Fields of Flowers | Idaho Children's Photographer

 

It's definitely spring here! Lovely warm days intertwined with cool, rainy ones. Everything is in bloom. And even though these little purple flowers are technically weeds, they can make a really pretty backdrop, especially with a lot of bokeh!

What is bokeh? 

"In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image," as defined by Wikipedia. It's the look when the image background looks all blurry and fuzzed out while the subject seems to pop out of the image.

Bokeh is achieved when you have a shallow depth of field. Without getting too technical, depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image. So for example, because I focused on her face (mainly the eyes) anything in front of that plane (in the foreground) and anything behind the plane of her face (background) will be out of focus. Some lens do this better than others, and the distance of the subject to the background also affects bokeh.

Bokeh is also affected by the aperture used. Aperture controls how much light is being let into the lens and hitting the film or in this case the digital sensor of the camera.

This was by no means an in-depth lesson, but hopefully you learned a little something. And if you have more questions about anything mentioned here or other basic camera questions, leave them in the comments and I'll answer them in another post.

Essence and "Your Story" sessions are both available now, so call today to book your appointment. I will have a limited fall schedule, so don't wait until the last minute to capture memories of your loved ones. Enjoy your weekend!

Fall Family Session ~ Boise Lifestyle Photographer

This beautiful mama was the winner of a "Your Story" portrait session from my 2011 Mother's Day Giveaway. I was so excited to photograph her family because 1) they had never had professional portraits taken and 2) Little Ryker is just the cutest little guy. Little ones are my favorite. Happy, silly, shy or outgoing--I just love capturing who they are!

It was a slightly overcast morning, but the fall colors were still beautiful in Kathryn Albertsons Park. I had never photographed there, even though it's a rather popular place. My eyes were jumping every which way seeing all the amazing natural backdrops. But, more importantly, I wanted to capture the love between these two and their little guy. You could tell they are very much in love with each other, and their little boy. It was a pleasure hanging out with them for a morning. I had so many favorites from this session, it was hard not to want to blog them all.

Which one is your favorite? If this post receives 20 or more comments, this family will receive a complimentary 5X7 image from their session. Happy Monday everyone!

Three Little Angels ~ Southwest Idaho Children's Photographer

Friends of ours recently welcomed home their third little angel, and she is quite the miracle baby arriving 6 weeks early and spending time in the NICU. Thankfully, she is doing wonderfully. After getting home and a little settled, Mom called me to capture some beautiful newborn and sister images. Baby G was soooo tiny. It is simply amazing these little wonders God gives us! Big Sister A just turned two, so we had to capture some fun toddler moments of her too! She is a little busy bee, but I had a ton of fun spending the afternoon with her and her babies. Thanks S family! You have three beautiful little girls to love and cherish. If this post receives 10 or more comments, I will gift a 5X7 of one image to them.






I just love this one that I captured at the very end-a sleepy little yawn!










Biggest Sister L was my little helper for the day and I had to sneak a few images of her too!

Summer/Fall Scheduling & Pricing ~ Idaho Children's Photographer

Just wanted to update everyone on pricing and scheduling for the next few months of 2010. Can you believe it's past the middle of the year already, and school will be starting again soon!! Wow-time flies when you're having fun!

Children/Family sessions begin at $150. This includes a pre-session styling consult, a personal, professional custom portrait session, full editing and retouching of the best images and an online gallery to share with family and friends. I will also be offering in-person proofing and ordering as well. This gives you an opportunity to see how your images will be cropped for different sizes, how they look in custom-designed albums, and also as beautiful timeless wall art. For an additional $200, you may also receive all printed 4X6 or 5X7 proofs in a custom-designed image box. These can be displayed in the box, given to friends and family or used how you wish. These sessions include immediate family up to 8 people. Each additional person $15.

Newborn (under two weeks old) session-includes parents and/or siblings (call for details about "Your Baby Story" Plan)-$200

New print pricing is now in effect. If you're looking for a custom portrait photographer, I promise to provide a fun experience for you and your family. Whether you are celebrating a child's milestone or wanting to capture your family's lifestyle with custom portraits, we can create beautiful images from your life.

Scheduling: August is full and only four dates remain in September. It's also time to think about about Christmas and Holiday cards so schedule your session today.

And because a post just isn't that fun without a photo, here are a few more of my sweet little niece. More sneak peeks to come from my recent sessions! Also, stay tuned for a couple other announcements!

The New/Old Chair and Miss M ~ Fruitland Children's Photographer

If you follow me on Facebook (which if you don't, you should, wink, wink), you might have read I was bringing back some fun new props from our vacation in Kansas, and I was so excited to use them in some upcoming sessions. I finally got to use one of them-the old, but new to me, awesome black vintage chair that was my great grandmothers. My sister has a matching one. I have always drooled over it when I visit her house, and she was even going to give hers to me, however, my mom knew there was another one still in the basement of my grandma's house. I love having items that were passed down from other generations. There is always a history to them. After a good clean-up, the chair looks brand new, and I love it!! One of my recent sessions of the just-turned-seven, Miss M, was the perfect one for it to make its debut. I love, love, love the images from my evening with her. I have had the hardest time editing them down because M was the perfect model and didn't really take a bad shot. We had fun stomping out in the big field, and also with some of her furry friends. It was fun to have a little one-on-one time with her and see her little personality shine. She is a real sweetheart. Thanks M and mom, Lisa, for a fun evening. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek.

I did some of them in my traditional style of editing, but I also knew I wanted to add a vintage feel to others. This session was perfect for that. I even tried a little texture on the last one. Which do you like best? If this post receives 10 or more comments, I will gift a 5x7 print to the family.

Sisters Make the Best of Friends ~ Custom Portrait Photography

I photographed these beautiful sisters while we were in Kansas visiting my hometown. I remember when each of them was born and my family watched them grow up. Now they are old enough to be babysitting my kids! Their mom is a dear friend and was a mentor to me in 4-H and while I was growing up. I was so excited she asked me photograph the girls together. Miss K will be a senior this year, so it was important for us to capture them together before life gets even busier! I am also excited to get to design their images into a keepsake album for them. It's a wonderful way to preserve all the images from a session.

The girls were truly delightful and up for anything. We had fun running around town, photographing them at the county museum, the local playground (where we all attended grade school), the restored soda fountain/old drug store and their beautiful backyard. K also worked at "The Old Store" so it holds some fond memories for her from the last five years. That's what I love about being an on-location photographer. I can come to my clients, wherever is the most special to them. I hope you girls have a great year and enjoy your sneak peeks! And if this post receives 10 or more comments, they will receive a 5X7 print as a gift from me! I'm having a hard time deciding which one is my favorite. Lots of memories made that day!!

Mr. A is 4! ~ Fruitland Children's Photographer

It was a pleasure going over to Mr. A's house and capturing him in his element. He's a fun and spunky newly turned 4-year-old. I can't get enough of his smile. I had a great time chasing him around his yard and seeing all the rocks, bugs and somersaults he wanted to show me. Thanks again L for asking me to photograph him. It was a pleasure! When this post receives 10 or more comments, I'll gift a 5X7 print to A's family. Enjoy the sneak peek!

R Family ~ Nampa Family Photographer

This was another great family session I did a couple weeks ago. They were all good sports and lots of fun. We also photographed them with the grandparents and aunt and uncle. There were so many good ones to choose from, but since I'm two weeks behind on putting up their sneak peek, I just picked a few to share. Hope you're enjoying your gallery. If this post receives 10 or more comments, I will also gift a 5X7 print to the family. Thanks R family!

B Family ~ Nampa Family Photographer

This adorable family was fun to photograph-the kids are so cute and kept me on my toes. I am having a hard time narrowing down all the great images! Dad had just returned from working overseas and I know they are grateful to have him home safe and sound. Thanks B family for your sacrifice for our country and for the fun evening together! Love the way Mom is looking at Dad in the second one-lots of love between these two. Here's your sneak peek. Your gallery will be finished soon. And if this post receives 10 or more comments I will gift this family a 5X7 print of one of the images. Feel free to share.

Beautiful Ballerina ~ New Plymouth Dance Photographer

I had the pleasure of photographing the dancers from Elite Dance Academy in New Plymouth. This is Miss S, one of the beautiful dancers. I had a hard time narrowing down my favorites. It was a great experience and I'm excited to get back all of the orders for the girls. If you would like more information on the studio, contact the owner and director, Carla Malson. The studio is located on Main Street in downtown New Plymouth. She offers classes for children, teens and adults, including ballet, jazz, hip hop and stretch and tone. There are several dancers competing in Utah this weekend. Good luck girls!

A Family ~ Payette Family Photographer

This family was a pleasure to photograph. Jennifer actually won a complimentary session at the Wine & Chocolate Affaire back in February. Imagine how excited I was when I realized I was going to get to photograph 6 month old twins! These babies are beautiful and such little miracles. It was obvious their parents love each other and them very much. If this post receives 10 or more comments, I will gift a 5X7 to them. I had a hard time picking my favorites! What about you?

Mr A ~ Payette Children's Photographer

Mr. A was an absolute doll. We met at the park a few weeks ago--played with bubbles, played with sticks, checked out the water, went on the slide--he's a busy little guy. Thank you Chelsea for letting me capture these memories of your little man. It was my pleasure! And if this post receives 10 or more comments, this family will receive a complimentary 5X7 as a gift from me.