Camellia + John Paul : Children’s Portrait Session
These littles are very dear to my heart. They just so happen to be my niece and nephew who live just far enough away to make taking photos a little hard to coordinate with school and work schedules. Needless to say, I was thrilled to finally have them back in my studio for some fun portraits documenting their ages (4 & 7).
The outfits their mama dressed them in were adorable and classic and so fitting for their ages. Camellia loves the camera and strutted her stuff like a girl who has seen a few episodes of America’s Next Top Model. Such a honey.
And JP, he’s golden. He really is. My parents get to spend lots of time with them since they live right next door and they never have a bad word to say about either of them. Gotta love grandparents.
I hope you love these images as much as I do… well, maybe that’s asking a lot if you’re not also related to them, but leave me a comment below and let me know which picture is your favorite!
Enjoy!
Becca
McNaughton Family : Professional Family Portraits
Hello again!
I’m excited to share a few great images from my most recent session with you. They are of the McNaughton family who has done several sessions with me over the last few years and it’s extra special because they come all the way from the Washington D.C. area! They are just THAT loyal! … Oh, and her parents live about an hour from my studio so they stop by there for a visit since they’re in the area. 😉
This time around, we have the little guy who is 2 years old, almost 3… and little miss who is 5 years old now. I laughed when I was taking these because for her 2 year old portraits, she was “challenging” my photo taking skills and her brother tried to follow suit, but in both cases I worked my magic and captured some of the family’s favorite portraits.
Carys now, after 5 years of working with me was amazing! Last session I was so impressed by her willing and eager attitude, but this time she just blew me away. I think she’s taken up watching America’s Next Top Model, judging from some of the poses this girl was giving me! Love her so!
Here’s a sampling of a few of my favorites. I really love the outdoor ones of Carys with the flowers and the family ones turned out great too!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
Tyler : Senior Portraits
It’s another returning customer! Yay! I can’t say enough how much I love those! I seriously appreciate them because I KNOW just how many “pro” photogs are popping up all over the place, trying to lure my loyal, satisfied customers away with a few glitzy images and the promise of LOW prices.
“You always get what you pay for.”
LOL! One of my favorite expressions and it usually rings true!
Back to Tyler… I met him on his family farm in the morning and we did some shots of him with his favorite brand of tractors, Allis-Chalmers. I love how the sky cooperated and gave us a brilliant blue to compliment the bright orange tractor.
Next we did some around the farm near some different sheds and a few in where they store the hay.
Don’t you love the one where’s he’s scratching his beard? That’s SOOOO him!
I will point out though, something you’ll probably notice yourself, is his glasses. I didn’t ask and so I wasn’t prepared for his self-tinting transitions lenses.
I tried my old trick that I’ve used in the past in this situation, which is to hide them in a pocket for a while until they turn back to clear before shooting a few quick shots.
Well, the lenses weren’t transitioning back very fast at all. And it was FREEZING out that day… so we did the best we could and I knew the in-studio portraits were going to be fine and I knew from the past that those were the ones his mom liked to order for her own wall and to give as gifts, so I went ahead and processed the images as best I could to lighten the lenses… but there wasn’t a lot I could do and still have it look good.
I sucked up my pride and offered to re-shoot the ones that were their favorite, that they wanted to order, but his mom is so sweet, she knew that’s just the way he always looks anyway and she ordered without hesitation.
Did I mention I love this woman??? LOL!
Thank God for small graces.
Enjoy!
Becca
P.S. As advice, be sure to mention to your photographer, in case they don’t ask if you or a family member wear transitions lenses. As a favor, a lot of optometrists will borrow you a set of frames that are the same or very similar to your glasses that don’t have glass which will also help with the problem of glass glare! 🙂 As for me, I plan on adding this to the list of questions I ask when customers call to book their sessions! 
Anne : Clear Lake High School : Senior Portrait Session
This session is from last fall, but I just got so far behind on my posts and I still wanted to showcase this lovely senior because she is so photogenic!
Anne’s senior portrait session was the one that included both indoor studio portraits and outdoor, on-location portraits as well.
I love these sessions because I can really customize the backdrops to fit the outfit… and also find the locations with perfect lighting! Anything can look good if the lighting is right!!! (Just my $0.02 for you)
After the fun indoor shots showcasing her unique activities like playing the tuba in her high school band, and drama with the Stebens Children’s Theatre we were ready to head out for some cool outdoor images.
Anne had couple fun hats she wanted to wear with some of her outfits, so for the furry mad-bomber hat, I decided the railroad tracks would be perfect. I know, I know some people think the RR track pictures are overdone, but I’m with her and her mom on this one. The image is just so symbolic of young adulthood, and this being just the beginning of their life journey.
Call me a hopeless romantic.
Oh, and the ones in her prom dress by the water… those remind me of some kind of fairy tale… like The Princess and the Frog or The Swan Princess. I just love it!
Anyhow, that’s enough out of me for today!
Enjoy!
Becca
Karrin : Glenville-Emmons High School : Senior Portraits
I had the honor of photographing Karrin’s older sister, Karissa, way back in 2007 for her senior session. Now, it was little sis’s turn! And boy, did this girl bring it on!!!
I LOVE the fun basketball images we got. She loves this dribbling picture.
And this ivory lacy top was my favorite indoor outfit with this awesome attitude pose.
Then we went outside and did some fun ones in her cute yellow sundress! LOVE LOVE LOVE this one where she’s laying in the grass.
At this point in the game, it gets harder and harder to make each senior session unique… but I think we knocked this one out of the park!
Enjoy!
Becca
P.S. We did a sisters portrait back in 2007 and again this year… Karrin sure changed! Glad her mom had me do that picture for them back then.
Schlaak Family : Family Portrait Session
You’ll probably recognize this adorable family if you’ve been reading my blog for over a year now. These boy’s mama has been diligent about having their annual portraits taken ever since she discovered my studio and fell in love with my work.
I have to say, I fell in love with them too! I love these guys. The boys, Aiden and Ryan are sooo sweet. Just rumble, tumble, healthy little boys. And the family as a whole, they just have that young, fun-loving personality that I adore.
This year we decided to try out the long grass by the pond and I must say it looks darn good considering we had bright, open skies. Then, later we traveled to another location I have and did some with the steel siding on the shed and the old doorway.
I captured some really funny facial expressions of the boys, ones that I’ve seen on their faces over the years so I know it’s very “Aiden” and “Ryan” of them… if you know what I mean.
I am thinking a 9 opening collage of square images would be perfect to use these in.
I’m pretty sure their mama’s going to want to strangle me because I uploaded a gallery of about 100 images! YIKES! Normally, I am able to keep theirs below 80, but the extra 9 face shots of each boy added up.
I’m thinking it will be hard for her to “eliminate” any of them since they’re all so cute! But that’s what the multi-opening collages and proof books are for.
I only wish I had the time to design coffee table books because that would be a fun thing to create from a session like this.
Enjoy!
Rebecca
P.S. If the slideshow below shows up kind of “wonky” I apologize… I’m trying to figure out why I haven’t been able to get them to work lately.
Ashley : Mason City HS : Senior Portraits
Yup, I’m back! With another beautiful senior girl to share. I just loved working with Ashley and her mom.
They also brought along Ashley’s doggie, Morkie… isn’t he the cutest???
And her sister came along for a few sibling shots. They are both so gorgeous! I love the funny expressions, myself!
It’s always hard to narrow down the images when you have so many good ones, but I’m always able to get it down to about 6 or 7 of each outfit usually. Then, the family gets the hard choice of picking from the best of the best for their reprint order.
It’s a rough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. 😉 *wink!*
Enjoy,
Becca
Stacie and Casey : Engagement Session
This attractive young lady is someone I am really excited to see get engaged! I used to babysit Stacie back when I was in high school. I was honored when she told me I was the first person she thought of for pictures. (And she actually emailed me the same day he proposed I think!) LOL!
I had a great time getting to know her fiancee, Casey. He seems like a responsible guy that has a lot of the same interests as Stacie. Namely farming.
When asked what he first noticed/liked about Stacie, he replied, “I liked that she liked tractors.” Awwww! And Stacie has been actively farming with her parents for a while now, taking after her mom, I guess. (I remember seeing her mom in the tractor about as much as her dad.)
To add a more personal touch to their portraits, they brought some red/green tractor brand sweatshirts and some toy tractors to create some more fun images. I was racking my brain trying to come up with something cool. So I had them lay on their stomachs, facing each other, playing with the tractors… can’t you just hear them making the “Vrroom, vroom” sounds?
Love it!
And, I had this idea to make the heart shape with their tractors and some sidewalk chalk to help pull it all together. Any of these would be really fun for save-the-dates!
Enjoy!
Becca
P.S. The song “John Deere Green” by Joe Diffie kept playing over and over in my head as I was proofing this session. If you don’t know the song, look it up. 🙂
“On a hot summer night, He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene, In letters 3 foot high, And the whole town said that he should have used red, But it looked good to Charlene, In John Deere green…”
Ellie & Alex : Engagement Portrait Session
I’m excited to share the images from my latest engagement session with you. It has been truly beautiful around here the last two weeks. I have a ton of trees that turn colors and they make fall a very photogenic time of year at the Rebecca Lynne Photography studio!
This gorgeous young lady, Ellie, just so happens to be related to me through my husband. And so I’ve known her over 10 years now, but haven’t gotten to spend all that much time with her before now.
All Ellie knew… was that she loved LOVED my images! 🙂 I was touched by how adamant she was about having me photograph her wedding.
And I’m really enjoying getting to know her better and hearing about her wedding day plans. It’s so much fun to create a “vision” for the day… and it really helps when your photographer has a good understanding of that vision ahead of time so they can capture it fully.
The day we took these portraits, it was pretty windy and I was a tad worried about Ellie and her long hair getting blown every which way. But she was so cool and laid-back about it all. She was like, “No biggie, I can put my hair in a ponytail”… my kind of girl! 🙂
Anyhow, I just wanted to say, before I sign off… that I really like Alex and know he will be a great match for Ellie. Seeing the way they interact with each other and all the cute faces they’d share, makes me feel really good about their upcoming marriage.
Enjoy!
Becca
The McManus Family : Dubuque, IA
One of my great friends from Austin, MN moved to Dubuque, IA after her husband was tranferred with his job. It’s not easy maintaining long-distance friendships in this day and age. Even though it seems easy enough to keep “updated” on facebook, you still can’t beat a good ol’ phone call or better yet… an in-person visit!
I was lucky enough to find a weekend that worked for both of us, where I was able to drive down (sans Collin) to have a nice visit. We also were planning on taking some family portraits since it had been over a year since we’d been able to do that… and also to celebrate the fact that they ADOPTED a son! 🙂
This little heart-breaker stole their hearts last year before Christmas when they were sent the first picture of him. He was a little baby in an Ethiopian orphanage then, and now he just turned 1 year old and is a very lively toddler!!!
I felt so blessed having the opportunity to document this amazing moment in their lives. I know how badly my friend hoped and prayed for a new member to be added to their already wonderful family. I am so thrilled that their adoption went along so smoothly and they have a happy, healthy boy. He is totally adorable and has the BEST laugh!
His big sister, you might recognize from previous posts if you followed on the old blog… she is just as pretty as ever with her long dark hair and chocolate brown eyes. I just love her gorgeous eyelashes.
She is also very smart and loves to “read” books. She has dozens memorized and it won’t be long until she really is reading them.
I hope my friends love the images I captured for them, I sure put my heart into this job.
Enjoy!
Becca
The Houg Family : Garretson, SD
The next family I was honored to photograph while in Sioux Falls was actually a relative of my husband’s side of our family. They moved out to Garretson after I had begun professional photography and enjoyed my work so much they continue to book a session each year to capture new images.
In the past, we have frequented the beautiful Palisades Park near their home. This year we decided to go to keep thing really simple and easy, and drove to the city park right in town.
My brother-in-law was also along for the fun, watching Collin while I worked. (And he took the picture above) It also gave him his first opportunity to play with his cousins because every other time I went out there, I left him at home with Dad.
Everything went amazingly well and we were done within 45 mins. Next, they wanted to capture a few images of the newest member of their household, Elizabeth. She’s Kristen’s niece and a total cutie pie!
I just loved her cowboy boots! I think Kristen’s having fun shopping for a little girl again, since I’m sure her older daughter, has her own ideas of what she wants to wear.
I had better get back to work! Plenty more to do! I have a couple seniors, a 6 month old baby girl, and wedding images to finish proofing and share soon!
Enjoy!
Becca
P.S. Collin is always in daycare or has a babysitter for my sessions so it was a treat to have him there to see me in action. He really enjoyed it and was glued to my side. Too cute! (But not something I will start doing anytime soon, the poor kid took an elbow when I turned my camera quick and didn’t realize he was right there he was being so quiet! … He didn’t realize it was a contact sport I guess!)
Knutson Family Portraits : Canton, SD
When I was heading back to Sioux Falls, SD for an ordering appointment with the O’Connor family I decided to take the opportunity to offer my services to some families that were interested in having me photograph their families and I got two more takers! Yay! (Which was all I had time in my schedule for anyway! … so it was perfect!)
I got a little nervous driving out to Sioux Falls because it was pouring rain for about an hour leading up to the state line. But once I arrived in town, the weather was beautiful and I couldn’t have been happier!
I was pleased to find the Knutson family ready to have their portraits taken. (Although Dawn says it’s impossible to talk the guys into getting portraits taken, which is why she had me come right to their farm.)
I guess it didn’t hurt any that her hubby got to pose with his giant Case IH tractor! 🙂 Nothing like a lot of horsepower to get a guy to smile!
I just love their little doggie too! She had all the personality of a big, tough dog in a compact body.
Enjoy,
Rebecca
P.S. The one where their son is hugging the dog makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. I know it’s a little weird, but too funny!
The Juhlin Family : Mason City, IA : Family Portraits
This family came to me via a referral from one of my favorite clients so I had a pretty good feeling we’d be a good fit and as soon as I arrived I was at ease. They were such a nice group of people!
I loved their home and their big, shady yard. The kiddos were just the cutest and so well behaved. It was like a dream come true! 🙂
Also, the one son just go engaged to the sister of the gal that referred me so they asked to do a little mini-engagement session at the end. Of course, I obliged!
The whole thing went so amazingly well, it made me thankful I accepted the Sunday morning session.
I can’t wait for the family to see these!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
Erin : Senior Portraits : Albert Lea High School
Erin had a gorgeously sunny day to take her senior portraits. We sure have been blessed with some nice weather around here lately!
But to tell you the truth, I prefer a few clouds in the sky, it just takes away those harsh shadows that you get when you’re trying to do outdoor pictures at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Even with the bright sun, we got tons of amazing outdoor shots. Just look at these!
Naturally gorgeous girl! Love her!
Enjoy,
Becca
Rebecca Lynne Photography : Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota's Best Photographer! 