May 2009 Top Ten

Here is my May 2009 Top Ten!! {It's almost July, I know... oh well!}

It's actually a little different this month because truthfully, there are quite a few photos that I took at the Secret Workshop in May that would absolutely be considered for this list~ but I'm nowhere near done editing those and so I've decided to do a separate "Secret Workshop Top Ten".... eventually. You'll also probably note that most of the pictures in my May 2009 Top Ten were JUST posted within the past week or so, which is also true... I was quite behind for a while, and a lot of the photos I've posted recently were truly taken in May~ it's just taken me this long to get to all of them! But things are getting a little better now, and life is good.

The usual disclaimer: Here is my "Top 10" list of pictures taken in May of 2009. Again, they aren't in any particular order, and there are lots of different reasons they might have made my list... Some I like because of things I did well technically, some I like because of the subject matter-- some just make me proud when I look at them, as I grow and learn at this whole photography thing.

Lucky Me

This is one of the sessions I'm working on right now~ another totally adorable little girl...!

Feeling pretty lucky to have such fun projects!



Can't wait to share some more of her pictures...!

So Grown Up

Haley and Brandi are two young ladies that first appeared on my blog last summer... boy, have they grown up a lot in the past year! Here is a quick post~ one photo of each of them for now... I will try to post a few more soon!

Aren't they just so pretty!?!?

Kikibeans

Here is little miss Kikibeans!! She is just beautiful, and so much fun...







And here she is with her pretty mama...







Can you believe her eyelashes?!? Oh my goodness...





Okay, so here's a fun fact about photos, "Kristen Olson-style"~ When I take pictures, I find myself taking mostly close-ups... I often have to remind myself mid-shoot to take a few steps back and get more than just head shots (as you'll see very clearly in an upcoming post~ totally just head shots!). I guess face shots are just "my thing"... Even when I was going through Kikibeans pictures to pick which ones to post on the blog~ I picked all head shots (did you notice that?). Those are totally the ones I gravitate towards!! Well, I noticed it and so I spent a little bit of time before I posted this looking through the rest of the pictures and started to pick out a few that were more wide-angle shots just to show a little variety (and something more than just her adorable head and shoulders)... but truthfully? These are my favorite and I guess that's okay with me... I like what I like.

And she has such a pretty little head, doesn't she?!?

Up Next...

...more photos of this unbelievably adorable little girl...!

Berta & Jason

As promised, here are a few more pictures of Berta and Jason... they were so sweet to let me snap a few pictures of them~ this was something I asked them to do as a favor to me, since I most often take pictures of adorable little kiddos and don't get to take pictures of adults all that often... It was a refreshing change and I was really excited to take some pictures of the two of them together!

Little T

I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to take pictures of this little man!

And truly, it is such a small world sometimes~ there were so many different connections! I work with his grandma, I went to high school with his dad, and his mom went to college with my sister-in-law... Totally random and fun!

Seriously, look at this face~ is it not one of the cutest little faces ever?





He is three months old, and you know what that means!! I had to really work for the smiles~ but again, it was soooooo worth it! Check out this picture!!



Love love love the awesome outfit! Doesn't he look totally adorable in this hat!?!



And I love that I got to take some with mom, too...





And this one? Melts. My. Heart.



So thank you soooo much to mom (and grandma!) for asking me to take pictures of your adorable little guy. What a little honey!! Can't wait to take pictures of him again...

Helloooooo

A Little Crop...

... can make a lotta difference in what a picture looks like!

I took this picture at The Secret Workshop... how beeeeautiful is this new momma and her baby? Oh my goodness...

This is actually the same picture, but I cropped it two different ways.





I have a lot of fun playing with different crops when I'm working with pictures... sometimes it's really hard, though, because I can't decide which one I like best! (Which is definitely the case with the two pictures above... Love them both).

Gorgeous Peeps

A few weeks ago, I took pictures for these two gorgeous people... my sister has been patiently waiting for {at the very least} a preview of the pictures I've got for her, so I'll start with these...









... and I will post more later!

Little Man

Check out this little man I got to "oooh and aaah" over today!!



Will get more pictures from my session with him on here soon!!

Happy.

Celebrating 3 wonderful years today as husband and wife...

So happy.

Cheryl

One month ago today, I was headed home with April from The Secret Workshop.. I was (and still am) just in awe of all the wonderful-ness... I haven't gotten to do a full post yet highlighting my favorite things about the workshop, but it's looking like that will be years from now at the rate I'm going, so I'm going to break it up into manageable parts. This is where I want to start...

Cheryl. This woman is one of the most amazing, uplifting, vivacious, passionate, inspiring, humble, beautiful women on the planet. I got to watch her for two days, and I can't even explain just how moved I was by her and the things she said~ she encourages you to only do things that bring you joy, and not to do things that don't. If you have to do something anyway, find a way to change your perspective about it. She helps you let go a little~ "it's totally fine!" She makes you feel beautiful and special and helps you feel like you are worth MORE than you give yourself credit for. And she shows you that photography is a gift, and that photographs are more valuable than you could ever imagine.

Cheryl lives in Texas. She is a mother and a wife and a photographer~ and a total inspiration. I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of her workshop, and I know without a doubt that there were moments with her that weekend that only I got to have. Special, unbelievable, unforgettable moments. {I still get chills and tear up}. She gives people this incredible gift when she gives so freely of herself~ and I'm not kidding, I will never, ever forget her and her beautiful spirit. You just don't get to meet people like her everyday...

I spent most of the workshop following her around, just wanting to soak in every tidbit of her and her advice that I could. Here are a few shots of her doing her thing...











{Click here to see a photo of April and I with Cheryl and Amy Smith, another AMAZING woman and Cheryl's best friend}

May Top Ten... To Be or Not To Be?

It's true, it's time for me to post a 'Top Ten' for May... BUT, I have several issues... {and I'm strictly talking 'Top Ten'-related issues here, hey! Be nice!!}.

First~ I have at least 3 sessions from May in my editing lineup that I haven't even started yet~ and lots of the photos will be good, I promise! Not to mention I still have 300+ photos from the workshop in Dallas that I have yet to touch. Since the workshop was in May, those photos are eligible for my May 'Top Ten' and somehow they'll have to emerge from the bottom of my priority pile in order to be considered (which actually isn't optional, they HAVE to be considered!!).

Second~ again, I have 300+ photos from the workshop in Dallas. No joke. Most of them may not quite make my 'Top Ten' list, but LOTS of them probably will. Waaaay more than 10, I guarantee it. So~ if and when I get to those, I'll end up wanting to choose too many, and then I also have too many photos from my other sessions in May, as well, and somehow I'm supposed to narrow it down to just ten photos, etc....

Does this make any sense?

...See? Issues!!

There really are even more pieces to this crazy puzzle, but even just those two are enough for me to break out in a sweat about May's 'Top Ten'... {but hey, I wear good deodorant, no worries!!} The truth is, I love the 'Top Ten' posts. And I totally want to do a May 'Top Ten'!!! .... I just have to figure out how... and when....

But, for now, I will post this picture I took a few weeks ago of some pretty friendly deer that totally didn't care that I was standing in the field with them taking pictures. {And yes, I know the picture is crooked~ I just can't help myself!!}