Stepping Stone Photography

Sneak Peek

2011-11-12T00:11:00.001-06:00

Sneak Peek

2011-11-11T23:33:00.002-06:00

Senior Sneak Peek

2011-11-11T23:00:00.003-06:00

Sneak Peek!

2011-07-06T14:23:00.004-05:00

Sneak Peek

2011-07-01T14:26:00.002-05:00

Family Sneak Peek

2011-06-26T23:56:00.003-05:00

More sneak peeks

2011-05-30T16:03:00.003-05:00

Sneak Peek!

2011-04-12T14:19:00.002-05:00

Adorable 18-month-old nephew

2011-03-05T22:10:00.002-06:00

Sneak Peek

2011-02-10T01:00:00.000-06:00

Sneak Peek

2011-01-19T23:57:00.001-06:00

Sneak Peek

2010-11-16T11:36:00.003-06:00

Sneak Peeks

2010-11-10T14:09:00.005-06:00

Sneak Peek

2010-10-29T00:35:00.002-05:00

Sneak Peek

2010-10-19T21:52:00.003-05:00

Senior Sneak Peek

2010-09-17T23:52:00.002-05:00

Another Sneak Peek

2010-09-06T19:14:00.001-05:00

Sneak Peek

2010-09-04T01:37:00.003-05:00

Sneak Peak

2010-08-31T00:07:00.004-05:00

This session made me wish my girls were littler again!

Sneak Peek

2010-06-15T16:43:00.004-05:00

More Sneak Peeks!

2010-05-19T23:06:00.002-05:00

Sneak Peek

2010-05-11T21:19:00.001-05:00

Another Sneak Peek

2010-04-18T21:06:00.003-05:00

Newborn Sneak Peek

2010-04-06T16:19:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T22:29:00.009-05:00

Sweet Little Guy

2010-03-24T16:27:00.005-05:00

Senior Sneak Peek!

2010-03-10T14:17:00.000-06:00

Sneak Peeks

2010-03-09T11:29:00.001-06:00

Flower Girl

2010-02-27T23:19:00.006-06:00

Love the big flowers on this baby girl!

Sneak Peek

2010-02-16T15:10:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T23:29:00.004-06:00

Sneak Peek

2010-02-10T16:35:00.002-06:00

Little Sweetie

2010-02-09T22:24:00.005-06:00

Really enjoyed photographing this little peanut!

My Little Guy

2010-02-02T12:42:00.005-06:00

Hard to believe he is 8 months old already! Here are some of his 6-month pics, which it seems like weren't taken all that long ago, but time flies! He was in such a great mood, so I really love these.

...and because everything must go in the mouth:

Sneak Peek!

2010-01-26T20:35:00.004-06:00

From the only session I took during my month off :)

New Baby

2010-01-23T13:26:00.004-06:00

Been awhile since I posted any pics! Here are a few of a newborn I photographed recently:

Session Swap

2009-12-31T16:38:00.007-06:00

Here are a few more from the session swap I did with another photographer. We had lots of fun, in spite of the super-chilly weather. The kids were cracking me up with all of their personality!

Mom and Dad's turn to be silly :)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T22:32:00.004-06:00

Christmas Pics

2009-12-23T22:54:00.007-06:00

A few holiday photos I did this year for Christmas cards:

Oh, Tenenbaum

2009-12-22T14:27:00.003-06:00

Little Fella

2009-12-21T22:02:00.003-06:00

My nephew, at 3 months old. I tried a new black and white conversion and really like how they turned out:

Handsome Little Guy

2009-12-20T22:55:00.003-06:00

I've had fun working with this little boy over the past few years, and it was really neat to see the 2-year-old he has become. He wasn't quite sure what to think of me at first, but he warmed up eventually and we had a lot of fun! I love how these turned out!

His initial opinion of me :)

Beautiful Senior

2009-12-06T22:13:00.005-06:00

I had a wonderful time doing this session! :)

Fall = Football

2009-11-24T17:51:00.006-06:00

Just realized I never posted these! This year for the kids' fall pictures we decided to go a different route and borrow the highschool football field. It was difficult to find it available this time of year, but we managed to pull it off. The kids LOVED it!

Let it Snow?

2009-11-17T11:00:00.004-06:00

This is a family session I had the first week of October. For reasons beyond us, we ended up being in a semi-blizzard. It kept coming down harder and turning into a sloppy kind of snow, so finally we had no choice but to find somewhere to take it indoors for the last part of the session. The snow looks pretty on the first batch we took before it started to get really wet and cold, but in OCTOBER?? So, we improvised at the end, but I really love the outdoor shots with their nice blue coordinating outfits...wish we could have stayed out longer! Wonderfully fun family :)

Fun times running up and down the hall :)

Sneak Peeks

2009-11-12T01:08:00.004-06:00

Forever

2009-11-11T22:20:00.006-06:00

Got to try all sorts of fun stuff with this couple! Tons of favs, but I tried to narrow it down:

Ah, Love

2009-11-04T22:01:00.004-06:00

This couple is getting married in two days! So happy for them; they were a blast to work with in spite of the super-cold weather. Here are some of my many favs from their session:

On the Farm

2009-10-23T22:07:00.003-05:00

This little girl wasn't feeling well the day of her session and wanted to be held a lot, but she did her best to be a good sport. We got a few of her with her new baby sister and went around to all the places she loves to go on the family farm. :)

Love the toddler 'tude in this one!

Baby on the Way

2009-10-20T20:27:00.005-05:00

I have had quite a few sessions lately and so have not been able to share much of them. These are a few more photos from a maternity session I had recently, where baby is expected to arrive any time now! I really enjoyed working with the new parents-to-be and wish them the best! :)

Sneak Peak -- Family

2009-10-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

Sneak Peak -- Senior

2009-10-08T00:15:00.003-05:00

Sneak Peak -- (another!) Engagement

2009-09-29T16:16:00.001-05:00

Sneak Peak -- Engagement

2009-09-29T11:27:00.003-05:00

Just a few from the other night; the sun went down and we lost our light WAY sooner than expected, so we're going to finish this weekend :)

Snips and Snails...

2009-09-23T16:11:00.005-05:00

Well, I realize I have been lagging behind with updating, so I have oodles of photos to post. :) First being some more from my little nephew's newborn session:

Back from Vacay!

2009-09-14T22:29:00.000-05:00

A few quick shots of Lake Amelia

Sneak Peak--18 Month Old

2009-09-05T10:14:00.002-05:00

Sneak Peak--Maternity

2009-09-04T18:32:00.001-05:00

Sneak Peak--Newborn

2009-09-03T14:01:00.001-05:00

Gorgeous Boy

2009-09-01T21:26:00.009-05:00

Sharing a few of my little guy's 3-month pictures! I'll admit I got carried away, with such a charming subject :)

This one cracks me up--munching on a tasty arm!

Apparently I wasn't exciting enough!

This is what he thinks of me!

This was supposed to be a shot of him on his belly, but he wouldn't stop rolling over!

I love the fist-chewing :)

and a collage I put together for his room:

(original template was a free share created by another photographer; I customized and added the saying at the bottom)

Brown-Eyed Cutie

2009-08-25T14:33:00.004-05:00

Sharing some more of this little guy (see his sneak peak from a few weeks ago).

Just being a boy :)

A little bit of true personality comes forth (his facial expressions were totally cracking me up!)

3 Months Old

2009-08-23T14:30:00.001-05:00

Three months ago today, we added a new little one to our family!

This one taken by my husband:

My New Nephew

2009-08-18T12:17:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited to have another nephew, born less than two weeks ago! Here is a sneak preview of his newborn pics:

Dashing

2009-08-12T15:57:00.002-05:00

Some recent pics of the wee bub...doesn't he look like he's on his way to the country club? :)

Little Guy

2009-08-11T10:35:00.004-05:00

This little one was born a month after my own:

Sweet Little Girl

2009-08-04T21:51:00.009-05:00

At first she wasn't so sure about the whole thing, but it didn't take long before she was an expert at being photographed! :) Here are some of my favorites from this one (check out her sneak peak for more):

My absolute fav!

The "trying not to smile" look that her mom was hoping for a shot of :)

Cheery girl!

Some fun shots of her playing on the playground equipment

All Boy

2009-08-01T20:11:00.004-05:00

Love this little guy--he's always so much fun to photograph, and cracked me up with his jibberish. Since his birthday is during the winter, it's rare that we get to have a session outdoors, so this was a nice change! :) I got my exercise chasing him all over, and had a chance to try out my new chair that I picked up just that morning! Here are some more from his session (see his sneak peak, posted a week or so ago).

Three Years Old!

2009-07-29T14:51:00.010-05:00

My youngest daughter recently turned three! I took her out for two separate sessions, and we had a lot of fun doing her three-year pictures. I love how expressive she is, and was pleased to get a little bit of everything from her, from excited to attitude! :)

This first batch I have been wanting to do for a long time--ever since I found the little fairy princess skirt in a store; ended up making the flower halo myself.

We drove into town afterwards and I let her choose her own locations. First she wanted some on the stairs we used for her sister's photos a couple months ago.

All dressed up and no place to go :)

Next she wanted the blue wall I had been telling her about. I love the look in this one:

Her way of letting me know she was "done" with this location

...and some shots downtown. This one focusing on her cute little feet:

Thought it was funny that we ended with this shot, since this is the way we ended her pictures a year ago--with her holding up a flower to me! (on her own--I did not tell her to do it either time)

Here is the shot from last year:

Sneak Peak-- handsome 3-year-old boy

2009-07-27T15:54:00.002-05:00

Sneak Peak-- 3 Year Old Sweetheart

2009-07-25T16:15:00.002-05:00

2 Months Old

2009-07-23T23:32:00.005-05:00

My little guy turned two months old today! A few quick shots I took of him tonight...

...and to show how much he's grown, here he is next to the little wagon he laid in for his newborn pics:

Did he really fit in that thing just two months ago??

Sneak Peak -- 18 Month Old

2009-07-21T13:52:00.002-05:00

Maternity

2009-07-19T21:00:00.007-05:00

A few shots from my sister's maternity session. Can't wait to meet my new nephew!

My Boy

2009-07-15T16:11:00.003-05:00

Some new pictures of my little one, who turned 6 weeks old!

All taken using natural light only :)

Engaged

2009-07-14T20:30:00.005-05:00

Over the 4th of July a friend of mine became engaged, so I got a few quick shots of the happy couple and her awesome ring:

On her finger...

...and on his

Just for fun

Big congrats to them!

C-A-K-E

2009-07-13T11:32:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy week preparing for my daughter's third birthday! She wanted a Word World party, so I decided I would try to replicate the cake from the episode about Dog's birthday. Here is what we ended up with:

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T08:50:00.001-05:00

For Independence Day

2009-07-03T23:39:00.005-05:00

Upcoming Holiday

2009-07-02T23:00:00.007-05:00

Independence Day is probably my favorite holiday! As always, we got some shots of the kids in their holiday garb. My nephew had to miss the session with my kids because he was sick, so I did his on another day. This year our church is doing a float for the parade, so we thought that would make a fun backdrop for his pics. Here are a couple:

...and a shot of him standing in front of it on the trailer! Can't wait to see the finished project; I'll be sure to post pics after the parade!

Growing So Fast...

2009-06-25T23:30:00.006-05:00

My little bugger is one month old already!

Giving me a dirty look

Had enough of this!

...but he got over it pretty fast!

He matches my living room ;)

Where Has the Time Gone??

2009-06-13T00:24:00.008-05:00

Somehow two weeks slipped away from me! Tomorrow my little guy will be three weeks old; I can hardly believe it! I did his newborn pictures our first week home, but have not finished processing all of them. I'll share more later, but for now here are some of the first ones I did:

This is the cocoon I spent a good deal of time making before he was born. I love how it turned out and have already picked up several more colors of yarn so I can make some more! :)

One Week Old!

2009-05-30T11:18:00.002-05:00

Here are a few more quick snaps of the new little guy, who turned a week old today!

Introducing...

2009-05-23T20:06:00.004-05:00

The newest addition to our family! Born very early this morning, weighing 7 lb., 4 oz., and 20 1/2 inches long. He is such a sweet, easy-going baby. I can't wait to do his newborn portraits, but in the meantime, here is a quick pic taken at the hospital:

Maternity Pictures

2009-05-19T23:21:00.018-05:00

Alright, here are the results of my fruitless attempts at taking my own maternity photos! I actually would have preferred to hire someone to do this, but our last few months were just so busy I didn't get to, and ended up having to do a few snaps here and there whenever we got a few minutes. Unfortunately, with the combined total of five hours and six different brief sessions, there are really only a couple of shots I'm happy with--and the best one of them was taken by my two-year-old! LOL As it turns out, being very pregnant, setting up backdrop stands and running back and forth while trying to handle two hyper children and operating a camera and flash blindly from afar only results in...a VERY tired subject!!! So yes, I look quite exhausted in all of them, and eventually gave up altogether. Oh well, at least they are realistic then, eh? And I can definitely pride myself in the fact that my camera and flash do NOT operate well without me--woohoo! I will now be happily returning to my spot BEHIND the camera where I can make sure it does what it's supposed to. :) Being the good sport that I am though, I will share some of what we did get...along with my editorial comments of course!

These were taken by hubby, but we didn't realize until later when I looked at them that my flash had not been firing right on most of the shots. Here are the ones that turned out the best:

Having fixed the flash issues, I found some time to redo the shots with my youngest daughter since they hadn't turned out. This time though I had to rely on the camera set to self-timer, because hubby wasn't around:

This one is more for memory preservation than anything...this is my daughter's rocker where I used to nurse her as an infant and now read her a story and rock her every night. It's here that she has really bonded with the baby, who kicks her throughout her story, hehe. :) So, I set the camera on the stool and put it on the timer to get a shot of us in the chair...she got a bit too comfy and her hair is all over, but that's how it always is. Like I said, at least these are realistic!

I then got both the girls together on another evening to get a shot of them in their "big sister" shirts. Unfortunately we had rearranged our living room during the interim, so I could no longer use it for photos and had to use my daughter's room instead. We had to put the camera on a tripod all the way up against the wall, and being not-so-skinny by this point, there was no way for me to check the shots...so we had to just wing it and hope it worked. Hmm...

(as you can see, this was taken during the timeframe that my oldest daughter forgot how to smile...she thinks she's smiling; really she does! I can sympathize with her though--I'm not photogenic in the least!)

And just for fun, I let my oldest push the button while my youngest--who metamorphosed into a butterfly somewhere during our mini session--posed with me.

Here are a couple that I attempted on my own...these are probably the most pleasant, as in the rest I am either glaring or yelling at the camera just about the time the shutter clicked...suffice it to say we don't get along when I'm not in control!

Just an attempt to get some color with my new curtain fabric before it became curtains, hehe

And probably my favorite maternity outfit

And my favorite shot of myself, taken by my little girl, who apparently is going to be a genius with the camera! This is the only shot of just me that was along the lines of what I had hoped; so proud of her!

One more try with the girls, for some serious black and white shots...

And this one just about sums it up...do I look exhausted or WHAT??? At least one of us was having fun though!

Expecting

2009-05-18T13:08:00.005-05:00

Alright, this is finally done!! Throughout the last 8 months I've been doing a silhouette photo approximately every four weeks, starting at 7 weeks and ending at 36 weeks (though if this goes on much longer I'll have to do another one this week). So, here is the collage of my progression of silhouettes; sorry if it's small on here.

Quick Couple Shoot

2009-05-15T16:34:00.003-05:00

These are a few from a quick session I squeezed in a few weeks ago. I enjoyed working with them and wish we'd had more time to spend, but thought we did well considering the circumstances. :)

For those of you who are wondering; no I haven't had this baby yet! Hopefully I will get a chance to work on my maternity photos at some point here to post a few of them, but otherwise I'm hoping my next post will be introducing the new baby. Wish me luck!

Stepping Back in Time

2009-05-11T13:36:00.004-05:00

This series is something I wanted to try last year and didn't get the chance--it got cold by the time I thought of it, and the cabin wasn't ready. We received this dress/pantaloon/hat set from a friend, and when I saw the cabin that had been moved out by the historical society building here in town, I thought it would be the perfect combination! So, I waited patiently for 8 months until they got the cabin off the cement blocks and the weather warmed up, and as soon as I had a free evening I took her out for just a few quick shots. Unfortunately the night we chose was VERY windy, so she had a lot of trouble fighting with her hair and the hat; in retrospect I would have waited for a calmer day, but I think the feel of these is still what I was after!

These last ones were taken behind the building and out of the sunlight, so they have a different feel to them.

Hmm...I wonder how these would look in black and white? (though I suppose for them to be realistic they would ALL have to be in black and white, hehe)

Rocket Man

2009-05-06T22:30:00.006-05:00

Here are more of my nephew's two-year photos! I shared a sneak peak a week or so ago, and finished the rest of them today. He did really great during his session, though it was of course still a work-out for two pregnant women (his mother and I) to wrangle two two-year-olds during the shoot (my youngest daughter had to come along because I had no sitter)! We went to three different locations and of course I had to get one of him with his wooden rocket, made by his favorite uncle--my husband, lol. He is fascinated with rockets right now, and he was equally as thrilled with the balloon. It was a little more sunny than I would have liked, but after the past few months of cold it was a nice change! :)

Finally Four!

2009-05-04T23:13:00.006-05:00

At long last, my oldest daughter has finally turned four! She has been looking forward to this for a long time, and loves to remind us of her status as a now-four-year-old. I was a little worried about her photo session, since you all may have noticed she has acquired a bit of stage fright with the camera. It's been difficult to get her to relax and look natural, so I've been really trying to find the best way to work with her on this and I'm thrilled with the results!

First we had to find time between our busy schedules and the rainy weather, so it took us a few days with little slots of available time to do these...the first day was very windy--she toughed it out, but it was a rough half-hour for both of us. As soon as we had some nicer weather we took advantage of the opportunity and we REALLY had fun that day--she got into it and I love the shots I got of her! Since that day went so well, the last time we went out she pretty much took charge and I loved that she wanted to do that--she chose the location and I pretty much let her do her own thing as far as posing. So fun!

I've never used this conversion before, but I loved it for this photo, which is one of my favorites!

Another big favorite of mine!

...and again in black and white just because I love it :)

And this one is all her:

Sneak Peak

2009-04-24T21:51:00.003-05:00

Even though I'm technically "off" work right now, I've been taking a LOT of pictures--and having a blast! I'm so thrilled to be back outside where all I have to take along to a shoot is my camera and very little else--no backdrop stand, no seamless paper, and for the most part lately no props either! There is always enough light and lots of room to get the shot I want...such a nice change from being cooped up indoors! So, today I did my nephew's two-year pictures...it was pretty tiring, doing a session at 9 months pregnant, but I wasn't about to miss out on doing his pictures, and he was being so good for the camera! Here are three quick favs, but there are lots more where these came from; I'll post more when I get a chance to finish proofing the whole session.

Transformation

2009-04-15T11:20:00.008-05:00

Just want to share the results of an ongoing project at our house. When we moved into our house, the living room had been wall-papered, and we have put off all this time tearing it down and updating the living room--we knew it would be quite the job! Finally I decided that, with a new baby coming, it was now or never. My mom agreed to help out (thank goodness, or it would never have happened!), and spent several days over here tearing down paper and painting. It was a huge task, requiring moving most of the living room into the dining room during the project, and we had the kids around at times as well. Once that part was complete, we needed to find curtains, which proved to be just as difficult! In the end, I purchased some fabric samples online, then the fabric after we had chosen one that was close to what I'd had in mind at the start of the project. *whew* Once the fabric was all here, my sister--a.k.a. sewing guru, lol--brought her sewing machine over and made the curtains. I helped with measuring, pinning and cutting and so forth, but I don't know how to use a sewing machine--just a camera--so again, couldn't do without her. :) I guess it's safe to say this was a family project, so a big shout-out to them for their hard work!! Anyway, we finally finished the curtains this weekend and I wanted to share the results!

Here are some "before" photos I was able to locate on my computer (pardon the children's toys...the living room doubles as a playroom right now!):

...And the results!

Now I just need to take some more coordinating photos of the kids to blow up on canvas for the walls! :)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T16:14:00.006-05:00

It's Spring and Time for Easter Pictures!

2009-04-11T12:34:00.007-05:00

I couldn't wait to use my new springy paper colors for the kids' Easter pictures this year. I'll post the ones of my daughters tomorrow, but for now here are my nephew's, and a few of the kids together:

So funny--he gave us a little pouty attitude when we told him we wanted him to smile, and when we took the eggs that he was playing with.

He also thought it would be fun to try to hatch one of the eggs, apparently!

Trying to get one of all three together always proves to be a challenge!

Check out my post from a couple days ago for a cute one of my youngest with her cousin.

Cutie in the Greenhouse

2009-04-10T20:42:00.009-05:00

Thought I would share some more from the session a few weeks ago; loved the colors and lighting from having the session in the greenhouse!

So fun to get to use the tutu I made again!

Always love the black and whites

This cracks me up--we gave her a "bottle break" and she was getting the biggest kick out of us trying to take it back so we could start doing pictures again. Check out that smile!

Love those big brown eyes!

Another of my favs; she loved collecting the tags from the plants, and had quite a few of them, which she was happily sharing with me whenever I asked. :) The little foot sticking up is just too cute!

Little princess walking down the lettuce rows...she was a little hesitant since walking is a new experience.

Such a fun age!

Ah, to be a Kid

2009-04-08T23:06:00.005-05:00

These are just a few snapshots taken recently on one of those rare sunny/tolerably warm days. My kids usually play outside together, but this was a day my oldest was at preschool, which meant I had to fill in and keep my younger one company while she played outside. Since she was hogging all the sand in the sand tray (no, really, I tried to join her and got yelled at for messing up one of her piles that I didn't realize was there on purpose, LOL), I decided to entertain myself by playing with the camera while I sat out there watching her. Good thing she loves to ham it up for the camera!

(Looks like in this one she is waving her shovel at me and accusing me of being a sand-pile-ruiner, hehe)

Fashion queen at the park, where we went after we got tired of hanging out in the yard

Nothing like being carefree!

Sharing a Kiss

2009-04-06T12:06:00.006-05:00

Busy day today...I'm working on the Easter photos we did of the kids last week, and had to share this one of my little 2-year-old and nephew. So sweet!

Sneak Peak!

2009-03-30T12:44:00.003-05:00

Here is a quick sneak peak of a little girl who just turned one! She is such a cutie, and I really loved having the opportunity to shoot inside a nice warm greenhouse at her parents' farm, even though it was actually pretty chilly outside. How cool is it to have a warm and flowery location available in the middle of March? I will post more when I get them finished, but for now here are a few favs:

Her cousin was along to help, and even though she wasn't there to be in the pics, I happened to grab this sweet moment of them after the little one walked to her: