the photokatie photojournal

Candid Kids' Portraits: Little Toes in the Sand

I realized at this shoot that I have been very lucky to photograph brothers and sisters who not only get along, but actually really like each other, even give hugs and kisses and play together!  Not always a given, but these two certainly do, and they have a great backyard, complete with a dock and a little strip of sandy beach to play on…what fun for family pictures! 

New photo book design

A new favorite photo book design -- polka dots!  This style would be perfect for a Mother's Day "I love you mommy" book, too!  Now that spring is here, schedule a photo session with Maya K. Photography for your family by April 18th, and your kids can have an extra-special mother's day gifts for mom and gramma this year…

Happy 3 month baby photo session

As you can see, baby Archer has gotten quite good at the happy faces since his newborn photo session!  Three months is a great age--they start to fill out and get that wonderful round huggableness.  And of course the ability to smile on purpose doesn't hurt either--a very important quality in a model  :-)

 

Family Portraits on Winter Walk

Photos today courtesy of Charlie and Caden, who braved the cold for a bit to show me a favorite park area for family walks.  Turned out to also be an awesome place for family portraits!  And then back home to warm up with some books--always a good day…   :-)

Kids Portrait Party in Minneapolis

Another kids portrait party this week, this one in Minneapolis…

We had hoped to be outside, but woke up to a thick dusting of snow, so we were cooped up inside.  But we still had plenty of great spots for pictures, and lots of fun trying to get brothers and sisters to get their pictures taken together--but when there are so many more interesting things to do and play with, who can blame them ;-) 

not your typical school pictures

…another way I kept my shutter-button occupied while on my trip to Iowa last week was my annual picture day at Heritage Christian School in Parkview, Iowa.  This happy place has been a huge part of my family's lives for the last--holy cow, 18 years?!--and this is my fifth fall visiting to capture photos of the kids and staff to use in a slideshow at their Fall Dessert Banquet Fundraiser and in other promotional places.  I try to be a fly on the wall, but by now, the kids see me and come running for a photo with their best friend or a goofy new pose idea!  (Funny, certain faces seem to always jump into the spotlight more readily than others…hmm…  ;-)    Here are a few of my favorites for 2009…

By the way, you can learn more about Heritage at www.heritagechristian.us --and if any of you know any schools in the Twin Cities who would be interested in working with me like this, please let me know!

 

Kids photos in the park--portrait party 2

Hello everyone!  I am back in Minnesota, writing today from my lovely huge desk in my happily organized office (rather than a makeshift workstation comprised of a cutting board balanced on the chaise lounge section of my mother's couch ;-) and I am happy to report that after one very chilly night, my heater is on!  And there was much rejoicing.

Continuing with the kids' photo sessions from my most recent trek to the Quad Cities, today I have a portrait party from the Illinois side of the river, where I met with some families from the church where I went to high school, way back when. (A moment of silence, please, in memory of the crazy days of high school at Sycamore ;-)  I had a HUGE wooden playground/labyrinth to chase the kids around--which was no easy task, since it was hard enough just to figure out how to get from point A to point B, let alone trying to fit through all the holes and passageways not necessarily intended for grown-ups!  The bright sunlight was a challenge as well, but paid off in a few extra-special glowing images…

Some super-cute hair-do's that day, too!  Check out the tuft on this first little guy--I love it!!!

 

Seven kids and one french bulldog…

…No, not all in one family ;-)  Today's assortment of little faces comes from a kids' portrait party last weekend at a park in Bettendorf, IA-- 4 families, 7 kids, and one adorable french bulldog.  Some of you may recognize one little girl from the front of my brochure, now a year and a half older--thanks to her for that (and for being so cute ;-) and to her mom, Danielle, for introducing me to some new families!  :-)

Sunday morning photos at the Vogel kids' house

I spent last Sunday morning taking pictures with three very sweet, mischievous kids, and I felt like a very lucky girl, to get to be there, creating photos…

And I have to get up in 3-1/2 hours, so I'll leave it at that, and let the pictures do the talking!   ;-)

(not to go all misty on you, but this one totally gives me a flash-forward twenty years to her in a wedding dress, being escorted down the aisle by her daddy…  ;-)

Kids Portraits: Three Brown-Eyed Girls

Three sisters, three pairs of beautiful brown eyes!  It was so much fun to see all their little personalities during our portrait session yesterday-- one very sweet and a little shy, one who likes to take charge and make plans, and the littlest one who's just crawling, but already knows how to fight for her personal space when necessary!  (Can't wait to see how that works out a few years down the road ;-)  …but all very helpful kids and a lot of fun.  Lovely to meet you, ladies, and mom and dad, and I hope we can do it again sometime!