by Amy | May 23, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Say “Hi” to one of my favorite families, the Gillman clan.
Now, let me issue a public apology here. I’m very sorry I didn’t get your session finished up and to you before I ran away to Maine for 10 days. But–I did get a sneak set up of some of my favorite images from the shoot. I hope these will hold you over until I get home. In the mean time…enjoy these. Loading them on wi-fi that runs slower than molasses in Minot is proving to be quite the feat. However, I’m committed and I’m sorry. So here goes.
So what if the grass isn’t quite as green as Ireland and the trees are still pretty darn bare? After rescheduling our session multiple times due to weather {read me…snow, ice and 20 wind chills in MAY} we were just happy to finally get out and get some fun photos. Even though it was still a little gusty, the temps were in the upper sixties and we had a great time hanging out at the trestle under the train tracks.
These kids are so fun. And very well behaved. For me, it is always the most fun to shoot kids with personality. And there is no shortage here. I like it when kids are happy. So catching these two playing in these wide open spaces and giggling at their mom’s antics behind my back was a real treat.
Thanks again Gillmans! I can’t wait to see you when I get home…and after a multi-hour lay over, I should have your session pretty much finished up.
xo
Amy
by Amy | May 20, 2014 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Projects, The Art of the Moment
I did some walk in portrait sessions about a week ago. So I made a new backdrop.
Did I have other things I could have used? Probably. Okay, fine…yes. But I was in the mood for something new, something reusable, and something versatile. So I made a the backdrop you see above. It was insanely easy. Insanely. Let’s go.
You’ll need:
- 2.5 yards of fabric in 3 patterns
- 2.5 yards of lace {if you want it}
- Rope
- Scissors
First, find yourself a good episode of Dateline or Call the Midwife to watch while you are doing this. It’s easy…but a little mindless…so obviously, I like the TV on.
Next, unfold your first cut of fabric. I used flannels since they were on clearance the day I shopped, but any cotton weave will do. Snip along the short edge, making cuts every couple inches. I varied mine a bit to give the finished product a little variety.
After that, pull our your muscles and start ripping. That’s right. Just tear the fabric into strips, starting where you snipped.
Repeat on all your fabric.
For the lace, I accordion folded it a few times, then cut it into strips. You want all of your strips to be 7.5′ long…so be sure you are making strips that extend down the fabric…not across the short side.
You’ll be left with a pile of fabric strips. Take those and tie them onto a piece of rope. I just tied them once…no fancy knots here. This amount of fabric will create a backdrop that is 7′ tall and up to 8′ wide…more if you don’t mind sparse streamers. Once all your strips have been tied on, you can hang the ends from anything that is convenient. Whether that is a backdrop stand {if you are really legit}, a drop ceiling {that’s what I did}, or something you have laying around your house is totally up to you. I just wouldn’t use it outside on a windy day.
Then, keep your eyes out for clearance fabric that would make a good backdrop. These are a little addictive.
xo
Amy
by Amy | May 6, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Meet my friend Allison, she’s the one with the belly. I’m so happy to call her a friend. She’s one of those super-cute, super-cool moms that makes me feel like I could {someday} do the whole get-pregnant, be-a-mom thing.
I had a great time taking some maternity photos for her. It was extra special that Zoe, now a full two years old, could come along. She’s a bit of a tough client. Her smile, while lovely…is usually fleeting. On the request of a professional holding a camera, it’ll only last a fraction of a second. Better hope you catch it.
In my brilliant {cough, cough} mind, I had the great idea to move the shoot to a local cookie shop. I’d give them both cookies, I could bribe Zoe with sugar and I’d get my much sought smiles.
This didn’t work so well. Now, instead of a child unwilling to smile, I had a child who didn’t want to look at me at all…and I was catching weird photos of her chewing. {#unflattering, even on an adorable toddler.} When I took the cookie away for a moment, we were met with a mini-meltdown. And a baby, crying in the street because I cruel photographer has taken her cookie…is just too heartbreaking to bear. So, sadly, I had to revoke her modeling privileges until we could get the hot pink icing out of her hair and off of her face.
Okay, enough about Zoe. Isn’t Allison flawless?
After the cookie had been fully consumed she perked up for a few photos at the end of our time. Really, I just couldn’t keep this face out of the view finder forever. She’s simply too sweet. And wanting a cookie is no crime, after all.
Thanks for letting me hang out, ladies! Everyone else…stay tuned for a new born session!!
xo
Amy
by Amy | Apr 23, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
This is Ariel.
Isn’t that just the best name? I’ve never known an Ariel. But boy am I glad I met this one. She called me up…looking for a senior portrait session. You see, she’s graduating this spring. Yeah, a little late in the game.
She even told me she wasn’t going to have senior portraits taken. Get this–she told me she didn’t think she’s very photogenic. I think you’ll agree with me when I tell you that that notion is a big, fat laugh. Ariel is beautiful, charming, incredibly polite {she was raise in the South, after all}, and just lovely in front of the camera.
Not only is Ariel completely gorgeous…with hair more beautiful than a Disney princess…she’s also super smart. She is tied for valedictorian at her high school. Their class motto–which will be mentioned in her graduation speech?
Daring Greatly.
I love that.
Now, you may be wondering…Was it cold in PraCan on April 13th? Answer: Yep.
Cold enough that it was snowing. Cold enough that we scurried from car to location and back to the heat-blasting car again. Ariel was a real trooper, though. No complaints, no crazy looks when I drove down back alleys and asked her to sit on a fire escape. I love a girl who can smile through snow.
In the fall, she’ll be headed to Minnesota to study nutrition. I’m so happy to have had a chance to get to know her!
by Amy | Feb 20, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Kate might look familiar. You may have seen her engagement session {when we ran for cover from the mosquitoes.} Or maybe you remember her gorgeous wedding back in October. You know, the one with the romantic saved-their-first kiss and read-a-Psalm-daily-together details? Oh, and who can forget her dress? But that’s not why she’s back on the blog today.
Today she’s here with her dog Muffy. But apparently no one calls him Muffy. Instead he answers to Bad Baby. Yeah, you read that right. Bad Baby.
Bad Baby is 15 years old. He and Kate have been together the whole time. He is her baby. She’s his momma. If you an animal lover you’ll totally get what I’m saying. So when she called with a “weird” request, I didn’t think it was weird at all. She wanted a couple good shots with her pup before his health fails. I love dogs. I love pets. I know the heartbreak you can feel when an old pal reaches his end. Weird? Nah, I’ve done weirder. I was honored to come over and meet the Bad Baby {who isn’t really so bad after all} and take their portraits.
Furthermore, I think we should dedicate this post to everyone who has lost a loving pet. Isn’t it so true that even after they are gone, they leave a giant print on our hearts? A good pet let’s us cry without judging us. They never say the wrong thing. They are there when we need company, and convince us to play…even when we don’t feel like {because deep down they know what’s best for their humans.} They’ll kiss us to make us feel better and sit with us when the house is quiet. A good pet will see you through a long rough patch and welcome you home after you’ve only been gone a few hours. Pets are such a lovely part of God’s creation for us. Give yours some extra love tonight.
Amy
by Amy | Feb 19, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
It’s not a secret that winter lasts a long time in Practically Canada. The cold and snow blows in around October and doesn’t leave until the rest of the country is knee deep in spring. {Last year we had one final blizzard in the middle April.} This winter we are a little wiser to the ghastly tricks of PraCan. So, to stop ourselves from going stir crazy in the Polar Vortex we took a little stay-cation to Lake Metigoshe with one of our couple-besties…the Kelleys.
Lake Metigoshe is about two hours north of Minot {also where I shot that breath-taking wedding last fall} and covered in snow. Our cabin was plenty big for the four of us, the water smelled and tasted like pure rust {we bought our own from the store across the street}, but that didn’t matter. We had skis, board games, and a TV with cable so we could watch non-stop Olympic coverage.
Ideally, we would have rented snowmobiles along with our skis, but they were all checked out. So we were forced to watch others zip around the lake from our windows.
The weather was perfect. Highs above zero, and wind chills above zero to boot. It was ideal for getting out and taking a long ski through the woods, even though one person in our group said it was “…all the boring parts of snowboarding, except on skis.” I won’t mention names, but I will say that 3 out of 4 really enjoyed the cross country experience and 1 out of 4 chose to have a good attitude about it anyway.
If you are wondering, the trails at Lake Metigoshe State Park are wonderful. There are warming houses along the way, so you can ski a few miles, then come in to thaw. We did a total of 6.5 miles and ate lunch in the warming house, which had a wood burning stove-thingy, which kept us nice and toasty.
On Monday we went down to Bottineau Winter Park, where Derek and I did a little downhill skiing and the Kelleys went tubing. {Because Katie hates downhill.} The tubing was advertised at “Two hours of total bliss.” She assured me that it was just that.
The weekend definitely broke up the monotony of the long winter, which–if we are lucky–will only last a couple more months. If you are feeling cramped, bored, or stir crazy check out my list of 40 things to do this winter. It’ll help break up the time.
by Amy | Feb 14, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Since it’s Valentines Day and all, I thought I’d show you some love. Really. Images of love.
No, it’s not a mushy engagement session. It’s better. It’s a family session. Meet Chris, Naomi, and Boaz. {PS, isn’t Boaz, like the coolest name you’ve heard…like ever?} This family radiates love. Shooting their portraits was so fun, because they simply emit joy. {Boaz’s antics gave me a laugh a minute.} I love shooting people who are crazy about each other and their little ones. And this was just that type of session.
Now, Boaz…he’s quite the character. I love a busy kid, and this one could be the king of the busy-bees. Once he was up from his nap it was go-go-go. He was very curious about all the oddities in my house: stairs, chairs, boxes, pillows trunks, hardwood floors to break dance on…He’s not the type to sit and have his photo taken {a la Annabelle.}
So we just tailored the session to him. Soon the living room was a scene of things to climb on, pillows to toss, and furniture constantly being scooted across the floor. Will this family look back at these photos and think, “Yeah, those look like formal family portraits…” I don’t think so. To me, these portraits turned out more like snap shots of real life, and I think that’s pretty beautiful. I think this family is pretty beautiful.
{I just love this one! What a stinker.}
This is love of the most real, raw and solid variety.
Happy Valentines! xoxo, Amy
PS, look for the full session next week on the Facebook page.
by Amy | Feb 11, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
You’ve heard the saying, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Well, I’ve got news for you. At Annabelle’s cake smash session in honor of her first birthday, she had it {all over} and ate it too. Look at her. She doesn’t care what old sayings tell us. She’s too busy breaking the mold.
You might remember this sweetie pie from her newborn session just about a year ago. In that session her mother {master of sentimentality} had me incorporate heirloom blankets and clothing into her portraits, to make them extra special and personal. When she showed up for her birthday portraits, I was in no way surprised that she had another sentimental touch in mind. Our first photos had Annabelle in an antique dress that belonged to her daddy’s grandmother…hand made by his great-grandmother. There is a photo of Grandma in the dress standing next to her first birthday cake. Obviously, we needed to recreate the moment. Awesome, right?
Let me tell you some things about Miss Annabelle. I’ve photographed lots of kids. And there are just about zero that I didn’t enjoy spending time with. But, here’s the thing. I’ve never {ever} worked with a more photographic being. Adult, child, pet…Annabell tops them all.
The kid went from crying while her mom wiped lunch off her face to cheesing like a maniac as soon as I got the camera out. And it’s not just show for the camera. She’s a genuinely lovable, charming, sweeter-than-birthday cake baby. I’ll call myself blessed just to know her.
I’ve been to a few cake smashes in my time. But this one was different. See, the times I’ve witnessed this before or photographed it {check out this one of Zoe}, the baby has eaten a bit of cake, but mostly just played with the frosting. Not Annabelle. The child loves cake. Loves it. Once she discovered it was edible, it was all over. Cake was going in that tiny mouth by the fistful and fingers were being licked clean.
I’ll be totally transparent with you. This is my living room floor. I cleaned it and disinfected it right before we started. Annabelle’s mom, Tiffany is a good friend of mine. I took all of that into account….then I ate some cake off of my floor as well. I mean, really–it’s funfetti. How could I not?
Tiffany also snagged a few bites. At which point I asked her to step in for what became a priceless mother daughter moment. I love this shot. And I know it will be cherished by them as this little one grows up. {Aren’t fun mom’s the best?}
All in all, I’d say this session was literally a sweet success.
PS…You may have recognized these two from other sessions you’ve seen here. Like Tiffany’s maternity session, Annabelle’s newborn session, or most recently–their Christmas card session. I LOVE my regulars!!
