This is what they would have looked like...

This is what my Halloween cupcakes WOULD have looked like...had I not been swamped with photography stuff and overwhelmed and lazy.

Pretty nice, huh?

I had every intention of doing these all super adorable today for G-Man's daycare...and to take a few to work. BUT I FORGOT TO BAKE THEM AFTER WORK. AND I FORGOT TO BAKE THEM AFTER MY PHOTO SHOOT LAST NIGHT.

I FORGOT TO BAKE THEM UNTIL I WAS PUTTING G-MAN TO BED AT 8:45 LAST NIGHT.

@#$%^*!&

So I came downstairs, got my kitchen aid mixer out, and mixed up a boxed mix quickly. Then I busted out the can of Halloween sprinkes I bought the other day (probably subconsciously already anticipating my lack of follow-through with cake stuff these days) and finished them up.

All the kids are going to do is lick the icing off anyway!!!! (Or at least that is how I justify it to myself.)

So while my intentions were fantastic (see above...during my height of cake-decorating frenzy)....the turnout were less than stellar.

Just imagine chocolate cupcakes, canned icing and Halloween-themed sprinkles. Nothing to post pictures about. :) I like to remember my creations from last year.... Just think of it as being Halloween of 2007.

Happy a Happy Halloween!

The Schnaiter Family

The Schnaiter family is very near and dear to me. Sue (grandma) was my 2nd grade teacher. Ronda (the mom of 3 kids) was the daycare provider for my nephew...and is currently the provider for my 2 nieces. They all go to my church. They are all great friends (and have been for many years). This is why I love them all so much!

Months ago I auctioned off a photo shoot during my church's auction to raise money for the youth group. Of course, one of the Schnaiters (mom of the 1 daughter) won my shoot and she decided she wanted to get a BIG family spread done in the fall.

So we waited.

And waited.

And finally the leaves changed colors and we all found a time when all 10 of them were free. That was a couple of weekends ago. We met at Anderson's Orchard on a gorgeous fall, Saturday morning. Where I spent HOURS getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

One of the girls is a freshman in college....and she brought 2 of her friends with her. The other girl is a senior in high school this year. We went ahead and took some extra shots of her for her fall senior pictures (another shoot is scheduled in a couple more weeks). The other kids are younger and SUCH a joy. Especially the boy. I'll call him The Stinker. (In a loving way, of course). As you'll see in the next few pictures...he isn't real thrilled to get his photo taken...unless he's hamming it up for the camera. After a few threats (from his family...NOT ME)...he cooperated and we got some good shots.

I'm only going to show you the family shots...and the ones of the younger kids. I'll post another entry about the senior portraits (and the college friend portraits). So stay tuned for that.

I literally took a GAZILLION pictures of these people...that they are having a REALLY HARD TIME deciding which pictures to buy. I like it when my clients have that problem. Means I'm doing my job right! So I'm only posting a few shots...there are literally HUNDREDS more...but I didn't figure you'd want to look at all of them.

So without further adieu...I present the Schnaiter family. (stay tuned later for more images!)

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight we carved our 3 pumpkins for Halloween. G-Man kept saying "yuck" during the gutting process...and didn't want to touch the gunk. He's such a little prima-donna. But he HAD to wear his Spiderman costume.

After I gutted them all, we picked our templates and started poking holes. All the while I am wondering what ever happened to a sharpie and a steak knife that I used as a child.

Far less safer back then...but way more fun.

So we had templates...and special tools...and all was successful. I did my own (which G then proceeded to stab with every tool we had) and I think it turned out pretty well...except for the gaping wounds it now has.


Travis did his...and for G's I just used a pen and a child-proof knife. By that point...I was done. Over it. Finito.

That's the way it always is. Gung-ho...then bored...then hurried. G-Man was just playing swords with the tools, poking holes with everything imaginable, and wanting to take breaks to eat Halloween candy.

Oh well. It was fun. And I made Travis take pictures inside. I'm using a big-boy flash that my friend is loaning me for the wedding I have next weekend. Getting some practice in.

*I don't want to talk about it because my first wedding as a photographer is giving me hives*

Enjoy! This photo of the pumpkin really doesn't give justice to the 7 holes jabbed into the sides.

Playing in the Leaves...

With fall photo shoots...you get falling leaves and leaf piles. All wonderful things for little kiddos to play in during a photo shoot.

Well, I had the pleasure of photographing this lovely mother/sons a couple of weeks ago. It was a brisk, cold morning with dew everywhere. I was thanking my stars that it was boys...and not girls...as girls tend to be a little bit more particular about getting wet/dirty during photo shoots.

The only bad/negative thing about the shoot was that it was pretty overcast and there wasn't a ton of light to work with. When that happens, photos just aren't as clear and perfect as I want them to be (and how they CAN be with the right light). So I worked with what I had...and these are what we got!

Enjoy some of my favorites....

My hair stylist...and her adorable son...

I absolutely love my hair stylist. Camas is so wonderful and gives me such great styles. She's even the one who encouraged me to chop all my hair off for bangs.

To top off her greatness...she has a little boy who is about 6 months younger than G-Man. And let me tell you...he's a lady killer. He has WHITE BLONDE hair, jet black eyes, and a smile that just won't quit.

It was a challenge photographing them. She's dark complected, dark eyes, and dark hair. He's a toe-head, dark eyes, and pale skin. The camera's white balance was quirky to get him dark enough and her light enough to get it to work. This ON TOP OF it being extremely dark and overcast that day. It was hard finding enough light to work with. I think I found a good balance. And he is just too adorable. I even *GASP* used the flash a few times to see if some images would come out better. None of my favorites were taken with the flash...so I think I'll stay far away from the flash. *Whew*

As a surprise for her husband, we got together to get some images for him for Christmas and for his desk/office. He's a custom jeweler (so if anyone is needing custom jewelry work done...I'll give you his info!) and has a studio at home. Any of these images would be great for what she's wanting for him.

So, enjoy the images! These are just a few of my favorites.