Instantly Forever
Welcome to Baby Leo’s Newborn Session!
I have been photographing this family for several years, starting with the parents engagement photos!
I have had the pleasure of photographing each of their boys as newborns, it has been such an honor!
This particular newborn session was a little bittersweet, as their beloved dog was heading to cross the rainbow bridge the next day. Mom and dad wanted all of their kiddos in the family images, and we did it!
Welcome to Abbey’s Glitter Session!
Abbey’s favorite color is purple, so we chose to do a purple them Glitter Session for her!
She is wearing one of my studio gowns, which are available for use at no extra cost.
Glitter Sessions are so magical for children, and leave a lasting impression! We put on some music and allowed Abbey to be herself in the glitter!
I do have digital glitter as an option for those who love the idea of glitter, but don’t like the glitter itself!
All glitter sessions are done in my studio, so the mess stays with me!
Meet Nate! This little fella had such a blast during his glitter session! These are done in my studio, so no mess at your house! There is also an option for digital glitter, for those who love the idea but cannot handle the glitter!
These sessions are so magical for children, and leave a lasting memory for them.
Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching! Have you decided what to gift your mother, grandmother, mother in law, or wife?
Our Heirloom Portraits are the perfect gift for the special mother in your life.
This session comes with 3 Digital Images, and an 8×10 image of your choice printed on water color paper, coming from the gorgeous Amalfi Coast in Italy.
These sessions can be done before Mother’s Day, or a gift card can be issued for use at a later date.
Calvin | Class of 2024 – Camas, WA Senior Photographer
Here are some highlights from Matthew’s Monster Cake Smash!
Cake from the amazing duCoeur Bakery <3
Enjoy!
i’ve been super quiet lately.
i feel like this post is rather dramatic, but we’ve so been used to living a lifestyle of scrolling, liking, and hearting… that nobody takes the time to read anymore, and nobody really sees true emotion any longer.
with that being said…
my grandma isn’t doing fabulous.
she is 93 years old.
so my grandmother, has always been my ONLY grandmother. my mother’s parents died before she was even married, so we’ve only had my dads parents. my grandfather died about 20 years ago, and left a giant gaping wound in our family.
i remember as a child hearing the emergency sirens at night, and praying to the Lord… please don’t let it be my grandmother, please save her. even though she lives a solid 2.5 hours away from my house. 😉
grandma still lives in the same house she has lived in forever and ever. but now she has a wonderful 24/7 caretaker…. even so she still has the attitude of a 2 year old…. i do it myself.
when i found out that grandma was in the hospital with a pretty bad infection, i offered to drive my dad up to south bend to see what was happening. i’ve never seen my grandmother look so fragile. she isn’t able to speak a lot, and that frustrates her to no end. she is as sharp as a tack, and still gets around with the help of a walker. seeing her in a hospital bed, completely crushed me.
she was so scared too. she would cry every time my dad left the room. it was awful.
we went back up on thursday to transfer her from the hospital and to a rehab facility, where she will do physical therapy to regain her strength enough to go home.
i love my grandmother. i cannot even express to you the depth of my love for her. even typing this out, i have tears.
this is the newest professional image i have of myself and grandma. my husband actually took this one. i took images of the rest of the family unit, and all the other girls got pictures of themselves and grandma.
except me.
my grandmother HATES being in pictures. she used to tell me….. you’ll break your camera if you take a photo of me!
she is beautiful.
soon i know the Lord will take her. she’s had a wonderfully full, and long life.
and all i will have are the images to remember her by. much like she only has images of her husband, her sister, her parents, and her best friends. she has an album that she looks at every single day. the two days we went up, i spent time going through each image, and she would point out each person she could.
gone are the christmas eves at grandmas house with all the cousins. gone are the yearly beach trips with grandma. gone are the christmas cookies she would make each year, and give each child a little bit extra of their favorites in each bucket. gone are all the stray animals she used to feed on her back porch… at one time she had 7 stray cats and a one eyed raccoon mama.
but i have a million images that my dad made sure to take when we were little. and i have many images of grandma holding the babies, playing with the kids, and walking on the beach.
but i wish i had one of just her and me.
** back row: my sister, me 2015
**front row: marcie, grandma, britney (marcie and britney are sisters, we are missing the sisters sarah and brooke. i am the youngest of the 6 granddaughters)
happy thursday everyone!
today let’s visit photographing babies in teals!
i love the teal color! it’s so universal, and i am thrilled that this color is acceptable for both boys AND girls!
today i have isaac in teal, and as you can see there are many different shades of teal which all work together beautifully.
as you know, i really don’t like to have a lot of distraction in my newborn images. i feel as though the baby should be the center point, and the props are just accessories.
teals are fun to work with, because it’s both blue AND green. this gives you some wiggle room in your set ups in case you don’t have the EXACT teal shades all around. and i think if you did the image may lack depth. also, teals enable you to get more “different” looks out of just one set up. adding a more blueish teal bonnet in one set up, and a more greenish wrap in another will give you some variety for the parents. this is a lovely technique if you have a particularly fussy tiny human or are on a limited time frame. 🙂
again, my bonnet here is from mama knits. i adore the dark and light variant hues in this bonnet she has made. this enables me to use it in multiple types of set ups.
the curls, of course, are again mama knits. her curls are truly a work of art. SO much care goes into her craft, and watching her husband work his magic as well is phenomenal. they are truly and amazing team who pride themselves on excellence in their work. ashlee hand dyes each item she creates. it’s amazing. her curls are the perfect addition to any shot, especially if you love the more natural feel in your images. i love how her curl fibers soak up the colors differently, so there isn’t a flat look to them. they each have so much depth! the curls are so universal as well! i have ashlee’s curls layered on top of a flokati in one image, and then place directly on the wood backdrop in another.
i am also using mama knits wild lamb layer blanket in the bowl shots. it’s a much brighter teal, but still ties in with the original more muted teal theme. her wild lamb blanket layers are perfect for these types of bowl shots, giving some texture and depth to the overall image while protecting the baby from the hard wooden surface. baby’s safety and comfort ALWAYS come first.
in the bonnet shots i am using the luneberry flokati in calabash, and i am SO incredibly pleased at how well this flokati color ties in with all my mama knits layers! how perfect is this?
the wrap is also from luneberry, in the calabash color. it’s a little darker teal color, but still coordinates well and gives a lovely finish to the image.
since i am certain someone at some point will ask me about the wooden bowl…. it’s not from a vendor.
living in the pacific northwest, we have a plethora of antique stores. this particular one i purchased at an antique store in hood river, oregon. i have about six different wooden bowls, all varying in sizes. it’s hard for me to pass up a wooden bowl, since the are so few and far between here! i am so picky about my wooden props…. i won’t purchase them from vendors UNLESS it’s willow and elm, who is mama knits beautiful mother…. and she’s also local. 😉 my husband, the wizard, also makes me wooden props <3
if you ever decide to come take a mentoring class with me, we will definitely be visiting mama knits, willow and elm, and of course the hood river antique stores. <3
xoxo,
olive
hi friends!
today let’s talk about photographing the tiny humans on greens!
green is my favorite color. this color trumps all other colors for me.
i especially love using this color on tiny babies, it just portrays such a soothing image to me.
i love using different shades of sages and greens too, they all seem to work well when from the same family. i do struggle with pine green and evergreen, since they are a heavier color and turn an odd color when i edit as warm as i do.
also the wood drop is one of my favorites. i like using it with more bold colors like the darker sage i have baby wrapped in for the bucket shots. my husband actually made me this drop for about $70. it’s a floor and wall drop, made from cedar fencing. he actually stained it grey, and it came out this beautiful color.
if you’re willing to put a little muscle into your props, you’ll find you can easily make them for cheaper if you’re on a budget. i also painted my own bucket here, and have several painted in the exact colors i need in order to match my wraps, curls, and fluffs. i purchased a bucket from home depot, and found the right color paint in the sample size, then watered down my paint and did two coats on my bucket. i did a really light clear sealing coat, but just once since i didn’t want my bucket to be shiny from my studio flash.
i love being able to layer all my textures that are in same tones. i started with the mint wrap from inspired knits first, and added the bonnet from mama knits to my collection. then i added the curls from mama knits, and lastly the flokati from luneberry. it totally draws all the attention in the image to the tiny human, and not the props around him and at the same time giving a nice uniform and clean look overall. this collection probably took me about a year to build up to, and i am so pleased with it. this makes my decision making a breeze. i do have other bonnets in this hue, so i don’t have the same set up repeated over and over each time i want to use it.
xoxo,
olive
happy monday friends!
last post we talked about photographing babies in cream, let’s look at photographing babies in grey!
honestly, grey is a color i really struggle with! i tend to shoot fairly warm in kelvin, and i edit pretty warm too! so that leaves my grey’s looking kinda blah… more greige if you will (which i understand is a pretty popular color right now)
all that to say, when i DO use grey in my images i edit a little more on the cool side to keep my grey’s GREY!
i am learning to love the greys, especially on babies with dark hair like this little fella! i feel the darker colors make baby pop a little more too, making them the center of the image.
less is always more for me.
i LOVE seeing other photographers with intricate images, using multiple props and such… but i find my style tends to be a little more simple. <3
i like having layers and textures in my newborn images.
using the fluff from the fabulous oh so fleeting always turns out amazing. she offers a wide variety of fluff styles and colors. if you’re looking to add some depth to your images, check out her shoppy shop, you won’t be disappointed. 😉
also… i’m loving the wrapped baby look.
i find i don’t do too much with nakey babies any longer. i’ve had momma’s not want a tush out, or other skin exposed…
so i’ve stocked up on wraps and bonnets from the absolutely amazing mama knits. i even have a bonnet and wrap set named after me in her shop! i’ve purchased MANY wraps and bonnets from a myriad of vendors, and hands down ashlee’s wraps and bonnets are always spot on for sizing, color, and stretch. she also custom makes sets! i LOVE having her custom sets made for me, because it ensures that ALL my colors coordinate! this makes my sessions go SO much more smoothly, and editing is such a breeze when all colors are from the same pallet. <3
hope this is helpful! and yes…. i type like i talk. 😉
here is baby isaac in grey <3
