Laura Farris Photography

Getting so close

2012-01-16T11:18:00.004-07:00

It's hard to believe I've only got a week until I get to meet my baby girl. In some ways it seems like this pregnancy has flown by and I don't feel quite prepared for it to be over. However, at times it feels like I've been pregnant forever. I can't wait for next week to come so I can finally hold this little girl for the first time. I'm really going to miss feeling her in my belly though. I know I'll never experience all of this again, ever, and that does make me a little bit sad. I think pregnancy is the most joyful thing I've gone through in life and the realization that this will be my last time is really hitting me. I'm so trying to enjoy every second I have left. I love every time I feel her move, (except when she hits a nerve and sends a shock down my leg.) But as much as I love that part of pregnancy. There is nothing like seeing my baby for the first time. The time I get to spend in the hospital, doing nothing but holding and staring at my very own baby is the best thing in the world. I am so blessed to be able to do that again. I feel like this baby is a such a gift. I love her so much already.

I better get off the computer now. I've still got so much to do before she comes! A big thank you to my husband Ross for taking these of me. I know I'm not easy to photograph! Love you!!!

Nampa Idaho photographer : My two little girls

2012-01-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

I love their how sweet and happy Lily and Stella look in the pictures of them together. They really love each other and are becoming best friends quickly. They make one another laugh all the time. I love listening to the conversations they have together. It's priceless. I need to hide the video camera in their room so I can record some of the cute stuff they say without them knowing. They are blessed to have each other.

Boise maternity photography : Expecting

2012-01-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

I don't think there is anything in the world quite like the anticipation of your very first baby's arrival. It's so exciting! It was easy to tell that these two will be wonderful parents and that they're baby is going to be one lucky little boy! I so wish I would be able to photograph him when he's born, but he'll be making his arrrival at about the same time my little girl will be making hers. So look for him on Amanda Andrew's blog. I'm referring everyone in need of newborn pictures to Amanda for the next couple of months. She's awesome!

Boise Idaho photographer : The Johnson family

2012-01-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

I don't normally do family pictures, but I of course make exceptions for family. This is my sister Danielle and her very very cute family. Those little boys of hers were next to impossible to drag a smile out of that day which is weird because they're usually super easy to get to smile. They're still cute as can be though. Love you guys!

Boise maternity photography : 35 weeks

2011-12-30T09:06:00.004-07:00

I can't believe I'm getting so close to having this baby! I've been feeling guilty lately cause I haven't really taken many pictures of me pregnant at all. When I was pregnant with all the other kids I made sure I took some every few weeks, especially towards the end. But I've been so busy during this pregnancy that I just haven't made it a priority which is sad since she'll be our last baby (that's the plan anyway!)

Well.....it was 53 degrees in Boise yesterday which was amazing. So I called my good friend Emily and asked if she'd mind going out for a little maternity shoot downtown with me. It was sooo nice and warm out. We didn't feel cold at all. I wish it could be like this for the rest of the winter!

So, here I am at 35 weeks pregnant with baby #5. I'm counting down the days until I get to hold her in my arms!

Boise baby photographer : Kennedy

2011-12-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

You might remember this little cutie when she was a newborn back in March. She's still so beautiful but now she's just bursting with personality. It was so much fun to get to see again!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Nampa Idaho photographer : 5

2011-12-23T01:02:00.002-07:00

I can't believe she's 5!!! She'll be going to kindergarten next year and it breaks my heart to even think about it. Lily is the sweetest, funnest, most loving 5 year old little girl I know and I love her to pieces. I'm so glad she's mine!

Love you so much Lily, XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX!

Nampa Idaho photographer : 2 1/2

2011-12-16T18:58:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe Stella is already 2 1/2. She's is the sweetest, funniest, most loving little girl and we love her so so much. She's bursting with personality and I love everything about this little squirt. I feel so blessed to call her mine.

With her beloved "Doddy"

I didn't plan on taking a picture of Stella so similar to one I had of Lily, but I'm glad I've got it. It's really fun to be able to compare my girls at the same age.

Boise newborn photographer : Madeline

2011-12-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

I just love when I have the privilege of spending my mornings with beautiful babies! Madeline was so fun to photograph and to snuggle with. She was only 12 days old but very alert at the end of her session. I love that I got her to focus on me. So very very sweet.

Getting ready!

2011-12-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE Christmas and the decorating of the tree is one of their most favorite things in the world. I put the lights on but I let them put the ornaments wherever and however they want to. It's so fun to watch their faces light up.

Boise Idaho photographer : My family 2011

2011-12-02T08:32:00.001-07:00

Thank you thank you to Audrey and Alison for going out with us to take these. I'm so lucky to have such sweet, talented friends willing to take our family pictures every year!!! This time is was fairly painless since my kids are getting older, but next year I'll have a 9 month old to deal with. I hope she's good girl for us.

Mason is 11, Bo is 9, Lily is 4 and Stella is 2.

Boise newborn photographer : Maisie

2011-12-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

This super sweet little girl came to visit me a few weeks ago. She was a little bit older then I usually photograph but she still did a pretty good job sleeping for me. She was very loved by mom and dad, it was easy to tell!!!

Boise newborn photographer : Elle & Chloe

2011-11-27T14:51:00.002-07:00

What a treat it was to photograph these beautiful baby girls. I love photographing twins but this was the very first time I got to photograph newborn twin girls. I was a little nervous that they would be tough cookies for me since they were almost a month old. But we got lucky and had a couple of pretty sleepy little ladies to work with. Enjoy!!!

Boise newborn photographer : Jonah

2011-11-22T08:26:00.001-07:00

What a sweet sweet tiny little guy. He was lots of fun to work with and to snuggle. It was really easy to tell he's just adored by his parents. So sweet. I love his name too. I don't hear it very often but it's one of my faves. Thanks for trusting me with him, he's perfect!

Boise newborn photographer : Kiyani

2011-11-20T16:00:00.001-07:00

Wow, how beautiful is this little girl? She was just as sweet as could be too. I honestly could have kept her for myself. I'm so glad I'll be having a baby girl of my own in a couple months because I got really baby hungry after this session!

I'd LOVE your vote!

2011-11-15T11:11:00.005-07:00

I usually don't enter contests or ask people to vote for me, but I really want to win a hat from FAAS for my baby girl. If you've got a minute, please head over to FAAS' FB page and leave a comment on a picture from a recent newborn session of mine. Here's the link! CLICK HERE! Thank you!!!

Here's the picture I'm asking for votes/comments on. How cute are they? Many more of these little ladies to come soon!!!

Boise newborn photographer : Cash

2011-11-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Oh my, this little guy started out feisty as can be. But he finally gave in and slept like a baby. He's SO adorable, I'm really happy we were able to get some cute shots of baby Cash!

So big!

2011-11-04T10:06:00.002-06:00

Happy birthday to my oldest son, Mason. He's growing up to be such a good, strong, confident young man and I couldn't be more proud of him. I'm going to try an savor this one last year before he's officially a teenager!

It seems like he should still look like this!

Boise newborn photographer : Jackson

2011-10-23T20:01:00.000-06:00

Such a sweet, cuddly little guy Jackson was. I so love baby boys. They tend to be a bit more layed back and relaxed for me then baby girls. Isn't he such a doll!

Boise newborn photographer : Amelia

2011-10-10T17:15:00.001-06:00

What a beautiful, sweet & tiny bundle Amelia was. She has such a petite little feminine face. So fun to photograph!

Boise baby photographer : Phoenix

2011-10-03T16:27:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I shared a session here on my blog. I threw my back out a few weeks ago and I've had kind of a hard time getting around. I've had and even harder time sitting at the computer long enough to edit a session. But I'm finally feeling a lot better. Almost back to normal and crossing my fingers that I don't hurt my back again any time soon.

So here's Miss Phoenix. Adorable and sweet as can be. Enjoy!

Boise newborn photographer : Kruz

2011-09-07T11:17:00.001-06:00

Oh my goodness, what a handsome little guy. He was fun to spend the day with and he seriously almost makes me wish I was having a little boy.

An announcement...

2011-09-01T16:47:00.007-06:00

Baby girl Farris scheduled to make her appearance in January 2012 ! ! !

Idaho photographer : an end of summer shoot

2011-08-24T11:33:00.002-06:00

I haven't taken my kids out much for pictures this whole summer. So the other day Lily let me know that it's been a while since I took her on a photoshoot and she made it clear that she was ready for one. It kinda took me by surprise cause she's not always in the mood to have her picture taken. But I was more then happy to set up a photo date with my friends Audrey and Emily and their cute little girls. To my surprise, both Lily and Stella were pretty good for me last night.

Boise newborn photographer : Lily

2011-08-22T09:32:00.001-06:00

Such a beautiful baby girl. She was just a dream to photograph, I could have kept her for myself! Thank you for trusting me with your sweet Lily.

Boise newborn photographer : McKinley

2011-08-15T09:27:00.000-06:00

Meet the beautiful Miss McKinley. She is such a lucky little girl with lots of people to love her. I got to meet both grandmas during her shoot and I can tell this little girl is going to SPOILED!

Sweet sisters

2011-08-08T22:14:00.004-06:00

It's so fun having two little girls close in age who adore each other. I so hope that they'll be best friends their whole lives.

Boise baby photographer : Campbell

2011-08-04T09:56:00.000-06:00

You may remember Miss Campbell from her newborn shoot in December. She's just cute and sweet but with much more personality! What a little doll she is.

Boise newborn photographer : Layla

2011-08-01T17:20:00.000-06:00

I was so excited for my friend Amanda to have her baby. She helped me out with newborn pictures when my Stella was born and I was more then happy to return the favor when she had her little girl last month. Thanks for letting me come over and play with the two of you Amanda! She's so so pretty.

Boise newborn photographer : Garrett

2011-07-22T19:15:00.001-06:00

Such a handsome little guy Garrett was. And it was really fun to photograph a little boy since it seems like EVERYONE is having girls lately!

It was easy to tell that big sister Anona was is love.

Boise newborn photographer : Lilah

2011-07-13T23:52:00.001-06:00

Finally I'm blogging my beautiful new niece Lilah. I can hardly believe she's already almost 2 weeks old!

Here she is 6 days old. She made me work for just about every shot!

With big sister Josie.

Then we took Lilah out to orchard last night. She was 12 days old and I was pretty worried she wouldn't want to cooperate with us. But she was pretty darn good so were able to get several outdoor shots of her. I really LOVE outdoor newborn pictures!

Introducing Lilah

2011-07-05T12:10:00.002-06:00

What a privilge is was to be able to witness such a beautiful miracle. I'll never forget watching as Miss Lilah made her way into the world. Thank you Noelle and Russ for letting me be there. And congratulations, she's beautiful!

Big sister Josie.

Boise maternity photographer : Baby girl #2

2011-07-02T23:22:00.002-06:00

My sister Noelle couldn't be any prettier when she's pregnant. I must admit that I get a little jealous of her. NOTHING gets bigger on her but her beautiful belly. How would it be? Anyways.......I'm sure glad we took these pictures when we did because sweet little Lilah made her appearance yesterday. Many of her to come soon!

Boise newborn photographer : Kannon

2011-06-29T21:48:00.001-06:00

This little guy made me work. But in the end it was worth it and we got lots of adorable pictures. He's such a handsome baby boy and so very loved. It was very easy to tell that his parents adore him. I just love that.

JUMP

2011-06-19T15:51:00.000-06:00

My girls LOVE to jump. They could do it for hours on a warm sunny day. Lily was doing lots of her tricks on the tramp and asked me to go get my camera. I love when she askes me to do that :)

2

2011-06-09T03:01:00.007-06:00

2 years ago today, one of the sweetest people I know came into the world. She was nameless, she was tiny and she was perfect. We fell in love with her instantly.

2 years later, Stella is still one of the sweetest people I know but with tons of added spunk and personality. She's still tiny and perfect though, weighing in at only 24 pounds, she's still my baby.

This itty bitty little girl runs our house. She loves to boss her big brothers around and they let her do it because it's too funny to stop her. It seems like she tells Bo off on a daily basis by wagging her finger at him and yelling his name along with a bunch of random words. He deserves it though because he does like to tease her. Lily's not a huge fan of Stella's bossiness. She tattles on her a lot. She really loves her though and they usually get along really well.

Some of Stella's favorite things at 2 are going to play with her cousins, Jojo (Josie), Ty and Crew. She loves to visit Nan and Bammy (Grammy). She loves to jump on the trampoline, climb on the counters, play at the park, take a bath, take her clothes and diaper off 10 times a day, eat bom bom (popcorn), watch Harry (Harry and the Henderson's), Me (Tangled), and the cat show (Cat in the hat or Tom and Jerry). She even knows how to run the TV and DVD player by herself. Our DVD's are now super scratched and very dirty. Most of them skip like crazy. Stella's favorite fooey (food) is pasta. Her favorite toys are her babies and her stacking blocks. The LOVES Phrimmy (Prim) and tells her, "Good girl Phrim" all the time. And Stella LOVES to talk. That girl chatters it up all day. I hope I don't forget the way she talks right now. I'm trying to get lots of video of her because the way she says things is way too cute to not remember. She starts every sentence, sometimes every word with "Uh" in front of it. She also ends just about every thought with an "again", a "too", or a "now" and sometimes all three. And instead of saying yes she always says, "Uh-huh". I also love how she says Lily. She calls her "Yeeyey". Pretty much everything she does and says is just adorable right now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stella! XOXO Mommy

Idaho newborn photographer : Bronwyn

2011-05-26T14:20:00.000-06:00

Another gorgeous baby! I can't get enough. I fell so in love with this little girl, I could honestly have kept her. Every detail about her was perfect, perfect, perfect in every way...

Idaho newborn photographer : Quinton

2011-05-23T08:51:00.004-06:00

Oh my...what a perfect little guy. I seriously could've kept him. He was so sweet and just look at that head of hair! Pure perfection. It's been so long since I've photographed a baby boy. I forgot how fun they could be!

Boise newborn photographer : Naomi

2011-05-18T00:59:00.001-06:00

Naomi was just the sweetest baby ever. Amanda and I had so much fun photographing this precious baby girl. Thank you Melissa for trusting us with your beautiful little Miss. While I was editing her pictures, I could see so much of you in her. And judging by the length of her feet, I'm betting she'll be tall just like her mama! Enjoy her, she's perfect...

My sweet girls

2011-05-15T22:45:00.003-06:00

I LOVE springtime. I love love love it! Everything is blooming and colorful and so very pretty. And we can FINALLY go outside without being all bundled up. The only thing I don't like about spring is that it never lasts long enough and before we know it, it's scorching outside. I've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather while it's here.

My Lily

My Stella: (I should've started with her cause by the time it was her turn for pictures...she was more then ready to collect on her bribery ice cream.)

I did manage to get some of Stella being her usual playful happy self though.

And then she went back into grumpy girl mode.

My ragamuffin

2011-05-04T15:46:00.002-06:00

She really doesn't like to keep her hair up therefore; it's always falling in those beautiful eyes of hers. So, this is what my Stella ends up looking like most days. My little ragamuffin. I couldn't love her more!

Dempsey : Boise newborn photographer

2011-04-28T16:59:00.003-06:00

At just one week old, little Miss Dempsey was as SWEET as can be and so very fun to photograph. I can't get enough of these beautiful baby girls!

Springtime

2011-04-26T14:11:00.004-06:00

I've been so excited for the warm weather to finally arrive. Technically, it's spring but it sure doesn't feel like it. It seems like we've only had a handful of decently warm days so far. But I didn't want to miss the peach trees blooming. So, I got my girls dressed in their Easter dresses and headed out to the orchard. It was a somewhat warm day when we left our house and nicely overcast so I wouldn't have to deal with harsh sun which I was happy about. But about 5 minutes after we arrived at our destination......rain. Rain, a little wind and dark skies. So, I had to work fast before it really started pouring and we had no light to work with at all. I was convinced I'd come away with nothing to show for all my effort.

But I was wrong. I did manage to get some pictures of my girls that I love even though the weather wasn't cooperating, I had funky lighting to work with and two pretty chilly little girls.

Here's Stella sneaking off the bench she knows she's supposed to be sitting on.

And here is her, "I got away with it!" look. So naughty

SPRING SPECIAL!!! : Idaho newborn photographer

2011-04-25T12:24:00.001-06:00

Book a newborn session between now and June 1st and take $75 off your session fee or $40 off your mini newborn session fee. Even if you're not due for several months, it's not too early to book! Call or email with any questions: 208-340-0956 or laura@laurafarrisphotography.com

Adeline : Boise newborn photographer

2011-04-19T16:53:00.004-06:00

Another perfect baby girl. She was soooo very beautiful and just as sweet. I felt honored to spend the day with her.

And just in time for Easter...

Beautiful Mama : Idaho maternity photographer

2011-04-17T16:47:00.005-06:00

So, who looks this good right before they give birth? Seriously, who? Melissa Niu...that's who. How beautiful is she. And not only is she gorgeous and hugely talented, but she's one of THE nicest and most genuine people I've ever met. Melissa, I CAN NOT wait to meet your baby girl!

[Framed]

2011-04-13T21:52:00.011-06:00

I had the privilege of filming an episode of [Framed] with fellow newborn photographer Amanda Andrews. We had so much fun photographing these two sweet babies. Melissa Niu and the B Roll crew were really great to work with. They do such a wonderful job. If you haven't seen the show, check it out.....

And here are some of the shots we ended up with:

And here is Amanda's newborn hat collection. That girl has soooo many awesome newborn props. I think she may have a bit of an addiction ;)

Here we are doin our thing...

Being sandwiched in between two pregnant women after spending several hours with a couple of beautiful baby girls so made me want another little one of my own!

Ryker : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2011-04-09T13:50:00.011-06:00

Believe it or not, this little guy was almost 2 months old for his shoot. I believe he was born at 29 weeks and spent a good chunk of time in the NICU. He was still such a peanut when her came to visit me and weighed only 5 lbs 6 oz for his shoot. What a perfect angel he was. So very sweet.

My new website!

2011-04-07T11:38:00.002-06:00

I've finally gotten around to launching my new website. It's been a project in the making for a while and I'm so glad it's finished. I've also just started my Facebook fan page so go check that out too.

And what's a post without some pictures? Here are my girls. It may be hard to tell since her hair is still pretty long, but Lily just had her 1st haircut last week. She had about 3 inches cut off and it's SO much easier to brush through now!

And Miss Stella being her sweet little self. Love these two little girls!

Their 1st : Nampa Idaho maternity photographer

2011-04-04T09:05:00.010-06:00

I honestly don't think there is anything more special then welcoming your first baby. I'm so excited for my cousin and his darling wife. They're expecting their first baby boy in May. Congratulations guys, I can't wait to meet him!

Lots of pictures, I know. I could've posted all the images from your session. You don't take a bad picture Tasha!

Kennedy : Boise Idaho newborn photographer

2011-03-29T09:02:00.008-06:00

Oh how this little girl makes me want another baby. Miss Kennedy was such a sweet little girl and so fun to cuddle with. Pure perfection...

Izabella : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2011-03-23T08:21:00.007-06:00

What a beautiful little girl Izabella is. She was 1 week old (was born on my birthday which is pretty cool) and 9 1/2 pounds for her shoot. She was so much fun to photograph, I really didn't want her to leave!

Almost 21 months old : Nampa Idaho baby photographer

2011-03-04T08:47:00.004-07:00

My friend Audrey came by the other day to get some natural light pictures of her girls. I think Stella was having a hard time not being the center of attention because she kept trying sneak into Audrey's setup. When I asked her if she wanted me to take HER picture she nodded. So I quickly got her dressed and did her hair before she changed her mind. She gave me a few minutes of good behavior which is really all I can hope for at her age. I love the few I was able to get of her. I wish I could freeze her at this age...she's almost 2!

Splash!

2011-03-02T22:17:00.006-07:00

I've been having lots of fun playing with waterdroplets lately. It's really addicting!

Cassidy : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2011-02-28T10:27:00.005-07:00

What a good little model Miss Cassidy was for us. I worked with Amanda Andrews on this shoot and it was a lot of fun. I wish I could have her with me at every shoot!

9 years old

2011-02-19T17:48:00.004-07:00

I love this boy so much. He's such a fun kid. He makes us laugh everyday and he's such a good big brother to Lily & Stella. I feel so blessed to call him my son. I just wish he'd quite growing up so dang fast. He's half way to being an adult already!!!

Happy birthday Bo!

My lil devil : Nampa Idaho baby photographer

2011-02-17T08:41:00.006-07:00

Stella just looked so cute the other day with the lil devil tattoo on her tiny arm. She kept looking at it and she'd say, "owwwwie" and give it a kiss. What a little dolly she is.

I was planning on not giving her a nap that day because Ross & I were going out later and I wanted to put her to bed early. But she couldn't stay up all day, bless her little heart. She crashed on the floor, looking sweet as could be. I love how she looks when she sleeps.

Have a lovely day.

2011-02-14T08:19:00.012-07:00

I didn't think it would be so hard to get just one decent shot of all four of our kids together, but...

Ouch

2011-02-06T14:43:00.004-07:00

Our little Prim had an accident while we were out of town last week. She's doing well and it getting around great on three legs. The kids are making sure she's getting plenty of extra attention while she recovers.

My goofy girls

2011-01-25T10:01:00.004-07:00

Poor poor Prim. Stella just loves her to death!

A favorite family

2011-01-21T16:58:00.006-07:00

This is another one of my 5 sisters, Danielle, and her beautiful family. We took these pictures in October but I'm just now getting to processing them. I'm always so busy from September through December. I did give her one edited family shot for their Christmas card though, so I don't feel too horrible.

Okay, so when we got to the orchard to take these pictures, I believe that three out of their four children were crying. I know that Chase was crying because he had to wear a red shirt instead a white one under his button up, Ty and Crew, (the 3 year olds) fell asleep in the car on the way and woke up mad. And I'm pretty sure that Faith was upset about something but since it's been 3 months I can't remember what about. Anyways, my point is that I'm happy we ended up with lots of keepers. I must admit I was a little bit worried. I hope you guys love these and I'm sorry it's taken so long to get these done!!!!

My parents

2011-01-18T09:59:00.003-07:00

Such a handsome couple. I love you guys! XOXOXOXO

18 months old : Nampa Idaho baby photographer

2011-01-05T09:48:00.007-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little late posting these. Stella is almost 19 months now. December was just too busy to stay on top of everything.

So, how stinkin cute it my Stella. I'm so in love with this little girl. She's so fun and smart and sweet and snuggly and naughty and the most charming little thing in the whole world. I can't keep my hands off her. I probably give her at least 100 kisses a day.

Happy New year!!!

2011-01-01T10:48:00.003-07:00

From our family to yours.

Thank you so much to Alison and Audrey for taking our family pictures. You guys did a wonderful job! Oh, and I loooove your sofa Audrey.

A New year's special!

2010-12-29T19:06:00.002-07:00

Campbell : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2010-12-28T11:40:00.006-07:00

I photographed the beautiful Miss Campbell the Monday before Christmas and am finally finding a little time to edit her pictures. It's been a busy month! Isn't she the cutest thing. Every square inch of her is scrumptious.

4

2010-12-22T11:39:00.004-07:00

Lily turned four years old a few days ago. I've kind of been mourning that she's no longer three. Three has always been my favorite age for all our kids. They're still so little but say the funniest things. And three still seems like a toddler but four is turning into such a big kid. Why can't my kids stay little longer? When I told Lily that I was kinda sad that she wasn't three anymore she stood up and said, "See, I'm still little mom." I love that little girl so much.

Ross helped me with Lily's four year shoot the other day. She wasn't much in the mood for pictures even though she'd been excited about her shoot for days. Ross threatened to call Santa to let him know that Lily wasn't cooperating with us and she shaped right up.

Stella felt like she needed to get in on the action.

We love you Lily, our big 4 year old!!!

Hudson : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2010-12-16T08:15:00.006-07:00

I thought this session would be a breeze after working with two babies at the same time the day before. I was wrong. Hudson was one tough nut to crack. But after an hour or two of fussy fussy fussy, he finally settled into a nice deep sleep and let me pose him. What a beautiful baby he is and check out that handsome big brother of his. Such cute kids.

Brothers : Boise Idaho newborn photographer

2010-12-14T08:21:00.005-07:00

I think twins are so special. How cool would it be to grow up with a built in best friend. All those scary things that kids have to go through like the 1st day of school would be made a little easier if you didn't have to do it alone. How nice to always have a someone to lean on.

And no twins photoshoot would be complete without a little crying...

My Stella : Nampa Idaho baby photographer

2010-12-03T19:42:00.005-07:00

She's almost 18 months old and just the funnest little girl ever. She's defiantly been the most active and into EVERYTHING kid we've had. She's a tiny fireball and I love every last thing about her. My most favorite thing in the world is to snuggle her close and rub my cheek against hers. Her skin is so soft and smells so good. Sometimes she'll even give me a kiss without me asking her to. I hope I never forget those sweet moments with Stella. She's growing up too fast. I wish I could bottle up all her cuteness so I could open it up and enjoy it all over again when she's a big kid. I love you Stellabell XOXO

Enjoying her bribe.

Madeline : Meridian Idaho baby photographer

2010-11-30T01:32:00.004-07:00

It was obvious that Miss Madeline's parents where absolutely in love with her and it was pretty easy to see why. She was one sweet, happy baby girl.

black Friday......and baby Weston : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2010-11-26T03:02:00.007-07:00

So, It's 3:00 am on black Friday. I hit Walmart at midnight to try and get some good deals on a few toys for the girls. It was CRAZY and I feel lucky to still be alive. I did get a couple things I wanted but the main thing I had on my list was a leapster 2 for Lily. Stupid Walmart only had 8 of them in the whole store. What a joke. However, I just bought one on Amazon for the same price that Walmart had advertised, plus free shipping so I'm not nearly as annoyed as I was a couple hours ago. Anyways, I'm heading back in about half an hour for the 5:00 am electronics sale to risk my life again for Christmas presents for my boys. Crazy, I know. I should probably just go to bed because I'm pretty sure there'll be lots a crazies who've been camping out since the 12:00 am sale and I'll more then likely go home empty handed. Uhhhh, I've gotta try though. So.....I've been sitting here keeping myself busy by editing pictures of baby Weston while I wait to head into the frigid night to brave Walmart for my kids........again.

This super cute little boy is our new nephew. He's so adorable and sweet as can be.

I don't think I've ever photographed a newborn with a grumpier look on his face. There was no turning that frown upside down for baby Weston. Grumpy or not, he's still a doll.

Congratulations guys, he's perfection.

Jonhson family

2010-11-24T15:53:00.005-07:00

This is one of our favorite families ever. My husband played football at Boise State with Bryan back in the day and our families have stayed close ever since. Thanks for being so patient waiting for your pictures guys!

Sneaky girl : Nampa Idaho baby photographer

2010-11-23T16:57:00.007-07:00

I usually post these type of pictures on my family blog, but I love these too much to not share on here. Stella loves to play in the bathroom. It's one of her favorite places in the house. She's always checking to see if someone left the bathroom door open so she can get into trouble. It's usually the toilet paper or perfume that strikes her fancy, but my lip liner must have been calling her name on this particular day.

I took these last shots while Stella was examining herself in the mirror. I love all her expressions. What a doll she is.

Alexa : Boise Idaho baby photographer

2010-11-19T23:28:00.006-07:00

This little girl has grown a lot since I took her newborn pictures 6 months ago. She's still a doll but man oh man, she was not a fan of my camera. Luckily we did manage to get a few keepers in between the tears.

Tenley : Meridian Idaho newborn photographer

2010-11-16T08:54:00.005-07:00

What an adorable little girl Tenley is. She was such a pleasure to photograph. Thanks for bringing her for a visit Melissa! She's a doll.

This probably isn't one for the walls, but I think she looks too cute in this to not post this shot.

Growing up

2010-11-15T00:14:00.003-07:00

Our little Primrose is now 12 weeks old. I took her to the vet the other day and she was a whopping 2 lbs 15 oz. She's still so tiny, but she has gained almost a pound since we got her. She's a pretty smart little thing and she'll sit and stay for me when I photograph her. I just wish she didn't chew on EVERYTHING. Keeping her from not attacking the fur in these pictures was quite a chore!

My sis

2010-11-12T08:21:00.005-07:00

This is my sister Noelle, her handsome husband Russ and their super adorable little girl, Josie. They pretty much let me do my thing and I love all the backlight and sunflare we got. Josie was really good for a 2 year old too. That always makes a shoot fun for me. Thanks Noelle, I hope you guys love these!

Mallory : Nampa Idaho newborn photographer

2010-11-09T22:53:00.005-07:00

7 days new and as sweet as can be. Thanks for trusting me with her Amy.

The Young family

2010-11-06T11:23:00.003-06:00

My husband has a couple of the most beautiful sisters. This just happens to be one of them with her own gorgeous family.

11

2010-11-05T11:24:00.005-06:00

How blessed I feel to be his mom. Happy birthday, and I love you Mason! XOXO

Beautiful

2010-10-26T11:53:00.004-06:00

I really really love the fall. The colors are so rich and pretty and I love that the weather is not too hot and not too cold. I wish it would stick around a little longer then it does. But like most beautiful things in this life, it's short and sweet and we've got to enjoy it while it lasts.

Stella wasn't too cooperative this particular evening, but I did manage to get one cute one.

Lily was being pretty good for me, however she had her own poses in mind. She kept saying, "Do you like this pose? How about this one?"

Stella encountered a little poodle on the path. She loved it, and she didn't love it all at the same time.

One of Lily's favorite poses.

Some more of puppy Primrose

2010-10-21T09:15:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was so nice outside so I thought I'd better take advantage since it's supposed to cool off quite a bit in the few days. The fall leaves are so pretty everywhere right now. I really wish it would stay warm and pretty like this for the next couple months.

Stella is still a wee bit afraid of Prim so a little thrill runs through her every time she touches her.

Prim

2010-10-20T11:15:00.003-06:00

Our kids have been begging us for a dog ever since our Boxer, Bosco died a year ago. But we keep telling them no. I've been wanting to get a puppy for a while but I just needed to find the perfect one. I found her on Saturday. I was searching the Internet and came across a litter of 8 week old Chihuahua Pug mix puppies in Rigby, Idaho. They were the cutest things ever. I talked to the lady who owned the mama and she was so sweet to answer all my questions. She has two little boys who've been loving the pups since they were born so I knew they were used to kids which was really important to me. My sisters Steph and Tara went and picked out the sweetest little 2 lb 6 oz female and took her home to Steph's house. Then on Monday morning, I drove the girls to Steph's house in Pocatello to pick her up. It was love at 1st sight. She's the sweetest thing in the world. The lets Lily tote her around and will sleep in her arms for hours.

We drove back home yesterday and surprised the boys. I set up the video camera to get their reaction. Lily came walking in holding our new pup, and I said, "Boys, Lily has a surprise for you." When they realized what was going on they were beyond excited. It was like Christmas morning x10. It was so fun to watch. We named her Primrose. Yep, after Primrose Everdeen from the Huger games series. Mason and I loved those books. Prim seems to fit her perfectly. Now we just need to train her. I'd love some house training tips for little dogs if anyone's got em!

Kellen : Boise Idaho newborn photographer

2010-10-18T00:43:00.007-06:00

Another ADORABLE baby came to visit. Kellen was such a sweet mellow little guy. I enjoyed every minute I got to spend with him and his beautiful Mom and Grandmom.

Gracie

2010-10-15T08:37:00.003-06:00

Such a sweet little girl. I could have held her all day. She made me want another. I hope you love these Krista.

My girlies

2010-10-11T09:07:00.007-06:00

Lily and Stella are quickly becoming the best playmates. It's so cute to watch Stella imitate everything she sees Lily do. They love to play hide-n-seek together and they'll both crawl around the house on all fours acting like puppies. I love that they have each other. When we went to the Oregon coast, Stella stayed with Grammy for 5 days. We all missed her so much, but Lily is the one who kept saying, "I wish Stella was here." When we went to pick Stella up from Grammy's house, she was happy to see everyone, but it was Lily that she was chasing around the house giving kisses to. I hope they're best friends forever.

She's such a busy body. She wouldn't stay put for more then about a second. She definitely keeps me on my toes!

Stella and Audrey's little girl Kali were playing so cute together. I love the looks on their faces in this shot.

Ryan : Boise Idaho newborn photographer

2010-10-05T15:10:00.010-06:00

I wish all the newborn babes who come to see me were as sleepy and content as this little guy. He was 7 days old for his shoot which is the perfect age for pictures, he had a little extra chub on him which usually helps keep babies sleeping soundly, and he's a boy. Girls tend to have a bit more feistiness in them then boys. Whatever the reason for Ryan's layed back attitude, I sure did enjoy it. He was a real pleasure to photograph, and just check out his hair. I'm in love with it.

The Farris family

2010-10-04T00:38:00.003-06:00

My husband's brother has the most beautiful family both inside and out. I've known these girls since they were adorable little girls and now they're gorgeous young women. It's been fun watching them grow and change so much over the years. I don't usually do family sessions, but I'll occasionally make an exception for family. I'm glad I did beacause they were so fun to photograph.

Sweet smiles : Nampa Idaho baby photographer

2010-10-02T01:10:00.007-06:00

Stella will usually run away from me as soon as I get my camera out. And even if I manage to get her to stick around for a couple minutes, it's nearly impossible to coax a smile out her while I've got the camera covering my face. But watching her mama jump around like a fool pretending to squish imaginary spiders did the trick. I'm soooo glad there's no video evidence of how crazy I must have looked. Oh, the things we're willing to do to get that smile...

I'm not sure why she always does this. But this is so Stella. I definitely see this face often.

She spotted a bird on our lawn and was yelling all kinds of obscenities at him in baby.

love you Stella xoxo

Amelia

2010-09-29T01:01:00.002-06:00

What a sweet little bundle Miss Amelia was. I could tell that she's one loved little girl. I love it when parents are so obviously smitten with their little ones. At almost 4 weeks I was a little nervous we wouldn't be able to get many sleepy shots. But Amelia proved me wrong. It took some coaxing, but she finally gave in.

The Oregon coast

2010-09-27T23:48:00.014-06:00

We took a really fun trip to Seaside Oregon with my Sister Danielle and her family. It was a vacation even for me since we left Stella home with Grammy. We missed her so much but knew she was in good hands. It was so nice to be able to hang out with just our older kids, play games and relax for a change.

Now, it rained a solid 90% of the 5 days we spent on the coast. But it was still so beautiful and it didn't stop us from having a great time or the kids from swimming in the F*R*E*E*Z*I*N*G cold ocean.

I never post quite so many family photos on this blog. I usually save those for our family blog, but we don't go on vacation very often so I thought I'd share with everyone. Get ready for image overload...

This was the beach right outside the condo we stayed in.

Lily loves to dance, and lucky for us she loves an audience too. She and Faith entertained us for quite a while. I really need to get Lil in dance classes so she can learn to put all of those dance moves of hers in some kind of order.

The house that 'Goonies' was filmed at in Astoria. Goonies was a family fave growing up so it was pretty exciting for me and Danielle to see it up close and personal. Pretty dorky, I know.

We could hear sea lions barking like crazy, so we drove down to the boat dock to check them out. There were TONS of them everywhere.

Mason & Chase were feeling pretty brave so they headed down the ramp to get a close up look at them.

The Maritime museum in Astoria.

A swimsuit shower after their nightly swim in the pool.

We woke up to a sunny sky on Saturday. So we took advantage and headed straight to the beach. Yes, it was still freezing, but it didn't seem to matter much to the kids. I only got in up to my thighs and it seemed like it took hours for all the feeling to come back to my feet and legs. I don't know how they could stand to get all the way in the water. Craziness.

Later in the day it stared raining AGAIN and I watched as Bo gazed longingly at the beach. He had so much fun. I wish we lived closer to a coast.

Cannon beach. It was a really really pretty beach.

Lily agreed to let me take some pictures of her. I was so excited to get a few really cute shots of her on the beach. By the time we got out there is was raining again. I took 2 pictures of her and this one is the better of the 2. Oh well.

One of Kirk & Danielle

Thanks guys for the fun trip! We can't wait for the next vacation. We're thinking somewhere tropical sounds wonderful for next time. And thank you Kirk for taking a few pictures of me. It hardly ever happens ya know!

Ethan & Tyler

2010-09-09T10:09:00.013-06:00

So, how cute are these little guys?! I instantly fell in love with these two the second I saw them. They were so fun to pose and even funner to cuddle. They were born 7 weeks early, but 3 weeks after their birth they're doing so great and weighing over 5 pounds each. I'm so glad they came to see me. I LOVE twins!

Ethan

Congratulations!!!

Oh, and for those of you scrolling through all these pictures thinking how peaceful and serene these babies look......

this is what a good amount of our time spent together looked like. I think this may just be one of favorites of these two.

Pure.

2010-09-04T01:15:00.005-06:00

She's perfect. She's never lied. She's never hurt another person. She's never sinned in any way. She's perfectly pure. She's brought nothing but happiness to us in the last 15 months. And as I sat and stared at my Stella today, an overwhelming feeling of joy came over me. I love her more then I could ever express in words and I feel so blessed that she's mine.

xoxo

14 1/2 months

2010-08-26T08:20:00.016-06:00

Stella is so much fun these days. I wish she could stay this little for a long time, but I know better. She's growing up and changing every day. She loves making all of us laugh, and with her brothers and sister around she's always got an easy audience.

Stella's faves: Turning the light's and T.V. on and off, putting her shoes on, blowing kisses, the songs 'Copa Cabana' by Barry Manilow and 'Rock with you' by Michael Jackson, baths, playing hide-&-seek (she always hides in Mom & Pop's closet). She also loves to climb on anything, especially the boys bunk bed ladder. She can't get enough books, bike rides, the park, looking for birds in the sky, blueberries and Gerber graduate Cheetos. Oh, and she loves dogs and horses but only from a safe distance.

Stella's not so faves: Being told no, not being able to play outside whenever she wants, sitting still at church. She also hates taking showers.

I guess she had a lot on her agenda yesterday because she only had time to sit here for a second. I feel lucky I got even one picture of her.

She's got a real passion for toothbrushes these days. So after ripping the headband out of her hair and finding Lily's spiderman toothbrush, she was more then happy to park herself right back on that bed and let me snap away.

A beautiful evening

2010-08-07T15:36:00.003-06:00

I got my Nikkor 85mm 1.4 a couple weeks ago and have been dying to play with it outside. It was really hot out the other night but it was really beautiful too.

This is the best I could get of them both together. Stella is SO HARD to photograph these days! Cute little stink!

Lily looks so much like Mason did when he was three.

Fresh from a nap

2010-07-30T10:35:00.006-06:00

Stella woke up from her nap the other day to find my friends Audrey and Alison with their babies at our house. She wasn't sure what to think of it. And since she was still a little groggy and quite docile from her nap I decided to plop her up on a stool and see if I could get a couple of pictures of her at 13 1/2 months. She's been so hard to photograph lately that I never did try a formal shoot at 13 months. So, this is what I ended up with.

Pretty darn cute.

My new neighbors

2010-07-27T23:24:00.006-06:00

How lucky am I that my new neighbor just happened to have had a beautiful baby girl two weeks ago?! I was so excited for her to come visit while I played with my new camera and got to know her Mama. Jazlyn slept so well for me and they were in and out in a little over an hour. Thanks so much Erica. I hope you love these!!!

The big Canon Nikon switch... : Idaho photographer

2010-07-25T11:20:00.023-06:00

I've had several people email me asking why I switched to Nikon so I thought I'd better dedicate a whole post to that very question. I'm warning you now. This will be a looooooong post.

So, a couple weeks ago I made the decision to switch over to Nikon. This was NOT an easy decision to make and I didn't take it lightly at all. I started thinking about switching to Nikon in November of last year. Why, you ask?

Well, in October, I decided to upgrade from my 40D so I ordered a Canon 7D. I was soooo disappointed in the amount of noise that came out of that camera at really low ISO's and my focus was falling on anything but where I had my focal point. So I sent that camera back to Adorama and had them send me a 50D instead. The 50D was okay, but honestly, I was getting better, sharper pictures from my 40D so why keep the 50D? I sent that camera back and started to think about buying a full frame camera and possibly switching to Nikon. I should also add that the 1st 40D body I bought brand new from B&H in May of 2007 just stopped working on me about 3 weeks after I'd had it. I was at a family shoot and about 5-10 pictures in, it just stopped working. I was so embarrassed. I didn't even have a backup camera with me. Yikes! Lesson learned. I took it in to Idaho camera and they told me that the mirror was stuck and they couldn't get it unstuck. I sent it back to B&H and they sent me a new one. However the new 40D had a couple of dead pixels right in the middle of the LCD screen. I was so bugged. I called them again and they overnighted me another camera. I've had that camera body ever since and it's never given me any problems.

So, onto the full frames. I did an insane amount of research on both the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D700. I also talked to several people who shoot with the Mark II and several people who shoot with the D700 to get their opinions. I then shot with both cameras and decided I'd go with the Mark II. I loved the D700 camera body, but I wasn't convinced I'd love Nikon's lenses as much as I love my Canon L lenses. Plus, the thought of switching systems was a bit overwhelming.

So, I got myself a brand new 5D Mark II for Christmas last year. It came on December 23rd and I was super excited to be able to use it for Christmas. However, right out of the box I had problems with the AF system. When I was in the middle of shooting, I'd push the shutter half way down to focus or use the back button to focus but the focus point wouldn't light up.The camera wouldn't let me change my aperture or shutter speed either. Everything just locked up. I'd have to turn the camera off then back on again for things to work. In the 4 days I had that camera, that happened probably 5 or 6 times. Not cool for a brand new $2,400 camera. I was not happy and I must admit that I let it ruin my Christmas just a little bit.

Well, I sent yet another camera back and decided I would go with a refurbished original Canon 5D from Adorama. It came a week later and looked brand new. I really fell in love the full frame. My L lenses all performed beautifully on it and I didn't have any trouble with the camera at all. Fast forward about 4 months and I'd say around half of my pictures were coming out blurry. Not just soft, but blurry. It seemed like the camera was locking focus, but when I'd upload them to my computer, they were soooo out of focus. It wasn't front focusing or back focusing. It just wasn't focusing, period. I'd have to take so many pictures at each shoot to make sure I'd get a sharp one of each pose. It drove me crazy.

So since I had bought a refurb from Adorama, it came with a 1 year warranty. I called them up and told them what was going on. They were really great about it and told me I had a few options. I could send it in and have it fixed, they could send me another refurb or I could get a store credit. I went with the store credit and thought I'd try another 5D Mark II. It had gone down in price since I ordered the 1st one too which was pretty cool.

Well, it came a month or so ago. I liked it for my first shoot but after a day or two I started having the same problem with the focus points. This time when the focus points didn't light up I could still change my settings but if your camera won't focus, what's the point right? I tried both my 50mm and 24-70 and it was happening with both lenses. I also had a couple friends try out the camera and they had the same problem, so I know it wasn't just me.

That was the last straw. I did a little more research into a Nikon D700 and the lenses I would need. I checked on Craigslist and found someone local who was selling all of his Nikon stuff because he was switching to Leica. I kind of took that as a sign. Dorky, I know. I bought his very lightly used D700, 24-70mm 2.8G and 85mm 1.4D for a good price which really helped with the cost of switching systems. I also tried out both the Nikkor 50mm 1.4G and the Sigma 50mm 1.4DG lenses. I found that the Sigma was faster to focus and a bit sharper so I bought that one.

All and all I'm really happy with my decision. I've done a lot of reading and playing around with my new camera and lenses. The color coming out of the Nikon is a little different then what I'm used to and so is the white balance. I'm going to have to change my editing up a little to compensate for the differences. But that shouldn't be too tough. It'll just take lots of experimenting and trying out some new things. Some of the things I'm loving are the 51 focus points, (15 of them being cross-type) that the D700 has. The Mark II has just 9 of them and only the center one is cross-type. My pictures with the Nikon are nice and sharp. I also think that the D700 has less noise at high and low ISO's and in my opinion, the noise that is there looks more like film grain then digital noise. The Mark II handles noise pretty well too, but I noticed more color noise with it, especially in the shadowed areas of my images.

Here's a picture of Lily and her cousin Ryken that I took last week with the D700 and 24-70. The room was dark so the only light coming in was from the hallway. My settings were ISO 3200, f/3.5 Shutter speed 1/15. I didn't run this through noiseware and it looks this clean which is pretty cool to me.

For the record, I would like to say that I do not think Canon products are bad by any means. I've loved my Canon lenses, my XT and 40D. I've used a couple of my friends' Mark II camera bodies and loved them too. I know that the 5D Mark II is a really great camera. I think maybe I've just had some bad luck with some of the camera bodies I've ended up with. I do however, question Canon's quality control just a bit. I realize that no system is perfect and/or free from problems. One more thing, I like the controls better on the D700. But the more I use it, the more I'm thinking that I like the size of the Mark II better. It feels a little more comfortable in my hands. Overall though, I do feel that Nikon is a better fit for me and I'm happy I made the change. It's been a little difficult, but I feel good about it. So, I am now officially a Nikonian. I truly hope all you Canon shooters won't hold that against me!

My boys & my new Nikon D700

2010-07-17T09:22:00.006-06:00

It seems like I'm always photographing our girls lately and Mason & Bo get left out most of the time. Not that they mind. They'd much rather stay at home with their Pop. But every once in a while they've gotta take their turn modeling for their Mama. They always end up having fun and are glad they came. Especially when we stop for ice cream on the way home. That's always the funnest part of our outings.

And these are some of the very 1st images taken with my new Nikon D700. I'm trying to get used to the camera and the many differences between Canon & Nikon, but I think these turned out pretty well for my 1st Nikon shoot. I'll be selling my Canon gear soon and I'll post all about that when I get some extra time. Now, on to my boys.

And one shot of little Kali, Audrey's adorable baby. What a sweet little thing.

Thank you Emily and Audrey for the fun night and for taking these of me and my boys! I had tons of fun!!!