Cutest baby in the world!

Cutest baby in the world? YES, I'm convinced! Not only is Mikah adorable, but she simply has the best personality!

I'm beyond thrilled that I got hooked up with her family a year ago, when her big brother and sister turned one year. I also was blessed to get to photograph Mikah when she was brand new! Check out that blog post HERE from 6 months ago. I was really excited to get to use the same basket and blanket from her first session.

I could never get tired of photographing this sweet baby girl. She was all smiles and never grew tired of being the center of our attention. My cheeks really hurt from smiling for a full hour! Hopefully that doesn't mean normally I'm a grump...

I think her mommy did an amazing job of dressing her for her little shoot! I love the colors and especially baby leggings. I think every child needs these, if not for only the reason to make a fashion statement.


I love this photo of Mikah and her momma. Hopefully I'll still know her when she goes off to college. I will give her this picture in a frame to put in her dorm room! :) haha... isn't that funny to think about?
I had a wonderful morning seeing all 3 kids in this fam, although this shoot was 100% for Mikah! Not only is she cute and happy, but extremely skilled for just 6 months. She's been sitting up like a champ for quite awhile, crawling really well, and even pulling herself up on things. I wouldn't have been surprised if she just stood up and started running away from us :)

Carrie, it was awesome to see you again. You are doing the most wonderful job raising your kids! They are all beautiful and happy!

Snow Day... kinda

Most people would know if they had a snow day or not. I didn't.

I woke up a little late, thinking that I might get a snow day, seeing as the weather channel was telling people not to leave their homes. Being the crazy girl I am, I was thinking I would get a phone call, email, or maybe find my company on KWWL's cancelation list. (I should put in a sidenote, that YES, I have a full time job on top of my photography business. A lot of people don't know this.)

I didn't hear anything, so I went in to work, assuming that we had it. I get to work, passing about 5 total cars on the way, one of them that is stuck, and I can't park on the street because their is too much snow on the sides of the road. I find a spot about a block away and none of the sidewalks have been shoveled, so I'm walking along the street with only my eyes showing because the wind is blowing so hard! Lucky for me, there are NO cars on the streets! I got to the front door of our building through about 2 feet of snow! And realized I was the first person to the building, because the snow had drifted up over the bottom of the door.

I am the first person in my office, which doesn't surprise me, but I figured people would have started showing up in the next couple of minutes. I called a couple of my boss' cell phones. One answered and he told me that people are probably just running late. 40 minutes LATER.... i am STILL the only person there! I call a different boss' home phone and find out that he has told another employee to check in at noon and not to come in for the morning. NICE..... I'm pretty pleased that I got up and came to work for this! SHEESH..... so I left and am enjoying the sort of snow day, while it lasts. I'll probably have to go in this afternoon. **edited** JUST GOT THE CALL THAT I GET TO STAY HOME FOR THE WHOLE DAY!

For now, I enjoy the sights of a snow day!

Nap Time

Oh the family Christmas Card! If I were this family, I would totally put this one(above) on there! I don't think I've ever seen a "sweeter" grandma and grandpa! :)
We also got posed ones for those that prefer that :) I would like to say that I'm so awesome that I was able to get all the little ones looking at me. Sadly I am not. We had a great helper behind me! Would you have been able to guess this shoot took place at nap time!?

No one tells (about) 2 year olds when it is time to sit nice and smile. Hey, I'm just proud that there is a picture of all 5. The oldest and youngest are rock stars. They just sat there nicely :)
Until someone got a little too close! haha

This was supposed to be my last shoot of the year! I was going to be on "vacation" in the month of December. But I'm either a sucker or just love photographing babies. There were 3 little ones I couldn't say no to and a big event I decided to take on.

AND... I know this is going to greatly sadden you friends and family. That's why I'm giving you plenty of warning! You will not be receiving a Schrage family Christmas Card this year :( I know, I know. I made the heart wrenching decision this week to not send them out and I'm sticking to it!

An unlikely thanksgiving

It was a sort of weird Thanksgiving. There was no turkey, no large family get-togethers, no football.... We did have disc golfing...

jenga
pumpkin bread french toast

and sewing of a tree skirt...

(photos taken by my mom and Dale)

We may not have done some of the regular holiday traditions, but we did get a 4 day weekend with family :) We spent a quiet day with Trav's parents in Allison on Thursday eating ham and watching really bad movies. Mowgli got to stay at the farm all weekend, which is his absolute favorite place to be! Friday we headed to Des Moines where we ate most of the time, but did get a few activities in. Dale brought his kids over and we all played disc golf and ate chili together. You can just go ahead and call us the Brady Bunch!

When we got home I put up our Christmas Tree!! So excited :) My new tree skirt underneath looks great too. My mom made most of it, but I helped here and there! I love having the tree lights on at night when I get home and in the morning when I wake up. It makes the house feel so cozy.

Lil' cutie

I don't think you could get enough of this stinkin' cute little boy!  His big blue eyes are so beautiful.  He was so fun to photograph, and I'm glad I get to watch him grow :)


Sessions like this one of Conor's, are my favorite!  I'm always glad to get to come into someone's home and photograph their little one doing all the things they do!  Conor got a diaper change while I was there, and what little kid doesn't like a little nudey time! :)

Most of the time, we try to get the little one to look my way and give big smiles.  But I try not to forget to get the images that are a bit more quiet and relaxed.  Something about them "move" me and I love editing them in a way that makes them feel timeless.  They turn in to some of my favorite photos.


Maybe you remember Conor's 3 mo. session?  Look at that skinny baby!  He sure is growing :)  You'll be sure to see more of him and his family next year.

Now kiss!

I was a tad bit skeptical when Shelby (brown shirt pink scarf) contacted me in November to get in a family photo shoot.  The weather was starting to get chilly, and I wasn't sure if they would have to be in their winter parkas, hats and gloves.  We ended up having a beautiful day in late November and I'm really glad we got in a last minute photo session.

I did "couples" shots too during the family shoot.  It was a bit tough to get them to quickly warm up to the idea of being "snuggly" around me, but I  loved we ended up getting in the short time frame.

FAVORITE series from the day!  I actually have 2 more in the sequence that are pretty funny.  It is honestly one of my favorite things to ask a couple to kiss when their adult children are watching.  It never fails, there will be a small, sheepish peck until I heckle them enough to give me a real kiss.  That's when you get the awesomely funny expressions from the "kids" in the background.  I REALLY hope this goes in a frame SOMEWHERE!  It's too fun not to!

This shot (above) was one I'm lucky I got because it was one of those situations where I was laughing so hard, it was tough to focus and steady the camera!  OH, and I have to point out their outfits.  AMAZING!  The colors, accessories and different styles work so well together and add so much POP to their photos.

It was REALLY hard to narrow down just a few to share from this session.  There are so many fun ones I just love.  THANK you THANK you Anderson/Walsten/Web family for hanging out with me for the afternoon.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!  Travis and I are hanging out for the weekend in Des Moines with my family and loving the down time.  I'm so excited to get home and put up the Christmas tree.  We ended up going FAKE last year.  It's not the same, but it's easy and it gets done!

Easy Peasy

Look at that little punkin! This "yawn" picture is one of my new all time favorites :) Jani was exactly 1 week old for her photo session and was by far the easiest baby I've ever photographed! She was either content or slept through the entire session and only fussed once.

Several friends who read this blog have told me they love the tattoo dads holding their babies. I totally agree!!! The contrast of big strong man and a sweet soft baby will melt anyone's heart!

I LOVE those lips! And especially for this one, I think the black and white accentuates the shine on those sweet soft baby lips.

And that reminds me, I totally forgot in the previous post to mention that another awesome feature of 2010 packages is that each image you choose, you receive a color and black and white copy. THIS is a big deal! I get many requests to change photos over from black and white to color/ or sepia and vise versa. I had to start charging for this in the middle of the year because I was spending so much time RE-editing. I'm really excited to offer this because now you will receive your favorite images from your session edited in both ways, that's double the files! ARE YOU EXCITED? I AM?!

I simply cannot get ahold on how beautiful that little head of hair is!!! I'm pretty sure Travis and I are destined to have bald babies. We were both bald for quite some time :)

This blog post should actually be titled "better late than never". Normally, these posts serve as a "sneak peek" for clients while they're anxiously awaiting their pictures. However, when people purchase newborn announcements with their newborn session, they typically view their photos the DAY AFTER their session so I can get their card designed ASAP. The company I use to order cards is ridiculously speedy. I have been able to get people's card's in their hands less than a week after their session. So even though Jani's mom and dad have had their images for quite some time, I had to make sure I got to show off my favorites!

Jani is the last baby from my October/ November baby boom! I miss photographing newborns already. But I'm excited for the baby boy I have coming up in December. You heard me right, a BOY!!!!!

2010 is here!

Changes are coming!  I'm looking ahead to 2010!  It's been an incredible year for me, and I couldn't have dreamed that this little photography business could have kept me so busy.  I'm beyond grateful, and feel very blessed for everyone who has been part of my journey!

I've received some constructive criticism that my 2009 prices were to low.  I gave a lot, and for a very cheap price.  But I was learning, and it was important for me to get my name out there and earn some clients that would keep coming back and refer me to their friends.  I "tested" out a lot of things this past year, and I'm excited to use everything I learned to give better photographs this coming year.  I have raised my prices for 2010 and am now offering packages instead of a flat fee for a CD. 

The first and BEST change in the packages for 2010 is that ALL sessions will get an online gallery and YOU get to choose how many images you receive on your CD.  Through LOTS of time learning, I have gotten much better at editing photos and love to use everything I've learned on each photo I give.  Now that YOU choose the photos, I will be able to take the extra time to make your favorites just perfect.  I have learned that there is no reason to spend a little time on 60 images, but to spend a lot of time on the ones you really love!

I'm also giving each package a print credit.  It sounds simple, but makes so much sense.  I only use a professional print lab to print photos for the highest quality.  I want people to know what their photos SHOULD look like when printed.  I've seen my photos look pretty cruddy because they were printed at a bad lab, and I want to make sure you can have at least a few prints in hand to see what they are supposed to look like.

Some of the packages also include Gallery Wraps, Christmas Cards, and a hardcover book.  Please send me an email if you are interested in hearing all the details of the new packages.  I have been able to begin using my 2010 prices for sessions that were booked in November and I have been thrilled with the outcome.  I'm really excited for the new year and to help you get your images OFF your computer and on your walls!

Ben

Meet Ben!  He is such a great guy!  We shot most of his senior photos at his high school.  I know it wasn't his first choice of activities for a Saturday afternoon, but I'm proud to say that he told me, "it wasn't so bad."  And coming from a high school boy, that almost means he had a little bit of fun.

He's so handsome!  He has a great personality too.  Ben plays in all sports and has me tired just  thinking about it.  It did make me think back to my days on the high school swim team..... OH MAN, I don't know how I stuck that out for 4 years!

Good luck next year at college Ben!  Thanks for hanging out with me :)

Unexpected moments

3 months is sort of a tough stage to photograph. You can't count on babies to sleep, yet you can't really count on them to stay awake or be happy either.   I've been really busy and my weekends have been full with photo shoots, but Alaina's mommy, Kami was super flexible and really worked with my schedule. Unfortunately, the time slot we found was really close to Alaina's nap time. We were both a bit nervous on how it would go and if everyone would be happy :)

Well DUH, give me a gorgeous baby and of course we can get something AWESOME! I absolutely love the images we got of mom and babe.
Oh yes, I was super excited when I saw these amazingly cute "baby legs".

I'm so excited that Kami was the first person to ask me to photograph her daughter at all the different stages of her first year.  We have had so much fun together for her shoots, and I'm eager to get to watch Alaina grow, and hang out with her momma too!



I have so many favorites from Alaina's 3 month session!  We got some really great images that were totally unexpected.  I realize more and more, that the more flexible I am, the easier it is to watch and wait for the wonderful and natural moments to happen.

Thanks again SO much Kami for being amazingly awesome, and to Pat who puts up with me :)