Portrait Photography

So, I had a friend ask me to take her son's senior pictures last May.
I said "Yes!" before I could talk myself out of it.
I do mostly "thing and place" photography, but people assume that if you can take pictures of something, you can take pictures of anything.
And I believed that I could...but I was scared.
So - I got Jenelle and Colin to do some "modeling" for me so I could get some practice.
They were awesome!
Jenelle's requirement was to try and act like a teenager...she called it acting "fierce".

Colin brought his skateboard along and we got some great shots!

On a quick trip to Ellensburg with Ivan and Jenelle, I got some shots of Ivan at an old skate park.

So finally it was time for my actual JOB.
Eli, his sister Bella (a friend of Hannah's) and his mom also came along.
I was able to get pictures of them all during the night.
Jenelle was my "assistant" for $5.00 and helped carry my lenses and camera bag.
We had fun and I they were really happy with the end results...and I got PAID!
Here are a few...

And isn't it a small world...?
They are moving to McKinney, Texas later this week.

SO!
If you're tired of looking at people you don't know - time to leave.
I have two more sets of photos I'm going to post.

My neighbor across the street was thinking about how to surprise her daughter for Mother's Day.
She watches her grandson twice a week and I told her that I'd take pictures of him so she could create a photo album.
Shooting a toddler is a whole new ball game!
They don't care at ALL about what you are trying to do.

It took two different days and some Grandma and Grandpa distractions to get shots that worked.
But that face!!

And last, but definitely not least, was my friend and her two boys.
She's been a friend from our earliest days in Yakima and known Hannah since birth.
She and her husband adopted two adorable boys over the years - one from South Korea and the other from China.
Here are some pictures that I hope they cherish for a long time!!

And for now - that's it!
I'm scheduled to do our friend Jack Sentz's senior pics in October.
I expect that will be fun!

I'm having another local (and amazing!!) photographer do Hannah's in the spring.
I think it will be easier for her to relax and enjoy the moment if it's not Mom telling her what to do.

I hope to get the chance to take more pictures of people as time goes on, but for now I just like to think that some of my photos are hanging in peoples home and making them smile.