A First for me

So I am entering my first competition for both photography and photoshopping skills - The challenge is to incorporate the logo of my new favorite blog - http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/
iheartfaces is a great place for photographers new and experienced to learn new techniques with weekly competitions. I am so excited to have discovered this gem.


wow this facepainter was really good - just look at that detail ; )

Shouldn't all fall leaves have cut outs on them?

And we can't wait to meet this new little face about to arrive!

Who knew you could find a lower case "f" in the rocks?!?! This one was fun and really got my creative juices flowing!

So there you have it!!! Let me know what you think. This was a very fun challenge : )

"I am submitting these photo into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photos for use in the marketing and promotion of their website. "

Fall + Boys = dirt

I met the Agar family at Bass Lake - the boys loved the leaves, but who know the park bench would be the thing to bring the I'm-done-with-pictures 2 year back to life?!?!? The boys jumped on and off of that for 10 minutes : ) My favorite moment was at the end when Jackson said he wanted "one more picture of the whole family and I have the PERFECT spot!" So we followed, and boy was he right (and yeah for photoshop to get the dirt off the knees after a full photoshoot :)

"I am done!"

Fall leaves, Legos and friends

A New location! We went to Yate Mill - a historic mill that actually grinds corn once a month - and makes the BEST cornbread! It is now the end of October and the fall leaves are just starting to change. I drove down with our good friends: Mr. Max, Ms Laurie and their great kids . It is such a joy to draw out the best smiles - from even reluctant smilers - cuz when you do their face just shines! The kids warmed up to the camera and to my surprise even voluntarily jumped into several pictures I was trying to take of just their mom and dad and that turned into one of my favorites ; ) (And if you know Mr. Max - as the kids call him, you will understand why I had to put Legos in my title.)

A Full House

Back to the Raulston Arboretum we go! Can you tell I like this location? This time it was with one of the first families I meet when we moved here to Raleigh, 2 1/2 years ago, when Brook brought me dinner- a very southern chicken casserole with frosted cornflakes - oh so good! Don't think lightly about the dinner you bring people, one day it too might be blogged about ; )
Anywho, we got some great shots, here are my favorites:
My new favorite family shot!Grant picked out this background and I just love it! Camden has such a great smile here!

Pile on Daddy!

Helper gone wild!!! Who is that kid anyway - he sure knows how to smile for the camera - His mom MUST take too many pictures, lol!

For fun:)

So what do you think - glitter on the wings or no glitter?

Butterfly wing brush provided by http://www.obsidiandawn.com/

Glitter provided by Mandymade http://www.scrapbookingmania.com/

Meet the Nelsons

I had a ball taking the Nelson's pictures at the Raulston Arboretum. Upon greeting me, 6 year old Sydney, immediatly began telling me she had a camera and loved taking pictures - I knew we would get along just fine. 3 year old Libby has the most playful smile and loved looking at the camera sideways, but I did get some great eye contact too. It was so fun playing with the girls inbetween photos - we explored the grounds and they helped my "scout" out great locations : )

And just for a little fun ; )

Butterfly wing brush provided by http://www.obsidiandawn.com/

My Inspiration

These three are the reason I take pictures! I love them to pieces. Can't get enough of them. They don't always let mom take their picture, but I usually try anyway. And sometime they surprise me with a great picture! We took a fieldtrip to the Raleigh Arboretum and had some fun!

Twenty Little Toes

The start of a beautiful new friendship- 2 Cousins 2 weeks apart. Olivia was only 4 days old during this shoot and Shelby was almost 3 weeks. So when I say new, I mean really new. Oh, the fun they will have. The giggles, the sharing of clothes, the endless phone calls. There is something very special about having your own cousin, the one you are closest to...And I got to document the start of it all : )