Caitlyn | Indianapolis Child Photographer

Even though her birthday was way back in April, Caitlyn just got her 3-year pictures taken here at the studio today. Since our recent backyard excavation has been completed and now has grass growing in it, we headed outside for a few pictures as well.

Caitlyn, thanks for being a trooper today - even after you were "all done". :)

Baby R | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

I have to admit it. I'm really starting to fall in love with newborn photography. Yesterday marked my second newborn session in two weeks and, barring the difficulty of making every session look unique when compared to another, I have found that I look forward to the little teeny babies so very much and find it an absolute joy to work with them!

When Baby R arrived at the studio yesterday, his mom said he had been awake almost 3 hours and that he was just getting ready to eat and take a nap - which, incidentally, is THE PERFECT time. This little guy is 6 weeks old already but still slept through almost the entire session. Ahhh, sweet sleep!

I'd be remiss if I didn't say that you should really check out this little guy's mommy's blog. All babies are a miracle, but this one came at a truly miraculous time. Baby R's older sister, Caden, passed away last September at just 8 months old. Then, in April of this year (while Baby R was still in the womb), his daddy was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This family has been through so much in the past year and they remain constant examples of the beautiful life that can exist only in Christ. I encourage you to go read some of their story. I know you'll be touched.

And now, back to Baby R....

Cari, I'm so glad you were able to stop over yesterday to get these pictures taken! He really was an angel of a performer!

They Grow Up Too Fast

I know that when you have a new baby, an obvious change is that your other "baby" is no longer the baby. But sometimes that change happens before the new baby comes.

*Sniffle*

They just grow up too fast.

Oliver Family | Indianapolis Family Photographer

The sun was bright and the day was beautiful as I drove to the south side of town. I stopped to get balloons for some fun pictures. When I arrived at the park, I found a nice picnic table in the shade and sat down to soak up the beauty. Unfortunately, all of my balloons quickly began to pop. I was so sad. Apparently they were overfilled with helium.

When the Olivers arrived, the real fun began. Family shoots with a 2-year old are always interesting since 2-year olds are notorious for being highly uninterested in anything considered "posed". But we managed to get a few shots for their Christmas card this year (yes, we're a bit early, but who says we can't prepare for Christmas in July?) and then I proceeded to chase the kids around for most of the remainder of our time.

The temperature was around 80 and, since this is my last outdoor shoot for the summer season (before the baby arrives), I was happy for the cooler-than-normal air. In fact, I began to consider that taking August off every year might just be a good idea. :) But I digress.

Here are a few pictures of this sweet family:

More From Daniel

I posted some of my husband's pictures last month from our vacation. And now, it's time again for me to share a few more. The following pictures are from a wedding we shot together last month. I'm such a proud wife!

Baby C | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

I was beyond excited for this afternoon's photo shoot. I just looovvve newborns and couldn't wait to try out a few new ideas. Baby C is now 4 weeks old and I admit I was just a little nervous about that. In general, I prefer newborns to come into the studio before Day 10 of their life for posing purposes. They are so squishy and sleepy at that age. But, aside from one shot that I really wanted to get, this little guy was pretty cooperative...once we got him to sleep. :)

Baby C is so hilarious. His sweet little baby cry sounds identical to a pterodactyl. You know, the flying dinosaur? Actually, I think it's pretty interesting that we happen to "know" this is what a pterodactyl sounds like, seeing as they were around far before any sort of recording devices. But I digress.

Enjoy a preview of the pictures! And Gretchen, thanks again for bringing him over. You'd think I wouldn't need a "baby fix" at this time in my life, but perhaps everyone needs a baby fix every once in a while. :)

(For the record, I do have other blankets. But really, why mess with a good thing?) :)

A DIY "Shootsac"

I posted a few months ago about the most beautiful shooting bag I've ever laid eyes on. And it's unfortunate $179 pricetag.

After coming so close to purchasing it one day, I finally decided I just couldn't do it. I'm way too frugal for that. So a few weeks later, I ventured out into the wide wide world to see what I could find. I had done a little bit of online research on how to make a Shootsac-type bag on my own so I had somewhat of an idea what I was looking for.

The reason you're getting all the details is because I promised them to a few people after my bag was finished. And also, I'm so super proud of my accomplishments. Well, okay I'm not that proud. But moving on....

I needed some basic supplies to get started. So first, I hit up the office store.

Neoprene laptop case. Check.

Then I drove to the craft store.

Quilting thread and strapping. Check.

And then I drove home.

Ok, this story isn't entirely true. I bought more things than I needed and actually bought double of everything because I had originally planned to make my bag a little different than what I actually ended up doing. I was going to sew two laptop cases together, giving myself a pocket in the middle for my clipboard or client paperwork. And I was planning to make an adjustable strap for the bag. I was also planning to make a cover for my shooting bag. But those details don't matter. So I'm not even going to tell you about them.

Here's what ended up happening:

First, I sewed three "pockets" into my laptop sleeve. Actually, again...that's not really what happened. I actually tried to sew four but when I reached the 4th pocket, I realized the pockets weren't going to be big enough so I started over. But I'm not even going to tell you about that part.

The laptop sleeves are patterned on one side. I don't really care much for the pattern, so I generally just flip it around and wear it with the black side out. That has nothing to do with my next step.

Next, I sewed on the strapping. I did a pretty terrible job with it because I was kind of in a hurry when I did it. I should really reinforce those, I suppose. You can see how the laptop sleeve had a zipper that unzipped all the way down one side. To remedy this, I simply sewed the strap over the zipper so it can't be unzipped.

I know, I'm so smart.

And finally, I filled the bag with my flash and a few lenses.

And wah-lah! My very own Shootsac-ish bag for about 1/6th of the price of the original! Sure, mine isn't quite as pretty and it doesn't have a cover yet, BUT...I kind of prefer the fact that my bag has a zipper, unlike the original Shootsac. It's a bit deeper than the original, but I have found that that's actually kind of convenient because I can store my extra lens as well as my camera body in it as well when I'm not shooting.

So there you have it! I'm a bit crafty! Oh, and I messed up my sewing machine.

So...not that crafty.