Angela Marvel Photography | Tacoma Newborn, Baby, Child & Family Photographer

25 Days of Christmas - Day 3 | Self Portrait Saturday

2011-12-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

A little sneak peak at one of my self portraits for the month :)

25 Days of Christmas - Day 2 | Tacoma Child Photographer

2011-12-02T14:08:00.001-08:00

Just took this photo this last weekend. Instant favorite. I have been taking photos of this little girl since she was in mom's belly and she is such a darling little one. Made for a wonderful Christmas photo :)

25 Days of Christmas - Day 1 | Tacoma Newborn Photographer

2011-12-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

Been saving this photo to share for quite some time. Isn't he adorable showing off that this is his first Christmas this year :)

The "H" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-10-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

In August I was contacted by two photography friends DeAnna and Misty about this wonderful family that lived near me that could use a family portrait session. Their 5 year old daughter Macie had been diganosed with Leukemia in July. Misty wanted to make sure the family had some portraits done before little Maci lost her hair.

I felt so honored to have been thought of to give this family such an amazing gift. This family is just amazing, the girls were so delightful and it was such a fun session.

Please keep Maci in your prayers and positive thoughts. If you would like to follow her story, please click on this link:Maci's Journey

Happy October

2011-10-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

Ok I had to share this weeks self portrait. Its one of my new favorites :)

Jeff and Jamie | Tacoma Couples Photographer

2011-09-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am pretty behind on blogging my images. Figure I can either blog or actually edit the session :) But as I was going through all the photos I took last month, I forgot I hadn't posted these yet. Just had to share :)

6 Month Mini | Tacoma Baby Photographer

2011-09-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

Had a great mini session with this adorable little 6 month old last week. I had done his newborn photos back in March and its amazing to see how much he has grown. Enjoy your sneak peak Deidra and Chris :)

Back to School | Tacoma Portrait Photographer

2011-09-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is having a great Back to School day today. My little one doesn't start until Wednesday, but since all the schools around me start today I thought it was a great day to post my week 35 self portrait: Back to School :)

Enjoy!

Shannon's workshop

2011-08-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

Went to a great workshop this last weekend! The amazing http://www.shannonsewell.com/.

I only have time to post this one, but I hope to share more soon!

9 month old | Tacoma Baby Photographer

2011-08-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

I have been so lucky to photograph this cutie since she was a newborn. This time we went outdoors for a mini session for her 9 month photos. She is getting so big now and was full of smiles and was even able to stand on her own.

Self Portrait | Seattle Portrait Photographer

2011-08-25T01:14:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share my latest self portrait with everyone. This one was really fun to do. Took some planning and some help to pull it off, but I am happy with the results :) Enjoy!

"J" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-08-22T04:13:00.000-07:00

Had a session earlier this month with an on the go 2 year old. Having one myself I am pretty use to the running around and letting them have fun and explore, which is exactly what we did. She was adorable looking for cows inside the barns and caught some great expressions in between playing :)

And then Dad brought his Camero...just love that I have been able to do some car photos this summer and I hope to be able to do more in the future :)

Enjoy your sneak peak Lisa and Matt!

Extended Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-08-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

This was such a great session that I had last month and have so many I would love to share. Wonderful family and we had a great time :)

Brothers| Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-08-14T23:56:00.000-07:00

Here are a few quick photos from a mini session I did last week :)

Seniors! | Tacoma Senior Photographer

2011-08-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Just a little taste of some various Seniors I got to shoot a few weeks back. It was a lot of fun and gave me some great practice to try something different then babies and families :)

Enjoy!

Class of 2011 | Tacoma Senior Photographer

2011-08-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

I have not done a Senior Session since 2008! And I have never photographed a Senior girl before. It was so much fun! I love trying new things, or other things again as the case may be. The golden hour light was amazing, as was the location. This was a fun experience and one I hope to try again!

Week 30 Self Portrait

2011-07-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Week 30: July 23-29
Trash the Dress

Extra Info: Being this is the 10 year anniversary month for my husband and I, I am keeping the weekly "Wedding" self portraits going for the month of July. I have wanted to trash my dress since I first learned about doing that a few years back, but I wanted to wait until our 10 year anniversary to be symbolic. The water here is VERY cold, I could not feel my feet after about the first minute. But by the end of the "session" I was fully laying in the water having lots of fun. Lots more of these photos to come in the coming days :)

Now that I am caught up posting my self portraits. I have lots more client images to share in the next few days and have a busy August lined up too :)

Oskar | Tacoma Child Photographer

2011-07-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ok this little guy is adorable! Just a few quick snaps of him, but isn't he cute... :)

10 Years | Tacoma Couples Photographer

2011-07-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today is my 10 year wedding anniversary :)

10 years ago today my wedding ceremony didn't exactly go as planned. Things went wrong (....a minister that was incompetent...), flowers were totally wrong and not anything like I ordered (thus no beautiful altar) and then some photos were blurry and not what I wanted either. I often look back at my ceremony and think about how we should have eloped to Hawaii.

However, on a happy note, my reception was a blast and totally was wonderful with some of the best vendors!

Back to the photography, I have always been a little sad about my photos. There were some wonderful shots, but nothing overly romantic or carefree about them, they were more formal and posed. Of course learning and understanding photography in the last 10 years I have grown to really know what I like and for the last few years I have been waiting for July 2011 because I KNEW I wanted to have better photos done for our 10 year anniversary.

I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted a white dress. I wanted a fun location. This time was going to be the redo.

Now granted when I first planned this all out 2-3 years ago we were going to renew our vows on the beach in Maui at sunset....that didn't quite work out money wise. But that didn't mean I still didn't want some wonderful romantic photos to celebrate this time in our lives. (a later post will be more on what we are doing today with more photos, stay tuned)...

I went and bought a white dress (that I will be wearing all day today) and was determined to get some photos taken of us. Now since starting my self portrait 52 week challenge this year I have gotten pretty good at doing self portraits, so instead of hiring someone, or waiting until we were out on our anniversary, I set up the tripod and did a mini session in Downtown Tacoma last week.

and here is one from our anniversary trip to Vegas :)

"M" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-07-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Another great session with the "M" family! Their little one is now 18 months and its been such a joy to watch her at each milestone. She is now a running toddler with great expressions!

I was really excited for the first part of this session and the opportunity to take some photos of the family with their Nova. Anything that makes a session creative and shows insight to the family, is right up my alley.

Enjoy your sneak peak Christie and Joel!

Boudoir

2011-07-14T14:23:00.001-07:00

Altough I do not shoot a lot of Boudoir, I am getting started with some minor portfolio building. Thus, I have now made a separate Boudoir blog that you can find by clicking the link in my footer or going here

http://amarvelphotographygallery.blogspot.com/

I will be posting any and all boudoir photos on that tab from now on instead of on the main blog feed here. Feel free to check it out :)

If you are interested in booking a Boudoir session or party, please contact me for full details :)

Week 27 Self Portrait | Tacoma Portrait Photographer

2011-07-07T00:35:00.000-07:00

Here is my week 27 Self Portrait. Happy Fourth of July week everyone!

Mom of Two | Tacoma Boudoir Photographer

2011-07-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

Isn't this mom of two just gorgeous? I was able to shoot my first ever Boudoir portrait session back in May. I finally get to share these as I had to wait for her husband to see them first for their anniversary.

It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it and hope to be able to do more in the future!

Self Portrait | Tacoma Portrait Photographer

2011-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Week 26: June 25-July 1
Angela Chalk Name

Extra Info:
I started doing these chalk names over 2 years ago with newborns and young babies. A few young children as well. So it just made sense to do one myself :)

"B" Brown | Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-06-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Had a fun mini session earlier this month. The weather was gorgeous and it was the perfect day for photos!!

'F' Family | Auburn Family Photographer

2011-06-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful session with this family last month. I actually went to elementary school and was friends with the mom. It was so great seeing her and meeting her family. Enjoy your images!

6 Month Old | Puyallup Baby Photographer

2011-06-02T00:59:00.000-07:00

Got to photograph this sweetie again. She is now 6 months old and such a doll! This time we did a few family portraits as well. Was another wonderful session!!!

Superman | Puyallup Child Photographer

2011-06-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

I love doing these types of portraits and I don't get to do them as often as I would like. But this was quite a bit of fun. The hardest part was actually finding a phone booth anymore. Amazing isn't it how they use to be everywhere and now there is no need for them :)

Anyway it was a fun little mini shoot and here are some of my favorites :)

6 Month Mini | Tacoma Baby Photographer

2011-05-31T00:04:00.000-07:00

Just a few portraits of this sweet 6 month old baby. Such beautiful big eyes and I loved the hair! What a sweetheart!

Self Portrait Saturday

2011-05-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Going to try to remember to post my self portraits here on the blog as well.

This is actually 2 weeks ago one, but one of my favorites, so thought I would share it. We actually had a nice day and just had to go out and do cartwheels :)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day Holiday Weekend!!!

Jenny and Jake | Tacoma Engagement Photographer

2011-04-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Had such a fun session with these two in Tacoma. We walked around downtown Tacoma and found some really fun spots. This was actually the first time I had done a full fledged engagement session and I gotta say, it was FUN! I might need to do a few more of these! Enjoy Jenny and Jake :)

2011-04-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Had a fun portrait session with little Oliver earlier this month. He just turned the big ONE! :) I love these sessions, as I love to watch the babies that I photographed months ago grow up and start walking and have cute little personalities.

Cake Smash | Tacoma Baby Photographer

2011-04-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Such a fun session I had! This little guy had quite the time eating his cake :)

Sneak Peak | Tacoma Engagement Photographer

2011-04-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Just a sneak peak from today's session! I can't wait to share more from this session. It was the first time I ever shot an engagement and it was so much fun!!

7 days old | Tacoma Newborn Photographer

2011-03-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

I had such a great time taking photos of this little guy. He is super cute and after a little rough start with not wanting to sleep and pooping, he settled in great and was fantastic!

Brothers |Tacoma Family Photographer

2011-03-25T01:01:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share a quick portrait of my boys, I didn't dress them to match or dress them in anything fancy, but when we went to the zoo the other day I thought I would take a few photos of them. Here is one of them together :)

Self Portraits | Tacoma Portrait Photographer

2011-03-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I shared my self portraits I am doing. Thought I would share a few of my favorites here :)

Week 4: Portrait of a SAHM

Week 5: Jump

Week 10: Blown Away

Twitter and facebook

2011-03-15T13:00:00.001-07:00

If you are not already following me on either twitter or facebook, click the icons above and sign up! I post specials, availability, contests, and more at those first!!! check it out!

Timaree | Puyallup Baby Photographer

2011-03-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

Had a fun mini session with Timaree this month. I did her newborn portraits last fall. It is so fun to see her growing up and how in three months she is holding her head up and now smiling and making eye contact.

Wanted to do my chalk name at her newborn session, but the weather didn't cooperate, so had to make sure we got it during this session :)

Website Contact page

2011-03-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

My contact page on my actual website, was NOT working for the last month! If you tried to contact me, PLEASE do so again. Send me an email at angelamarvelphotography@gmail.com

The contact form on my website is now working as are the forms on facebook and here at the blog.

Sorry for this!

Andrew and Denise | Tacoma Photographer

2011-02-28T00:29:00.000-08:00

Every so often you will see me post some wedding images but i am not a wedding photographer. Just love to take wedding images when the chance arrises. So no I am not getting into wedding photography, I still love babies and children and that is my first love :)

This wedding was special though, it was my cousin Andrew's wedding. Such a special day. I can still remember my pregnant Aunt Kathy coming into my grandma's kitchen saying the baby was kicking WAY back in 1985, the baby was Andrew. Its a very vivid memory for me and one of my earliest. And now he is married :)

Congrats Andrew and Denise and many wishes for a long and happy life together :)

Macie is One! | Orting Baby Photographer

2011-02-04T00:57:00.000-08:00

Had another great session with the 'M' Family. Macie is now a year old. Started with a maternity portrait session back in 2009 all the way to this session and it has been such fun to watch her grow over the last year.

Enjoy your sneak peak Christie and Joel!

At every session, I have taken a photo of her on her frog chair, she has grown so much since the first time :)

Little Conductors | Tacoma Children Photographer

2011-02-03T21:35:00.001-08:00

I have had these matching outfits for my boys for almost a year. I did take train portraits of Brett the last 2 years, but this was the first time taking them of Alex. They are both really big into trains and loved the train park.

Here are a few that I got...

Mom to Be | Tacoma Maternity Photographer

2011-01-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

Isn't she just beautiful? Glowing! Love doing maternity portraits. They are so fun and I love hearing the excitement from the moms about the arrival of a new little baby :)

Kendall | Seattle Child Photographer

2011-01-13T19:49:00.000-08:00

Kendall was a SUPER model for me. I shoot a lot of babies and toddlers, so it was fun to have an older child who I didn't have to run after. She was such a delight and made shooting her so much fun.

I actually got to go around Seattle with her and got to shoot at some new places as well. It was a really fun day, Thanks Kendall!

First snow of the new year! | Tacoma Portrait Photographer

2011-01-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Last night our first snow of the new year hit. It only lasted a few hours, but it was still long enough to go have some fun. Most of the family was sleeping during the bulk of it. The poor baby missed it by only a few minutes. At least the oldest boy got to play in it for a few minutes before bedtime.

Since there was no natural light outside since it was after sunset, it also gave me a chance to play with my new flash unit.

I love the feeling of excitement and the memories it brings back from being a child. I just love snow!

This also the photo I am using for the 2nd week of my new self portrait challenge, was the perfect portrait for this week :)

Go Seahawks :) | Tacoma Portrait Photographer

2011-01-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

Around my house every Sunday, a lot of Saturday, anytime there is a Thursday game, and Monday Nights are Football times. We are a football family.

My youngest son really gets into football as well. He is only a 20 month old baby but will cry to have it put on. No morning cartoons for him. He wants me to put on Football first thing in the morning. Good thing we have the NFL network :)

I am starting a new photography project for 2011. I am going to take a self portrait of myself once a week. I thought in honor of the playoff game tomorrow, there was no better self portrait then one with me in my football gear! I am totally into football, and not in the "my husband watches so i watch" type of way. I LOVE it. Have I mentioned that i love football?

The last time I took some self portraits of myself in my gear was before I was pregnant with my oldest. So i was due to have some updated football photos.

I most likely will not be posting all 52 self portrait days here, but I will share a few when I can.

Here is my first week entry :)

2011-01-06T00:03:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all my wonderful 2010 Clients. It was such a great year. I look forward to what 2011 brings!!

Christmas Morning | 25th Day of Christmas

2010-12-25T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few photos of my boys opening their gifts Christmas morning :)

they loved everything!

The Night Before Christmas | 24th Day of Christmas

2010-12-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

This is this years take on the sleeping in front of the tree photo. Next year I hope to get both boys to do this at the same time.

Although to be perfectly honest, this isnt quite how i envisioned it. Since my tree is still up and ready to go, I might actually try this one again. We shall see. It works though :)

Christmas Photos | 23rd Day of Christmas

2010-12-23T01:05:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to getting some photos of my boys together. Been taking photos of them each on their own, but wanted a few of them together.

Here are a few of the ones I got :)

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Our Christmas Card | 22nd Day of Christmas

2010-12-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

Since these have finally gone out,

here is our personal card :)

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Outtakes | 21st Day of Christmas

2010-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

So here are some of the outtakes from photos this holiday season. Some are not horrible. Some are just funny faces. but here is just a sample of the ones that didnt make the cut this year :)

He seriously runs when he hears the shutter click. I get one chance to snap the photo :)

this one cracks me up because i mean could you be a *little* excited about Christmas!

Eclipse

2010-12-21T01:33:00.001-08:00

Tonight we had the lunar Eclipse. I got my tripod out and my camera all set up. I went out about 20 minutes before it was suppose to start.

I got this shot of the full moon.

I was very happy, liked my set up and felt i was ready.

Then the clouds rolled in :(

We had total cloud cover and I kept looking out and seeing if I could see something.

Finally the clouds broke for a very brief moment and I got this one.

never did clear up to see the cool red/orange glow. but at least I got something :)
tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

10 Tips for Better Christmas Photos | 20th Day of Christmas

2010-12-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

I posted this last year and thought it would be good to post again. Its pretty basic, but great for those that just want a few extra tips this holiday week :)

Years ago I use to write a scrapbook column for an online scrapbooking website. My column was called "10 tips". I love writing in this format so instead of just photos today I am going to write a column :)

and any of the photos on here are truly basic photos. no fancy editing on any of these, most of these are basically what my camera took that day. As you will read on tip #7, i tend to not take "blow me away" Christmas photos, as I like to just capture the moment rather then trying to make it perfect :)

1. Be ready.
This means the night before. Charge all batteries. Test to make sure your camera works. Load your film. Make sure your memory card is inserted. Download (and then backup) any photos on your memory card so you have plenty of room to take more photos. Etc, etc, etc. Do all of this the night before your event. That way you will make sure to be ready to go at the start of your party or on Christmas morning :)

2. Get in closer.
does this look familiar......

(ok this was actually hard for me to find a photo for! since i always get in close. but i hope you get the idea of what i am saying)
this is what I like to call a "Where's Waldo". Where you are looking for your subjects in the mass of everything else in the photo. And not entirely sure what you should be looking at. Now granted yes some of these are good to set the scene and i will even take a photo of an entire room on Christmas as well. But a lot of people ONLY shoot this way. So just a tip would be if you want a photo of just the people or thing you are interested in, then get closer! especially while they are opening gifts :) (these are straight out of camera no photoshop cropping)

3. Be ready to catch the emotion.

Especially if its a gift that you KNOW is going to get a good reaction. You know like when you found the perfect gift for the perfect person. Be ready camera in hand even up to your eye ready to snap, so you can capture that perfect expresion!
A lot take a photo of the person with their gift...

BUT how about waiting for the reaction and snapping something like this...

4. Take family photos
This is a great time of year to take a photo of family members, especially those you dont see as often. or if you have someone new celebrating for the first time. or just have everyone together.
But don't forget to take photos of the people you see all the time too. The holidays are so many times about family, dont forget to take photos of the people in your life :)

and if you have an entire family together, get a group photo :) I took this using my tripod. It was the first time ever this side of the family did Christmas and we were all there. if you dont have a tripod, I took a family photo in 2003, by setting the cameras self timer and putting the camera on a shelf.

and dont forget to get an immediatly family photo too!

5. Take photos of things other then people.
the host/ess put some time into the day. Whether its the food or the decorations. Take photos of the table, the food, the tree. The gifts before they are opened. Anything that is in the spirit of the holiday :)

6. Take photos of traditions.
anything could be a tradition. dont forget that things you do without thinking every year could be a great photo op. Reading the night before Christmas and even putting the milk and cookies out for santa :)

7. Take snapshots, also known as dont worry about getting it perfect :)
Thus ignore the previous 6 things I wrote! lol ok not entirely.
but seriously, DO NOT get all involved in trying to get perfect christmas photos. I rarely have Christmas photos that would make people drool. I also rarely try to take a Christmas photo the same way I take my portraits. you know why? I care more about just snapping away and perserving the memory for myself and family then if its perfect and artistic :)

8. Do not use Christmas as practice.
(This kinda goes with the above, about it being ok to take snapshots. )
Dont try to learn your camera on Christmas. Don't be fiddling with a new setting on your camera to "try things out". You know how people that cook have the rule "dont try anything new on a holiday", well same goes for photography. Practice on another day. If you dont know your camera, its OK to put it on auto and call it good. You dont want all your photos blurry, underexposed and/or useless. Its better to have a "not what my mind was thinking" then a photo that is totally useless or worse yet, you totally missed the moment because your head was down trying to figure out what button to push and setting to put your camera on. That doesnt mean you cant play of course. Just make sure if its a big moment, that you arent trying something new. Then once you get quite a few shots you are happy with, then of course play around, but i wouldnt try something you have never done before for the moment your kids come down the stairs Christmas morning :)

9. HAND THE CAMERA OVER. I am going to repeat this. HAND THE CAMERA OVER!
[yes dads do this too, but i find most of what i am going to say in this paragraph to be more true with women, if you are a man reading this you may want to skip to number 10;)]
And yes I am yelling. I think the biggest diservice moms do is to not be in the photos. I dont care if you dont think you look your best, if you have gained weight, you didnt get that haircut you wanted, you couldnt find your perfect outfit that makes you look better........you know what? 10 years from now, all of that wont matter. (your perfect outfit would have just been laughed at anyway, same with the hairstyle. lol) 20 years or even 30 or 40 years from now, all your children will care about is that YOU are in the photos. Please do not 20 years from now have your children looking thru photos and can't find any of you. if you notice, about 1/2 of the photos I posted on this post are of ME. And 2 of the last 3 Christmases I was pregnant, and there are still as many photos of me in those years as the others, and trust me in 2006 the photos are not pretty, but they are a beautiful moment captured in time :)

10. dont forgot to have fun and put the camera down and just enjoy yourself :)
Now my family that is reading this is going to say to me on Friday..."ummm didnt you say to put the camera down!" lol
But yes take photos and be ready, get closer, take photos of the surrounding, etc, etc, etc BUT dont forget to enjoy the moment and live IN the moment, not thru it as well :)

So that is my 10 tips for this Holiday Season. I hope you enjoyed it. I actually LOVE writing 10 tips and hope to post some more little articles in the future, I keep saying I am going to, maybe 2011 will be the year :)
tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Waiting for Santa | 19th Day of Christmas

2010-12-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Alex's laying in front of the tree photo. Not bad for a 1.5 year old :)

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Candy Cane Hearts | 18th Day of Christmas

2010-12-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

Another fun Christmas photo. Did this photo for the first time back in 2006 and this was the first year I could use one of my own kids :)

Newborn Christmas | 17th Day of Christmas

2010-12-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

Another baby's first Christmas photo. Did a few of these this year :) At least this one is a different pose :)

and this "newborn" is almost a year old now too!

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Christmas Bokeh | 16th Day of Christmas

2010-12-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just a fun Christmas Tree Photo today :)

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

The "H" family | Auburn Family Photographer

2010-12-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

Thought I could change it up and show you something non holiday.

Had a fun session with this adorable family. The little girl was such a doll to photograph :)

Helping with the tree | 15th Day of Christmas

2010-12-15T00:19:00.000-08:00

Brett is really good at posing for me now. We have spent many nights taking tree photos lately after daddy and Alex have gone to bed. Still need to get Alex into a few photos as well, but for now its been something fun we have done together :)

Thought I would share one of those photos for today. I also edited it a little different. Decided to try doing this in Black and white instead of color, just to change things up.

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Favorites | 14th Day of Christmas

2010-12-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today's post will be a mini collection of some of my favorite holiday images from the last 4 years :)

2006

2007
Recognize the Santa from yesterday's post?

2008
This one just cracks me up eerytime I see it! It was one of the outtakes from the shoot, but i love it

2009
One of my all time favorite photos of Alex :)

Not totally Christmas per se, BUT the wedding was the week of Christmas and they had lots of beautiful lights :)

and this next one was worth the entire snickers bar it took to get Brett to fake sleep

Another favorite of mine because we actually got all three boys to sit for a photo together.

tacoma family famlies child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Santa Photos | 13th Day of Christmas

2010-12-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we took the boys to get their Santa photos done.

We go to the same place every year. Its in Port Orchard and is a little log cabin that has the most adorable santa. He has been the same santa since I started going back in 2007.

They let you take your own photos and there is no rush. You can take as much time as you need to have all your children get a chance to sit and say hi. I love it because since having more then one child I dont have to pay extra to get a photo of both kids and then each kid with santa. They are so nice and well worth the drive.

tacoma child photographer baby photography family families children fife "federal way" puyallup

Doggy Christmas | 12th Day of Christmas

2010-12-12T23:42:00.001-08:00

A Christmas shot of my parents dog, Spencer. This was not easy to get, he would not sit and he would not look at the camera. But I love him, so it works :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Cookies for Santa | 11th Day of Christmas

2010-12-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

Cookies for Santa :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Christmas Baby | 10th Day of Christmas

2010-12-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

Took this adorable photo today. Isnt he just the cutest!! Love this big smile and his PJ's are so adorable!

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

First Christmas Newborn | 9th Day of Christmas

2010-12-09T01:52:00.000-08:00

From a recent newborn session I had. Isnt this just the sweetest!

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Visions of Sugar Plums| 8th Day of Christmas

2010-12-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

The first week of this contest is underway. Today is day 8 of 25. Just to clarify you can make comments on any of the previous posts on any given day of the contest. You have until December 31st 11:59pm PST to write a comment either here on the blog of the link on face book to be entered. So technically you can wait until December 31st and go back and make a comment on the 25 posts all at once J

You get one entry per comment and you are allowed only entry per post. So a maximum of 25 chances to win a completely free session.

If you would like to reread the entire rules, there is a link at the top of the blog.

On to today's post :)

I love that Brett is old enough now to follow directions. I was able to do this photo last year with him as well. But at age 2 i had to be FAST to get the shot, he wouldnt stay in position for more then a few seconds and then I had to give him an entire snickers bar as a bribe.

This year all I did was ask him to fake sleep in front of the tree and he held it until I said i was done. No having to be fast, no bribes, no begging, it was nice :) Now when I go to do this with Alex I will have to be even faster then I was last year with Brett, if Alex will even lay on the floor at all :)

But I am excited to have gotten a great new Christmas photo of Brett :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Light Portraits | 7th Day of Christmas

2010-12-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

Love doing these photos with lights in the background. I want to do more of these too and will play around with this a little more this holiday season.

Here is one of Brett from today...

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Self Portraits | 6th Day of Christmas

2010-12-06T01:06:00.000-08:00

I had fun taking self portraits in the tree :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Santa Train | 5th Day of Christmas

2010-12-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Today we went and rode on the Santa Train at Point Defiance Park.

Today's post is a reminder to get IN the photos. Hand the camera off. Take group Santa shots too, it doesnt always have to be about the kids :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Night Before Christmas | 4th Day of Christmas

2010-12-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

Ok So its not the night before Christmas yet, but I wanted to share this one I never got a chance to share last year. I will have a new updated version to do on 24th day of this contest :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Christmas Portrait | 3rd Day of Christmas

2010-12-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

Here is one of Alex's Non Prop Christmas Photos for 2010 :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

The "S" Family | Puyallup Newborn Photographer

2010-12-02T22:01:00.000-08:00

Got to photograph this adorable little girl when she was 7 days old. Too many favorites from this session, she was such a doll :)

Baby's First Christmas | 2nd Day of Christmas

2010-12-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

I have a few of these "First Christmas" posts to make with various babies I photographed this year. Here is the first one I will be sharing this month :)

3 Month old Cutie :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

Ho Ho Ho | 1st Day of Christmas

2010-12-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Starting a new contest day. No better way to start it then with one of my favorite photos I took last week. Really really really wanted to use this somehow on our Christmas cards, but couldnt make it work between the fact I already had our card designed a certain way and it didn't include Brett.

Anyway this is the first photo of my contest :)

tacoma child photographer baby fife "federal way"

The "K" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-11-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

Another fabulous session with this family! This time I was able to shoot the newest addition to the family an adorable three month old!

Cyber Monday!!!

2010-11-28T22:39:00.000-08:00

I am having a Cyber Monday sale, this is a fantastic way for you to book a 2011 Session at a discount price. For a full session you save $150 off 2011 Prices :)

Contact me for full details or to book a session!

The "D" Family | Auburn Family Photographer

2010-11-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

I got to photograph this little cutie again. I love seeing the babies I photograph turn into adorable toddlers. Its fun watching the kids growing up.

And its fun when we get to go to a great location and get some family shots too!

Winter Wonderland | Tacoma Child Photographer

2010-11-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

YAY! we got snow today. Its beautiful and the boys are having a blast playing in it :) We live in a valley so we dont always get snow, so when we do it super exciting! And its Alex's first snow fall since it didnt snow last year :) He loved it!

Autumn Colors | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-11-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

Took my boys out for some photos. I wanted to get some fall photos and also try to get a photo of them together. This is my favorite time of year and I am so glad I was able to capture the beautiful colors! Here is just a sample of some of the photos :)

Buzz and Woody | Tacoma Children Photographer

2010-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Just a fun one to lead you into the holiday weekend :)

Baby Macie | Orting Baby Photographer

2010-10-28T00:28:00.000-07:00

Another fun session with baby Macie, she is 9 months now and adorable! Enjoy your sneak peak Christie and Joel!

The "R" Family | Federal Way Family Photographer

2010-10-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

Had another session with the R family. This time for Oliver's 6 month photos. He is such a cutie and the family is such a pleasure to work with! Enjoy your sneak peak Alicia and Terry!

...and seriously is he not the cutest ever!

Pumpkin Patch Mini Session

2010-10-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

Had a fun mini session at a local pumpkin patch last week, just had to share a few of this cutie! :)

"J" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-10-12T00:28:00.000-07:00

I had a session last weekend with an adorable little girl. It was a fun session chasing her around and letting her run and explore. and lucky for us the rain held off until later in the day :)

Enjoy your sneak peak Lisa and Matt :)

"S" Family | Puyallup Maternity Photographer

2010-10-05T00:40:00.000-07:00

Such a beautiful pregnant momma and a fantastic couple! They were so wonderful to work with. She is glowing and you can tell how excited they are.

Enjoy your sneak!!!

"A" Family | Steilacoom Family Photographer

2010-09-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

Another fun session at Fort Steilacoom! Such a fun family and they have two adorable little twin girls who are such a delight to photograph. I did their 6 month photos a year ago and it was so much fun to see them more grown up with beautiful red hair and bright blue eyes! Enjoy your sneak peak Justin and Sara :)

5x5 Session Album

2010-09-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sharing this wonderful session album that a client ordered. Such a cutie!! They are leather and feature 10 of your favorite images from the session. Previous clients can use images from previous sessions as well. Contact me for details!

Molly | Tacoma Child Photographer

2010-09-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Had a fantastic mini session this last week, the lighting was gorgeous and we were able to get some great photos before the sun went down :)

Tyler and Blake | Tacoma Child Photographer

2010-09-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

I love photographing these boys. Lots of spunk! This time we did a mini shoot to change it up and it was great.....well except the entire bag of chocolate chips that fell to the ground :)

Enjoy your sneak peak!!!

Elijah | Tacoma Child Photographer

2010-08-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Had a fun session with Elijah. He was a little shy at first, but we ended up having lots of fun along the pier and at the railroad park. Enjoy your sneak peak Christina!!

"A" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-08-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

I shot this family's holiday photos last December on a very cold day, one of the coldest of the year. So it was only fitting this time the session would take place on one of the warmest of this year. Luckily we were able to get this session done in the morning before it got too hot :)

Enjoy your sneak peak Carrie and Eric!!

"N" Family | Steilacoom Family Photographer

2010-08-15T01:38:00.000-07:00

Such a fun family! They picked a great location at Fort Steilacoom and we had a wonderful session! It was such a pleasure to meet you all, hope you enjoy your sneak peak!

"W" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-08-04T00:55:00.000-07:00

Got to photograph this fabulous family once again. This time we explored different areas of the same park and found some great spots. It was such a fun session Enjoy your sneak Heather and Jason!

Baby Maddox and family | Tacoma Baby Photographer

2010-07-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

Another great baby session. I got to try my chalk name using a new letter I hadn't tried before.... "o" :)

He was such a great baby!!! and I was able to try something new :)

Such a great little model for me :)

And he was such a sport to get shots with his big brother...

and cousins too!

and i got Maddox's approval, the shoot went ok :)

Silhouette | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-07-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

I don’t normally do silhouettes, but the perfect opportunity came up today and I just had to do it :) Love the results :)

"P" Family | Tacoma Family Photographer

2010-07-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to meet up and take photos of this family. The mom is actually an old neighbor of my husband's and we went to school with her too. It was great to meet up and chat again after several years and such a pleasure to meet the rest of the family. Enjoy your sneak Jessie and Tom!

6 Months old | Orting Baby Photographer

2010-07-21T01:06:00.000-07:00

Got to photograph this little cutie again. Its been so much fun seeing her grow each time I see her. I can't believe its been 6 months since her newborn session!

I love 6 month sessions. So much fun with being able to use different props and outfits! Enjoy your sneak Christie and Joel!

Oliver | Edgewood Baby Photographer

2010-07-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

This session took place on the hottest day of the year so far. Worked out great since he was nice and cozy :) After letting him take a nap he was great I was able to finish the session and get some great images. Enjoy your sneak!!!