the Edwards bunch

It was crazy.  We'd schedule a photo shoot and it would rain, every time, for the better part of this past year!  So I think we were all just pretty excited when it finally happened.  Even then, it wasn't perfect.  It was really windy, and it was at the turn of the season when the sunset seems to sneak up on you, so we were running out of light.  Still, the kids were great and we worked fast, and we got some good ones here at the corner of Ninth and Pine.

You should click to enlarge this one and get a good look at Casey's expression.  Just love it.

Turns out this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the train.  It hasn't been parked at the old depot since.  Its colors were fantastic.

When it got too dark to get anything else, we moved downtown for a chance at getting some more shots.  Unfortunately, it really was too dark, but we did get this one in front of a shoe store on Santa Fe, thanks to a random parked car that lent the use of its headlights:

I really didn't feel like I got all the shots I wanted, so we scheduled a second shoot, this time at Lakewook Park, and now there are so many it was really hard for me to pick which ones to post!

I love this one.  I was telling Deb while I took it that some of my favorite shots happen as soon as we decide the photo shoot is over.

Thanks, guys, for hanging in there!  It was worth our wait to finally get y'all some family photos.  And just in time for Christmas.  ha ha

a growing k-state family, at lakewood park

the Fields family

 I get stage fright before every photo shoot.  What if we can't find the right lighting?  What if they aren't comfortable with me?  What if I completely forget how to adjust my settings?  What if their kids won't cooperate?  What if the husband was dragged kicking and screaming to the photo shoot?  What if?  What if? 


Silly me.

 Brad and Adie found this great little alley way downtown - well, I put the flourishes on the wall in editing, but it was a great alley, and I love it when people find new places to take pictures!  They wanted a shot of themselves first, dressed up, (don't we need to remember life before kids?  Wait....was there life before kids?)
and then we added the kids to the mix.

 Their older son just signed up for guitar lessons, so he's pretty anxious to learn how to tame that beast.  More power to him. 
Last year, I picked up Jamie's acoustic and vowed I was going to impress him and secretly learn how to play.



It lasted two and a half minutes.
The sobbing carried over into the night.

 This amazing open building structure was surprisingly still untouched.  I thought it was something in progress, but no work had been done to it since I did a photo shoot there last month.  It's just perfect for having a little fun with shadows, and letting kids run and skip and conveniently forget that they are in the middle of a shoot.  :) 

 When we finished up, I looked across the street and saw this fantastic wall, with perfect indirect lighting, and we took several more there. 

 I think this is one of my most favorite family shots ever.  I owe it to Brad, who thought to stand right there and hold up the arch.  If I ever think that all the ideas have to be mine, I'm certain my photo abilities will slowly shrivel up and die.  Sometimes the best shots happen by "accident."  You just gotta have that camera ready and go with the flow. 

 What a dad shot.  I love that they did this!




 

So there ya have it...lots of shots due to lots of creativity and location changes and kids who were great to work with.  I figure if I can make the kids feel at ease so they think they're there for fun, their personalities will come out on their own. 
This morning at church, the two older ones came up to me and gave me a hug.  They couldn't wait to look through their pictures when they got home.  That's when I feel I've done my job as a photographer.