Bella's Float Wraps

Bella's float wraps arrived and they look fantastic. This is a brand new way to present pictures and we're getting a lot of compliments on the samples displayed in the studio. Each image literally "floats" off the wall and several pictures can be arranged side-by-side to make a cool story board or one picture can be printed on several panels to create a mosaic. — Sean

December Family Sittings

Last weekend we met for a second round of family sittings for our favorite clients. The weather was suspect and getting worse as the weekend progressed but we managed by photographing a couple of families at their homes and making regular trips to the Dogtooth Coffee for hot cocoa. We photographed six families over the course of the weekend. A tip of the hat to those who braved the weather with me and Cathy:) Click here to see a brief slide show of family photographs from Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to everyone who joined us, it was great to see you and hopefully we will do more pictures of your beautiful families soon! — Sean

November Family Sittings

Last weekend we did a marathon session of family sittings for our favorite clients. We had a great turnout and good weather. We photographed five families over the course of the weekend. We met at Monument Valley Park and found all sorts of backdrops. We also found the jungle gym and the swing set. Click here to see a brief slide show of family photographs from last Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to everyone who joined us, it was great to see you and hopefully we will do more pictures of your beautiful families soon! — Sean

Halloween 2009

For the third year in a row, we photographed the neighborhood kids as they went door-to-door. Costumes this year were fantastic. This little oompa loompa (left) was a dead ringer for the real thing. We are delivering hi-resolution images by e-mail to everyone who was photographed. If you forgot how to access the pictures, please e-mail me or call our office. Click here to see a brief slide show of our neighborhood's trick-or-treaters. Thanks to everyone who participated, it was great fun! — Sean

How to photograph your children

On Halloween night Abby brought her glow in the dark wand and halo to bed with her. After we turned out the lights, I caught this moment. Parents should make a habit of photographing their children. They are the ones in the best position to do it! I'm planning a class that shows parents how to make incredible pictures of their child. If you have an interest, please send me a note and I will make sure you receive advance notice of the class. — Sean

Sage, Coco and their grandparents

Our friends Molly and Tyler scheduled a sitting with their kids Sage and Coco and their grandparents in Manitou Springs. I photographed them on Thursday and we had a great time. I love planning a session around an activity. Doing things together is a great way to get spontaneous and meaningful moments without a photographer choreographing the shot. We went to the Penny Arcade, stopped at the Colorado Custard Company and then found some color in the local park. What a great gift idea! — Sean

Story time with Pooh Bear

I found this scene in Abby's room before dinner and photographed it with my iPhone. Pooh Bear was reading Three Little Pigs and everyone had a snack:)— Sean

Harper's First Haircut

Three years ago we photographed Abby's first haircut at Blades Salon in Manitou Springs. See pictures from Abby's first haircut here. This year it was Harper's turn. Stylist Melanie Le Doux offers parents with small children a great deal on a haircut. (Blades also does a great job styling for brides too.) I thought I would come along with my camera again and capture this coming-of-age ritual. Harper's no longer a baby. He's turning into a child with childlike whims and desires and of course a growing head of strawberry blond hair...:) — Sean

Fall portraits of Abby and Harper

Last week we took Abby and Harper on a walk to check out the fall colors that are turning here in Colorado Springs. I brought my camera to take some portraits of the kids. A nice fall afternoon is a great time to photograph children. They are discoverers and a change in the leaves leaves plenty to discover:) I try to do these mini-portrait sessions with my kids at least once every couple of months. Anyone with children can practice this same type of portrait photography on their own. The recipe for success? Let your kids be themselves. Our walk went around the block and by the time we got back, I had several nice frames. These I like the best. They show their personalities and their expressions are priceless. Today happens to be a perfect day to take a walk with your kids and don't forget to bring your camera. Happy shooting! — Sean

Colorado Springs Family Sitting — Judith, Cliff, Carter and Kate

I spent a recent afternoon with my friends Judith and Cliff and their two children Carter and Kate. We went to the Rockledge Ranch to explore and to take some pictures. It's always hard for children to have their photograph taken by a stranger. The real trick to making good child portraits is to allow them to be themselves and to be ready for it! (TIP: Try this with your own family and see if pictures of your children don't improve) By the end of our time together, Kate was a lot more comfortable and relaxed. I love this mother-daughter picture that happened all by itself at the end of our session. As you can see (below) Carter had no problems with having his picture taken and he warmed up to me instantly:) — Sean

Summertime Portraits of Abby and Harper

Well, it's finally gotten hot here and Abby and Harper spent this evening at the pool. (The little plastic one in our backyard) I busted out the camera and made these portraits with a lens I haven't used in a long time. Glad I found it again. I think I will have to return it to the bag for some of our upcoming weddings... — Sean

Brynn at six months

Brynn is six months old and what a smile she has to share with the world! You may remember her newborn portraits that I posted here. I am always amazed at how much babies change in six short months! I photographed her Saturday at her home. We were hoping we could take some photos outside, but it was bitter cold so we stayed indoors. The weather didn't stop us from making some great photos! Click here to see a slide show of her most recent portrait session. —Cathy

Declan's baby book

I've been photographing Declan since he was 6 months old, and this week his baby book finally arrived! It's a fabulous record of his first year. It includes lots of firsts… his first cheerios, his first steps and his first birthday! We even included a Declan artwork original!I love these books, it's such a great way to have all the photos from a child's first year in one place… plus, you can order duplicatebooks as gifts for grand parents! I can't wait for the family to see it! See Declan's portrait sessions here, here and here. — Cathy

Jack and his twin sisters

Here's an adorable photograph from a recent family sitting. This is Jack, 4, with his twin sisters, Caroline, left, and Ellie, 2 1/2. I caught this picture as they were getting ready to take a picture with their parents. Behind me was their cousin Gabe playing with his Dad and that brought a smile to their faces. — Sean

On walking watch

We're on watch here this week to see when Harper gets up enough gumption to take his first steps. Sure, he's walked a little. But he's not quite at the point where he thinks of walking before crawling. This week could be the week that changes. We're watching closely, monitoring his progress carefully and will definitely keep you updated. Stay tuned! — Sean

Vigil Family Sitting

Each year I photograph the Vigil's for their Christmas card and each year it seems like their family gets a little bigger:) They're always fun to photograph, although it can be tough getting everyone to look in one place at the same time. This year we traveled to the Garden of the Gods and spent some time in the park. I had a blast! I love this picture of Sophia with the rest of the family behind her. I also like this shot of Nicholas... the explorer. Thomas had a hard time giving us a real smile, so Dad threw him up in the air a couple of times and that seemed to do the trick:)- Sean

Sick day, pajama party

Abby came home from Montessori yesterday with a cold, so we called it a sick day today and had a little pajama party this morning. Shedoesn't look sick, does she? Meanwhile Harper is ready to walk. I'm always surprised by his ability to get into everything. He's learned how to stand on his tippy toes to great effect. My bet? He's walking by Thanksgiving... – Sean

Cousins Nick and Emma and Judson

We've been photographing a lot of family sittings lately. Last weekend I photographed two families, one family traveled from Italy to visit the other. They spent the week here. Judson got to spend some quality time with his cousins Nick and Emma and Nick and Emma got to see Colorado for the first time. We went over to Rockledge Ranch to make some family pictures. The kids had a great time together and I know in a few years they will look back on these photographs and reminisce about how much fun they had! — Sean

Halloween 2008

We photographed a few dozen families and children in their Halloween best on Friday night. It's turning out to be a quite a tradition. Our good friends Jennifer and Mike with their daughter Vivian made the first appearance of the evening just like last year:) We had a great time. Click here to see a brief slide show from the night. We are e-mailing digital files this year to the folks who were photographed. Click here to view all of the photographs. If you don't remember the password to view the pictures, e-mail or call! — Sean

We're taking a family day

Here's a fun photograph of Abby and her friend Gemma on Halloween. We had a great time photographing the families and children that stopped by our house. Pictures from Halloween will be online soon and families will be able to order their free photograph. Also, a housekeeping note: Our album deadline for the holidays has passed. If you haven't approved your album design, we will work to get your album completed for the holidays but we can't guarantee delivery. Finally, we're taking a family day today. Our production manager Marianne will be answering phones so if there's anything urgent don't hesitate. Have a great Monday! — Sean

Alphabet Soup

I found this hanging on one of the cabinets. It's most likely an alphabet soup. These are the things you stumble on (often) in Abby's kitchen. She's turning out to be quite a chef! — Sean

Our little climber

The last few weeks Harper has found his coordination and muscles and now he's taken on the task of conquering the stairs and exploring parts of the living room that, until now, remained off limits. It's a little bit scary, because one second he's crawling around and the next he's climbing a chair to grab a hair brush. What's different from Abby is that when there's an accident, Harper gets up brushes himself off and keeps going. When Abby fell or bumped her head we were almost too quick to rush in and help. It's nice to see we've grown a bit as parents enough so that Cathy and I don't hesitate to photograph momentous moments like these. — Sean