Love is in the Air!

Wow! If anyone drove by Shawnee Park this evening around 5:00, you may have noticed the temperature was a little warmer. Why? I had two people who are very much in love having a photo shoot and let me tell you things got a little heated! I don't usually post two in one day, but I know they are a little anxious for a sneak peek so here you go...
Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy!

This was a fun shoot! It was going to be in the 50s on Saturday so why not schedule a photo shoot, right? Well, unfortunately there was still ice everywhere! I had a shoot scheduled with a family who wanted to surprise daddy with some pictures for Valentine's Day. We got to the park and had to walk over a long, long, long, did I say long, sheet of ice to get to the pavilion where we planned to meet. This is a surprise for daddy, remember, so mommy is bringing her 2 1/2 year old and 17 month old alone to the shoot. Well, what do you get when you have lots of wet, sloppy ice, two little ones, and a stranger that they don't know yet trying to help mommy? A few tears, wet cold pants, and one super mommy ~ that is what you get! The baby is crying, the little girl falls down landing in ice cold water, and mommy handles it all with a smile. I have to say that the little girl was a HUGE trooper! Her pants were soaked with ice water and I kept following her around putting a camera in her face and she still managed to smile and be adorable for the camera.

Because of the snow on every path, we ended up being stuck in the pavilion for all of the pictures but we were able to get a few really cute ones. I hope daddy likes them and realizes how much his family went through to get these for him. Daddy, by the way, gets his turn later in the week. Hopefully the ice will be gone when we do a "Couple's Shoot" for him and mommy in a few days.

I know mommy is probably anxious to see if we got anything out of the day, so here are a few sneak peeks just for her. Mom, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what we were able to get!

Father and Daughter Session

This was a fun shoot for me to do. It was a father and daughter session. Doing a session like this made me really miss my own dad who passed about several years ago. There is something so very special about the relationship between a father and a daughter. My daughter and I have been talking about this a lot lately. She has that bond with her daddy that I miss with mine. When you know you are your daddy's little Cinderella, nothing can be better than that! My daughter bought the CD of Steven Curtis Chapman singing "Cinderella" for her dad for Christmas. We are definitely saving it for her "Father/Daughter" dance at her wedding someday! (Okay, I have to wipe the tear out of my eyes before I can go on!) That song is what is playing on the blog now! If you have never heard it, you might want to grab a tissue.

Anyway, back to this special session. A friend called and said her brother-n-law wanted to have his picture taken with his daughter while they were visiting from out of town. I loved seeing her look up at her daddy before each shot. We took some outside (in January don't forget) and a few inside but the fun time came when I asked them to get on the trampoline! I thought this might just warm them up a bit. The giggles that came were an added bonus. I love these shots of them falling together on the trampoline in laughter!

Thank you & Merry Christmas!!!

Wow, what a busy Christmas season this has been! A lot of you have ordered Christmas cards and I have loved making them for you! As thing start to slow down, I wanted to post one final blog of the year.

First of all, I wanted to share with you my final shoot of 2008! Their daughter is a friend of my daughter and come to find out I graduated from high school with her dad. They were a very fun family to photograph - two beautiful daughters and an adorably active three year old! Thanks to a toy monster that had to keep jumping on my head, we got the little guy to smile several times!


Here he is trying to figure out what the monster is doing or maybe what I am doing...


I also want to thank all my clients that I have had the pleasure of photographing this year. This thank you also includes all the clients Lorena and I did together under the "Heartwarming" name. We did some wonderful families together and then I had the opportunity to do some more after we formed our own separate businesses. This has been a wonderfully exciting year for me. First, having Lorena ask me to join her in her business, was both scary and exciting all at the same time! Thank you again Lorena for your encouragement, wisdom and friendship as we started this journey together. As I have told you before, I would have never done this without you! When we went on to build our own separate businesses, it was another scary time but thanks to all my clients after that, I have had a lot of fun and have learned a great deal. This is definitely something I want to keep doing but I know I still have so much more to learn. Thank you for letting me learn with each of you. Hopefully I left you with memories you will cherish like I will.

Next, I want to thank my family for their patience and encouragement. Having your support has meant the world to me! I love you guys and thank you for being my models time and time again. My goal in 2009 is to be better at keeping my priorities in order and you guys are definitely my number one priority. I love you and love being your mommy and wife. There is no better job in the world! Thank you for letting me have something of my own to do and love. I am truly blessed!

Lastly, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! Remember to keep Christ in your celebrations this year but most of all in your everyday life. This world is too hard to go through without Him so I pray each of you will enjoy the gift God has so graciously given to you! He sent His Son to earth many Christmas' ago so you could have eternal life with Him. All you have to do to receive that gift is except it!

Here is my last baby announcement of the year. It was a little difficult without a picture but you get the idea...

Merry Christmas and come back next year so we can "capture life together"!

Love,

Tammy

Another Beautiful Family!

I am not sure how but I keep getting the opportunity to photograph some of the most beautiful families! Here is a family that I did recently that was so much fun! Mommy is about 7 months pregnant with their second baby and big brother is absolutely adorable. We had a ball trying to get "W" to sit still long enough to snap a picture. I put together two storyboards that show some of my favorite shots from the session. The first one is for "W" and shows the "Wonder of Christmas". There is nothing like sharing Christmas with a child and seeing all the joy that it brings. All I know is "W" enjoyed the lights and the candy canes! I absolutely love the shot of daddy and "W" getting a closer look at the Christmas lights. The next storyboard is for mommy and daddy to celebrate their newest little family member. No matter how many children are in your family, every pregnancy is special and should be cherished. I love the one of "W" hugging his new baby! Thank you "G" family and I cannot wait to meet the newest member!

Beautiful Family

Let me introduce you to this beautiful family that I just had the privilege of photographing last week. This precious baby girl was just 12 days old and her big brother was as active as he was adorable! You will understand where they get it from when you see their beautiful mama. I included a picture of her with them that I love! The baby is crying and the big brother is not even looking but she is simply glowing. Being a mommy to a newborn is both wonderful and tiring at the same time but you can see on her face how totally content and happy she is with her life right now. This session was supposed to be a surprise for daddy but he found out about it that morning. I do not think he will be disappointed when he sees his beautiful family and it has nothing to do with the pictures I took!

Sneak Peek!

Okay Amy, here is a sneak peek from your shoot. I always worry about how many shots I will actually be able to give you. My guarantee is around 20-40 but somehow luckily I always end with more. I guess when you have beautiful families to take, it is easy to get over 100!! Wow! I think I am going to have to become more picky when choosing pictures for your gallery. I did get the shot I have been wanting...
I just wish we could have gotten the baby in also, but I guess a shot of a 12 week old rolling down the hill probably is not what you were wanting. You guys did great and I hope you find some you like. Thanks kids for your precious smiles!

New Christmas Shoot!

Here are pictures from a shoot I did on Saturday of a very special family. The "C" family are friends from church and they have a beautiful family as you can see. We had a great time and the kids did awesome! Even after an hour and a half, the kids still wanted to have their picture taken. I love models like that. Thank you guys for a great shoot and I hope you enjoy your pictures!

Two new shoots!

I want to share two shoots that I did this past week. The first one was with a family we know through my son and daughter's soccer teams. They are one of the most beautiful families. Mom is probably getting tired of me telling her that. It was very cold that morning but the kids did a wonderful job for me including little J who decided halfway through the shoot that he was done. I was lucky enough to get some really great shots before he quit on us though. His brother and sisters where another story altogether. I told his older brother I would not stop shooting his picture if he did not stop giving me that awesome smile. This is the same smile he had on his face the entire time he was on the soccer field. His sisters where absolutely beautiful and very photogenic. Thank you D family for letting me capture your family and their wonderful smiles and even a few frowns!

The second family was our neighbors who have a daughter at Ohio University. We all took a road trip and went to visit her and explore the campus. I had so much fun walking around this gorgeous campus and snapping candid and some posed shots of the family. You guys did a great job and E. we really miss you around the neighborhood.

You may also notice a name change on my photos. We are in the process of making a few more changes at Heartwarming. I will let you know more details when they are finalized.