I had the absolute honor and privilege to photograph a beautiful young lady just 9 short days ago.  She was so full of sass and spunk, has gorgeous blue eyes and a total sweetness about her but her body was in the final stages of cystic fibrosis.  I was very sad to hear that she passed away yesterday afternoon.  Thank you to Dr. Thompson, Brandy Berry and everyone at Idaho Pediatric GI for giving me the gift of meeting and photographing Linsday.  Here are a few images of Lindsay. 

This image of Lindsay and her mom is so special. 

 

  

Enjoy every day with your children.

I have been wanting to get outside and shoot so bad but this weather has just been so unpredictable.  But, yesterday while my son was in preschool I got my daughter all dolled up in a new dress from Grandma, piggy tails and curled bangs (it's so fun to have a little girl!!) and we headed over to Kathryn Albertson park.  We had about 10 minutes to shoot before we had to get back in the car to go get big brother from school.  We found a beautiful patch of shade right at the front of the park that had beautiful yellow flowers and some long grass.  The geese were entertaining and even though it was cold my little girl was quite the trooper and wanted to go without her sweater.  I am just thrilled with the results and happy that I was spontaneous to go and shoot these in what would normally be considered less than ideal lighting conditions.  The little 10 foot area we stayed in was perfectly lit and suited our needs.  It really does go to show that you don't need perfection to get perfect photos. :)  Ok, enough blabbing .... here's my darling daughter! Enjoy!

Well, it was yesterday ... but I didn't work because it was birthday ... so I'm a day late posting.  I am now 31 ... um yeah, I think I'm going to stick to being 28!  28 must have been a good year because I actually thought I was 28 most of the whole year that I was 29.   In all seriousness, I am very happy with who I am and what I've accomplished in my 31 years.  I have a wonderful husband, 2 beautiful, amazing children, a happy fat dog and a sense of purpose and accomplishment.  I love my job, I love my life. 

We celebrated my birthday on Saturday with some good friends who came over.  We barbequed and kids ran around like hooligans, we played games and had a very enjoyable time.  Sorry, not photos from my party on Saturday though.   My son told my husband what to get me for my birthday.  He wanted to get me some pink lipstick and a dress.  My sweet husband tried to find a dress but couldn't find anything cute in the right size.  I ended up with a tube of VERY pink lipstick that is totally not my color, the board game, Would You Rather, the Wii game, Boogie, and some of my very favorite Bonnie Bell Chapstick.  To top it all off I had a High School Musical birthday cake.  Now, don't laugh, lol!!  I really like High School Musical ... but I like all musicals.  I think it would be so fun to live life in a musical and just burst into song at any time and have everyone around you start singing and dancing along.  Oh, and my wonderful friend, Brandy, sent me a High School Musical birthday card that I got in the mail today.  It sings :)  The kids have been opening and closing the card all day long and singing along. 

Ok, so now that you all think I'm a little strange I'll end with a photograph of me and my little sister when we were little.  My mom will have to post in the comments how old we are though, because I don't have a year that corresponds with this photo. 

  

I'll be back blogging tomorrow about a very special girl.  Enjoy! 

Ok, I have been hearing a lot lately that I don't have enough images of my own kids on my blog.  So, here's two fairly recent images that I really love. 

Here's my little guy, being somewhat cooperative.  Dontcha just love the hat?

 

And here's my little girl playing peek a boo with a basket I'm surprised she could lift onto her head, lol!!

 I

am looking forward to some awesome weather this weekend!  I have a couple of shoots but I'm also going to get my kids out for some fun portraits too!  I'm thinking something with some beautiful sunlight and an umbrella .... yeah, that sounds like fun!

 Enjoy! 

I am so excited about the recent upgrade to my online slideshow for clients!  It has big images and nice transitions.  Every client views their images in an online slideshow which they can share with friends and family before their design and ordering appointment.  Here is a complete session with that darling little girl from a few posts ago.  Let me know what you think of the new slideshow interface!  I love it! 

Session Slideshow 

Sorry to the inconvenience to any of my clients trying to reach me.  AT&T Wireless is currently experiencing a large outage throughout Idaho.  Any calls coming in to me will only hear that the call can not be connected.  If you are trying to reach me, please email me!   Thanks! 

The following is an article from the Real Simple Magazine blog.  It's about the importance of having professional portraits taken of you children.  I hope you enjoy it!  Here is a link to the article on their blog in case you'd like to read comments from the other readers.  http://simplystated.realsimple.com/life/2008/03/unforgettable-a.html  

I’ve never forgotten an invaluable piece of advice that I heard from an older friend right after my first child was born. She told me, “One of my greatest regrets about my children’s childhoods was that I didn’t have more professional pictures taken.”

“You didn’t take many pictures?” I asked.

“I took tons of pictures,” she said, “but the fact is, professional photographs are so much better than even the best snapshots.” 

I absolutely agree—professional photos are better. And keeping her advice in mind, ever since my daughters were born, I’ve been zealous about getting their photos taken professionally at least once a year. 

While it’s a lot of fun (and also a pain) to take pictures myself, it’s terrific to have some pictures that are truly excellent. These photos don’t take the place of the on-the-spot pictures that I take myself—I still take scads of photos at birthday parties, first days of school, on the slide, with a popsicle—but these pictures memorialize my children’s childhoods in a different way.

Plus they make great family gifts. I can never figure out a good present for the grandparents and great-grandparents, but they always love to get a really great photograph—especially the relatives who don’t often get a chance to see the girls in person. 

Also, research shows that one way to boost your happiness is to reflect on happy times, and looking at photographs helps keep memories more vivid. 

It’s a splurge, of course. Professional photos aren’t cheap. 

However, I figure that the money I spend on these photographs will strengthen family bonds, enhance happy memories, and capture the fleeting moments of childhood. They give me more pleasure than practically any other purchases that I make. That strikes me as pretty goodhappiness bang for the buck.

A friend’s family had another great photography tradition. For her whole life, at every milestone, her parents took a picture of her and her brother sitting exactly the same way on their front stoop. It’s fascinating to see them change through the years. Along the same lines, the artist Nicholas Nixon took a photograph of his wife and her three sisters once a year for 33 years. The collection of these photographs, The Brown Sisters, is riveting.

Getting professional photos take is a great example of the tiresome fact that happiness takes thought and effort. These photographs are easy to arrange; in the scheme of things, not terribly expensive; contribute greatly to our family happiness—and yet it probably never would have occurred to me to do it if my friend hadn’t suggested it. 

I had the pleasure of photographing Miss H and her adorable parents this morning!  She was so so so sweet and warmed right up to me.  I knew the moment I left that their session was awesome and I was so excited to get home and look at the images.  Here is just one quick one that I think is so adorable.  I love her lips and she has beautiful eyes!  Enjoy!!         

Isn't it great to be a Mom?!  My favorite thing ever is when my kids say, "I love you, Mom!"  It melts my heart.  No matter what they could have been doing or how big of a mess they may have made, those 4 little words make everything all better.  Being a mom is the greatest thing and moms are the greatest people in the whole wide world!    

 Now it's Mom's turn to shine!  It's your turn to get out from behind the camera and into the photos so that your children will have portraits to cherish as they grow up and when they are parents themselves.  How many portraits do you have of you with your mom when you were a child?  Do you wish you had more?  Yeah, I thought so!!   

Now is your chance to give not only you, but your children, a portrait of just Mom and the kids to cherish forever.    

Introducing the Limited Edition Mommy & Me Sessions, just in time for Mother's Day!! 

 - Includes a 30 minute on-location session for Mom and the kids
- up to 15 images to choose from
- an 11x14 gift portrait
$200 

* Offer expires 3/31/08.  Limited Edition Mommy & Me Session must be booked before 3/31/08 and the session must be conducted during the month of April 2008.  Limited Edition Mommy & Me Sessions are limited and are for mothers and their children only.  Please contact Tiffany for further details and information.   

 Look at these beautiful Moms and their babies ... you need to capture a moment like this as a portrait too!   

  

    

 

  

 

  

  

  

 

 Enjoy.

Woohooo, it feels like spring is in the air and I'm doing all sorts of "spring cleaning" to get ready for it (and it's not cleaning my house, lol)!    

Spring office hours are Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm and by appointment only.  Spring portrait sessions will be held on Thursday mornings, Friday late afternoon/evenings, and two sessions are available on Sundays, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon/evening.  Spring hours go into effect today!   

Weekend sessions are already booking quickly.  I am opening up my calendar for April and May at this time.  If you would like to schedule a spring session, now is the time to do it!  The cherry trees, daffodils and my favorite tulips are going to bloom in just a few short weeks!!  

Oooh, I just love spring!!!!  Don't forget to Spring ahead on Sunday ... daylight savings time starts this weekend!!!  Hooray, more beautiful sunshine in the evening hours ... more time to play!