Hmmm?

I feel like I've been a huge failure! I've been taking pictures off and on but haven't been posting any of them. What a slacker right? Well here are some from the past few weeks and a few from over the years that I just stumbled across! Hopefully this week will be better but no promises!

100%

My schedule has been chaos this week and the chaos doesn't end until Monday when I take my Pathophysiology exam (double yuck!). Needless to say, photography got put on the back burner and I have no pictures to show for this past week and probably this week either. I'll definitely get on it for  next week though!

However I did meet with coaches and academic support staff and really have a new outlook on college athletics that I can't wait to get into detail about in a post to come. It involves giving 100%. Sound simple right? Well it is but simple isn't always easy and I'm excited to share some new found wisdom on the topic.

Photography Challenge: Week 3

This week's photos were definitely a new experience! I don't take pictures of people often for many different reasons. People tend to have high expectations, little patience, and forgiveness isn't the first thing on their mind when things don't go as expected. So, I prefer taking pictures of nature because I can rest assured that I will never hear a sunset say that I didn't catch it's "good side" or have a mountain tell me that the white balance was a little off. Better yet, if I mess up I know I can always go back and try again another day. People tend to be less forgiving and with something like a wedding or a newborn shoot you only get one chance to get it right. But last week, when a friend of mine (Stacy) had her fourth baby, I offered to take some pictures of her precious baby boy.

I couldn't promise her that they'd turn out or that I'd even have one that was "frameable" but I could promise that I'd try. We had such a good time goofing around with props and this little guy that I completely forgot how nervous I was about messing up. We were even able to laugh about how I almost backed out at the last minute because I felt so much pressure. But I'm so glad I didn't! Stacy was incredibly patient and I loved that she was pretty much up for anything. Newborn photo shoots can be very unpredictable and involve a lot of crying, bodily fluids, and overprotective parents which are probably the worst of the three. Little Cyrus wasn't thrilled about all the new poses but after thirty minutes (and a meal) he calmed down and I got some decent pictures. His 2yo sister helped me test the lighting and different "studio" spots, so I got some cute ones of her too.

It wasn't perfect but I had a great time, learned so much, and was blessed with some good photos! And Stacy made a great point that will definitely stick with me as I continue growing in my photography. She said something along the lines of: 

Your goal is to get that "perfect photo" that can be put in a portfolio and be representative of your skills as a photographer but all I want is for you to capture some pictures of my family. So whether or not you think the photos are artistically sound and worthy of a frame, I'll love them. It doesn't matter if the pictures are "quality" or not because my kids are in them and because of that I can guarantee you that I'll think they're great!

*And with this post I'm officially caught up on my Photography Challenge

Happy Brithday Cryus Allen Frude

I loved his little ears, feet, and hands! I guess I just forgot how tiny newborns are!

Proof that being born in Wyoming means you're automatically a Cowboys fan

Photography Challenge: Week 2