Happy Holidays to all and to all a goodnight!

Thank you everyone for making this an awesome year for Brown Eyed Photography. I'm so excited about sessions that are coming up in January and beyond!
I will be out of the office until January 5, 2009 (eeek! 2009!). Feel free to contact me via the contact page at browneyedphotography.com. All emails will be replied to promptly when I return in the order they were received.
Thank you again for a fabulous 2008. I look forward to working with you in the new year!

Cassidy is here!

Remember Brian and AJ from this post?
Well, I had so much fun this morning getting to know the newly born Cassidy.
Not only did she sleep for most of the shoot, making my job much easier, she is also incredibly cute and has a very patient Momma.



While Miss Cassidy slept we tried out all sorts of fun props... including this adorable hat that Brian's sister gave Cassidy:



And despite claiming she wasn't on top of her game today, AJ posed with Cassidy and looks wonderful.



Don't worry- Cassidy was awake for a little while so we got to peek at those huge eyes- so adorable.



Big congratulations, again Brian and AJ!
Thank you for having me over for Cassidy's baby shoot. I look forward to doing it again soon!

Still looking for that perfect gift?

I know this year I'm feeling not as prepared for the holidays. If you're looking for that perfect gift I wanted to let you in on a little known secret: Brown Eyed Photography gift certificates are available- and if you order by Dec 20th you'll get the gift in time for Christmas! Gift Certificates are available for prints, packages, or sittings- or a combination.

And keep the emails coming requesting to be added to the e-newsletter list so I can add your name to the sitting and 8x10 drawing. I'm looking forward to working with the winner!

Drawing for sitting session and 8x10

My goal was to finish updating the website before the end of the year... and I did it! So go over and check out the website.
My next goal is to update the blog format. Probably not be the end of the year... but soon.
In the new year I will start sending out a monthly e-newsletter. If you would like to receive the e-newsletter please go to the contact page to sign up. Everyone who signs up for the newsletter by January 10th will be entered into a drawing for a portrait sitting and a free 8x10. For every friend who signs up and puts your name in the "email content" portion of the contact page your name will be put in the drawing again. The drawing will take place on January 14th.

One big family... and then some...

Various Gillis descendents (nine children in the original family)have said they wanted to have their portraits done. Just for fun... while most of them were present... we did a "practice" run of portraits on Thanksgiving day.
Joanne, wearing the leather coat, is the Gillis. Here she is with her husband and her four children.

And Suzanne is a Gillis- here with her husband.

And Suzanne's daughter, Jen, here with her husband and three boys. Little fun fact: her youngest son, Tate, has the same birthday as our daughter and they share a birthday with another cousin too.

And then there's John, one of only 2 Gillis boys. He's with his girlfriend Sharon who, believe it or not, hates to have her picture taken! I was surprised and pleased she was willing to sit for a portrait.

Right after we all went back into the warm house it started to snow. Brr!

Thank you everyone for a fun photo shoot. Looking forward to taking more time with each group when it's warmer out.

Another December Baby

Courtney said she didn't like having her picture taken but she wanted to have some maternity pictures done for the baby. She is very curious to see if this baby is a boy or a girl. I am too.

I loved Courtney's smile. I'm excited to see Courtney with her new baby....

but no one could be as excited as her boyfriend, Will.

Thank you Courtney and Will for having me do your maternity session. It was fun to spend some time with you before the baby comes.

Last minute senior

This beautiful senior never seemed to have time in her super busy schedule to squeeze in getting her senior photos done. Thankfully she is on the year book comittee. The pictures are due today and I was able to email her 3 options last night. The rest of the images will be in the mail tomorrow.

Karly lives in the perfect place for outdoor portraits. It was very cold but Karly braved the low temps by going bare foot. Actually, for this picture I was in sock feet too. Brr!

Karly really really wanted to have some pictures with snow. Most mornings we woke up to some snow but it burned off by 10am. I considered going and pounding on her door around 7am the morning after this shoot so that we could get some snow shots... but I assumed Karly didn't want snow pictures that bad!

Thanks Karly for going along with some of my crazy ideas. The pictures turned out great and I can't wait for you to see them! They'll be in the mail tomorrow. Enjoy!

So close...

Nickie and Brian wanted maternity pictures but we kept having scheduling conflicts.
Finally!
At 39 weeks and 1 day we had our maternity shoot. Nickie's dog, "Little" is in for quite the shock... but don't tell Nickie. She loves Little so much and is nervous about the changes the baby will bring to her relationship with Little. Considering how important Little is to Nickie it seemed appropriate that this big eared cutie be included in some pictures.

When I showed Nickie the LCD display on the back of the camera after getting some belly shots she was amazed at the size of her belly. She explained that she often doesn't see herself in the mirror so it is a shock every time she sees just how big her belly is. For the record- it was incredibly cute!

Nickie and Brian are incredibly adorable and I know they are going to be very sweet, involved, and loving parents.

Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon... real soon! Thanks for a great morning of pictures and pregnancy/birth/baby talk.

Still cold

On my way to the second shoot of the day (Saturday) I'm pretty certain I saw some teeny tiny snow flakes falling.
Shocking.
Even so... I was nice and toasty in my car so convinced that it was too too cold to do pictures outside if everyone just wore sweaters. Well, remember this sweet mommy and baby? I was back to get pictures of the whole family! Everyone was just as sweet as mom, Rebecca and baby Laila. They even braved the freezing cold for a few minutes of picture taking.

Aren't these girls adorable? And so loving towards each other... well, Laila hasn't quite learned that pulling her sisters hair is no way to show sisterly affection... but she'll learn:)

Having family pictures done can be so stressful but it didn't seem to phase these parents at all. It probably helped that we were at their home but it was also just their laid back attitude. Their mutual respect for each other was also evident. It was very cool to see the whole family interacting having only met Rebecca and Laila previously.

Thank you everyone for being such a happy bunch. I love loved the matching outfits.

A meat locker

On the way home from this shoot I heard a dj on the radio say: "have you ever been stuck inside a meat locker? Yeah, that's what it feels like outside. With the wind chill factor it feels like it's in the teens."

It was beyond cold.
And windy.
Even so- pregnancies continue and Jenn is getting closer and closer to the end of hers.

Her eyes are crazy blue. I'm curious to see if this baby inherits mom's bright blue eyes or not.

This sweet couple was so adorable with each other. I can't wait to see them when their baby arrives and the start down the path of parenting.

Thank you so much for a fun- if not cold- shoot. I'm looking forward to seeing you again after your precious bundle arrives.

Fantastic Fall

It's getting colder and colder each day and that means Baby Cassidy will be here very soon! Fortunately it was still warm enough (although Brian might disagree) to get some outdoor belly shots. This couple is so excited about their new baby- it was start to rub off on me!

Brian and AJ had these adorable magnetic letters hung up on their oven hood and I thought they would be perfect to shoot. I thought perhaps we could find a better place than the oven hood for the picture. We asked Brian to come up with something while we worked on other pictures. His idea was a golf club. It was perfect... but the back yard fence ended up doing the job.

But really you came to see the belly, right? I love this portrait of AJ. She and Brian seem so prepared and confident in their pregnancy and birth choices. All they need to do now is wait for their baby to make its appearance.... oh and also figure out what to pack in their hospital bag.

Thank you both for letting me come to do this very fun maternity shoot. I can't wait for you to see the pictures! They will be on their way as soon as possible.

He's here!

Remember this adorable couple?
Well, they are now officially the proud parents of this equally adorable peanut!

This tiny Peanut is not so tiny. His mom proudly informed me that he recently (yesterday?) weighed in at 11lbs something!!! He's 10 days old, for the record. But when he's holding his Daddy's finger it's easy to remember that he's still a brand new baby.

Mom called this next pose their exhausted pose. I thought she was referring to Peanut- but no, no- she was talking about the adults in the family. And that makes sense. Everyone is still getting to know each other and while I think Mom and Dad have this sleep thing down- Peanut is not so well practiced. Despite all this everyone was cheerful and glowing.

Congratulations again you two on a very beautiful baby. Hope tonight you get a little more sleep. Thanks so much for having me over to create some images of this moment- because like you said- baby's change so quickly!

Tall as a tree!

Emma wasn't feeling well, it was drizzling and we were quickly losing our natural light but despite all this Emma remained smiley and willing to sit on whatever minimally wet patch of ground I suggested. Under these huge trees worked well because the ground was minimally damp.

We found a dry porch to use for some dry portraits. I was so impressed with Emma's smiley-ness knowing she was still running a mild fever.

And just for fun I created this image to show Emma's l-o-n-g legs. She is one tall girl and I'm sure she's not done growing yet!

Thank you Emma for a fun quick photo shoot on a drizzly yucky day.

Enthusiasm

Taylor was so enthusiastic about her mini photo shoot at her grandparents house. It was raining and we were a little short on light but she was still excited about doing portraits.

It's easy to see why when you see how photogenic she is. Her enthusiasm and desire to please made this shoot a breeze.

I love her sparkling green eyes and her big smile. I tried to distract her by asking about the animals on her family's farm. She would say one or two words and then smile big when she thought I was about to click the shutter button. Too funny.

Thank you Taylor for a very fun shoot- despite the rain!