Stella, Max, Shane and Amber - Denver Family Photographer

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you might remember when I photographed Stella last year.  She had just turned 6 months old and her parents drove up to Denver from Pueblo for her portrait session.  She was also supposedly the cutest baby ever (at least according to her mom).  Well, Stella's back and she's cuter than ever!  Her family also makes an appearance here, so be sure to read on for some great family photos.

First, let's talk about Stella's older brother, Max.  Max is 3 and is completely obsessed with Woody from Toy Story.  He even wore his boots to the photo shoot!  Last time he was a little shy, but this time he was ready to get his picture taken.  Not only that, but he was also more than happy to get his little sister to smile when she started to get fussy.

Stella was in a pretty good mood today.  She was full of toothy smiles, even though they took a little coaxing once in a while.  This is where it's so important to have mom, dad and even big brother along.  Stella probably wouldn't have smiled for me, but she surely would smile for her family!  After getting photos in a few different outfits, Stella was done.  Thankfully, we got the photos we wanted.  We were even able to squeeze in a few family photos!

At the end of the day, we all had a great time and got some great photos.  After the shoot we went over to Borders to grab a cup of coffee and Stella decided to totally turn on the charm.  She was laughing, sitting in a chair and posing and just generally having a better time than she had in the studio.  I think she was teasing me, giving me a taste of what I can expect next time.  I can't wait.

It's Friday Already? This Week In Photography.

Where did this week go?  It's been pretty busy around here lately, which might be the reason I haven't posted anything about what I've been up to all week long.  Last weekend was filled up with a wedding, some family photography and senior photos.  I also took a day during the week to catch the Flash Bus Tour as it made a stop in Denver.  Not to mention the fact that I'm finalizing the design on some new fliers and marketing pieces.

Here are a few sneak peaks for you.  Expect full posts soon!  Have a great weekend!

Max, Shane, Stella and Amber stopped by the studio for some family photos.

Gabby and I spent a few minutes downtown for a Senior Mini Session.

What's a Senior Mini Session?  I'm glad you asked!  Head on over to my Facebook Page for more info.

Planning a wedding in Denver?  I photograph weddings!

Children's Group Photo Shoot

What do you get when you combine one of Denver's best child and newborn photographers with 10 kids, a big white studio and balloons? Amazing photos! This is exactly what happened a few weeks ago, but I wasn't the photographer who put it all together. I was just along for the ride.

Marina Lower, a good friend and great photographer, decided to put together a fashion shoot for kids. Her inspiration was this 2009 Gap commercial. Let me just say that this is not a project that I would ever undertake on my own. Not only would I be unable to handle 10 kids, but I would have no idea how to style them. Fortunately, Marina can style kids so that they look like they came right out of a Gap commercial! While she loves working with newborns, Marina sure had fun working with these 4-6 year olds. I have to admit that I had a good time too.

We wanted to do a big group shot, but we also wanted some smaller group shots as well as individual photos. Once we nailed the big group shot (no small task), we split up into smaller groups. I got photos of the boys mostly, but managed to get a few of the girls, as well as some of the siblings who were there.

One thing that Marina was very clear about was the kids who participated needed to have personality. The kids she found had personality to spare! Don't believe me? Just take a look at some of these photos... but first, let me just say thank you to Marina for inviting me along to participate in her shoot. I ended up having a great time, but really, she did all of the hard work and just let me have fun and take pictures. OK, on to the photos!

Year End Review - 2010 Outtakes and Other Fun Photos - Part I: Families and Events

This is what happens when you photograph people you know.

Over the course of a year, after photographing so many families and individuals, it's always fun to look back and remember how much fun we had at each shoot.  Lots of people are intimidated when a camera is pointing at them, so I always try to make sure photo shoots are fun events, not serious affairs.  As evidence, I'd like to present the following photos:

Manual Mode - Better Photos... Now!

Have you ever taken a photo, looked at it and wondered, "What was my camera thinking?" Instead of a photo that captures the glorious light that's falling on your subject, you get a photo in which everything is underexposed, except for the windshield of the car in the background, which is perfectly exposed. Contrary to popular belief, DSLRs are not that smart and can easily be fooled by a variety of lighting conditions. Fortunately, with a little practice and common sense, you can take great photos without relying on your camera to figure out the exposure.

When you set your camera to aperture priority or shutter priority mode, your camera is still calling the shots when it comes to deciding the proper exposure. By setting your camera to manual mode, you take complete control over the exposure of your photos. Be forewarned: With great power comes great responsibility. If you're not careful, you'll have lots of under or over-exposed photos. If you change lighting conditions, like walking from indoors to outdoors, you need to change your settings. Be aware of your surroundings, though, and you'll be rewarded with consistent exposures and more creative control than you ever imagined possible!

To get started shooting in manual mode, set your camera to that big, intimidating M. Now you're in control of the aperture and shutter speed. Remember, your aperture controls the amount of light that enters your camera while shutter speed controls how long your sensor is exposed to that light. If your photo is under-exposed, you can either decrease your shutter speed or use a larger aperture (smaller f/number). If your photo is over-exposed, you can either increase your shutter speed or use a smaller aperture (larger f/number).

Now that you're in manual mode, how are you going to take better photos than your camera? Let's say you're standing on the street and your subject is standing on the sidewalk in some beautiful light. Unfortunately, that light is also glaring off of a car windshield behind your subject and is tricking your camera's meter. You take a photo and notice that it is under-exposed. No problem! Just decrease the shutter speed to let in more light. Sure, the windshield is going to blown out and over-exposed, but now your subject will be properly exposed. If you were using aperture or shutter-priority mode, changing the aperture or shutter speed would still give you an under-exposed image, because as far as the camera is concerned the scene hasn't changed. Using manual mode, you override the camera's judgement and get the exposure you want!

Here are a few examples of shooting in manual mode versus shooting in aperture priority mode.  These are for demonstration purposes only, as they were test shots while I was setting my exposure.

The photo on the left was taken in aperture priority mode at f/4.  Because of the bright background, the camera thought it should be exposed for 1/800 of a second, which produces an underexposed image.  I switched to manual mode, set my camera to f/3.2 and 1/200 of a second, which gives the image on the right.  The background is blown out (the camera tried to tell me!), but I'm not shooting the background, I'm shooting the boy!

Although the photo on the right is nothing to write home about, with a little curves adjustment, we get something like you see below, which was taken at the exact same settings just a few seconds after the above photo on the right!

Now, go forth with your cameras set to M!

Read all of my DSLR tips here.

Julia and Jaden Part II - Denver Family Photos

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember me writing about Julia and Jaden last year. Well, I got a phone call from Stephanie, their mom, again this year asking for another photo shoot. Everyone was a year older, but no less full of energy. In fact, the dog had just been to the vet and was enjoying her freedom so much we couldn't even get her to sit still long enough for more than one or two photos!

We had another beautiful October day to shoot. This year, we went for something a little less green and more autumnal. The colors have been beautiful this year, so finding a good location was not hard. The girls were dressed in matching dresses from a wedding earlier in the year. They were both flower girls, but unfortunately did not get a good photo, so the goal of the day was to get a good photo for their holiday card.

Apparently, it's now a tradition to go a little crazy at the beginning of the photo shoot (it's happened two years in a row, so I'm calling it a tradition), so the girls didn't want to do anything serious at the beginning of the shoot. That was fine, as I don't mind some goofy photos. Kids should be kids once in a while!

After they got a little energy out of their systems, we changed locations and got some nice photos. We even got Stephanie and the dog in for a few photos! I knew I was pressing my luck with the reserved, nice photos and pretty soon they just couldn't sit still and got goofy again. That's when I knew the shoot was over. As we were walking back to the car, I asked the girls to skip ahead of me and got a few wonderful photos of them skipping along, hand in hand.

I had gotten the shots I had come to get, as well as a few extras. I'm sure Stephanie will look at them years from now and fondly remember a beautiful October day spent with her daughters before they were all grown up. I'm sure if we keep shooting every year, I will look back at them and recall sunny afternoons and silly girls, which will make me smile.

To see more photos from their shoot, click here.

Rebecca - Boulder Children's Photos

Good things come to those who wait, right? If that's the case, then the photos of Rebecca's daughters should be amazing! Rebecca let me know way back in April that she wanted some fall photos. At that time, her youngest daughter, Samira, was almost 1 year old and hadn't had a formal photo shoot yet. By the time we shot with the fall colors in October, she was almost 1.5 years old.

The original plan was to shoot up in a canyon outside of Boulder. The original plan was also to shoot a few weeks earlier than we ended up shooting to catch the colors when they were at their peak. When I went up into the canyon on the day of the shoot, the colors were pretty much gone, so, with an improvisational Hail Mary, we decided to shoot on the University of Colorado campus and hope for some color. Fortunately, there was lots of color and many more locations for photos than we would have had in the canyon.

Samira took a bit of time warming up to the camera. Her older sister, Stella, took advantage of the opportunity to get some extra photos while her sister was being shy. Pretty soon, though, they were both goofing around and hardly noticed I was there. This is one of my favorite times to photograph children. When they forget you're there and just act like kids, it's possible to capture some truly authentic images. Posed, smiling photos of children are always nice, but I love a good photo of a kid being a kid.

As is always the case, once the kids decide they're done with photos, the shoot is over. Samira lasted over an hour, which is excellent for a kid her age. We sat down, had a snack, then headed back to the car. Fortunately, she got a second-wind before we got to the car and I was able to take photos for a bit longer before we parted ways.

So, do good things come to those who wait? Let's see... The weather was gorgeous. The location was beautiful. The light was perfect. The girls were wonderful. And the photos? According to Rebecca, they're "amazing". Just what I was hoping for.

You can see more photos from the afternoon here.

Kristina and Karl - Parker Family Photos

When Kristina told me she knew of a cute little park near her house where we could take some photos I don't think either of us realized that we were setting up a shoot at a location that every photographer in southeast Denver chose for that Saturday morning. Seriously, the park wasn't that big and there were probably 5 other families with photographers there at the same time we were! Fortunately, we were able to get a little privacy and take some great family photos that only included one family: Kristina and Karl's.

Kristina and Karl have two sons, Ethan and Ryan. I think there's a universal law about getting two little boys near water: at least one of them is going to get wet and/or dirty. It doesn't help when there are so many fun things so close to the water such as ducks and geese to chase around, as well as a stream with rocks to stand on. Fortunately, Kristina and Karl are aware of the affinity little boys have for water and kept a close eye on them. While I was working with one boy, the other was off exploring with a parent close behind.

While we looked for secluded spots that didn't include other families, the boys got to have a little fun which always makes for great candid photos. Even when they started to get tired of the camera, we just let them do their own thing and pretty soon their batteries were recharged and we got some more photos of them! By the end of the day, Ethan and Ryan had made it almost an hour without getting too wet, dirty or fussy. That is quite an accomplishment!

As we wrapped up and headed back to our cars, we hiked up a steep hill. We started talking about how great it would be to sled down in the winter. Maybe that will be our next photo shoot... just as long as the rest of Denver doesn't decide to go sledding on that hill at the same time!

You can see more photos from this shoot here.

Ariana

I first met Michelle at the big hair shoot I did last year. She was one of Tanya's clients who volunteered to get her hair done and be photographed. When she contacted me and said she wanted some photos of her daughter, Ariana, I was so happy!

When we met up, Michelle warned me that Ariana didn't like to smile for strangers and didn't really enjoy her last photo session. So, I entered the shoot as Ariana's friend. If she didn't like to smile for strangers, I wouldn't be a stranger! It didn't take long for me to start to win her over and get some good photos with genuine smiles.

Talk about a cutie! Ariana's hair (done by Tanya, of course), was adorable and her eyes just sparkled. You could tell Michelle chose her outfits, because they were so stylish (just like her mom). :)

After an outfit change, some photos with mom and a few other family members, and a little playing on the playground, it was time to end the photo session, but not before Ariana played in the water. That's right... she went and played in the water, in her super-cute outfit no less! By the time she was done she was absolutely soaked and couldn't have been any happier. When it was time to go, I even got a wet hug from her. I guess I wasn't a stranger anymore.

You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Stella

There are times when the forces of the universe work together to create golden opportunities. Maybe a butterfly was really flapping it's wings in some rainforest on the other side of the globe or maybe it was just a good photo session. Either way, I'm so happy that I got to spend some time with Stella and her family!

I've known Stella's parents, Shane and Amber, for quite a while... Amber since high school and Shane even longer. Shane and I grew up together. We used to get into all sorts of trouble together. Somehow one of us (usually me) always ended up getting hurt, but we never held a grudge or placed blame. It was just the way things worked. The fact that they made the trip up to Denver from Pueblo (a 2-hour drive each way) to get Stella's 6 month photos taken shows what good friends they are.

Amber warned me that Stella was the cutest baby I'd ever see. Stella is definitely a super-cute baby, but here's where the stars aligned or that butterfly flapped around or I just got lucky. I had a new technique that I wanted to try, Amber brought a bunch of cute hats for Stella, Stella had just gotten her first tooth and she was in a good mood! When all of these got put together, we got some amazing photos of Stella.

I think one of my favorite moments of the day came when Stella was just about done. Shane suggested we give her a random object to hold for a few photos. He went out for a minute and came back with a curling iron (cool, of course). When Amber asked why Shane wanted a photo of Stella with a curling iron, he just replied, "Because it's funny." It was pretty funny (and cute) and Stella definitely thought it was interesting.

I can't wait to meet up with Stella again for some more photos. Maybe I can talk Shane and Amber into something before the end of the year. If I do, you'll hear all about it!

Here's a short slideshow I put together with photos from Stella's session:



You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Jennifer and Chris

I'm not going to deny that I love referrals. What could be better than having a client send a friend your way? I'll tell you what could be better. When the client is a lot of fun to hang out with. Usually their friends are fun to hang out with also, so you know you're going to have a good shoot!

Jennifer got in touch with me based on a friend's recommendation. She wanted family photos of her, her husband Chris and their son Andrew. Since they live in Littleton, we chose to meet at Clement Park first thing in the morning.

It was a beautiful morning and Andrew was in good spirits. I think seeing the ducks swimming in the pond really made his day. After some slightly posed photos down by the water we headed up to the playground, because, let's face it, kids always love a good playground and it makes for great photos!

Andrew certainly loved playing around on the playground. He was having so much fun he didn't even notice when I stole Jennifer and Chris for a few minutes for some couples photos! Of course, Andrew was the star of the show and we got some great photos that show off his big blue eyes.

As with any shoot that children are involved in, we finished up pretty quickly. Once a kid is done, the shoot is over and it started to become clear that Andrew was done. We said our goodbyes and I headed up to a coffee shop to meet my wife, look over the photos and reflect on a great morning.

You can see more photos from their shoot here.

Faith and Mark

I've been friends with Faith and Mark for a few years now. Just a little over a year ago, their son Tobin came into this world. Since Day 1, he's been one of the cutest kids around. He's so well mannered and is always smiling, I'd hang out with him any day. Because he's just so darn cute, I had been bugging Faith and Mark to set up a photo shoot so I could get some photos of Tobin... I mean the family. We finally got something set up just in time for Tobin's first birthday.

When they came into the studio, Tobin was as happy as he usually is. I couldn't wait and just started taking photos. What was really interesting is that he was so interested in the flashes. Most kids don't pay any attention, but Tobin picked up on the fact that something was going on above his head. Then he figured out that every time I put my camera up to my eye, the flashes would go off, so he started looking up as soon as I raised my camera. What a smart kid!

One of my favorite shots of the day, the one you see at the top of this post, came when Tobin didn't want to sit still and kept crawling towards me. I was sitting on the ground, so I was at his level, but he definitely got out of the sweet light and picked up a few extra shadows. I really like it because of all the extra definition his face gets.

I finally decided I'd better take a few photos of Faith and Mark, just so they didn't feel too left out. They were great in front of the camera, but were happy to turn the spotlight back over to Tobin.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Tobin got a little grouchy! I've seen him at events with hundreds of people and he doesn't mind all the noise and attention. For some reason, though, today he just got tired. You know what? That's OK. Kids get tired. They cry. That's part of being a kid. I just kept taking photos and got some of those big tears running down his cheek. We got a few more smiles out of him, but the end had arrived.

Now that we've done one shoot, I don't think it will be very hard to convince Faith and Mark to set up another one. This time I'd like to take them outside and get Tobin in a natural setting. I think that would just be super-cute! I'll get Tobin with some flowers, and Tobin in the grass, and maybe he'll see a butterfly... Oh, and I guess since Faith and Mark have to bring Tobin to the shoot, maybe I'll take a few photos of them while they're there!

To see more photos from this shoot, click here.

Paul and Carissa

When Paul, Carissa, Ryan and Amelia-Rose showed up at the studio I knew we were going to have a fun day.  Even though they were dressed nice, they had a great, relaxed attitude and didn't want a "formal" family photo.  Instead, they wanted to look nice but still be themselves. What followed was a very fun shoot.

We started out with some nice, safe posed shots.  It didn't take long for Ryan and Amelia-Rose to lose interest in that, though, so I tried to keep moving through different looks and poses just to keep things moving.  Well, the kids certainly helped keep things moving... they didn't stop moving!  Not that that's a bad thing.  Just look at the photo at the top of this post!  This kind of shot would never happen if we forced the kids to sit still and look at the camera.  If we had tried to do that, we'd have ended up with grumpy kids and a short photo shoot.

After a while it became clear that we were done with family photos and it was time to get some photos of the kids being kids.  I'm not sure what it is about the studio, but I think when children see a big, empty white room they instantly think "Let's go crazy!".  It happens every time.  Kids just love the studio!  Ryan and Amelia-Rose were no different.  They were running laps around the props and just had fun playing with each other.  I think they were oblivious to the camera.

We wrapped up the shoot with a little game where they would hide behind a riser and then pop out and scare me.  Of course, I'd take a picture every time before I got "scared".  It's always fun finding games you can play with the kids and give the parents a bit of a break.

At the end of the day, we got some good photos.  Paul actually went to college with my wife, so we also got a chance to catch up on the last few years.  At this shoot, Carissa was pregnant and she's since given birth to a healthy boy.  Hopefully we'll get some photos of him on here soon!

You can see more photos from this shoot here.

Charlie

When Rob and Kathryn asked me if I'd take some photos of their son, Charlie, I was super-excited. I had never taken photos of a child as young as Charlie, so I was ready for the experience. I might have been spoiled from my first experience, though, as Charlie is a very cute baby and was quite well-behaved!

I arrived at Rob and Kathryn's house in an older neighborhood of Boulder. The south side of their house had been remodeled by a previous owner, and part of that remodel included lots of windows. Because of the windows, there was plenty of natural light available to work with, so we just set up a little cozy area for Charlie out of the direct sun and I started taking photos.

I must admit, I was surprised at how well-behaved Charlie was. He was alert, wasn't fussy and was basically the perfect subject. I think he would have been fine to lay there for hours if we hadn't decided to change his outfit. Once the outfit was changed, our groove was gone and he got a little fussy. Fortunately, it wasn't a big deal and we still got some great photos of him in his next outfits.

The grand finale came when we let the dogs come in for a closer look at Charlie. Typically, they're always getting close to him, checking him out, and even sneaking in the occasional lick. For our photo shoot, they were on their best behavior and even when we invited them to come visit Charlie they were hesitant. We finally got a few photos of him and the dogs after much coaxing and patience.

This might have been my first photo shoot with an infant, but I know it won't be my last. Thank you, Charlie, for being such a good little guy. I hope to work with you again soon!

You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Julia and Jaden

When I heard that I'd be taking photos of two girls and their new puppy, my first thought was, "this will be hard not to get a good photo". The next time I hear something similar, my first thought will be, "how will I get them to sit still?". Regardless of their energy, Julia and Jaden were lots of fun to photograph and, consequently, we got some great photos.

The weather couldn't have been better for an afternoon in the park. October days in Colorado are unpredictable. Fortunately, we picked a beautiful day! Stephanie (Julia and Jaden's mother) chose a nice little park in their neighborhood complete with a playground and mountain views.

We started on the playground. I just told the girls to have fun and that's exactly what they did. They were both very comfortable with the camera and even gave me some poses when I asked them to. The hard part was getting them off of the playground and onto the grass to pose for a few photos with their new puppy.

Once the girls were on the grass, the next trick was to get the dog into the photos. When that was accomplished, they all needed to look at the camera at the same time. One of the best ways to get kids' attention and to get them to look at the camera is to ask them to make funny faces. Once they do that, getting them to make a nice face isn't as difficult. One of my favorite photos of the day was a "funny face" photo where even the dog is sticking out her tongue!

After about an hour of taking photos, the girls started to get tired. If there's one thing I've learned about photographing children, it's that it's better to end on a good note rather than wait for things to go bad. We decided to call it a day while everyone was still smiling, which allowed us to go enjoy what was left of a beautiful October afternoon in high spirits.

You can see more images here.

Ning, Lee and Forest

Ning and Lee are one of the nicest couples around. They're fun to spend time with, they both have a great sense of humor, and their son, Forest, is great! We spent some time on a sunny Sunday morning taking some photos on the south end of Denver.

The first thing I noticed was how nice everyone looked. They all wore color-coordinated outfits, but not matching outfits. The second thing I noticed was a big bump on Forest's forehead! Apparently, he just learned to walk and fell down and scraped his head a few days before. He's fine and thanks to the power of Photoshop, you'd never even know it from the photos!

We started off by letting Forest play on the playground, which provided some great photos. After a while, we decided to attempt some family photos. We didn't include Forest in this decision, so he made it clear he wanted to play and not sit still! After some parental tricks (Lee gave Forest his car keys to play with) and a little tickling, we got some great family photos.

At the end of the shoot, Forest was just about done being cute for the camera, so Lee took him over to watch the geese while I took a few photos of Ning. I really like the way they came out. Her haircut framed her face so nicely and the light was great. I hope Forest doesn't grow up too quickly, as I can't wait to spend some time with him (and his parents) again.

You can see more photos here.

Laurie and Aidan

Although time and distance can separate two people, it doesn't necessarily have to affect their relationship. I discovered this when I met up with Laurie on Monday. Laurie and I used to work together. We didn't work in the same location or even the same city, but we saw each other at meetings, training and whenever everyone went out for some drinks. We always had fun together, but were also able to talk about some more serious topics. It's been over a year since we last saw each other (we both lost our jobs), but it felt like we picked up right where we left off.

I met Laurie and her son, Aidan, at her house in Erie. She had a location already picked out, so we hopped into her car and headed over. When we arrived, I couldn't have been happier. She chose a trail right by a river, but there were a bunch of open spaces with tall grass, colorful bushes and mossy trees. What a great variety of scenery!

We started out with the "cheesy smiles" and "goofy faces" photos, just to get loosened up a bit. I've got to say, Aidan is the master of the Goofy Face. He can get more different looks out of his face than any kid I've seen! I could tell that Laurie was not as amused as I was, so I stopped encouraging him to make faces, but once in a while when his smile started to look a little forced, I told him to take a break and make some goofy faces. He was more than happy to oblige.

Although the weather was brisk and the light was fading, we were able to get two different outfits into our shoot. Laurie looked great and Aidan behaved himself. We got to spend some time catching up and came away with some great photos. Things will always change: kids grow up, we get older, people come and go from our lives. That's why we take photographs, to remember those moments that we can't get back. But, as I learned with Laurie, it's nice to know that sometimes things don't change.

You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Zoya and Kai

It was a cold and snowy day... wait, didn't I already start a post like that? This time it's the truth! It was supposed to get up to the low-40s on Sunday, but I don't think it ever really made it much above 30 in Boulder. There was snow on the ground, in the trees, and eventually on all of us. Regardless, we took less than an hour on a cold Sunday and got some great photos.

The shoot went great, but it could have been a bad day. First, there was the weather. Then, our meeting place was closed for construction. Luckily, we were able to contact each other, meet at the location for our shoot and get out and start shooting. The kids were very well behaved with just the right combination of goofy and calm.

After posing for some "formal" family photos, we turned the kids loose and let them be themselves. What resulted were goofy poses for the camera, playing in the snow and knocking icicles off of the downspouts. This also gave Zoya and Kai a chance to get some photos alone.

It didn't take too long, though, before hands started to get cold and noses started to drip. We decided we'd rather stop early than try to push our luck. I think we'll have to meet up on a beautiful spring afternoon in Boulder for another, warmer photo shoot.

You can see more photos from the shoot here.

Scott, Marla, Amanda, Vanessa, Jared and Marisa

After a long week of cold, rainy weather, the sun decided to make an appearance and warm Denver up a bit. The timing couldn't have been better for Sunday's photo shoot with Scott and Marla's family. It was a warm, sunny day that made spending a few hours outside wonderful. What made it even better was spending the time with this fun group of people!

When they first arrived, Jared was the person who I noticed first. He was so full of energy! He was running around, but was still well-behaved. He had so much energy during the entire shoot, I figured he'd burn out at some point, but he never did. It made for some great photo opportunities, like when he started climbing a brick wall.

Vanessa was a little shy, but was still a good sport about getting her picture taken. After a while, she decided not to smile much, so I worked with what I had and got some great serious photos of her. One of my favorite photos of the day came when she was off doing gymnastics in the grass while I was taking photos of someone else.

Want to know who's going to be America's Next Top Model? Marisa! Well, maybe not next, but give her a few years and she'll be right there. This girl knows how to work a camera. By the end of the day, she was coaching her entire family on how to pose.

Amanda is the oldest sibling and was a lot of fun to work with. She has a great smile, but the camera was totally loving her hair! The wind would come up just enough to blow it away from her head, giving her that supermodel look. I couldn't have done it better in a studio.

Finally, as the adults, Scott and Marla had their hands full with the four kids (with help from Amanda), but still managed to look great in their photos. They were very open to my suggestions and freely gave their input as well. I couldn't ask for a nicer couple to spend a few hours with.

After the shoot, the family was heading over to see Cirque du Soliel, so towards the end photos started to become a little less important to the kids. Fortunately, they finished strong and didn't get burned out. As we were walking back to our cars, I had my highlight of the day: Jared asked me if I would come to the circus with him.

You can find more photos from the shoot here.