Dying a HOT death...

We are currently without air conditioning at my house. Something has been wrong with it for the past two days. The first day it was hardly noticeable, but now we have it off because my husband noticed the pipes literally frozen from it running constantly the past two days. You have no idea how I'm suffering! I haven't slept well in two nights because I just lie there sweating. Yuck. Hopefully tomorrow there will be a solution. For now, all I can do is sit in front of a fan. Did I mention it's 95 degrees and humid in MN?

A Day Off!

I gave myself Sunday off and actually spent it away from my computer! Me and the boys baked cookies and then we took a family trip to the Minnetonka swimming pond. In case you haven't been there before- it's a great beach! It's a man-made chlorinated pond complete with sandy beach and umbrellas. It's 0-3 ft. deep around with a 6 ft. center that is roped off, so it's great for little kids. After an afternoon of swimming, we had dinner and I was actually in bed by 9 pm to watch Entourage! I'm really trying to take it easy on work nights because it kills me to only get 3 hours of sleep and then try to function!

Wow, this summer is flying by. I say that every week, but it really hit me as I was looking through the calendar trying to plan some more summer activities. There's just not much of a summer left before school starts and it makes me sad that I'm not appreciating it more! Just think... 4 months from now and we'll be decorating our Christmas trees... Oye.

Jodi and Clan

I shot a multi-family session for Jodi and her friends on Saturday in New Prague. This clan has a monthly get together and take turns hosting. It started out 10 years ago as a couples game night and has now evolved into an all-day, all-night sleepover event as some of the families live far away. They were a lot of fun and I admire their dedication to each other to keep it going. Once you have kids, it's very convenient to get "busy" and not have time to spend with family, let alone friends! They have a great way to incorporate it all.

Donovan and Nolan

Julie booked me just a couple of days ago and I was able to squeeze her in at the studio today. She told me about her 2 year old, Donovan, who is "impossible" to get a studio photo of so the main focus was 3 month old Nolan. I am always up for a challenge! Donovan did so well for me and Julie told me that he must like me because usually he screams. That made me happy. :)We had a great session and covered all of the photos that she wanted but didn't think she'd be able to get. We have another session in the works this fall, I can't wait to see how much Nolan has grown up!

Julie also told me about gDiapers which I had never heard of before. It's about time someone came out with a product like this! They're cloth diapers with flushable inserts. Check it out! You can help the environment, and they're cute and stylish too!

Print Orders

[b]ecker did a wonderful post in his blog about Photoshop and the amazing ways it can enhance digital photos.

All of my packages come with a CD of images which you are welcome to reproduce at the lab of your choice. I also want to remind everyone that I do also provide print service. Why would you pay me for prints when you can get them at Target or Wal-Mart for much cheaper? The saying goes, you get what you pay for. Each and every one of my prints is digitally enhanced and printed on professional paper with a beautiful lustre finish. I would suggest avoiding glossy paper, it really takes away from the quality of the image. While the files you receive on your CD will be lightly edited, any print orders will receive the royal treatment including color enhancing, blemish removal, sharpening, and custom black and white conversion. I've attached some examples below:









































If you get prints converted to black and white from a lab, they'll more than likely do a simple desaturation as pictured as "before". My black and white conversions are much more contrasty and interesting:















































If you've had your pictures printed at a "cheap" lab and aren't impressed, please consider my print service and you'll see a world of difference!

Please note: 8x10 enlargements will end up with the original composition cropped. There is no way around this, professional digital cameras have a 3:2 aspect ratio. Meaning 4x6 photos remain intact, but 8x10's lose 2 inches of photo. My suggestion (if composition is key), is to order 8x12 prints through me. It is hard to find frame sizes for this size, but I have found them online, so it's not impossible.

Clothes Donation

Since I've gotten really busy with photography my husband has taken over the laundry in our household (how lucky am I, right?). The boys' clothes can be overwhelming as they can easily go through an entire load of laundry in a few days! I've been meaning to go through clothes and weed things out but obviously I've been too busy. Well, my husband finally threatened to donate anything that he thought they didn't wear anymore so that finally got my attention and I've started to go through clothes. There is a Goodwill type shop in New Prague, but I thought I would first reach out to anyone I know in need. If you or anyone you know is in need of boys clothes please let me know. I'd love to be able to help out! Just shoot me an email... thanks!

Sylvia

Sylvia is 6 months old. Her mom brought a ton of outfit changes, which I loved! I always encourage outfit changes so that you don't end up with 100 photos of the same look. Sylvia wasn't always happy getting her outfit changed, but she did great! Another reason why my lengthy sessions are so nice is, being a mom, I have patience! Kids aren't always going to be happy during the session so I allow for breaks, snacks, or just some snuggling time.

I am loving having the studio. 4 sessions and a wedding consultation in 4 days and I don't have to drive more than 5 minutes!

































































































I love these in both color and black and white so I had to post both!

Andy, Koren, and baby Zachary

Baby Zach just turned 4 months old! He is the little cousin of Owen and Olivia, the twins that I shot a couple of weeks ago. Koren, like most moms, is usually the picture takers so she really wanted to get some good photos with her new baby. They were such a cute new family and baby Zach did great! Good thing we were in the studio because it was pouring rain! Thanks for coming down guys!








































































The only time in life when cellulite is cute! :)