I love Christmas lights!  As much as I like them, one would think that my house would be covered with them this time of year.  Alas, it is not.  I have had enough back/neck/spine issues through the years, therefore I am not getting up on a ladder and on the roof to conquer such a mission.  My husband said to me when we got married, “You aren’t going to be one of those people who wants to put lights on the house, are you?”  I have never pushed the issue – pick and choose your battles, I say.  Tonight, after pointing out a house to my daugher that had the most beautiful lights, she exclaimed, “I am going to have my house COVERED in lights someday!  My house is going to be the house with so many lights, that everyone around will drive past my home, just to see them!”  I look foward to that day!  Until then, I am going to enjoy my tiny pot with spruce tip and twinkling lights outside my door – even just a little Christmas twinkle around my home makes me happy!  🙂

I witnessed the sweetest moment from a client this weekend.  I am in the process of changing out the art on my studio walls.  One of the most recent portraits to grace my studio is this picture of a beautiful high school senior.  As a four-year old was passing this image on his way out the door this weekend, he leaned over and gave her a big kiss.  It was SO incredibly precious!  While I would like to think in was the beauty of the image that struck this lad, I am more inclined to believe it was the beauty of this senior!  🙂

Tonight, I was reading a post on facebook from a fellow photographer.  She was talking about restoring some old pictures for a client and she brought up a point that I have stressed to my clients before, but deserves attention again.  How many photos have you printed lately?  Are they backed up on a disk or have you even gotten that far?   Computers are known to break down on occasion and I know of more than one person that has completely lost a prized possession that can never be replaced, a piece of their history – their pictures.  Let’s pretend that all of your pictures are off of your computer and safely backed up on disks.  What happens if the disk is corrupt and the files can’t be retrieved?  Or if the files are never printed, what happens when 20 years from now, forms of data storage for a computer have changed and you don’t have the equipment to download the files anymore?  Never underestimate the importance of printing out your pictures.  If at all possible, take time to have your pictures printed for your personal enjoyment and to have something to pass down to your family.  It’s an investment you will never regret making.

Today, I was listening to the news and heard about a family that had lost their home after a fire.  The first thing that the dad said was, “I can no longer flip through the photo album and enjoy our pictures.”  And the statement made me think, through my photography, I have the privilege of creating art – arguably a family’s most valuable possession.  Next to my family, my pictures of my family are most prized to me!

I cannot believe how the time has flown!  We are well into the fall season!  My days have been busy continuing to work on senior pictures,  and creating beautiful family portraits, as well.   A couple of weeks ago, I spent 3 weeks at a photography workshop in Des Moines.  This workshop covered something I have been in the process of creating for my studio  – I am SO excited to reveal this to you in an upcoming post!  Stay tuned for exciting news coming soon!

Take advantage of fall – creating pictures when the trees and foliage are turning color.  Take photos in an area where the colors are strong.

A senior session this last Friday took me back to my roots.  I grew up on a farm in Audubon, Iowa.  Even though I was a farm girl, I have always been a town girl at heart.  However, this last week, while taking pictures on a farm, I became a bit nostalgic.   We went into one empty building where I saw a mama cat with 2 baby kitties scurry away to hide behind a hay bale.  New life is always exciting on a farm, and my family loved to tame the new baby kittens we found in the barn.  We walked among the chickens during the session.  My chores growing up included gathering the eggs and feeding the chickens.  One thing I did not anticipate was taking pictures, such as this one, up in the haymow.  I haven’t climbed into a haymow in at least 27 years and I stuggled a bit getting up and down, reminding me that I need to work on my upper body strength.  I was reminded of the fun we had spending hours playing in our haymow growing up.  The pictures that we came up with were totally worth the workout and I am enjoying the memories that came back to me during our session!

Today is Labor Day and traditionally, in our home, that is usually what we do – labor.  Past activities on this holiday having included trimming the bushes, tending to flowers, mowing the lawn….  This year, my weekend has primarily been dedicated to working on pictures.  The first task was finishing assembling pictures of my kids – namely assembling my son’s track pictures from the spring into books for him.  As much as I like creating pictures for others, I love creating timeless photographic memories for my children to cherish as they grow up.  The rest of the weekend was dedicated to retouching and ordering pictures for clients.  My husband is a family practitioner.  One of his sayings is, “You get the best diagnosis from your patient.”  In other words, you learn so much simply by listening to others.  Likewise, I can get the best pictures of my clients, simply by listening to them – their ideas, favorite colors, interests, and by observing their personalities.  This picture of Christie was created after she had expressed an interest in having a picture that represented her love of her old school and her new school – she thought that something that looked like a reflection of the past would be cool.  You are looking at the final result of the collaberation between the two of us.

Photograph the insides of buildings, not just the outsides – especially beautiful are churches and buildings of historical significance.

Try filling your camera frame with your subject.  Get in close, but not too close, for a dramatic picture!  For other photography tips, please check our “Portraits by Michelle” facebook page.