Meet Savannah |Queen Creek Family Photographer

I've been the lucky little camera lady to be able to photograph this sweet girl the past few years. Photographing her for her 15th birthday was just what was needed to get out in the afternoon heat and humidity.

Before beginning her session, we spent a little time hanging with her dogs. This dog has one of the coolest dog names I've heard yet...Diesel.

Shortly after, we had a great time at a location I've had my eye on for a year now...and it was worth every second.

At the very end of her session...I was still keeping Nan laughing. Despite the total creepy feeling from the trailer, that looked like it should've been condemned, but actually lived in...or so we found out when someone was looking at us out their window. Aye aye aye!

We have a little follow up shoot in the next week...one that I'm ultra excited about. Here's a hint...just a little taste of her serious athletic skills. I can't wait and hope to share soon.

One of my everythings....

Last week, I found out one of my favorite jewelry designers was holding a contest...with the prize of a $100 gift certificate to her store. I about fell off my chair when I discovered this.

The designer offers my ultra favorite jewelry pieces...and if I had my choice, I'd own at least 10 of her designs. While I own two, I also bought one for my mother last year. When I heard of her contest, I knew what I wanted to capture.

Just a glimpse of the faith I was raised with.

Growing up, I was raised active in the christian church. It's silly, but I remember our weekly schedule....not that we lived there, but the activities we attended were part of our life.

One of the things I respect most about my upbringing, was that my mother never pressured us into a faith but merely guided us in having faith, praying and looking to God for guidance. Although, there were times that I would get frustrated with her teachings...they are what makes me who I am today.

When chosing her Christmas gift last year, I didn't think twice about buying this necklace. And I always feel a pitter patter in my heart when I see her wearing it.

My mother is hope. My mother is faith. She is love.

My mother is my everything. While I am most likely her polar opposite and the complete black sheep in our family, she looks at me as though I'm the most perfect person in her life.

My mother lives her life on the straight and narrow. She is mannered, no fluff to her, honest and is a strong Christian.

There isn't anything I don't tell my mom. She knows my darkest secrets, humiliating moments, happiest times and never judges me or my decisions. I can guarantee I know where my mom stands on issues in life. However, we don't always see eye to eye on these issues. But, what I love most is when I tell her things I'm sure she won't be happy with, she gives me her guidance/encouragement in a direction for me to choose and will stand with me on my decisions.

She'll be there for me if I fall while encouraging me to get back up, dust myself off and try another direction. She doesn't tell me answers or encourage me to do what she thinks is right, but allows me individuality. Most importantly, I never worry that she'll judge me or my decisions. My mother is the example for me in raising my children.

With all that being written, I have to share that my mom and I are polar opposites in thinking. But share the same faith. A perfect example is when she and I were working on curtains for her office and she was literally about to drive me crazy with her NEED to follow directions to the very letter. This was frustrating because I could see the end product in my head and knew how easy it would be do it another way...thinking the directions were making a simple task difficult. But my mom, she had to follow the directions and I wanted to scream...she was taking too long. In short, this little project ended with us both frustrated and me leaving the house at some point.

I always giggle when thinking back to this because that is so us. But, she loves me despite my total right wing thinking. She loves me even when I drop swear words when I'm angry or stumb my toe...or when I call her to confront something and she just listens...is always there to celebrate my happiest times while I ramble about my excitement...and has a skill in following the 15 different topic changes I can make in 10 minutes conversation.

I love my mom...and she is one of my everythings.

When I had the idea for the necklace I bought her, I asked her to bring out one of her Bibles that is a family heirloom. In her house there is never a shortage of heirloom Bibles...as our great grandfather was a minister. When she shared the three Bibles and their history, I couldn't resist photographing them. They each have a meaningful story of their own and I tear up just thinking of those who owned them and once read each page multiple times.
Sadly, in the past year I've had friends have their mother pass away...including my grandmother. This past weekend, I was with a friend that recently lost her mother to cancer. I spoke about my mom and soon she shared how thankful we should be to still have ours. As well as sharing on how much she missed her own. Last Saturday was her mother's birthday. Sally, I love you and think you are a woman of courage and strength. And I know your mom is with you each second of each of these days. It simply comes down to faith.

A year later....

Last week, I met up with one adorable little guy... I happen to have a large museum mount print of him in my office. One of his newborn portraits is an all time favorite of mine...where he's in a peanut cocoon and placed on a tree trunk.

A year later, he has a head full of curl and has the most contagious smile.

There are many perks to my job...one of the top perks is photographing my newborn clients when they turn one. But also bitter sweet when I realize how fast time is passing.

Thanks S family....seeing each of you, talking in the parking lot and working up a sweat in the wicked, humid heat still has me smiling. Be on the look out for your gallery arriving to you soon.

Popping in...for a bit.

To keep from rambling, I just wanted to pop in on my little blog to say hi. I know I've been totally MIA lately and I have one fabulous reason.

I didn't take much of a break from work this year and scheduled August on the low end with shoots to allow my family an adjustment to our girls pre-K schedule. Also, to attempt to organize the backend of my business.

While I have several pictures waiting to be blogged of my girls first day of school and client shoots, I wanted to share a rare moment....me, in front of the camera with my girls.

One of my girlfriends also takes her daughter to the same preschool, and I was unbelievably grateful that she was still there to help me on the first day. She watched over my little man...A.K.A. wild man Easton... and was quick to offer to take a picture of me with my girls.

This is a moment that was so monumental for me....reference: previous emotional blogpost from one guilt riden momtog.

My baby girls. 5 years ago I never dreamed I would be where I am in life today and each second I'm, on my knees, thanking God for each day.

Each day of complete happiness, days filled with craziness from my endless battle at attempting to manage a business/life and finding the little moments that I get to spend reading to my son and playing with Barbies while thinking this is my life and I love it.

As I mentioned earlier, I only scheduled a few sessions in August to give myself a little time off to clean up a stack of papers and prepare for the holiday season ahead of me.

It's funny...at the start of the summer my mind was already spinning on how I was planning to organize my fall, I began a search for holiday cards and thinking of where I would like to hold my holiday mini sessions. After much thought, I finally committed and sent out the mini session details to the "first to know" list. And within days, my October and November were booked and I have a scheduled weekend in the Arizona mountains. At this point, I have a few spots left for mini sessions in October and currently waiting for reservation deposits before releasing available times at the end of this week. For the spots open, I'm waiting until the end of the week to received the deposits and then I'll reopen my calendar.

Once again, I'm flattered to have scheduled so quickly with clients I'm happy to see each year and meeting new clients. And I know I write this every fall season, I'm going to keep a tight schedule...this year my life will depend on that tight schedule. Which means, I won't be squeezing any sessions in.

Just today I was emailing with a client and already started looking into the start of 2011 and I had to take a deep breathe...2011, eek. Where did 2010 go?

Everyone, thanks again for staying with me on this crazy ride. I've recently been going through past galleries and finding pictures that my heart loved and never shared on the blog. These pictures will be making a blog debut....sooner than later I hope.

P.S. A client recently started a clothing line that I'm happy to be a part of. So exciting...for her and that I get to see each piece.

One journey... |Gilbert Family Photographer

I recently had a session, where I photographed a man, that is on an incredible journey. Years ago, life took him in an unexpected direction.

He and his family started this journey with amazing strength and will...shining without a glimmer of weakness in their hearts and eyes. They have a goal, and together, they are reaching for it.

But I have to write...the man I worked with is strong and has the will that is unbreakable.

Here is what strong will looks like.

Meet Nick.

Nick...thanks for a great afternoon. I left your session on one photographic high...loved each minute.

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Mini Session Update:

I just sent out an email with all the fun details for the fall holiday mini sessions to those on the "first to know" list. If you were waiting for the details, be sure to check your email and spam folder...if you didn't receive the email...send me an email and I'll get it right out to you.

Celebrating 1 year | Gilbert Baby Photographer

A couple weeks ago ... during an Arizona monson wave filled with heat and humidity, I photographed one adorable baby girl turning 1 years old.

By the end of the shoot, her mother and I were drenched in sweat from all the antics done to photograph her at her best.

Each second was definitely worth the work and each second jumping up and down in the humidity.

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On a personal note:

After all the build up for sending my girls to preschool, we all survived. And of course I shed some major tears. But the best part is when I picked them up, the first thing Cashlyn said was,

"I like school!" Ah...my heart melted. On our way to lunch, I asked the girls what their favorite part of the day was...Camryn said, " You picking me up." {awwwww}

I'll be back with pictures from their first day of school...and I even have a picture of me with them, thanks to a great friend that was there after dropping her daughter off.

For now, I'm working double time to make up for the time lost when I was going through the feelings of needing to spend every second with my family....and the massive mommy guilt plague I'm recovering from.

A glimpse into my weekend...

After last weeks blog post... "most emotional rambling"... I've come to find out from a few friends that I should win the most emotional blog post award! Love it... And just to add, it felt sooooo good to write it all out. When I finished, I gave a big sigh and felt relief to get all my thoughts out.

Since then, my husband went out of town and I had two glorious nights alone with my babies. We spent loads of time with friends and went to one super fun birthday party for a friend.

The party was at a friend's home that is a dream for kids. It's typically filled with toads (which I swear were in hiding because they knew my daughter was on the hunt for them), butterflies and loaded with areas for exploring. Shortly after we got there, Camryn found a butterfly and quickly caught it. She said her butterfly was named Ella... I said, "oh Ella's a beautiful name." Camryn, "I know. It's because she's a girl." She just cracks me up.

When I told her I wanted to take a picture of her with Ella, she quickly told me she can't open her hands or her friend will fly away. So, image a cute little yellow butterfly hiding in my daughter's hands...probably terrified.

She was so happy... While I can't believe she caught it, I can believe it. She loves bugs and will chase one down until she gets it.

{I love Easton in the background...on the run like always}
My girlfriend gave Cam a baggy to keep it in and even poked holes for it because Camryn was worried it couldn't breath. It wasn't long until she convinced Cash and her friend to help blow more air in it.
These pictures were taken at an ISO of 3200...it was getting late and the light was disappearing. There is something about high ISO images that I just love...always have, always will.

By the end of the night, Cam also caught a lizard....ewwww! My girlfriend nailed it when she said she's exactly like Elmira Duff from the looney tunes. To say Camryn loves all God's creatures...gross, ugly and beautiful is a major understand. She lives to hold one and I secretly believe she wants to be one.

I just love these three girls together. The middle girl is the daughter to my husband's friend that he's known since they were babies and her mother is one of my girlfriends.


You wouldn't know it by this picture, but seconds before Cash was pouting because she wanted to catch a butterfly...thankfully my girlfriend was pure entertainment to get her smiling.

Ah, my little man. He is a wild thing I tell ya...he keeps me on my toes and makes me terrified. There isn't a thing he can't climb and is always off finding new things to climb up.

My weekend was perfect. And tomorrow is the big day... I really have no choice but to cut down my workload now as I have to be awake by 6 am to get my girls to preschool by 8:30. Tonight I didn't do so good..but my plan is to be in bed by 9:30 so that my girls can have all of me in the morning instead of a zombie. The only problem right now is I have no coffee pot....and I NEED coffee to live. Wish me luck on my first morning of my new schedule without coffee.

I want to thank all of my clients that have given me this time to give more of my attention to my family. And more importantly, for all the sweet emails, texts and calls with sweet words and kind advice. I've cherished each one of them.

Why I can't see straight!

Last February I signed my girls up for KinderPrep at a school that is just a couple miles from our new house. This was a preschool that I felt was a good fit for my girls...and was thrilled when we ended up buying a house down the road from it.

Since this all began in February, I've had months to prepare for sending my girls off to their "first" school experience. While it was a bit sad at the time...my mind was more on the shock and awe feeling when I saw the tuition cost for sending two kids to KinderPrep...ay ay ay! The months following, I walked around with my jaw on the ground and whatever words came out of my mouth were pretty much utterances of the cost of tuition for school. Holy shiz...

It wasn't until a month ago did it really hit me....like the kind of SMACK MY A$% on the ground and lay cold for a few minutes....HIT!

The "hit" was realizing that my life as I knew it...me with my girls every day, was almost over. Our family was now going to start the life of children in school.

My girls were starting school. SCHOOL! Whether or not it's preschool....this MWF schedule is just a warm up to the Monday-Friday all day kindergarten, that's a year away.

Was I ready? HELL NO!

Was I okay with it? I had no choice. I knew it was something that my girls really needed. While in my heart I know academically I'm not concerned. They definitely need a good warm up to knowing what it's like to not be with me all the time (aside from being with a sitter).

Will they be fine? Oh, most definitely. I know this. And, I know it'll be harder on me then them...well, maybe not for Cashlyn.

This past month I kept thinking I need to soak up each second with my girls. I really need to cherish this stage with them. While spending time with them, I began to think of the past four years. Thinking about when I was expecting them I dreamed of being able to quit teaching to stay home but my husband and I knew it wasn't an option.

Then, then we had our babies. It was from that point our prayers were answered and me being able to stay home became an option. An option I quickly took. I had ideas upon ideas on what I would be filling each day with. And while I filled my days will all I wanted, my baby girls...I began to give my joy in photography more attention.

By more attention, I mean staying up way late into the night researching concepts, words like "aperture". Learning a concept in photography and then waking up the next day to try to practice it. Shortly after, I put down my 35mm SLR and purchased my first DSLR. The cycle of staying up til midnight, 1 am or 2 am became a nightly ritual and my days were filled with learning photography. Exhaustion from having twins and learning photography was all I knew.

By the time my girls were a year old, I went "legit" and started a business. Or so what I thought was a business....it was only a year later did I realize having a small business is so much more than what I thought. There are numbers in places I didn't even realize numbers belonged, let alone an organized pattern to keeping track of it or uncle Sam will HUNT you down.

(BTW...I've never been hunted down as I've stayed a good girl, I've just heard stories)

{stay with me here, I swear I'm going somewhere with this}

Before I knew it, my girls were turning 4 years old and I was signing them up for preschool. I was still pulling super late nights.

Although my late nights became less on researching concepts and more filled with data entry, book keeping, tax reporting, editing, collecting orders, placing orders, packaging orders and emails.

And my days were spent less on photographing my girls but more with my mind constanting spinning.

Spinning on:

~better business concepts

~new products

~lusting for lenses

~brainstorming with fellow photographers

~ideas on how I can give my clients a more simple process, at the cost that they like but keeps my time valued and Uncle Sam paid

~client phone calls (not everyone functions during my work hours 8pm-1 am)

~occasional emails during nap time

And here I am...thinking about the crazy ride I've been on the past four years, thankful and sad at the same time. I'm thankful for being able to stay at home with my kids but sad when I wonder if I spent them with a half A$# attention span because I started a business.

I'm sad when I think of how I will never get the last four years back. I'm sad when I think of how fast time flies, how I blinked and my babies are 4.

I'm thankful that I have amazing clients that continue to invest in my photography. I'm thankful for each family I've met and happy to now call my friend. I'm thankful for the incredible people that have come into my kid's lives because they started as a client and now my girls love them...their dentist is top on this list! I'm thankful that my clients keep up with my crazy thinking, my crazy schedule and sometimes crazy life. I'm thankful for my family that always pulls through to help with our kids when I have a last minute newborn session. I'm thankful when my family spends a day watching my kids so I can fill a day with work so that my nights don't get so long. Thankful for my husband that comes home from work early, exhausted, to have me walk out the door with my kids crying and him telling me I'm going to have a great shoot. I'm thankful that my husband has supported this crazy idea of turning a LOVE into a business. I'm thankful that my girls understand that photography is my job. I'm thankful for each person that choses me to photograph their family. And more importantly, more thankful than anyone can understand, that my clients chose to continue to work with me as their family grows. Referrals are a huge compliment but clients I see season after season is what will get me teary eyed and filled with humility. I am thankful, I really am.

Back again...thankful and sad. However, I've always had a huge belief in one solution that works for every problem.

~Either accept it for what it is ... and quit the complaining. OR, do something to change it.~

For me, chosing one of these solutions always works. Whether it works for months or a few weeks...it works. Last spring, I wrote that I would be slowing down with work. And I had ever intention to slow down, did I...no. But that was my choice, as the interest to schedule came in, I booked it.

I loathe having things hang over my head...and the student loans for my two college degrees aren't paying themselves off and I found myself faced with a new HEFTY monthly bill for preschool. Not to mention the little savings I needed to build for small business taxes. So, back to work I went. When I made this choice, I laughed with each email I received from clients and fellow photographers writing me with the statement of ... I thought you were slowing down. But one thing I remember most is when I told a client I would be slowing down, she wrote back that I should. That my family should be first in my life.

My family will always be first. There is no question about that. It's just a matter of finding that right balance. And accepting that when I find that balance, it works for that time and it'll change with each new stage.

These past weeks, I tried to find a new balance. Once again, I'm thankful for my wonderful family and clients that always support my balance and belief ... that my family will always come first.

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Ahhhhhhh, now that was long winded. But I felt I was needed to put this out there. These past months have been crazy with us moving and me coming to see that my girls grew up. The biggest piece of my business that suffered the most was my blog...my main way to update my clients and family. I can't believe there was a time that I updated my blog daily. Eek, that was a lot of time. Each regular blog post takes about an hour.

But I want to thank you. Thank you for coming back to see the latest and read my ramblings. I'll scream it from the roof tops, my blog is the place to see my face and A#$ at the same time and for some reason the place I'm comfortable rambling my thoughts.

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Here are a few pictures from our last minute, family get away to Pinetop. We had big plans on taking Easton on his first real fishing trip but the weather had different plans for us. We drove into Pinetop to 63 degrees and pouring rain. It was heaven. We spent just about every minute, sitting on the front porch of our family cabin. My father in law made his famous margaritas...really too die for...and just hung out. When it wasn't raining, I took a nice walk with my kids and enjoyed watching them explore with their imagination. Both nights I was sleeping by 9 and waking up around 8. It was heaven.

Last minute trips are the best kind.

My girls.

Right after I took the above picture, the girls stumbled back and fell perfectly into the wagon. I was happy to catch the giggling from it.
And here is my last baby. I'm a firm believer that he will always be my baby. Now, I'll just try to find a twelve step program to accept the fact that he'll also grow up.

He just entered the....not another picture mom....stage.
Love this little guy.

{mini session update} I've got the locations and dates. Mini session pricing has been finalized. Now, I'm working on getting my online mini session form created and laying out my 2010 holiday card line. Then I will release to my "first to know" list. If you want on the list, it's not too late...just send me an email. Thanks once again for your patience. AND, I'll soon be doing a blog post on why I wanted to put my head through a wall in securing locations for my sessions. Here's a hint....it has something to do with the oversaturated market I work in.