Random Julie Cuteness

Some moments with the family

Jocie was 'reading me the riot act' about her lunch choices as she was convinced that she wasn't getting any. This girl is going to be quite the actress when she grows up.

Julie makes a phone call... we haven't had the heart to tell her that she keeps getting the phone backwards when she calls... its too cute.

Hrmmm.....

Intense Jocie #1

Intense Jocie #2... I'm not sure how she gets her lips so small in proportion to her face.

A rather adult looking 1 year old pose.

A rather non-adult looking pose, but one of our (and her) favorites. Often she will obscure her eyesight and walk around the house (often bumping into walls or furniture).

And finally, I've never quite understood Julie's palate for the taste of "blankie" but she seems to enjoy it rather often.

Julie's Purse and Hanging with Mom

Julie decided she needed a purse (that had a strap as long as she is tall). Here is her fashion statement with onesie, socks, and purse.

... also seen thrown over her shoulder.

Mom with a full load of children....

Another teaser

Another teaser (like the one of Jocie two weeks ago) from a session we did with Julie this past weekend. I'll be getting the full shoot up here soon....

jp

Skiing with the kids

Several weeks ago, we decided to try skiing again with the kids. This time, one of their teachers from school was their instructor at the ski slopes. The time before was 'ok' but Joey lacked motivation and Jess was too scared to come down the hill.

Joey did excellent in his group lesson, but Jess, since this was her first time skiing, had to be put in a "beginners" group, which really upset her. It frustrated her so much that after her 2.5 hour lesson was done, she came to me and asked "Daddy, what do I have to learn to do in order to be in Joey's class next time we come?" I told her about some of the basics that she needed to grasp and her reply was "well, then I'm not leaving here 'till I am able to do those things and be in Joey's class."

So... we stayed another 4 hours and by the end of the day, Jess had mastered the basics.

A good friend of Jessamyn's was also in the classes, Riley Em.

Exhausted, we went home and the next morning were surprised to get a phone call from Riley Em's mother asking if we wanted to go skiing again for a 2nd day in a row. Jessamyn jumped at the chance and mom relented after thinking about another day at home with the young kids.

For another six hours, Jess worked on her basics again and even got to ride the "chair lift" (a big kudo between Joey and Jess was being able to advance far enough to ride this).

Here are some pictures from the first day when Jess and Joey were just getting started.

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Jessamyn

Riding the Carousel

DAY 645

Jocie was sitting on the couch after staying home from school and being absent from some of her other activities due to an ear infection and 'pink eye'. Even through all that discomfort, she always manages to smile and just be herself at all times.

She really is an amazing child, you know?

jp

Jocie's 3 Year Photos

There are those times in life when you get to wear two hats and you get to be proud of both of them: father and photographer. This is one of those moments for me. After searching for and working towards developing a style, I feel confident in my abilities and that I'm able to show a distinct and developed style in my pictures.

This past weekends photo session for Jocie was a perfect example of this is several ways. First, I had a distinguished studio style that is easy for me to replicate and quick to setup. Second, JL and I have finally figured out how to get our subjects to pose the way we want to them to to get these great shots (the key being time and learning to do a lot of things in a very VERY short period of it).

I've been excited to post these shots here and to share them because I am so very proud of how well they have turned out.

The whole session lasted less than 7 minutes and in that time we got about a dozen good poses that were very usable in the end. This is the perfect length of time for any child in Jocie's age range and it works out perfectly for them: they're happy and excited and you're happy and excited seeing what you're getting for results.

The lighting setup here is rather advanced. 6 strobes total: 2 large soft boxes on either side of the subject, one smaller "hair" softbox suspended above the subject, a small key umbrella light behind the photographer and two large umbrella strobes behind the subject to light the backdrop. I was still waiting on my roll of white vinyl to arrive when we did this photoshoot (it's here now... a tad too late though), so we used a white fabric sheet, complete with squares and lines from being folded. This took some work in PP afterwards to remove the lines.

In the end, the proof is in the pudding, and I really like how these turned out.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

jp

Our Motley Crew

This is all Jocie and Jess... They came bouncing into our bedroom on Saturday sporting their new "Western"/"Big City" fashion style. Also note the 'Hanna Montana' DVD on Jocie's finger.