Hissyfits Photography Blog

Monday night I met up with Tucker and his parents for a little shoot before they left Arizona and returned home to the east coast! April, here are just a couple to hold you over until I get some more edited!

Thanks so much for making time to do photos while you were in town!!

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with sweet Kenley and her mama and daddy. The second I saw her little blue jersey, I knew what I was going to title this post! We met up at the practice fields for the Kansas City Royals for our session. Words cannot express how fun it was to shoot somewhere so fun and different! When Katie mentioned the idea I jumped at it…the creative wheels in my mind spinning! And the thought of ALL that lush green grass? Such a treat for us down here in the desert! Chris was out of town four nights last week, so when the session was booked, I warned Katie that there was a pretty big chance that my own two littles would be tagging along…and they did. They too had a wonderful time and have since been to a Royals spring training game with Chris {I was at a photography workshop all day or I would have gone!} and from what I hear went on and on about Billy! Katie, as I share with you memories and priceless moments forever frozen in time of your precious family, I want to thank you for the ones you in turn have given mine.

Ahhh Kenley. Her mama warned me that it would be tough to get lots of smiles! She was right – but the ones we captured are darling! And her little tongue sticking out? Well that is just a bonus!

No smile here, but I love a serious face just as much as a smiley one!

And then it was time for a wardrobe change. I.LOVE.THIS.OUTFIT!! The photos do not even come close to doing it justice as there are all sorts of rhinestones and bling adorning this little number! If you look really hard you can see them! So, so cute. And glam.

A personal fave of mine. I can totally see this one printed really big! The retro feel I adore. The loose curls. The toddler walk. The bits of dust and dirt on her jeans from sitting on the ground. And the feet. Ohhhh the little bare feet. Mid-step. On her way to do bigger and better things than take pictures! Love this moment!

From her serious face in this photo you can’t really tell, but this little girl LOVES her daddy. We were having the hardest time getting eye contact out of her, let alone any sort of  a smile. And then her daddy made it over. She lit up and was so excited to see him! I love to see those connections. The recognition. The unconditional love. Capturing those moments are what this is all about for me. When I look at this photo I see love. But I also see strength. Look at how big and strong Billy’s arms are in comparison to Kenley’s little body. And his tanned skin next to her pale face. What a story this photo tells…

As a mom, I don’t love being in photos. I love taking them, but being on the other side of the camera isn’t really my thing. Yet, I know with 110% certainty that in 30 years when my kids look back on images from their childhood, they will cherish the ones of us together. I am their mom, their only mom. Katie…the same is true for you. I know you weren’t jumping for joy at the thought of having your photo taken, but think of how much these will mean to your family…now and years down the road.

These next two? Ummm….LOVE. I mean LOVE LOVE. I look at these and tears come to my own eyes. Yes, I am a pregnant and emotional mess, but what sweet, tender moments these are. I love how it feels like Kenley and Billy are the only two around in this image. I love the stadium lights in the background. I love that no matter where life takes this family, they ARE a family. They stick together. They share in each others highs and lows. They love.

Katie, I love this shot of you and your girl. I hope you see it and remember our time together that night on the baseball field. I hope you remember Kenley as she is right now. I hope as life moves you from one state to the next, you cherish the good times and learn a little something from the bad. I hope you cling to each other and your love to carry your family far.

It was so nice to meet you all! I hope that next summer finds my own family in Kansas City and gives us the chance to meet up again!

Last night I had the opportunity to meet up with an adorable little family who is in town for Spring Training. I was SO excited when Katie suggested we meet at the practice fields for the baseball teams as this was somewhere completely fun and new for me to shoot! It was so.much.fun!! I am going to be doing a bigger sneak peek in a few days so I’ll wait and share more about it all then, but here are a few that stood out as I was scanning through my captures!

This last one reminds me of an old time magazine cover or something! I had so much fun playing around and editing it to feel retro! And don’t even get me started on what a sweet moment it was! LOVE!

Many years ago I heard a poem that struck a chord and  has stuck with me ever since. I read it from time to time and my mind wanders to those who have come into my life…some of whom are still in it while others have quietly faded into the past.

As I was thinking about this family and what I wanted to say, bits and pieces of that poem danced through my mind. These guys are here for a reason. Arizona isn’t their home, far from it actually, but dad’s work brings them here every spring. I can relate to that part of their story. But while we stay here, they will move on. They’ll travel about and at summer’s end, they will return home. I think of them and their story and I wonder how many friends they have made and connections they have formed. I think of all of the places they have been and the things they have seen and done. But mostly I think about the people – the people who have come into their lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I find the whole concept quite fascinating really. {There is the sociology major and psychology minor coming out in me!}

The dynamics of these two littles reminded me so much of that of my own two! Sweet, caring, doting big brother who adores his little sis. Sis, who loves her brother, also loves to assert her independence and opinions and quite possibly may rule the roost as she gets a little older! It was so fun to watch them together – to see the roles they took on as they interacted with each other and their parents.

Meet Caden. Big brother. He is three and a half and was SUCH a trooper! He listened perfectly and did every single thing I asked him to. Maybe he can come hang out with Gentry for a few days and teach her a thing or two?

And Miss Aubrey. Little sister. She’ll be two at the end of the month and I could not believe how well she was talking! At one point Caden sat on her lap and she said, “Caden, get up. You’re too heavy.” So adult-like coming from such a little person! Aubrey made me work. She wasn’t flashing smiles left and right so the ones I did manage to capture took some work!

I absolutely LOVE this next one! The pout. The bare feet. Everything about it!

And of course a few of the kids together. Easier said than done! The image I posted the other night was pure luck! As much as I wish I could claim it was perfectly set up, it wasn’t! I was just shooting away hoping to capture something worthy of a frame!! Kids are so unpredictable and each one has a mind of his own! However, I am loving these next moments as they are real life. That’s me – my style. Real. When you are two and three and a half, you aren’t supposed to look at the camera for every single shot!

Another personal fave is this black and white shot! What a sweet moment!! And a smile from Aubrey!

A few more of Caden! He was such a little explorer, checking everything out!

Sooo loving this shot of him!! So serious, and pouty!!

And a few more of Aubrey…

Couldn’t you just squeal out loud at the cuteness of this little one in this outfit? OH MY! An Etsy purchase by her mama…one complete with the ruffle bottom pants I am currently obsessed with!

And a couple more! Oh how I love siblings sitting beside each other and snapping their legs! And Caden’s prayer hands? Too cute for words!!

When mom scheduled this shoot, she set it up for the kids…Aubrey’s two year photos and Caden at three and a half. They just had family pictures taken before Christmas so the focus was all about the kids. However, I couldn’t resist when I saw this moment. I hope you don’t mind Carrie, but I love it!! And you are gorgeous! As moms, I think we tend to do the vast majority of the picture taking and are rarely on the other side of the camera! Hope this is one you’ll treasure for years to come!

Thanks again for taking the time to meet up with me while you guys are in town! Your family is beautiful and the kids were such a pleasure to photograph! I wish you all only the best of luck in wherever the future takes you!

I kicked off my first of three sessions in five days this evening and had a wonderful time! It was so nice to be out and about and have sweet littles in front of my camera! In an attempt to make my work flow more efficient, I promised myself I wasn’t going to touch an image in Photoshop until I was done deleting all of the blurry ones, etc… However, I came across this capture and all of that went out the window! A tender moment caught between a loving big brother and his darling little sis! With some sunflare to boot! Love it!

On that note I am back to sifting through the images!

Any just turned four year old that uses the words “actually” and “besides” in regular conversation totally suckers me in! Something about little people using such big words and using them appropriately just makes me giggle! My own kids use big, adult words all of the time, but because they are mine, I guess I don’t think twice about it! Yet hearing Lincoln carry on about everything from school to Sponge Bob to Optimus Prime with perfect grammar and confidence made my “almost majored in English vocabulary loving little heart” skip a beat!

{Please ignore the non-centered images! Chris did some work on my blog and one of the not so great things is that now my pictures won’t center! We are working on getting it resolved though!!}

Meet Lincoln. I am pretty sure he is every bit as ornery as he is cute! He looks like he is cooking up something in that mind of his, doesn’t he?

I am also pretty sure that he adores his mom and dad just as much as they adore him!

I had a wonderful time at this session. Lincoln was the chattiest, happiest little guy and was a total rock star when it came to listening to my crazy ideas and then following through! He tried really, really hard to give me lots of shots with the best four year old “cheese” smile he could muster up, but when I brought up things like transformers and school friends, he totally let loose and let his real smile shine through. And isn’t it a sweet one?

And a serious face every now and then too! I LOVED how Rachel dressed him for this session! He was super stylin’ in his layered look! And that scarf? Well, let me just say that I came home that very night and ordered Huntler the same scarf with a matching hat and mittens. And maybe an orange sweater too. Maybe not. You can be the judge of that one!

When emailing back and forth with Rachel in regards to this session, I knew that my gumball machine would be the perfect prop to tote along! I have had it for months now and have been waiting oh so patiently for a little guy just the right age to come along! Lincoln was definitely that little guy! I had an idea in my mind of how I wanted these images to look even before I took them…they had to have that vintage flair.

And this next one? One word: LOVE. It is quite possibly one of my all time faves. Ever. I can assure you it will be seen again on my website! I also would LOVE to try to recreate it with Huntler and Gentry both. I giggle as I type that…the odds of that happening are slim to none, but lucky for me, this gumball machine just so happens to be at my disposal, as are my two favorite kidlets!! Then I want to blow them up big and on canvas. But for now, back to Lincoln. Is this shot not amazing?! And the orange gumball peeking through his hand up there? Fab little detail I couldn’t have planned if I had tried!

Of course we did a few more with mom and dad too! As you can tell, I was totally feeling the black and white on some of these! There is just something so captivating about black and white photographs in real life moments for me. I can’t really explain it, but you’ll notice that a lot of the more candid shots I edit will be black and white…love the timeless feel!

And this next one…it is slightly out of focus and not quite as sharp as I wish it would have been, but it is such a sweet moment that I just had to edit it! I adore how Lincoln is looking up and has that genuine smile on his little face!

And one more black and white image to finish it off! If you would have seen me trying to capture this one you would have had to have laughed! I was shoved back in a corner as far as I could get and was bent over at one crazy angle! But I managed to get the shot!

Sam, Rachel and Lincoln…thanks for making the drive out to meet up with me! It was so nice to meet you all! Have a wonderful holiday season!

Here is just a super tiny sneak peek from my session yesterday! I had such a wonderful time meeting up with this little man and his mom and dad! More to come soon!

Oh, and by the way, if you haven’t fanned my Facebook page yet, here is the link! I am trying to keep my “personal” page just that, personal. Real life friends and family only! And although I haven’t been too great about updating the fan page, I promise to make an honest effort!

Mom and Dad, enjoy this little peek of your little man!!

When I started blogging a year and a half ago, I am not really sure what I expected to get out of it, if anything at all. I knew I wanted to write – to babble on about the insignificant little details that composed my days as well as those that were actually important. I knew I wanted to post snapshots of my darling kids for friends and family “back home” so they could see what a day in our life was like. But what I didn’t know was what a huge part of my life blogging would evolve to be…the void it would fill and the friendships that would bloom because of it.

Two years ago I was happily oblivious to what “blogging” even was. I distinctly remember asking Chris one evening what exactly a blog was! HA! My how times have changed! I have connected with women all over the United States…some near and some far. We have bonded over chatter about everything from mothering to photography to party planning to crafting. We have shared our ups and downs…our victories and our failures. Everything from potty training secrets to who on Etsy has the cutest dresses to easy crock pot recipes has flashed across my computer screen. Quite simply, our lives have become intertwined in a way that only fellow bloggers can truly understand.

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with one of my sweet “blog friends turned real life friend” and photograph her adorable family! {Out of respect to her family, I won’t be using their names…but you’ll catch on pretty quickly!} To be perfectly honest, I can’t exactly remember when “Mom” found me! But she did. And she commented. And so begins the circle of blogging. Curious of course, I clicked over to see just who it was that commented! And a connection was born. We continue to stay in touch through our blogs and also emails. Mom is an amazing party planner and our love for attention to detail has had us sending many a late night email with links, ideas and thoughts on upcoming parties!

When she contacted me in regards to taking her daughter’s four year pictures, I was thrilled! After months of this online relationship we had going on, we were finally meeting in person! It was SO nice to actually meet and be able to capture some images of her family.

Meet “Big Sis.” She will be four next month. She is just as cute and bubbly as she looks! It took her just a little bit to warm up, but once she did, it was like we had known each other forever! She was so comfortable in front of the camera and was such a joy to photograph!

Just to warn you, I am posting a ton of images! There were so many fun ones that I just kept editing and editing! Plus, these guys had quite the drive to meet up with me, so they deserve a little extra love on the ‘ole blog!

I am starting off with my traditional vintage retro look! You’ll notice that I processed these in several different styles…the colors and the clothes inspired me to do a lot of different things!

This first one is one of my personal faves…it is truly “my” style in editing! I love the haze and the timelessness of it!

How ADORABLE is this face? Love it!

And the shoes? And toes? Couldn’t you just scream at the cuteness here? Her grandma jazzed up these flip flops to match her dress! And her mama took her in for a pedi before our session! LOVE it!! It is ALL about the details, my friends, all about the details!

And now for a pop of color!! A little bit outside my “box,” but I love them!! She was looking up her mom here.

These next two were inspired by Laci Davis. She has a series called “Favorite Things” in which she takes images of kids and families with their favorite things. Mom thought it would be fun to capture some of her girls with their favorite things right now. Big sis here happens to love zebras! In fact, her upcoming birthday party is this same hot pink/black/white zebra theme! I have seen some of the decor and party favors…it is going to be DARLING!

Grandma made all the hair bows too! Doesn’t she rock?

Ahhh…”Little Sis.” This sweet thing was not loving me. At all. Despite all her protesting though, I did manage to get a few cute ones of her! Mom was worried that we didn’t get anything, but I think we captured some keepers for sure! Is she smiling in all of them? No. Is she giving great eye contact? No. But that really isn’t my style anyway! Freezing moments in real life is more my style, and this is quite simply, real life with a toddler.

Same shot…just wanted to try it in both color and with a little vintage haze! And yes, those are Smarties she is enjoying here!

Quite possibly my favorite shot from the entire shoot! Could that lip be stuck out there ANY further? I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

A little sisterly love!

And of course a few of the whole fam!

Another fave! I love how they look so relaxed and unaware of me and my camera! Just a family, being.

I want to thank you all once again for making the trek out to see me! It was so nice to finally meet you! I hope you look at these and remember our time together…your family is darling!

Because I know the mama of these two little beauties is probably faunching at the bit for a little peek of what we captured last night…I am sharing a couple! I have many, many more to look through and more to post as well, but these two caught my eye right off the bat!

This is big sis. Isn’t she a doll? She is almost four and a total sweetheart! Once she warmed up to me we were total buds! I have tons and tons of shots of her…we were doing her four year portraits and she was totally working it! I love how she is just barely biting her bottom lip in this! It shows so much personality!

Now, her little sister on the other hand was anything BUT loving me or my camera! She wanted absolutely nothing to do with me and if I tried to sneak in to steal a shot, it only made her cry harder! Poor thing. I hope she wasn’t totally traumatized by the time she got home!

Photography is made up of endless rules. Exposure, lighting, coloring, shadows…the list goes on and on as far as what is “technically correct” and what isn’t. But, photography is also an art. I may like Monet but the next person might not be too fond of his style. Same with photos and editing. I obviously have a very distinct style. I love it, but others may not. And that’s cool…that is art.

So take a look at this shot. I LOVE IT. I love everything about it! The lighting on her face is very uneven, but that is what makes it so eye-catching…in my opinion anyway! See that shadow of her sweet little curl on her sweet little face? If the light were even, that wouldn’t be there…and then this image wouldn’t have quite the character that it does! I love the moodiness of this for sure!

Mom, as you know, there are tons more to come! I hope you enjoy these and they can hold you over until I have some more edited and ready to share! Thanks for making the long trek to see me! It was so nice to finally meet you! And I am sure if comes as no surprise that I have TONS more to say as well, but want to save it for the big post!

So for now, Happy Monday!

I have made it abundantly clear from day one of our move out here that this is not home…nor will it ever be. In my mind it will simply never compare, never come close to living up to the life I envision we would have in Kansas. Yet for now, this is home. Instead of green grass, charming brick buildings which ooze character and trees as old as time, we are greeted each day with cacti, a variety of earthy toned stucco houses and sand. Instead of four distinct seasons, changes in the intensity of heat mark the end of one and the beginning of another. I could write a novel and then some about how desperately I yearn for the story book life we left behind nearly three years ago. Yet, tonight as I sit here in the quiet, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that had we never opened this chapter in the “story of us”, I would truly be missing something I never knew I needed.

I hate change. I am a simple girl. I order the same two things from every restaurant we eat at. I could live in jeans and sassy cute sweaters…with fab Target or Kohl’s jewelry of course! I could go my entire life without living in the desert or setting foot in the hot sand. Or could I? It is crystal clear to me as I sit here tapping the keys at 2:00 AM that my life is far richer than I could have ever imagined three years ago.

Three years ago at this time I was a basket case. I was sick to my stomach more often than not with nerves and anxiety over leaving home and heading west. I had just given birth. It was a really, really hard time in my life. I cried at the drop of a pin. I wallowed in self pity. I dreaded what was to come with every fiber of my being. Yet here I am, just shy of three years of living in the hottest state there is, and I am okay. I have survived another year. I have overcome my fears. I have found my niche. I am making the best out of the situation. Don’t get me wrong…I would be out of here in a heartbeat if someone said the word, but I am really okay.

I have found a strength in myself that I never would have known otherwise. I have been forced to take risks, to reach out. And along the way I have met some pretty amazing girls. Girls that have listened to me whine. Girls that have made me laugh. Girls that have watched my kids grow up and whose kids I have watched grow. We have shared stories. We have attended parties. We have compared doctors and hair stylists. We have made memories. And we have formed lifelong friendships. I am truly blessed to have found the circle of friends I have…thanks girls…your friendships mean more to me than you will ever know.

I truly believe that people come into our lives and quietly exit at certain times. Mary came into my life about two years ago and while we were friends, it has only been quite recently that our love of everything photography has brought us back on the same page. And even though Mary is a Nikon girl and I am Canon, she is still pretty great!

Sunday afternoon I loaded up my sweet girl and headed off to check out this amazing new location Mary found! We met up and walked around, chatting and snapping pics the entire time. The location is PERFECT and I am so glad she was kind enough to share!

Here are just a couple of the images I captured.

Meet big sis Lauren. She is two and is as independent as she is cute! You can tell she is used to having her mama take oodles of pics of her because she wanted to be anywhere but in front of the camera!! One time she even rolled her eyes at me…I kid you not!! Because she was on the fly, I had to wait to capture her just being a kid to get some shots of her! But that was fine by me…those are the best kind in my mind! Lauren was ALL about this fountain! She and Gentry were both soaking wet by the end of the evening!! But how fun it was! Plus, when you live in Arizona, cool water on a hot day feels better than you can imagine! And believe me, it was HOT!

And meet her lil’ brother James. Now this guy on the other hand was a piece of cake to take pictures of!! He has the biggest, gummiest little grin and was as happy as could be!! Total cutie! I LOVE this next shot!! The baby rolls, the tilted head, the open mouth, the pretty evening light….what a doll baby!!

Mary, thanks again for getting me out of the house and sharing your great find with me!! It was a lot of fun and we’ll have to do it again soon!!

*And on a totally random note, it is 2:30 AM and I haven’t been to sleep yet. I used to NEVER have these issues but it seems like once a week or so now I have a night like this! What in the world is that all about?! I seem to get all philosophical and wordy on these kind of nights!! My alarm is set to go off at 5:00 so I can attempt to work out before anyone wakes us! HA HA HA! Yeah right!