This photo session was originally scheduled when there was still green on the trees, but circumstances led us to reschedule, landing the session on a warm, sunny, beautiful day at the peak of the fall color.  It couldn't have worked out more perfectly!  I had so many favorite pictures that I had trouble choosing which ones to post.  A beautiful family and a beautiful day!

It was a chilly day for pictures, and the clouds rolled in as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.  However, I had a couple of high spirited kids who didn't mind the chill in the air or the gloomy sky.  They were just happy to be running around...kids being kids.  Enjoy your sneak peeks!

These two were such a sweet pair.  You should have seen the kisses they gave one another, without even being asked!

I had to pick two of my second session's photos for their sneak peek.  I just couldn't decide.  These two were non stop action. Even I had mud on me by the end of our session.  :)

It's a true Indian Summer this week in our neck of the woods (I hope it's not politically incorrect to say that...that's what we always called this weather when I was a kid).  It is too gorgeous to be trapped inside editing, but I did want to post a quick sneak peek from a photo session I did yesterday.  We had a great time enjoying the unusually warm weather and playing in the leaves.  It couldn't have been more beautiful, and with the exception of having to shoot around all of the other nature lovers enjoying the beautiful day, our session went wonderfully.  Here's one of my favorite shots.  

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I'd bought a gallery wrap canvas of a recent family photo.  I love canvases.  They're clean and simple and classy.  They're also expensive!  However, if you look around, you can find great deals.  Until Friday Zulily has canvases from Image Canvas starting at just $29 for a 16"x20".  That's a great price.  And if you belong to any of the online photo publishing sites (Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc) you're probably already getting e-mails for free or discounted photo cards for the holidays.  Now is the time to start ordering your photo gifts.  But what if you don't have a great recent photo of your family or little ones to show off to family and friends?  You need a mini session!  

What's a mini session?  A mini session is exactly what it sounds like...a mini portrait session.  I've set aside six half hour sessions the evenings of October 27 and 28 to help you get some great holiday photos for a fraction of the cost of professional portraits.  For only $50, you get 1/2 hour session with me plus a CD of your 10 favorite photos with full printing rights.  New this year, you can pick your own photos for the CD.  I'll provide an online gallery (usually 20-30 photos), and you tell me which 10 you want on your CD.  Want to order more than 10 photos?  You can purchase additional images for your CD for only $5 each.  It's a great opportunity to get a jump on your holiday picture gifts and/or to give my services a try.

Portrait sessions on October 27 will be held at River Heritage Park in Fishers.  Portrait sessions on October 28 will be held at Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve in Fishers.  If you are interested in securing a time, please fill out the form below indicating your preferred date and time.  Sessions will be held at 4:00, 4:30 and 5:00 each evening.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I tend to fall behind when it comes to editing and organizing my own personal photos.  As I was trying to catch up, I came across some photos I shot of my nephew this summer.  My mom, sister-in-law and I had a girls weekend at my parents' place so we could get the cousins together.  We didn't spend much time outside because it was way too hot, but we did get a few minutes before church Sunday morning to snap some pictures in my parents' very sunny back yard.  This little guy is always on the go, and I think his mom was a little disappointed in his disinterest in my camera.  That's probably why I initially forgot about the photos as well.  However, looking at them now, I can see just how much of his personality is shining through.  They may not be perfectly posed, and he may not be smiling, but they are a perfect reflection of who he was at that moment in time. 

If you don't already know that I have a tendency to procrastinate, let me tell you now.  I'm a BIG procrastinator.  Last September I purchased a canvas deal from EverSave.  It was an 18x24 canvas for only $45.  Seriously, if you like the look of canvases, EverSave, Groupon, etc is the way to go.  I thought for sure I'd be able to snap a canvas-worthy photo of my kids by the time the deal expired one year later.  I was wrong.  My girls are beautiful and take great pictures...as long as I don't stand them anywhere near each other.  They fight.  They pretend they don't know each other.  They frown.  They run away.  So a year passed, and I didn't have any anything.  After all, a photo can be swapped  out of a frame when you get tired of it, but a canvas is what it is.  So, in a moment of total insanity, I decided three days before the expiration of my deal that I needed a family photo.  Crazy!  We were planning a trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park on Saturday.  The deal expired on Sunday.  I could do it!  I frantically shopped for coordinating clothes for the girls and raided my closets for something for me and The Man to wear.  I packed up my camera gear and employed my father-in-law as my "trigger man".  I had a small window of about 1/2 hour as we waited for the excursion train (and before the crowds showed up) to get my shot.  I sat everyone down on the backside of the train depot (away from the parking lot), set the settings on my camera to where I wanted them, jumped into the shot, and told my father-in-law to push the button.  By some miracle, it all worked out.  Whew!  Here's the picture that will be my new canvas...

No, Monkey isn't quite looking at the camera, but that's typical of her, and I like recording reality.  This was our first pose.  I'm not crazy about the shadows.  By the time we pulled ourselves together and got to the train station, it was already 11:00 and VERY sunny.  If you've done a photo session with me, you know how obsessed I am about the right time of day for lighting.  This wasn't it!

We had quite a wait for the train, so I chased the girls around trying to get some individual shots.

Clearly Bug is happier to let mommy take pictures.  Most of Monkey's were a blur despite a fast shutter speed.  That girl is fast!  As I was taking pictures, my mother-in-law got out a chocolate bar and used it as incentive to get the girls into sitting together for a couple of shots.  Instead of saying "cheese", they're saying "chocolate".

The Man even got one of me and my girls.

The loves of my life...all in one adorable photo.  Love it!  Now you know where my girls got their looks.  They're the spitting image of their daddy!

I was loving that last pose so much as I was shooting it that I handed my father-in-law the camera and jumped into it.  I took a little tacked on to the side (the downside of taking your own family photos), but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out.

And finally, one of my favorites.  I told everyone to "look at Daddy".  

It was probably the shortest, strangest, and most stressful photo session I've ever done, but I love they way it turned out.