Lauriann Wakefield Studio Spot

The Gardens haven't looked sweeter

Another successful shoot at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens where we could roam and explore.  I first photographed Max over a year ago and I love that I got a chance to photograph him again.  I can't wait to show his parents.  :)

Can you see the rain drops?

And I'm so bummed that I missed the focus on this shot.  I love his smile and gesture that is so little boy cute!  But  I guess a blurry shot is a true representation of an active toddler.  :)

I just love little kids and blankets.  There's just nothing cuter!

 

Announcing Halloween Mini Sessions!

Dressing up and costumes are one of my favorite things, and so I'm excited to offer Costume Mini Sessions just in time for Halloween!!  I know, feels a little early, but I have limited spots available through October.
Price is just $50 a child, and you'll get two darling digitally proofed photos on a disk that you can share with others and order prints.  I'll even throw in an 8x10 print.  Sessions will be here at my studio and I'll have various backgrounds to choose from.
So start thinking about those kids costumes!! and schedule your spot soon!  I'm toying with Jack being a lobster or Chewbacca.  But he's sure stinking cute as a skunk!

 "Little Stinker Face"

"Chocolate Monkey Mouth"

 

"Buckaroo Boss"

"Sweet Pumpkin Eater"

 "Mini Hugs & Kisses"

Many thanks to my models for being willing to dress up in this hot August heat!

New sessions coming soon!

I'm super excited about some new photo sessions I'll be offering soon!  Check back shortly for an update.  That is, when I get all the details worked out. 

But in the meantime, think costume.  :)
 

 

Flashback Sunday

So I waited two days to Flashback, but it was for a special niece.
Happy Birthday Bridget.  :)  Who knew we'd be young mothers together raising our boys, and loving every minute of it.  Even the late night ones.  :)

Sweet fairy tale

We did this photo shoot in this little girl's charming room. Decorated by her mom in little girl vintage with lots of pinks.  The perfect location for a girly shoot in a home full of boys.

 

 

I'm going to stop here, and save the rest for her mommy.  Love ya Sheena!

The Jack Diaries

The growth rate of a baby is on the verge of unbelievable.  I've tried as best I could to match the quilt's horizontal lines to get the right scale of Jack and I still marvel at what 8 month can do to a baby.  But I guess that's why he fits clothes size 18 months and up.   And has out grown his car seat and baby swing.  Growing so big!  Literally, every time I go out in public I am stopped by a stranger who comments on his big cheeks.  The poor little guy's going to get a complex or something.

I am loving 8 months right now.  He is so fun and funny too.  Just today he was concentrating on the water in his tub.  Just staring, trying to grab the ungrabable.  Then he tried the mouth test of discovery, only to dip his face in the water and come up sputtering.  Still curious, he dipped his face in again.  This was obviously done with my close supervision (for those who wonder how he didn't drown).

 

Perry and I have the guilty pleasure of watching Jack eat green vegetable mush.  He'll take the first couple of spoonfuls just fine, but soon realize he doesn't like it and will pull the biggest frowny face and start to cry.  His dislike for veggies is so funny, we're busting up laughing cause Jack's just not a cryer. Then I'll give him a few spoon fulls of banana which he loves and eats right up, then back to green veggie, because that crying frowny face is just so darn cute.   I'm just waiting for him to spit it back at me cause I keep feeding it to him.  I pray he doesn't have taste buds like me who was the stingiest non-vegetable eating child ever.

Jack's chewing on some blocks I snagged out of the block box from my childhood days.  Generations ago, the red and yellow ones were handmade by my grandma and grandpa.  Now Jack gets to carry on the play and build tradition.

Missionary number 3

Yes, it's exciting times!  I have another nephew getting ready for his mission. 
Missionary number 1 is going to Tokyo, Japan.  Missionary number 2 is going to Portland, Oregon.  My prediction is that Missionary number 3 will go to South Africa.  We'll know in about 4 weeks.  :)
 

And on a fun side note.  Bo here, will be in the upcoming Utah Valley Magazine Look-A-Like Contest.  September edition, and was nominated by me as a Prince Harry look-a-like.  Can't wait to see the article.

Flashback Friday

March 2.2008.  Jack. age 3 months.

 
March 23.2008.  Jack asleep.  age 3.5 months.

December 2. 2007.  Jack with Daddy. Two days old.

January 20.2008. Jack with Daddy. age 1.5 months.

One year ago, we got the call and the news that you were going to be our son.  We still had 4 months before you arrived.  4 long months filled with preparing and gathering and sharing.  We had no idea of the amount of joy you would bring with you.  We had no idea if we felt like strangers to you or did you some how  know us all along.  I can still envision our first night together.  I watched your dreaming face, wondering if you knew where you were, wondered if you were cold (we were in a basement), and marveled that I was in-charge of your comforts and needs.

That call a year ago came the day before Perry's birthday and he said the news was the best birthday present ever.  Today, Happy Birthday pumpkin!  It's been a wonderful year.

New in my Etsy shop

"From A Passing Car"

I often see flowers from a passing car
That are gone before I can tell what they are.
- Robert Frost

"Dancing in the Blue"

"Nostalgia Spring"

"Embracing the Glow"

"Sunset Soaking"

"Unexpected Knocking at the Door"

All are available in my Etsy shop.

Etsy Pendants Part 2

It really is a coincidence, but another Etsy shop, MadisonReeceDesigns.etsy.com, has contacted me wanting to make necklace pendants with my photos too.  So here is the finished product!  And I'm thrilled that she picked a completely different set of photos than the other shop. 

5 under 5

I think Jack awoke with a party hangover from having so much hoopla with his cousins last night.  This morning he came too about 6:00 am, ate then went right back to bed for another couple hours, woke for about a half hour then back for another long nap.  That's what I get for keeping him up way past his bed time.  

Jack saw his first sparklers and his eyes said, "ooooo, pretty."  And I think last night he had his first taste of grass too.

Audrey said if you have two sparklers and run around you can fly like a bird.

 

And the prize of the night was getting 5 boys under the age of 5 to sit still on a blanket for a cousin's photo.
 

Boston! What ya looking at?

Kisses and love.

family session at The Shops at Riverwoods

I'm holding back on posting any of the traditional photos the mother wanted, (I'll save that for her) but I will show off the spunky spirit of this little girl.  Three year olds definitely have a mind of their own no matter what we tell them.

 

A sibling please.

I've joked about-   "yes, I want another sibling for Jack, he needs someone to fight with."  Because, well, that's what siblings do, right? they argue and pick on each other.  But after reading this little article, I'm changing my approach.

The mother "tells her squabbling boys that the reason she had two children was so they cold love each other."  And I just hooked on that idea and thought of my own family and how I'm so grateful we have each other to love, especially in the future when my parents pass on.

I deeply want a sibling for our son, but that choice seems sadly out of my hands.  At least in the traditional sense.  I just hope we can be apart of another adoption  so that Jack will have a sibling to love.  I want him to have a sister or brother to "share a love belonging uniquely to them, to be carried beyond my lifetime and their father's."

 

 

I just want to kiss his curls off, they are so cute.

Etsy Pendants

I'm thrilled to announce a partnership with Beads -N- Baubles 4U from Etsy who has made pendant jewelry with a handful of my Etsy prints.

Her pendants are hand made and created using a 1 inch wooden square piece decoupaged and topped off with a coat of resin to provide a durable glossy finish.  Then packaged in a dainty organza bag perfect for gift giving.

If you are interested in any another image of mine as a pendant, contact Beads -N- Baubles 4U and let her know of the image you'd like as a pendant (she welcomes custom orders).  Chances are we can get it made for you.  Right now, her shop offers buy two- get the third one free!

13 things to remember about right now:

1- You sit still as a statue and watch me blow dry my hair.  I imagine some day you'll fall in love with a girl with long blond hair.
2- You reach for the mirror when we pass it in the hall and I love to stop and talk to you in it.
3- You often put your binky in sideways.
4- You still like to sleep with a blanket over your eyes.
5. You take 3 to 4 naps a day and generally sleep through the night.  If waking up at 5:00am is sleeping through the night. 
6-You mostly grab things with your left hand, and I can only hope that you'll be a south paw like your mom.
7-  Your hair is starting to curl so cutely just above your ears.
8-  You love eating your fruit, then will cry and moan about eating rice cereal, but you eat it anyway.
9- Strangers stop us in the store to comment on your chubby cheeks.
10- You hug and bury your head in your blanket when I offer it to you at nap time.
11- You spend most the summer day in a onesie.
12- You laugh and giggle during a good game of peek-a-boo. Sometimes you start the game.
13-  You protest every time I put lotion on you, or try and clean your nose, or wash your face.  Other than that, you are the most content baby I know.

I love the gesture of your arm and hand.  I love your chubbiness.  I love this stage right now.

I've never seen a baby love the mirror so much.  Jack gets so giddy and cute and squeals at himself.

 

Cowboy cute.



  

Lucy in the garden

Along with doing my traditional color processing, I'm having fun with some nostalgia photos.  I love this one of Lucy with her mom in the setting sun light.  So precious!

This is now my favorite place to take little clients.  We had so many options and the area was so peaceful.     

Any suggestions?

I'm looking for some input from all you creative and fabulous people who take the time to visit my blog.
Lately I've felt in a rut with my shoots, kind of doing the same thing, doing what's safe, and I'm really wanting to get better and improve.  If you've done a session with another photographer, what did you like about it? How did she direct you?  How did she get your kids to cooperate?

How about any of my photographer friends-  any suggestions for me?  I'm all ears, and since I'm not in school anymore, I guess you are my peers.  I'm dying to shadow another photographer and see how they do the whole shoot.  I'm all self taught so my approach is all me. 
Before each session, I write down a few ideas so my mind doesn't go blank during the shoot.  But I want to leave room for those unexpected moments you just can't plan.  But during the actual shoot I find I  play it safe and I need to just go for it and ask my families to do crazy stuff.  But I turn into such a retard during the shoot.  AHHHHH, especially when I don't know the family. 
Hopefully revealing my awkward feeling here will help me overcome them.  I really want to be more creative and push my photography.  So now that you all know, I better produce.  :)
And for a taste, I'm exploring some retro actions I got recently.  This sweet little model is Lucy, and I'll post more from our shoot when I'm finished.  Enjoy.

Landan

Another wonderful adoption story for a dear friend and I'm so thrilled to photograph her newborn.  Like me, she waited 13 years to become a mother.

 

family session at Heritage Park

There are some photos that you know will proof just beautifully and this was one.   I didn't have to coax a real smile, she just gave it and let her eyes sparkle.  So unexpected for a 6 year old.

Once again another great family to photograph.  I'm so glad they were willing to come all the way from South Jordan for our session.  

7 month photos

 

  

Our 4th celebration

How lovely it is to spend the day with family and not be bound by schedules. A day open to do whatever.
Winston's big brother leaves for a 2 year mission to Tokyo in October. Woot! Woot!

Arghhhh! I'm a pirate!!

Jack is 7 months old now and sitting like a pro.

And if you knew my dad, you' d understand why this photo puts a smile on my face.

Flashback Friday

"Tell me again about the night I was born.

"Tell me again how the phone rang in the middle of the night and they told you I was born.  Tell me again how you screamed.

"Tell me again how  you held hands all the way to the hospital and when you got there you both got very quiet and felt very small.

"Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms and called me your baby sweet.  Tell me again how you cried happy tears.

"Tell me again how you carried me like a china doll all the way home and how you glared at anyone who sneezed.

"Tell me again about our first night as a family.
"Mommy, Daddy, tell me again about the night I was born."

                                                                                             -Jamie Lee Curtis

I'm so glad I came across this adoption book.  It takes me back to a snowy December day every time I read it with all the feelings and emotions of the time.  And once again, I wish I had taken more photos when Jack was days old.  He's not a newborn anymore, and already I'm fondly recalling memories of him and what it was like being a new mommy getting to know this little stranger from Heaven.  I am so so so grateful for him.

Summer report...

I am happy to report that I've completed quite a bit of my summer fun list.

Time at the pool-
so far Jack is on his way to becoming a fish like his mom.  At the last time, he was trying to figure out why he couldn't grab the water.
 

Work in my mom's yard-
I worked, and Jack sat in the shade.  What baby isn't fascinated by grass.  It's the only plant we let our kids rip apart to their hearts content.

 Visit my aunt Ione who hasn't met Jack yet.
A two hour drive to a small town.  A lunch fit for a Sunday dinner.  And feeling the love of family ties.  Probably the last time I see Uncle Jim.

 

Explore a local antique shop.
Have my eye on some large scales. Maybe I'll use one in a future baby shoot to show how much the baby weighs.

Photograph a small town carnival...Strawberry Days
Junior High summers must have been the last time I've been to one of these.  The smells, the lights all brought back the memories.  But sadly my favorite ride, the big swing in a circle one, wasn't there.

Summer fun with Jack's cousins-
like going to the Children's Garden.
It was hot, and Bridget and Boston weren't feeling so well, but I'm still amazed, and love, that it doesn't stop us from getting together.

I've read two books so far, and working on a third one.
The Goose Girl
Enna Burning
and Inkheart

Take my camera to the Carpenters.
But I haven't proofed the flower photos yet.

Buy a couple children's books.
Ive bought a couple books for Jack on my outing trips with Bridget.  She too has a desire for many books.

happy Sunday

Jack's friend

This is Jack, my Jack's soon-to-be friend as soon as they get old enough to run the neighborhood.
His mommy will be so excited to see.  :)

Oh it feels so good to photograph babies again.  I miss it.