Twins!

My week last week was FULL of babies:)2 of the baby sessions were twins! This being the first
set of the week I shot. Twins are so amazing and funny because they are usually totally opposite from eachother! One usually hams it up while the other is not so fond of the camera. No matter, they are adorable just the way they are!

Love A Local Business

WE'RE SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!
I am very blessed to have been able to find my true passion......being a portrait photographer. I remember when I first found it. At my first job as a photographer years back (don't need to reveal how old I am) I told a co-worker, "I could do this for free." I remember she looked at me in the strangest way but that is what I honestly felt. Realistically I can't do it for free but I just LOVED how rewarding it was and STILL is!! One main component of portrait photography is people! After all, without people, who would I take pictures of? I have always been a people person. I get to hear about other people's lives and a lot of times get to relate to them. I have laughed sooo much that my cheeks hurt! I have also cried at very sad times in some of my client's, who became friend's, lives. I know that capturing these moments for people, in essence, is making time stand still. Who else can do that?

When the opportunity to win a small business grant came up such as the Love A Local Business one, I jumped at the chance! With this, they want to know what does your company do for the community and how have they helped. I TRY to help organizations as much as I can! Sometimes I run myself a little too thin because I can't say no. One of the biggest contributions that I made was creating a collage of Parkersburg after an EF5 tornado wiped out almost half of our town. The collages were sold nationwide and ALL proceeds were donated to help rebuild our City Park for our children. Overall, the donation ended up being $12,000. I was floored at how well it took off! The collage was a combination of 11 different images. The images together showed a sign of hope and what a strong community we do have......together.

This month, July, starts a new trimester. A grant of $5,000 is also rewarded once a month. At the end of the trimester, I have the chance of winning $30,000 to put towards growing my business. I started running my own studio out of my home in 2005. By 2009, I had outgrown our house and needed to make a decision of what to do and where to go. I chose to relocate to a storefront downtown Parkersburg. Right now I am currently renting but I would like to own. This grant would be very helpful in doing that.

My clients are a HUGE part of why my business is successful. They are loyal and have faith in me to capture those special moments for them. Because of that, I continue to grow!

BABY.......

A new baby is like the beginning of all things~
wonder,

hope,

a dream of

all possibilities.

EF5 2nd Year Anniversary-Parkersburg, Iowa

I am posting these images by frequent requests. Since I created this collage after the tornado in May of 2008, the requests to purchase have never stopped. I am amazed and touched at how many people's lives I have reached. One of my good friends told me back then, "this is something our kids or grandkids will see in their history books." I can't express enough how blessed I feel to have been given this opportunity. I am posting another collage I created to mark the one year anniversary last year. To show what has become of our town of Parkersburg. To show that there is hope. They still are able to be purchased. If interested, please contact me.

8x10 $10
11x14 $20
16x20 $40

It's Monday!!!!

It seems as soon as the weather turns warm, BOOM, every weekend is FULL! This weekend was filled with shooting, helping a friend make mints for her son's graduation (I highly recommend not ever volunteering for-waaayyyyy too time consuming), my son's preschool graduation, cleaning inside and out for my son's graduation party and then finally his party! Whew........it's a good thing he is darn cute! So this morning I thought this would be an appropriate picture for a Monday morning! There is more of this little guy to come. Hope everyone has a great week!

Oh BaBy!

I absolutely LOVE shooting maternity pictures! I get to hear some pretty amazing stories of their lives. Some share how challenging it was to conceive and others want to remember this special moment because it is their last child. I know how important it was to me to be photographed while I was pregnant and I want it to be just as special for the client.

This particular session we tried something different by waiting until the sun went down. The day we chose to schedule it however, it was the cloudiest day and the sun wasn't even thinking of coming out AT ALL! But, we still got some good shots even though they were freezing! And yes, it is May but we are in Iowa!

To the Sager family.......I really enjoyed getting to know you. I can not wait for your little guy to get here! It was so much fun shooting these, I can imagine what is yet to come:)

An Afternoon Out

I have a friend who I think has a beautiful home with so many neat decorations. I had asked her a long time ago if she would be okay with me photographing in her home. She said YES! So, I couldn't wait to bring this little angel there. I had so many ideas but towards the end, this little angel started having tummy trouble but I absolutely LOVE what we did capture! Take a look for yourself!