Baby Yakup! - Albuquerque Baby Photography

In January, Christine came back to Los Alamos to visit her family for a few weeks with her two and a half year old and her 3 month old boys. They were a blissfully boisterous handful, to say the least.  We decided to do two photoshoots at Grandma's house where they were at ease. 

We shot Baby Yakup on his 3 mo birthday. You'd think he was a lot older because he's just about ready to sit up on his own! Their grandma had a beautiful white bedspread, so we set up the portable studio in the guestroom and put Yakup in a basket full of towels with a blanket thrown over the top. I saw these cute little hats on Etsy and decided to knit one myself. Yakup was my first baby model to wear it. I'd say he rocked his first gig!

He absolutely LOVES his Aunt Tricia. She just had to tickle his toes and he'd start cooing and giggling.  He was being so cute and adorable that the rest of the family heard him laughing and came running in to see the action.  If you zoom in on the reflection in his eye (in the high-res image), you can see mommy, auntie, uncle, and me standing over him smiling.

A Boisterous Handful - Los Alamos Children's Photography

It's such a shame that the amount of energy that you have in life is inversely proportional to age.  Two year olds have all the energy in the world, and parents wish they had as much to chase them around!  I learned long ago not to bring a 2-yr old into a portrait studio.  The best children's photography is on-the-go, just like they are. 

Emin is no different.  He LOVES chickens and eggs, so we decided to take a field trip to a farm to meet some animals while we looked for eggs.  Now We're using the photos from the trip to make a story book for him and his family.

Falling for Your Sweetheart Over and Over Again - Albuquerque Photography

This young couple has been married for 3 years, but together for many more.  When I first met them, I thought I'd be shooting an engagement session for their announcements, and was surprised to learn they were already hitched.  The trees behind the waterfall and the pond were just starting to turn and made a romantic background for this gorgeous couple.  They made the photoshoot fun and easy, but narrowing down the photos was very hard!

My Best Friend's Wedding - Wedding Photography

Labor day is a VERY popular weekend for weddings!  My two best friends got married on the same weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  Two days, two states, and two best friends taking the next step into the rest of their lives.  I impromptu photographed both of them, here are some of my favorites of Jaynie's wedding (James' still to come).

Chief, Jaynie's pup was their ring bearer at the Corvallis Rose Garden.  They had their reception at Strega.  It's unfortunate that the restaurant closed down, but still awesome that you can rent it out!!!  They had their first dance just as the sun set over the mountains.

Dancing in the Land of Enchantment - Albuquerque Dance Photography

As much as I miss dancing in San Diego, Albuquerque is bursting at the seams with latin flavor and plenty of ballrooms.  Ynette invited me to photograph her and her husband/dance partner down at Enchantment Dance Studio.  Their instructor Nick was with us every step of the way to help them stike a pose.  It was  quite a challenging photoshoot as the main ballroom was being remodeled, so we used the smaller ballroom that was surrounded in mirrors.  There were only a few angles to avoid reflections of the lights (or worse me!) in the photos.  We started with some traditional poses, then some lifts. At the end, they just danced and I chased them around.    Here are some of my favorites.

Step Parents in ABQ have really Stepped Up! - Albuquerque Family Photography

I have been blown away by the step parents in this town.  I have photographed several family portraits in Albuquerque with step parents and step children recently. Each of these families just blows me away.  We've all seen Cinderella and other fairy tales where step children don't get along and step parents favor their own children.  But let me tell you, both of these families are more like the Brady Bunch, integrated with love and camaraderie.  To be honest, I couldn't tell who was the biological and who was the step parent.

I met Katy through Groupon, and as soon as she suggested the Copper Street Trails for her family photo session location, I knew we'd get along well.  Dayne, her husband, blazed the trail for us and we ended up at the kids favorite picnic spot, the dried up waterfall at the top of the Copper Street Trail.  Fresh air, sunshine, and three children that didn't complain once hiking up to the top.  It was my first little hike up at a mile high, and it was perfect.  The only thing missing was the family pup (whom I met after the shoot).

Here are some of my favorites.

I met up with the Daltons at the Uptown Shopping Mall in Central Albuquerque.  We dodged the early Christmas Shoppers and found some cool little places to snap some shots.  There was even a HUGE Christmas tree in the middle of the plaza to get some holiday themed portraits.  Their little boy was adorable.  He was only in town for a few days over Thanksgiving, so we had a tight schedule.  It was quite the blustery day, so I couldn't bring my normal lighting setup or I would have gone the way of Marry Poppins. After some creative setups, we got some awesome shots.

Cutest Little Family at the Heritage Farm in the Botanical Gardens - Albuquerque Family Photography

Photographing families can be tough, especially with young children who are just starting to develop their own ideas and opinions about the world.  This little rambunctious one had the energy of a two year old puppy and a smile that could melt your heart.  However he (like many other 2 year olds) had a very strong opinion that he didn't want his picture taken.  We ditched the traditional family photo idea and decided to just play.  He loved to be tossed and twirled and anything that involved him being upside down. It's too bad Albuquerque doesn't have a circus school because in San Diego, I'd know just where to send him!  In the end we got some really cute shots that reflect the love this family has and how tender their relationships are with each other. 

Physician to Cosmo Cover Girl in 60 minutes - Albuquerque Professional Headshots

I am continually impressed on how professional clients that come in for "traditional headshots" blossom, until a whole other persona soon emerges on camera.  You would think that shooting for a CPA, an engineer, and a physician would be pretty bland, but I will have you know otherwise!  They have been some of the most fun shoots.  Sometimes I don't want them to end.

Today I did a photoshoot for Beth, a physician locally here in Albuquerque.  When she arrived I was already immediately impressed.  She had great skin and was tall and very in shape.  She couldn't make it any easier for me.  We popped on some music and started shooting in the studio.  It didn't take long for her to loosen up and look like she did this as a second job.

Classic Headhsot for the Hospital:

As she went to change into something more fun, she shared a request for Madonna, and I knew instantly we could be friends.  Something about 80's dance music just seems to brighten up the day and put a pop in your step!  Add a little beauty lighting and Voila!

Once we switched to the silver background, it was like switching to the silver screen.  This little glamour girl emerged.  Watch out Danika, this one's coming up quick behind you!

Thanks Beth for an awesome shoot today!  Can't wait to see you and the hubby back for the Holidays!