This was such a fun shoot. We did this at their home and it went from traditional portraits to very unusual! They had a trampoline – it was getting dark – they were up for anything – so was I! Check it out… play button lower left.
I was the wedding photographer for when Shayna and Justin were married, and I was looking forward to seeing them again and meeting their adorable daughter, Jaden. She and I became good friends and she ended up wanting to spend more time behind the camera helping me than in front of it
We met at Lake Walcott and were all over the park for part of their session. We even put Jaden in a tree. She liked that! Then we went over to the old corrals in time for that magical golden light to do some western style pics, since this family is totally western lifestyle. Jaden in denim overalls and her daddy’s cowboy hat – which she removed as fast as only a two year old can do, which tested the speed of my shutter finger – is just too cute! Click the play button at the lower left for their slideshow.
This amazing family consists of 40 people! Not counting weddings, this is the largest family portrait I’ve done. They were all beautiful and very cooperative, even the little ones. Do you see the threatening dark clouds in the background? Well, it wasn’t a threat. There was thunder, lightening, and a breeze, but about 10 minutes before we were finished it unleashed all it’s fury with a blinding dust storm and strong gusty winds that hit like a Mac truck. Several family members ran to help me grab lights and gear just as they were about to all blow over and carried them to a sheltered area by their house. Long hair, skirts, tripods, and light stands don’t go with strong gusty wind real well. But we made it through and finished the session. This was like an extreme family portrait session, but anyone who knows me very well knows I like extreme
If you’d like to see their slideshow with music, play button is on lower left side…
I am so impressed with this family and loved getting to know them a little better. They’re one of those families that just makes you feel good to be around! One of the boys is leaving for an LDS Church mission and will be gone for two years, so they wanted to get a family portrait before he left. Everything was perfect the day we did their session. I loved the light blue/white colors they coordinated with. The little granddaughter was such a doll and really hammed it up at the end of the shoot
Click the play button at the lower left…

I just wanted to wish my friends here in America a Happy 4th of July weekend! And to my international friends, I wish you a happy weekend, too;) And, I have a gift. Here’s a flash slide show of the fireworks pics I took last year set to music, and if you’re running Windows (XP, Vista, whatever), you can download the fireworks as a screen saver. After you unzip it, open the “read me first” file and it will explain the easy options to install it.
