I had to post an extra photo of Grey. Why? Well, look at him. He was such a sweetie-pie. Another great family… adorable kids, fun parents… I LOOOOOVE my job!!!
Monthly Archives: November 2008
I did two family sessions at my in-laws house in Arkansas on Thanksgiving day. It was a great backdrop for this family who all love horses and the country. I love girls who can wear cowboy boots and still look totally cute and stylish! 
I should have known I was in trouble when Hayley called me giggling and said, “I have this really crazy idea for our Christmas cards.” I should have said no, but, considering they are our really close friends, I went along with her idea.
Before showing this photo, I must give a few disclaimers:
1. NO PHOTOSHOP WAS USED IN THE MAKING OF THIS IMAGE.
2. NO ONE WAS INJURED (or shrunk) IN THE MAKING OF THIS IMAGE.
3. THIS IS IN NO WAY A REFLECTION OF MY PROFESSIONAL WORK. I WILL NOT DUPLICATE THIS SHOT EVER AGAIN. (DON’T TRY TO BRIBE ME WITH MONEY. IT WON’T HAPPEN.)
I hope I’m not ruining Aaron & Hayley’s Christmas card surprise, but I just HAD to post this picture. Yes, it’s totally weird and strange; but, it makes me smile each time I see it.
If you’ve visited my blog before, you’ve most likely seen Jennifer or Riley. I met Jennifer in kindergarden and we’ve been friends ever since. Matthew, Ross and I went to her wedding a couple of years ago and decided to move just a few months later.
One (of the many) advantage of being Jennifer’s friend is her making me homemade Turtles every year for as long as I can remember.
One advantage of being my friend is pictures whenever your heart desires.
I still think I owe her a few more shoots. Those Turtles were REALLY good this year!
Last Weekend’s Doggie-Award for the “MOST LOVEABLE” goes to… Moses the bulldog! I felt like I was walking around with a doggie-celebrity with all the attention and love Moses was getting from complete strangers! Jordan and Claire said he always gets attention and love from anyone who meets him. (It makes matters worse that he has one brown eye and one bright blue eye.) And to prove Moses gets way too much attention, just look at me. I’ve been writing about him and this blog is suppose to be about Jordan and Claire. Okay, Claire and Jordan = awesome looking couple who obviously has a great time being together and having fun. I love how their laughter and life shines through on all of their images.
The Ornsteins… What a fun and crazy family! Lisa and Jessica are both super-model material! (So easy and fun to photograph!) Lisa looks more like Jessica’s sister than mother. Jacob and Jonathan were more concerned with having fun than anything else. (I wish I would have taken a picture of the first two outfits Jonathan came out in! Talk about a great holiday card!)
I mentioned earlier the fact that I photographed several dogs this weekend. Well, the doggie award of “BEST SMILE” was clearly won during this session!
They all made me feel right at home in their gorgeous home on Camelback Mountain. (FYI: Any future Arizona-sessions will now be taken in their backyard!)
Thank you all for a wonderful time. This was my very last shoot in Arizona before leaving. It was a surreal moment to be doing what I love more than anything, over-looking the city that I have come to love so much. 
We met Aaron & Hayley at our neighborhood pool when we first moved in. Since that time, we have shared many meals, late nights and embarrassing stories. They wanted some pictures of all of us together before we moved. Afterwards, they took us to dinner to the BEST Mexican restaurant I have EVER been to. (I wanted to share the name, but don’t have the card with me. Aaron & Hayley- If you’re reading this, will you share the name in a comment?) Although we will really miss seeing them, we know we’ve built the kind of friendship that will last for years to come.
I got very excited when I saw Nathan walking up to meet me. Look at his hair… and eyes… and smile! Julie’s eyes were watering a little, but I told her mom it just made her big blue eyes all the better to photograph. Since I photographed a total of SIX dogs last weekend, I decided to give awards. These dogs get, “Hands-Down, EASIEST to PHOTOGRAPH” award. Brandy had told me they should be good, but it can be a challenge to photograph one dog- much less two. To my surprise, she was right. For most of the shoot, I totally forgot they were even there! 
This holiday season has kept me very, very busy. So busy, in fact, I realized it’s been too long since I’ve posted pictures of my favorite subject: Rayna-Claire-Bear. These were taken on Friday night with Aaron & Hayley.
Me: “Ross, Do you want to move back to Georgia and live closer to PaPa, GiGi, Hannah, Joseph and Austen?”
Ross: “Do they have tattoos in Georgia?”
Me: “Yes, they have tattoos in Georgia.”
Ross: “My wanna’ move to Georgia.”
We went out with our friends Aaron and Hayley on Friday night to get some pictures together before we moved. After I took some of them alone, Aaron took a few of my family.
I have always loved how Ross leans his head into me when I’m holding him. I’m so glad Aaron captured that moment between us. I can’t help but smile when I notice both of our “Fresh & Easy” tattoos are showing.
Another one of my favorite pictures of Ross was taken by Aaron a few months ago at the zoo. (Search ‘zoo’ at the top and it will come up.) Maybe I should just hire Aaron to get Ross’ 3-year photos since I can’t seem to get a smile out of him!
Abbey is a very creative and expressive little girl. During our shoot, I got quite a few angry tiger faces. (Actually, I think those were Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer faces.) In any cases, I started to post one, but wanted to show off her pretty smiles instead.
At first, Benjamin was more interested in making sure his mom stayed close by. However, after he realized I was just there to have fun, he started to really enjoy himself and have fun with us.
I have a lot of clients tell me, “There are just too many! How am I going to pick?” Although I REALLY, REALLY try to only give families 30 images to choose from, there are many times where it’s impossible.
Ashton and Ainsley are great examples. I could have been finished with the Sneak Peek AND online gallery yesterday, but I decided to take a little extra time and include all of the images from their session. It’s not completely my fault… if these kids weren’t so incredibly cute, I wouldn’t have this problem.
