Henry’s First Birthday
I had a blast last Sunday when we celebrated my youngest son’s birthday. I was so excited to debut my long awaited gold and black “King Henry” themed party! Everything looked amazing. After the party, we did a little photo shoot in the studio just to round things out with the bottom tier of the cake and then it was ‘splish, spash’ into the tub! For a fun bath after the cake eating. These images are the perfect compliment to the laundry basket pictures I took of Collin when he was about this age. (I’ll show these pictures in the next post I write)
The party decor featured a gold fringe curtain with his monthly portraits hung from gold rope and clipped with black clothespins, black tablecloths with gold ribbons down the center and gold and black star balloons. There was a cute chalkboard printable I framed that was free online here, and some chipboard letters spelling “one” from Hobby Lobby were perfect accents. I painted the backs of some cheap plastic plates gold for a fancier look and tied gold plastic silverware inside black napkins tied with gold ribbon. A bunting with little gold flags hung from the counter and fireplace. The cake was proudly displayed after all the work that I put into modifying it from the version created by my local bakery. I actually ended up picking off most of the detailing she had done, piped on some pre-made Wilton black frosting and hand-painted the trim with metallic gold airbrush food coloring. Whew! LOL! Next time I think I’ll just make my own. We also had cupcakes with little flags for our guests since Henry got to have the whole top layer for himself to smash into and I saved the bottom for our studio session.
I made a bib with black faux fur I had on hand and decorated it and a black t-shirt I purchased with a #1 cut from gold painted fabric. I also made a crown out of the same gold fabric and lined it with felt to make it more sturdy and Henry wore it like the little king he is! So glad he liked it. He seemed to really enjoy the whole party. I think I’ll have my hands full with this little guy as he gets older!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
Little Ruthie : 2 Years Old : Child Portrait Session
I have a confession to make… I’m not perfect. I’m not a perfect person, and I’m not a perfect photographer. I’ve made my share of mistakes (which I skillfully correct and have never ended in a disgruntled customer, I am happy to say!) and there are definitely aspects of my business and photography skills that I’d like to improve upon… but I have to say, I think I have one thing nailed…
I’m awesome at creating works of art with my photography that make you FEEL something!
There. After a little self-depreciation, I’m boasting a bit. LOL! Bear with me though… I have a point I’d like to make sure I get across.
Now, most people hire me thinking they want a nice picture of their child, looking at the camera and smiling. I get that! (I mean, I understand that… but I guess I also mean that I get plenty of those to pick from)
I love those smiling portraits too! I’ll print one as an 8×10, 11×14, (or 16×20 if I’m feeling frisky) for my wall at home…
But it’s the images where my son isn’t looking, and often times, not even smiling that grab me: Make me stop & stare. I find myself studying his fine features that I adore so much… his soft hair, his long lashes… sigh.
THOSE are the ones that I wouldn’t dare put on my wall any smaller than a 16×20 and tempt me to order that 24×30 that I think just might be perfect!
I have found, repeatedly that I capture at least one of these grab-you-by-the-heartstrings-type of emotional images, that I throw into the proofs and hope that my customers are brave enough to step out of the box and order.
This mom is definitely one of those customers who always steps up to the plate and orders the images that are “non-traditional” and charged with emotion. Often times, we settle on the ones that make us laugh, that communicate the “realness” of life with four healthy children.
Here are some of my favorite images from our last session with little Ruthie who is growing up, and graduated from the “baby plan” and is now 2 years old!
Enjoy!
Becca
Rebecca Lynne Photography : Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota's Best Photographer! 