Happy Day!

So, the Fall is crazy for photographers.  I usually prefer to do 2-3 shoots per week and I’ve been doing something like 7-8 shoots per week for the past few months, so I’m due for a break!  🙂

I just noticed my to do list today.  It’s the first time I’ve seen most things on the list crossed of since probably July!  I’m so excited about it..so I thought I’d share a photo with you!  If you can read my writing you’ll see that I have a number of shoots to still be blogged and also there’s a Christmas slideshow mentioned….a little foreshadowing of a surprise we have coming up in December!

I thought I’d throw in a photo of my Christmas tree too…since I promised you one a few days ago.  I’m officially addicted to Christmas…I could decorate my tree for hours on end and usually spend a few nights awake wrapping presents…just for the fun of it!

Michele & Jerrod

These two are such a fun couple! From the beginning of the shoot they were flirting and giggling – I knew this was going to be fun! They’re getting married this coming May and I’m super excited to photograph their wedding!
Check out my fav’s!

The Morden Family

What a joy it is to see this family again!  They were one of my very first “official” portrait clients three years ago when I started up my business.  Now, the business has grown immensely, we’re booked solid and the Morden’s still chose to come back to us.  I was so happy to see them again!

The boys have grown up so much!  You might not be able to tell but the two youngest little guys are actually twins!  They’re all just adorable.  Check out some fav’s!

Happy Thanksgiving

So, I’m only a day late on wishing you all Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all celebrated with loved ones and your bellies are still full!  We celebrated with my husband’s side of the family yesterday and had a wonderful time (though I missed you, mom and dad!)

After all the wonderful food we consumed it was time for two of my favorite traditions, late night shopping and finding our Christmas tree!  Stephen and I went to an outlet mall at midnight and shopped for about 3 hours…it was really fun and we might have bought the whole mall out! 🙂

This morning we went out and cut down our tree.  Stephen and I usually get in a little disagreement regarding the tree (I want the most perfect, biggest, most beautimous tree ever while Stephen usually wants a simple, small, one…otherwise referred to as the first tree we see.)  We ended up going with a tree that Stephen’s dad found and it’s so pretty!  I’m excited to decorate it tomorrow!  I’ll post a photo of the finished product.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I have lots of photos coming next week!  (Engagements, seniors, kids, families…the whole shebang!)

Irene – West High School

This girl has some spunk! She loves Marilyn Monroe, show choir and kickboxing…and I’m pretty sure she could be a model – she’s great in front of the camera! Our first shot below was a tribute to the classic Marilyn Monroe pose…very elegant!

Check out some fav’s!

Eric & Amy

What a great couple! They’re both teachers, both super sweet people and both madly in love with each other! Their engagement session was great…Eric’s from West Branch and Amy’s from Davenport so they choose to share locations…the engagement session here in West Branch while the wedding will be in Davenport this coming July.

We’re so super excited to photograph their wedding! Check out a few fav’s from their engagement session:

Booked until ’08!

You might have noticed that I took our schedule off of our website.  This is because we’re booked for the rest of the year!  (If you have a newborn baby coming or are part of our Baby’s First Year program, we can still squeeze you in, just drop us an email or give us a call.)

Otherwise, we aren’t accepting any new sessions until January.

Thanks!
Sam

Sadler family – West Branch Shoot

The Sadler’s are such a cute family!  This was both their family shoot and Mabry’s 9 month photo shoot…she’s grown up to be such a little pumpkin!  It was a little chilly outside but the Sadler’s braved the cold to get some sweet family shots!  Check some out!

I thought this was so funny – the boys just naturally did this at the same time!

Rachel & Todd – West Branch Wedding

These two had an amazing day! The weather was perfect, the season colors were rich and they were surrounded by hundreds of friends and family members celebrating their love!

Rachel did a wonderful job planning this wedding and I am so in love with her color choices…burnt orange, deep brown, and creamy ivory were accented by bright highlight colors like pink, red and yellow. It was just beautiful! Check out a bunch of my favorite shots!
First off, the shoes. My love for shoes was deeply indulged at this wedding…Rachels’ shoes were awesome! So awesome, in fact that I couldn’t decide which shot I liked better so I thought I’d post them both! First shot is Stephen’s, second is mine:

Rachel’s sister just happened to sit down in a beautiful spot – so I had to grab a shot!

Rachel was a stunning bride:

Two quick shots of the bridesmaids hanging out during our formal photos:

After the wedding, the party seriously got started!

Seeing the World

I’m often told that I have a creative eye – good thing too since I took the whole photographer route! 🙂 But, seriously, my clients often mention that I can see the beauty in places and moments that often goes missed…whether it be the texture of an abandoned old building, the soft backlight created by the setting sun, or a beautiful moment from when a bride’s getting ready like this:

(by the way, the above photo is just a teaser from our most recent wedding! Rachel and Todd got married on 11/3 and we’re so glad they chose us to document their big day! I have a bunch of photos I love from this wedding so check back tomorrow to check out some more shots!)

Anyway, I feel blessed that I am able to see the beauty in moments often missed in life and am so glad I am able to capture them…such a precious gift! Anyway, off to get some shut eye!

Sam