Although it was freezing and the wind was blowing, you can't really tell from the pictures. We kept running back in the house or in the car to warm up between shoots. They asked me to take some pictures of them since they hadn't had professional pictures taken since their wedding and engagement pictures. They are currently in the adoption process and wanted some new pictures for their blog. If anyone would like to check it out, the blog is www.bradyandamberadoption.blogspot.com (side note: if the site doesn't work, try removing the www. On an Apple you need the www, on a PC you don't). Good luck with everything Amber and Brady and thank you for letting me take your pictures!

Fall Family Pictures

It has been a while since our last post. We have been getting ready for Fall family photos. Now is the best time for Christmas Card photos. The beautiful colors all around outside make it a perfect backdrop for a Christmas Card. Soon all the leafs will be off of the trees and you will have missed your chance for the fall colors. So hurry and make an appointment soon to make sure that your pictures are ready to be sent out in time for Christmas.

For most families, now is a busy time to try and get all of your schedules organized enough to get together for a group shot. Don't worry! We can take family pictures that were taken earlier in the year and add them to any Christmas card.

Hale Family - June

We want to start out by thanking everyone for being so patient waiting for these pictures. We had a great time working with all of you. Everything went to smooth, which hardly ever happens with a group that large.

After you have viewed the slide show of your pictures decide which pictures you would like copies of and what sizes you would like. Once you have decided, send me an email at downeyem@gmail.com with your requests. If you want (feasible) changes made to your pictures include your requests in the email and I will get it done for you. Wayne and Alaine, we need to get a better picture of the two of you in a more natural pose. We are hoping to make it up there some time next week if there is any time that would work for you. If you are happy with the one we got, that is fine too, but we have NO problem getting another one for you.

Thank you Hale clan!

Our new blog!

Hello friends,

We have decided to start a blog to make viewing your photos easier. Now, you can see your photos much sooner because you don't have to wait for a CD to arrive in the mail or for me to figure out how to make an small enough slide show to email. If you have any questions about your pictures or want them taken off of the blog after you have viewed them, just let me know. Have a wonderful day!