Beach Bound

Finally! It is VACATION time! You don't know how excited I am! This week is so overdue!!! It is pretty cool that I have a family that I actually want to spend an entire week with :) Most of my cousins will be there...Friends are coming up to visit. Yummy Food! Relaxation. Photos. Who could ask for anything more??

I am so excited to see how Bean will like it. Last year she wasn't walking yet and was into putting sand in her mouth. I think she is going to totally dig the water! And the Aquarium...She is going to LOVE it! Pointing at all the things as she gasps like she does to birds and airplanes. I-CAN-NOT-WAIT!!!

Here is Baby K playing at her make shift water table. She got so upset when it was time to come in, but the sun was setting, she was drenched and her lips were turning blue!


She just lights up when Daddy comes out to see what is going on.


And here are some Bean Photos from last year's Beach Trip:





I will access to the Internet and my email, but it will be limited. Please be patient with me.

I am going to try to edit a Newborn Session while I am gone (notice I said "try"). April is bringing the makings for Peach Delights, so our evenings may get to be too much fun! LOL!!

I am a chopper!

Sometimes, I get so caught up in focussing on the eyes and making sure they are placed in the photo just right according to the rule of thirds that I chop off limbs! See this post for more on Rule of Thirds.

I really am trying to work on it. I've been paying closer attention to all four corners of my frame before I press the shutter button.
There are so many things that I think about prior to releasing that shutter.
Set my White Balance, ISO and Aperture.
Am I in the best available light? Do I need to move or move my subject?
Set my focus point.
Check all four corners of my frame. Remove distracting elements from my background.
Press the shutter button.
Check LCD screen. Make adjustments as needed.
Shoot some more until your subject gives you the stink face or runs away LOL!!


See what I mean? I totally cut off Tyler's ankles and feet! And their is plenty of room above their heads! To my defense, we were somewhat rushed. We were losing light- FAST!, it was freezing and their were tons of ants on the tree.

Good thing I ran through my checklist, I checked my LCD screen and realized I was chopping, recomposed and took another photo.

KLP Custom Storyboards

Here are 2 Custom Storyboards I created for my latest Family Session. One for each of the adorable girls. These are 10x20 inches. Mounted on matboard for stability. They can stand alone on mantles, bookshelves and/or photo ledges, but can also be framed. The photos, fonts, colors, borders, etc can all be customized. They each have a white border which you can't see on my blog because my b og background is also white.





ADORABLE!!!

Love me some water, Mom!!

Awhile back (Yes, I am terribly behind on editing photos and posting them on the blog) we had a really hot weekend. To keep Katelyn entertained and cool, I let her play in the sink. Which she did for over an hour. I sat beside her and read a magazine and went through the mail.
I am looking forward to warm weather again? It is June right? As in summertime?? I checked the weather forecast for the beach and it says mid 70s and sunny. I'll take it!




These photos were taken late in the evening in very low light with no flash. I cranked up my ISO and shot wide open (small # for aperature like f/2.8). To reduce some of the digital noise caused by the high ISO I used a noise filter program from Imagenomic.

This weekend I made a make shift water table for Bean using her wagon and mixing bowls and her buckets. She LOVED it! I sat outside with my laptop and a book. Ah heaven! It wasn't very warm, but given the choice she would have stayed out there all day and night! I know she is going to love the beach! Yes, I took pictures. Who knows when I will get them posted LOL!

in other Bean news...
she is talking so much more now and really tries to repeat what you are saying to her.
Some new things she is saying:
Elmo
Me, as in, "Who is Mommy's pretty, pretty?" and she say "ME!" while pointing to herself.
Bye Bye and especially Bye Bye Daddy
Agua
No
Poo, as in "Katelyn did you go poo poo?" She says "No!" no matter if she did or not, but then will pat her butt and say "Poo Poo"

and some House news...
a few more showings this week. Ugh! What a pain!!

and some KLP News...
I am working on some new things, like Baby Announcements and Holiday Cards. I have a Newborn session on Tuesday! I thought I would have another sooner than later. My friend Jen called asking me if I thought her water broke. It sounded just like when mine broke. She went to the hospital and they sent her home....it didn't break :( Soon though! We hope!
Stay tuned!!

Wragge Family Album Complete | Bay Area Family Photographer

Three words for this family: Love. Happy. Cute.

Mama and her precious baby girls...



Little Sister A was up for anything...I love the look she is giving me here and her big sparkly eyes.

Every Daddy should have a photo like this...{Note to Self: Get a photo like this of Zack and Katelyn}

Thank you for your patience, Nicole and Family. I will be emailing you your album shortly. Thank you for letting me capture this moment in your family's life.

TGIF!

This has been a very tough week!
Another offer fell through. We are seriously thinking about taking our home off the market. In the meantime, we have several showing appointments this weekend. UGH! Although we didn't plan one, we are probably facing another hectic weekend!
On the bright side...VACATION in 1 week! I am SO ready for a vacation! I've already started packing and making my lists. You don't even know how excited I am!

Here we are hanging out in the back of our complex while we are showing our house. It was getting close to Bean's bedtime so I put her in PJs and we took a bike ride. A bike ride isn't complete without snacks! She loves her snacks!!

Playing with some back lighting...not quite there yet. Need to practice metering off of your subject's face so she stays properly exposed. I know I am gonna have tons of fun with the sunset and back lighting at the BEACH! Have I mentioned how excited I am?!




KLP News-
I've had very good response to the Newborn Model Search...just got to wait til these babies are born. I am hoping to photography a sweet baby boy within the next couple days. My roomie, Jen is due on the 19th, so another baby!!!

I've had several session date inquiries, but no deposits. I only hold dates with a deposit. July is almost full. Get your deposits in to hold your date. As always, first come (with paid deposit), first serve :)

I am putting the final touches on the Wragge Album and will have a Sneak Peek coming up soon for you :)

Family Sneak Peek | Bay Area Family Photographer

These kiddos may look familiar...I had a free afternoon (a gloomy afternoon = bad lighting) and we took some photos...
Still have tons more to edit, but wanted to get some of these up on the blog.
Enjoy!






These look a bit red to me...They look fine after I edit them in Photoshop, but then look off on the blog. Do they look reddish to you? Maybe I need to recalibrate my monitor??? I use the Spyder Monitor Calibration System.

Still trying to get settled into my Mac- so many changes that need/needed to be made.

LOVE | Family Sneak Peak | Bay Area Family Photographer

As you will see, this family brought the LOVE! Hugs and Kisses aplenty!!
Avery was up for anything (except sitting on the grass!)
Addie was so full of sweetness and energy.
Daddy watched over his little girls. There is nothing cuter than a Daddy with his little girls.
Mom sat back and enjoyed the day. Lovin' all the lovin'!



Look at the little girls holding hands- ah! melts my heart!


More to come soon...I promise!

yes, more Lund Family photos :)

Man..we had a great weekend!
Saturday was filled with lots of house showings. We actually got another offer. We aren't getting our hopes up yet. We will know more about it tomorrow. Another agent told Zack his clients were also going to put an offer in. They have looked at our home 3 times.
ILs came into town and took us out to breakfast- yummy Dinos!
We all pooped out and took a nap- AH! Gotta love naps on the weekend! Too bad we were woken up by an agent and her clients ringing our doorbell! I will be so happy when this process is over!
We spent the evening with friends celebrating Andres and Sarah's engagement. It was a wonderful party with an awesome spread of food. It is so cool to see your friends from High School at different stages of their lives. It is like we are all the same, but better. There were 3 pregnant women, 2 engaged couples, 1 new relationship and lots of kids. So much fun!
After chores, work and errands and a very long nap, Katelyn and I headed to Ryder's Baptism celebration this afternoon. Again, lots of lil ones running around.
A very full weekend- lots of fun. Not so many photos take but I do have more from the Lund weekend.
Enjoy!

8th Grader

I know you've been patiently waiting for these... I can't believe you are going to be an 8th grader next year! And then onto High School! Oh boy!

Right before....


Katelyn sneaks up and smacks her...hee hee!


Behind the scenes of our glamorous photo shoot :) Katelyn {hearts} Tyler!!!

can we get a repeat???

I can't believe a week has gone by already since last weekend. It was so much fun and I wish we could repeat it this weekend! I am hoping that posting some more pics will help relive the fun and make me not miss them so much! I am already planning our next reunion!!
Oh! I just can't get enough of this sweet lil girl! They just found out that they will be expecting another little girl!! I told them that they do make beautiful little girls! I can't wait to meet her!!

Katelyn could play for HOURS in the water! Tommy is taking his shift. We ate and then watched the kiddos in shifts...that pool makes me nervous!

I swear she is having fun although she is giving me a dirty look! I think this is the go-to face when I pull out my camera. LOL!!

There is that look again "I am too cool for school, Mom!"


Splish Splashin' with Grandpa in her Juicy Couture swim cover up. Every 21 mo old should have Juicy, right? Grandma and Grandpa think so :)


Uncle Joey (with Michala's hair clip in!) What can I say? What can't I say? He is just an all around GOOD GUY!! I bet Tommy Jr is going to be a lot like him.


The Cool Guys

This lil guy is going to break hearts and make some mom very happy when he gets brought home. Tommy Jr's heart is so warm and full of love! And boy is he smart! He knows his Nascar facts too!


The Class of 2009 Grads!


We tried to get her to come home with us!!


Believe it or not, I have tons more pics from the weekend.
WE have 2 parties this weekend so expect more!
Let's cross our fingers the sun wants to come out and play. It is June, right??