Little Fireman ~ Idaho Lifestyle Photography

This little guy enjoyed a fun birthday shoot at the local fire department. It wasn't totally planned that way, but due to some not so fun weather, he got a fun surprise!

This family is no stranger to my camera lens, and we've had fun finding different locations for their family sessions. Their little guy is as cute as ever, and I love seeing how his personality continues to blossom each time I photograph him. This year, we chose to stay close to home and wandered around their hometown a little while. It wasn't a very warm day though. Fortunately, the gracious firemen in Middleton let us come in out of the snow/rain that started during our session. They were so nice to let Little H try on some of the gear too. It made for a very special birthday shoot for him. He loved hanging out on the fire trucks too. Not only are these firemen community heroes, but they were happy to help us out that day when we needed a little shelter from the cold. 

I also took some new headshots for Deanna, who has started her own business, Accent Design, designing wedding invitations, and working with businesses on their design/print needs.

I'm excited to see what all the future holds for this family. Always fun to catch up with them.

If this post receives 20 or more comments, the W family will receive a special gift from me!

Nampa Outdoor Family ~ Idaho Lifestyle Photography

 

 

I had the privilege of photographing this family last fall, and looking back at their session still makes me smile. They purchased a donation package from the Annual Gala supporting the Nampa Boys and Girls Club. This is a great organization helping area youth. 

I met the family at their home, and enjoyed watching the boys play a game of catch. They are both very athletic and love sports. They are all also animal lovers, and their dogs are like family. It was great to capture them relaxed and enjoying what they do together as a family.

After a walk around their neighborhood, we headed down to the nearby lake to wander around. The boys started up a little rock skipping competition. Todd and Tammy were high school sweethearts and are still very much in love. I love that Todd carved their initials in a log down by the lake. During their ordering session, he quickly pointed out which prints he wanted to put on his desk to show off his beautiful wife. Very sweet! 

It was great hanging out with this family and capturing their story. So glad to hear they are enjoying the beautiful wall art they have in their home--memories of their family. 

If this post receives 20 or more comments, they will also receive a special gift from me. Feel free to share!

One-year-old Essence Session ~ Idaho Children's Photographer

It was so great to see little R again for his one-year Essence session. He's grown so much since I first met him at 6 months old. I LOVE when clients keep coming back! It's great to see how the little ones grow, and this time was no exception. Little R is really into books, and reads a lot with his Grandma, who brought him to the session. He's also walking now, and it was fun to see him toddling around. Thanks Kathie for letting me capture these milestones!

If you'd like to know more about an Essence session, give me a call today! I have a few spots open this spring. This mini-session is perfect for capturing milestones of babies, toddlers and children when it's still too chilly to be outside. Your Story Album Sessions will open up beginning April 1.  Album Sessions are for newborns, children, teens and families.

If this blog post receives 20 or more comments, this family will receive a fun gift from me!

Film Practice ~ Idaho Portrait Photography

 

 

 

 

I mentioned awhile back that I had used my film camera at a PPI workshop I attended. It had been almost six years since I'd shot any film through it, and I literally felt like I was flying blind. I shoot on manual, setting my aperature, shutter speed, ISO and white balance with each session. With my film camera, there aren't as many dials and such to mess with. I'm so glad I did it though. It was what I needed to get over my fear of it, and get inspired to shoot film again. 

At the workshop, they had set up different shooting bays, and it was for us to experiment with different lighting systems (both continuous and strobe), and with the fun backdrops from Silverlake Photo. So, although I was pleased with the model images I shot, especially because I was just hoping to not have anything be blurry, I really see myself using film again in my lifestyle sessions. I also like the idea of simpler processing, and hopefully shooting less images. I think back to when I used film all the time, and it was just second nature. Then, along came digital. I know I've overshot sessions because I could. I have some ideas about how I can incorporate film back into my work again. 

I didn't even shoot the whole roll at the workshop, so I got to use it up at home on one of my favorite subjects. :0)

 

My Valentine's Day Morning ~ Idaho Lifestyle Photographer

 

I got to hang out with my two favorite guys yesterday morning, and check on the newest babies on the ranch. No complaints here. :0)

Glimpses ~ Week 6 | Idaho Lifestyle Photographer

We celebrated our little guy's 3rd birthday on Feb. 5th. How appropriate to have a football themed birthday party when it was also Super Bowl Sunday?!

I always have fun making the kids' cakes. This one was really easy. I just baked a chocolate cake, then carved the edges off to make a football shape, and frosted it to match. I had found some fun football napkins, and a tablecloth that looked like a football field. The day before I had run into the grocery store on my way home from town, and found some awesome mylar balloons in the shape of footballs. They were perfect! I don't like to spend a lot on the paper goods, but there was just enough to make things festive.

I tried a new recipe, Spicy Pop Pulled Pork, from the first episode of The Pioneer Woman this season. I also made Ree's Cilantro Cole Slaw recipe (sans cilantro because I forgot to put it on my list, boo, and sans jalepeno because we were serving kiddos). I made my mashed potatoes recipe. The secret to it is the cream cheese. Yum!

Josh's family came over for the afternoon. It turned out great. Little J loved everything-the party, the presents, the cake! Can't believe he's already 3! Just love this little boy so much!



To check out more Glimpses, check out the Chic Critique Forum!

Light Up Her Heart ~ Lighting Workshop | Idaho Portrait Photography

A lighting workshop to benefit Jayme Montoya of Lucid Design and Photo

  A dear friend and colleague, Jayme Montoya, has had to undergo two open heart surgeries in the span of two months to help correct a congenital heart defect. In our mission to help alleviate some of the unnecessary burden, Gretchen Nishitani, Craig Lamere and Tiffany Hix have put together this lighting workshop. Our goal is to teach some natural and studio lighting techniques while raising money for our friend. The Light Up Her Heart Lighting Workshop will be held on Saturday, March 3rd from 4-10 pm in Meridian, ID. We are still compiling the list of the lighting styles that will be taught. There will be multiple shooting bays with backdrops provided by Tara Pugmire. Please check back as we will be updating as the curriculum is finalized. Registration for the Light Up Her Heart Lighting Workshop is $100 and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Jayme.  

Registration for this lighting workshop is $100

If you can't attend, please donate. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Jayme.

Glimpses Week 5 ~ Idaho Lifestyle Photography

So I was looking around my house this week and not feeling too inspired by some of the stuff that makes up our every day, but then I realized I have done a few interesting things outside the house this week. Most of my clients know, but some of them may not that we live and work on a ranch. We raise registered Angus and Hereford cattle with my husband's family, which means we raise the parent stock (bulls and females) that cattlemen use to raise the beef that goes on the dinner table. In fact, before I started taking people portraits, most of my subjects looked more like this. This week, we were taking photos for our upcoming bull sale in March. This guy will be one of the highlight bulls in the sale.

Hope you're enjoying the "glimpses" into my life. To check out more see the Chic Critique Forum

Catchlights ~ February Photo Challenge

A “catchlight’ is simply the highlight of a light source reflected off the surface of the eye. This highlight adds depth and dimension to the eye, and gives the eyes life in a portrait or snapshot.

To read more, check out Digital Photography School, http://www.digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-catchlights

Today's photo challenge theme is "Catchlights". This is a pretty simple, yet wonderful way to improve the photographs you take, whether professionally or for fun. Here's a little sample of two images, one with them, and one without. Now, I think they are both cute images. Good exposure, great expression, but the one of the left just seems to pop more because there is the light in the eyes from the window. The subject was placed with the light to the side of him. On the photo on the right, the light was above and behind the subject. It would have been better to have moved him around to get some better light on his face, but as he was sitting still on this bench, I chose to capture the moment anyway. These just happen to be some images I took of my son last year on his birthday. However, for a client session, I would have positioned my subject better in order to get the best lighting on his little face. I'm always looking for the sparkle in the eyes!

Glimpses ~ Week 4 | My desk

I'd love to be able to say my desk rarely looks like this, but that wouldn't be real-and I want to be real-so I admit it. My desk is usually piled pretty high. I'm a piler. Not sure if piler is really a word, but I'll go with it. Now I'd like to think I'm still a pretty organized person. I do have files and other various ways of keeping track of information, but because I'm usually working on several projects at once, my desk looks like this a lot. Right now I'm finishing up a magazine issue, as well as trying to catch up on blogging some sessions from the end of the year. Both of those tasks will be finished soon, and the desk will be a little clearer-at least for a little while. Sometimes I have to take a few minutes to just get it all cleaned up, then I'm ready to roll again.

I love my desk. I picked it out a few years ago when we moved to this house. It has file drawers on both sides, you know for staying organized, and is big enough to have everything I need within reach.

After the girls are headed off to school, and J's busy playing cars or cows or both, then I grab my mug, lately with Green tea or sometimes Vanilla Chai, and head to the place where the magic happens. Well, maybe not magic, but this is my command center-where the work gets done. Sometimes I feel I am on the computer too much, but at the same time, I'm thankful that my office is in my home, and I can get up whenever I need or want to-to make lunch for my hubby, or play with my kiddos, or grab my mug and a good book to read.

Yes, I do love my desk. I love to sit at it, editing photos for my wonderful clients, writing a story for an upcoming issue and putting the finishing touches on the layout of the magazine. I also love getting to walk away for awhile, knowing my desk will still be here waiting for me.

MMP February Photo Challenge ~ Idaho Lifestyle Photographer

So I decided in January that I wanted to do a photo challenge while my schedule was a little slower. And I thought it would get the creative juices flowing too. You know, each day a different theme, and a different photo. I had found this list somewhere (I normally give credit, but somehow I didn't put down where I found this, plus I did change several of the days to fit my needs. However, if you've seen a similar list, let me know because I am happy to show a little love to whomever thought of some of these.)

Anyway...

I really like the themes on this list because they are fun, but also work on some different camera skills, which is my main focus this year-taking my photography to an even better level through education and practice.

I also decided that for me, it would be challenge enough to take a photo a day based on these themes, let alone try to get it uploaded, edited and blogged every day. Therefore, I am committed to capturing a photo every day, but I may be blogging them in groups or quite possibly waiting until every day in March to blog them. I do hope many of you will join with me for this challenge. I know there are lots of creative people out there, both pro and hobbyists, and it would be fun to see how you interpret each theme. I am thinking about starting a group on Facebook to share all our pics too, so if you want to join in the fun, please shoot me your name and email at info@maggiemalsonphotography.com, and I'll let you know when it's ready!

Even if there isn't a blog post for each day, I will be updating my Maggie Malson Photography Facebook Fan Page with daily theme reminders. So, go ahead, and "like" my page! Can't wait to see what creativeness comes out of all this! Happy February everyone!

Now, I'm off to take that self portrait...