Raggedy...

...but beloved. I made these from bread dough the first Christmas we lived in Texas (1982). Poor Andy's foot has broken off multiple times, his arm is splitting, and Ann's leg has broken off at least once. Like their counterparts, they've both seen better days but I can't seem to throw them out. :)

Finally...

Kade was very patient, but at some point just had enough of his sisters and needed some mommy time. She was saying to him "That was stressful, but you were the best of all". :)
The nose rubbing was adorable and super effective. He was practically purring by the time she finished. :) Need to remember that! And after this, I got to hold him while he fell asleep on me for 30 min. So precious!...and the perfect way to end the shoot.

More faves...

Love their house in the background of the 2nd shot, since this is their first Christmas to live there.

Male bonding...

The "prince" and his daddy escaping the chaos of girls...Look how much Kade has changed already!

Portraits in red...

I just tried different spots in their house with available light. Loved these on their mom's bed. What beautiful little girls! You cannot imagine how much running around there was before we managed to make them stop for a minute, so the once combed hair is now escaping barrettes and ponytail holders. Love that....real life!

Herding cats...

I'm grabbing every opportunity to practice on people, so I offered to try some pics for a former student's Christmas card. You may remember Kade, the baby I shot a few weeks ago http://split-focus.blogspot.com/2010/11/baby-kade.html . Meet his family! With 3 children under 4, their daddy was right when he said it would be like trying to herd cats! :) Oh my, it was hilarious!!! Ella (almost 2) kept trying to roll over on top of Kade, or Emma and Ella would walk out the door to run down the street to their grandmommy's house. There were a few scoldings and tears and lots of laughter. I loved it all!

I'm posting a few of my faves over the next few days. Think I loved the candid captures best...the ones when they were trying to manage the girls. I just held my finger on the continuous shutter release and thankfully caught some moments. Their wardrobe was beautiful and colorful, but these candids just seemed to scream for b/w.

Do you have a favorite? Bottom is mine! Wow! It's challenging to photograph groups! I don't think there was even one time when everyone engaged with the camera. :) BTW, experimenting with more blacks and contrast in my b/w. I'm diggin' it. Thoughts?

Angel girl...

I don't know why, but I get the best head shots when Jenny's changing Hannah's clothes. She'll turn her head just so and catch the light. :) Which do you prefer?


Thought I would choose b/w but, with Hannah's beautiful complexion and blue eyes, I think I like color. B/W is really nice full screen, but doesn't seem to show as well in this size for the blog. Almost looks like a drawing here...