A Super Groovy Round One of Mid Modern Holiday Photos at the Studio

OOOOOKAY, that was fun. If you’ve never been to the studio before, every season, a group of creatives come together to create a set that photographers and models/families can use. This time, Malena of BSPK Creative really knocked it out of the park with her Mid-Mod Holiday Set, and I was honored to photograph several families who wanted something a bit different this year. Take a look!

This specific set design has never been seen before and will likely never be seen again. To have your photo taken with this scene, book me anytime up until December 15, which is when the tear down happens. I have mini sessions available on Wednesday 11/23, and classic sessions are available at a time of your choice.

The Lake, The Trees, The Flowers, The Mountains - Oh My! Wheat Ridge Family Photo Session

Golden Hour was very giving on this particular day out in Wheat Ridge. If you’re looking to me to recommend a location, Crown Hill really checked off all the requirements. Easy and paved walking paths, parking, mountain, trees, grasses, flowers, the lake! Pair that with a family who wants to play, and magic happens. :)

Thank you to this beautiful family who joined me for a Classic Session — we really jumped into all the little nooks that are my absolute favorite. Take a look at our evening session below!

If you’re looking for an abbreviated session to grab a portion of these scenes, I am hosting Mini Sessions at this location on 11/12 during the AM and PM. Available slots happen every half hour and my calendar has live availability. If you’d like me to give you a relaxed tour and grab SO MANY MEMORIES, grab a Classic Session any evening. I’d love to meet you!

Family of Three Starting the Day Off Right!

Good morning, sunshine! If you’re looking to start a daughter day off in the best way possible, take a look at what Reed’s family did. They put her in a few of her favorite dresses, swung by the studio, and had some photos taken of her silliness! The only expectation was to play, love on each other, and enjoy each other’s company. Did we pretend the entire studio was Reed’s house? Yes, we did. Did we jump off the couch? Oh yes, we did. Did we play with all the props? Totally. We even smooshed into a little cardboard box. “If I fits, I sits” is for more than just cats. :)

In any case, we all were smiling at the end, and I hope the good vibe continued for their big day out together. I hope they went to mini golf, or saw a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. Maybe they went to Babe’s Tea Room for warm beverages, tiny sandwiches and Bella Macarons. These are some of my favorite things, after all. And I’m so happy Reed has these photos with her mom and dad to remember how it started.

Thanks to Reed and her parents for being such a bright light in the studio for me. If you’re looking to capture something similar with your little one, start your day with me and schedule your session.

Reed participated in this box project. She brought ALL of her personalities and nailed the assignment. :)

Thanks Reed for being such a ray of sunshine in the studio!

Summer Art - Paint Your Kids!

2019 marks our first time of educating our kids at home during the long summer break. Our oldest child is 5 years old and is on the cusp of reading, writing, and being an all-around awesome kid who’s on his way to Kindergarten in the fall. Sure, we signed him up for a few weeks of real summer camp, themed around dinos, space, and more. But the rest of the time, he’s with us!

In order to keep his growing brain from getting summer rot, my husband created “Daddy Camp” — it’s our job to fill his day with outdoor play, math, spelling, and my job is Mommy Art Director! It’s pretty fun and silly. Our motto is “KEEP IT WEIRD!” and we even have a family Daddy Camp song.

On this particular day, both our son and I needed a creative outlet. Together, we picked 3 washable Crayola paint colors, and went to town on his hands until he said he was happy with the way he looked. I set up a white backdrop on a rainy day, and filled the scene with a 50” Godox umbrella and a huge 85W 6500K CFL bulb (I often use this bulb that’s consistently on if I’m in a situation where there’s only 1-2 subjects and a speedlight might bother the kid).

With a little hand movements a la Vogue style, we came up with these photos and both mommy and big boy really love them! I’ll always remember this as part of his first summer break. :) The first one is going on a wall.

I try to shoot as close to the right exposure as possible, then used Refined Presets for some amazing edits.

April: The Month Where My Kids Have Birthdays and We're Not Done Unpacking Yet

My daughter, Alex turned 2 this week, and earlier, my oldest child, Noah turned 5! It’s hard to believe my husband and I have been parents this long. I’ve had dreams of finding room for a mini-studio, and though we’re totally up and running in our new home, there always seems to be that ONE ROOM that has all the boxes we haven’t unpacked yet. The “I am not sure where this stuff goes” room. It’s the office/photography equipment storage/LEGO organization/unopened boxes for our new baby arriving in 1.5 months/unhung framed photos room.

But hey, to make it at least a little cozy in one direction, we have a new teal couch and awesome cushy rug and some furniture that bodes well for portraits. So as a momtographer (that’s a word, right?) we did some annual birthday portraits. I really love this corner of our home — I hope we can transform it the way we wish soon!

Some technical notes —
I lit these Sony A7RII 35mm shots with a Godox 120cm / 47.2in Portable Octagon Softbox Umbrella with a constant light source: LimoStudio Full Spectrum Lighting Bulb 85W Photography Photo CFL 6500K. There are two windows for natural light in this room, with one to camera-right. But I like to light my subjects up inside just a tad more for their birthday faces. :)

The couch is from Overstock and our 8x10 rug is from Target. Tutu from Honeyskull.