Kelly Chandler

There are a few big milestones in life.  One of them is turning 13 and officially becoming a teenager.  Taking photos to mark the milestone was super fun with this crew.  Here are a few favorite photos from our session.

I loved that they were still able to be playful….despite their new teenage status.

Breathe, just breathe…..I kept reminding myself of this necessity in life as I powered through the busiest fall season in my 10 year career.  I’m fortunate to have a client base that is consistent and new portrait and wedding clients that find their way to my work through referrals.  I am grateful to all of you for keeping my business strong in these crazy economic times.  I also took on a new project that involved photographing 750 people.  The production involved in that and the processing work for my staff was incredible.  Couple all this with 2 kids and a husband who are all on the go and of course the holidays, and you can understand why I kept saying, “breathe, just breathe”. 

I thought I’d take the first few weeks of the year off to refocus my life and catch up on all the things that were put on the back burner.  I ended up having a bunch of newborns and pregnancy shoots that I just didn’t want to push out into the end of the month……and that was a good thing as a few of the pregnancy shoots went into labor shortly after our sessions. 

Blogging certainly took the furthest backseat of them all.  I just couldn’t justify spending the time to blog when I had client photo deadlines.  So over the next few weeks, I’ll try to catch up on some of the most memorable and fun shoots that I did over the past few months.  I might not get a lot written, but I’ll try to at least get the photos up so you can see the joy that I was able to experience with the wonderful people I’m so privileged to photograph.

This beautiful little family was a delight to photograph.  If you ever question, “when is the right time to photograph a newborn”…remember these photos.  They are really tiny for such a short time and capturing the newborn stage in the first few weeks of life is ideal.

Most schools require yearbook photos to be in by the middle of October….early November at the latest.  If you haven’t already called me for your senior high school photos, now is the time.   Space is limited.

Do you ever wonder what makes a baby smile when they are sleeping?  This little angel was so sleepy and looked completely content to just be snuggled in a warm blanket. 

People always want what they can’t have…and I want curls like these.

Not sure why, but this photo cracks me up.  These twins are adorable and I love how he is busy checking out her boots as she looks over to Mom like, “he’s not doing what he’s supposed to”.

I know it is tough to think about having a baby and getting photos taken within two weeks of the delivery…..but the itty-bitty baby photos are so precious.   The window of time to capture your tiny newborn is not that long.  These photos were taken of a baby just one week old.  Now, don’t feel bad if you have a newborn and he or she is older than 2 weeks.  We can still capture your baby beautifully.  But if you still have your bun in the oven, book your appointment now.  I am always willing to move my calendar around to accommodate newborns while they are freshly baked from the oven.   And if you aren’t yet up for a visit to my studio, let me make it easy on you and come to your home.

Daddy took some time to play with big brother.

Mom and Dad holding precious perfection.

You may recall a blog post of this little girl when she was a newborn in a pink tutu.  It is a favorite photo of mine and hangs in my new studio.  We’ll she has turned 1 year old and was back in a bigger blue tutu and this time came with her wand.  She loved flinging it around…..until she poked herself in the forehead…..

Not to worry, it was nothing a soft favorite pink “lovey” wouldn’t cure.

Her eyes are amazing.  I’ve said it before, I feel like I can see through to peoples souls when I look in their eyes through my camera.  This little one has the soul of an angel.

One of my favorites from a session last week…..love the pouty little face.  But don’t be fooled, this little princess is a total doll.  You could eat her up with a spoon she’s so sweet.   

This photo is a little more telling about her personality.  Can you guess how old she is?

Had some fun in the studio last week with this little one.  Mom and Dad are fitness crazy and workout with CrossFit.  I told them to bring in anything that they’d like and we’d figure out a way to incorporate fitness items in the photos.  Here are a few of the fun shots we got using weights and lifting belts.  I was shocked baby didn’t mind being tucked into this weight belt.  We padded the inside and gave her a head rest…but still it wasn’t that comfy.  What a good baby!

By the way, this little weight is deceiving….28KG is almost 62 pounds…  I found out exactly how heavy that was when I tried to lift the weight an move it across my floor.  Hello backache!

And of course, we had to get big sister in some more “girlie” shots. 

I am loving the dark hardwoods in the new studio.  They offer a rich look in both color and black and white photos.  Here are two of my favorite shots from a session last week. 

If he could talk, I think he’d be saying…..”I’m done…get me out of this sweater!”