katie: senior session--st. joseph, mo

this past weekend,

we made our annual trip to st. joseph, mo.

we had a great time with family as we

took the kids fishing, had a "campfire",

did some vintage shopping...and pierced my ears at the mall.

part of the reason for the trip was for

family time, the other for a senior

session that i had scheduled last fall

during a college senior's shoot.

the client's sister was graduating high school

the following year and i was asked to come back out.

i happily said "yes".

this was a free session.

i find that i enjoy doing those so much

more than i do when i charge.

this is katie.

she'll be attending missouri western,

just as her brother did,

and majoring in special ed.

good luck to you, katie!

andrew and his dad were in a photo at the end of andrew's session last year,

so it was only fitting to get one of katie and her mom this year. :)

ideas for painless family photos.

with the small preview of fall last week,

i started thinking about christmas photos.

i mean,

we did ours this summer on vacation,

so we're done.

(smartest thing i've ever done!)

however, most people do their photos for

their christmas cards in the fall.

ah, photos.

to the mom, photos mean stress.

buying new outfits.

buying more new outfits 'cause you 

changed your mind about your outfit

(that might only be me, though. :)) 

non-cooperating weather.

haircuts.

finding a photographer.

to the dad, photos mean, well, an unhappy mom.

fighting with the kids to stay still.

spending money you were saving.

(a photographer costs how much?!)

having to pose when you'd rather be

watching a game.

for the kids, photos mean yelling.

yelling at the kids.

parents yelling at each other.

racing around the house to get ready

and yelling for everyone to hurry up.

what's fun about that??

no one said photos had to be done the same

way EVERY YEAR.

or by a professional photographer.

it's okay to do things differently.

i have found a TON of ideas on pinterest over

the last few months,

some i've tried myself.

here are some ideas, new and old, for everyone:

1. for the newly married couple.

you just took a TON of wedding photos that were sure to be expensive.

use those!

saves your cheeks from all of that smiling.

get with your photographer and order some prints. or if you bought a cd of your photos,

print them. (i'll cover where to print at further down)

2. for the non-photogenic/i hate smiling.

try something fun.

this could work for the newlywed, too.

(via pinterest)

the hands have it.

(heart hands via pinterest)

as much as your grandma would love to

see your happy face,

sometimes the simple intimate photo is better.

to me the body language says,

"we love each other a lot".

more importantly, if you're on a very tight budget that doesn't leave room for a photographer,

this one could be easily done by a friend.

(whidbey island session w/mikaela ruth photography)

3. only child? focus on just them.  

(via pinterest)

there's all of this talk about how mom's should be in the photos, too...

but honestly, what tired mom wants to display the bags under her eyes??

i sure don't.

this photo shows that there are parents

(we tend to forget about the parents when there's a new little one around anyway),

but puts the main focus on the child.

4. let them be kids.

no one said kids have to look at the camera.

candids are a big part of my life.

let the kids play or do something that represents them.

we just took this shot yesterday.

my kids are best friends.

seriously.

they want to do everything together.

including running away from their mom.

(and yes, there was yelling on my part. :))

i adore candids.

get on the floor with your sons as they play with their star wars toys.

shoot through the window of your girl's

dollhouse as she's holding her princess doll.

capture the everyday.

(via pinterest)

i saw this posted on facebook today

for ashley ann's new site.

these photos of her kids capture her everyday moments perfectly.

5. family fun.

what's not fun about dressing up

together??

nothing says togetherness better than that.

ashley ann's star wars family

the last photo on this link would have

made a very fitting family photo for their

christmas card. :)

seriously fun.

i can only imagine how

much fun this had to have been to shoot, 

both for the family and for the photographer.  

(be sure to check out the link at the bottom of the photo to see the rest of their shoot)

(via pinterest)

 (via pinterest)

this last shot is from a post for those of us who are always behind the camera and how we should join in on the photos.
i love this photo because it is something that you could do in your christmas jammies, reading 'twas the night before christmas'.  it's simple, festive, cheap(both clothes and not having to have a photographer present) and candid.  it's something i will personally be doing with my kids while my husband is deployed.

(via pinterest)

now for the second part of this post:

printing.

everyone wants to print on a budget.

however, remember that you get what you pay for.

i found this photo on (again) pinterest and i

thought it was absolutely perfect.

the post gives you a better description of everything, so you can read that here.  i encourage you to take what's written to heart.
we made the mistake of doing photos cheaply last year through wal-mart and got a walgreens result.  i was so upset.  lesson learned.

i recommend mpix to everyone i know and use it myself(it's a kansas based business).  i love how the photos come out and how quickly they make it to my house.  if you've never looked into them before, please do so!  if it intimidates you trying to put photos together online, let me know...i'd be happy to help you out!  or try a locally owned shop to do your printing.  i'm sure they'd appreciate your business.


PHOTOGRAPHERS:

lastly, if you're wanting to do photos with a professional, book a session immediately.   booking in the summer is typically the best time, but some will still have slots open now.

if you need a photographer recommendation, 
there is a list of local photographers on the top right hand side of this blog.  click on the name and it'll take you to their site. 


i hope that this post has been helpful to you! if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me in my comments section or email me at jeaswhyte(at)yahoo(dot)com.  

free time.

school starting has meant free time for mama!

i'm a big fan of this.

this week, i took a walk BY MYSELF through my

favorite local park and did a 'nature photo shoot'.

here are a few of my favorite shots of the park.

back to school.

recently, i found a photo on pinterest that had a child holding 

a printed sign with her grade and teacher's name on it for a first day of school photo.

super cute idea.

a lot of people are doing them now.

 my friend did one for her first grader, kindergartener,

and even one for her 2 yr old that says

"first day of being an only child...finally!"

 haha.

so great.

well, not to be left out, we did our own.

my oldest left for her first day of kindergarten today.

instead of typing and printing a sign

(since i don't have a printer),

we used a chalkboard i had picked up in st. joe,

a chalkboard marker and my daughter's writing skills.

she loves to write and copy letters,

so i let her do this all by herself.

i love the idea of having them write their own

and being able to see how they've grown each year,

both in height and writing skills.

we will definitely continue this tradition.

july & august photos.

at the end of july,

we celebrated my husband's grandmother's 90th

birthday.

we even created her own birthday card.

[when doing this, make sure your driveway isn't cracked. :)]

now, i absolutely do not do photos in the

summer...if i don't have to.

i'm a miserable grump in the heat,

this summer being no exception.

we're on summer #3 of no a/c in our

vehicle, so if i'm forced to go anywhere

during the day, i'm soaked before i even get there.

40 degrees is sounding pretty awesome right now.

i'm sure i'll complain about it soon enough. :)

however, this week i was forced to take some outdoor photos.

i felt really bad for turning someone

down for photos and then doing

this shoot.

sorry!

this is my friend stacie. 

we grew up 2 blocks away from each other,

were in the same 4th grade class [i still have one of her crayons], and then went on to middle school together,

as well.

[4th grade--i'm at the end of the 2nd row, burgandy top,

stacie's behind me in the pink top]

her mom was always my favorite because she

was really tall like my mom.

when your mom is 6ft and all you hear is

"wow, your mom is really tall",

it's nice to have someone around who can relate. :)

she and i didn't get to go to high school

together, but we kept in touch.

thanks to facebook, i've been able to pass

on camera/lens info, help her decide which ones to purchase and even talked her into getting lightroom...just last month. :)

when stacie contacted me, saying she'd be in town and if i could survive the heat to do her photos...well, i'll be honest...

i was hesitant.

it's really hot out!!!

ha.

and then i said yes.

thankfully, it was 80 degrees in the morning.

that day topped out at 112.

whew.

here are a few shots from our morning.

i was so happy to see her mom, too!

thanks for asking me to play out in the heat, stac! :)

antonio: 2 year celebration.

my friend krista is a big fan of disney.

mickey mouse is very present in she and her son's life.

they take trips to disney quite often...

it's more of a second home to them.

i'm sure when i go someday i will have her

put our trip together for me. :)

being the big fans of mickey that they are,

it was not surprising to me to walk in and see this balloon.

krista's son, antonio, turned 2 and asked if i could come

over again and shoot the party for her.

it was fun to see a framed photo that i took of

his 1st birthday party on the wall.

like i said.

they're all about mickey. :)

antonio's shoes were too cute not to shoot.

krista went through a terrible divorce last fall.

now i don't go around telling people personal facts about

my clients, but i mention it to share this photo.

this photo of krista speaks volumes to me.

she put this party together by herself,

including the inflatable.

heck, she took an almost 2 year old to disney

by herself.

this year of "firsts" has been hard,

but she's powered through it and i'm so proud of her.

you're amazing, krista.

thanks for letting me be a part of the festivities, krista!

[and happy 2nd birthday again, antonio!]

purple.

[cheney, washington--fishing lake]

a little photo i came across yesterday.

i may have to blow this up and hang it in my house.