The West Salem (soon-to-be) Senior | West Salem Wisconsin High School Senior Photographer

I've been working on these shots for this guy's senior photos and everything is coming along great! He was great with his poses and every shot is dynamic and ready to go! It's such a change from my normal baby and children photography and it's kind of fun to branch out a bit for the H.S. Senior season! (Although, I do love those little one's who visit the studio!)

Sneak Peek - The B Boys | Tomah Wisconsin Child Photographer

Here's a few more from a shoot we did this Saturday!  They are just too cute!  Here they are, being super sweet, then...

tough guys!  They're such characters, each with such different personalities!  They just celebrated two birthdays and I can't wait to see them on their next birthdays!

Sneak Peek - N, The West Salem (soon-to-be) Senior! | West Salem Wisconsin High School Senior Photographer

This senior shoot was crazy fun!  N is currently finishing his junior year at West Salem H.S. and is quite the athlete!  He plays football, baseball, and basketball - which made for some very fun props!  We spent the first half of the session outdoors and then moved into the studio.  He had a great crew with him too - mom, girlfriend, little brother - who really helped us keep everything in order and made the shoot go super smooth!  I can't wait to post more as I go through them; he's going to have quite the time trying to choose his favorites as pretty much every shot turned out great!  He was so easy to work with and I can't wait to see what his little brother has to offer in 7 years!  Congratulations on all your hard work N, enjoy your senior year and best of luck in your future endeavors!

Sneak Peek - The B Boys | Tomah Wisconsin Child Photographer

Look at the eyes on this little guy!  And his very attentive big brothers are just as adorable!  We had so much fun when these 3 guys came into the studio!  They have tons of energy (especially this little guy up front) and they definitely pepped up by day - better than coffee!  Their parents were great too - keeping the whole gang wrangled up!

It's definitely a boys day here at the studio!  First, we started our day with these guys, then we ended our day with guy who plays more sports than I can imagine for his senior portraits!  All in all, it was quite a fun day and I finally got to use some of my blue things - not that I don't love all my little pink bows, flowers, blankets, etc!  I hope to see these guys again sometime soon - especially when I need a little exercise and my eyes start only recognizing the color pink!  =)

The Gentleman | Wisconsin Art Photographer

 While I was at my studio today, this gentleman (pictured above) stopped by for a little chat.  It was quite honestly a rewarding experience.  He had so many stories to share and it really kind of renewed my feelings about portraiture.  Not that I was doubting my passion, but I was once again reminded of why I love creating portraits.  It's because when I create a portrait I am capturing a little bit, a split second of a person's personality, who they are, in that specific time in their life.  I just can't get enough of everyone's unique story, their version of life, their experiences, everything that has shaped and defined them into who they've become at the moment they're in front of my lens.  I seriously LOVE my job!

Anyway, we chatted for quite some time and just before he left I asked if I could photograph him.  I'm not usually one who can ask someone to step in front of my camera so easily when it's not an adorable baby, child, or fun family, but I'm glad I did.  I would have regretted not having some sort of visual record of the brief piece of time I sat with this gentleman.  There is meaning behind every photo, a life-story behind every image.  Today I got a great reminder of that and I can only hope that the moments spent with this stranger enriched his life in some way, just as mine was enriched.

Sneak Peek - Baby E and Little E | Minnesota Baby & Child Photographer

 This baby girl was just too cute!  She slept through half the session then decided she preferred to be awake and alert for the rest of the time!  She was very easy to work with too - just wanted a quick bottle to keep her tummy full and the heat vent pointed towards her and she was happy! 

The real bonus is that I had the pleasure of photographing her big sister when she was this age too!  Her sister is almost 2 now (her birthday's in September) and she has really grown into her lively personality!

 I have a sister who is 29 months younger than me, so it was great seeing the little bond these two have already developed!  It was a bit tricky though, because they both have names that start with Es so I had to work hard not to switch their names around accidentally!  Luckily, they were both alright with my few faux pas in the beginning!  I can't wait to have the chance to photograph Baby E as she grows up just like I did with Little E!

Sneak Peek - The Grand Opening Photo Booth | La Crosse Wisconsin Photographer

We had a great grand opening celebration this past weekend!  It went so quickly, I barely had a chance to chat with everyone who came!  Thank you to all of you who stopped by and thanks to those who gave me beautiful plants, frames, cards, and even a faux lens pencil holder!  I can't wait to see you all again in our studio! (There were so many other awesome photos from Saturday, but I didn't have enough room to post them all!  And don't worry, those of you who struck a pose for my camera will have a chance to see your shots on our Facebook!)

Behind the Scenes - Preparing For The Grand Opening! | La Crosse Wisconsin Photographer

It's the wee morning hours and I think I can officially say that my sister (and baking partner and marketing coordinator and party planner and best friend) and I have gone a bit crazy!  We've spent the last two days baking, cleaning, organizing, preparing, decorating, etc. for our new studio's grand opening celebration!  We prepared about 2 million (well, actually 92) cupcakes, 2 million (well, actually 100) thank you boxes, 2 million (well, actually 15) bouffant and swirly decorations, and the list goes on...  We just have one or two things left to do before the big event tomorrow (actually, tonight) at 4 pm!  Then, it's off to bed to sleep for a few days straight before a senior shoot on Monday!  I'm off to catch a few Z's for now!  We can't wait to see all of you at the studio!  (Please ignore the bad images above - they're all from my cell phone!)

Sneak Peek - Baby S | West Salem Wisconsin Baby Photographer

Isn't this little lady just adorable?!  She has quite the personality too!  She slept through most of her session (which was great) and then she woke up and stayed alert.  As we wrapped her up in some cozy blankets she showed us just how strong her little legs are by kicking off the blankets!  She definitely made us work to get her portraits, but it was so much fun watching her wiggle around! 

Baby S was born a little over a month ago.  I had the opportunity to photograph her while she was still in her mama's tummy and it was such a pleasure getting to work with her (and her parents) again!  I can't wait to see her when she gets bigger!