{photoshopping}

As I stated in my previous post, my own Christmas photo session was a tough one.  My youngest son was not cooperative and I couldn’t get an intimate photo of my three kids together.  We did two photo sessions, so by the end of the second session, we knew we weren’t going to try again.

So I had to photoshop to get the image we wanted.  

I think I did a pretty good job, making it look like Bear was looking up in this photo. Below are the two images that I combined to make our Christmas card image.  What do you think?  I wish I had an ornament or something Christmasy for him to hold, rather than my keys.  I am always learning and growing!

{my favorites photos of kids for 2011} →

I look back at 2011, and feel so blessed and thankful for all the wonderful people I’ve met through this gift of photography. Here are some of my favorite kid pictures from this year. I will post some family favorites soon too!

As I looked through the past images from this year, I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at these great memories. I thank God for allowing me to pursue my dreams of motherhood and photography, and being able to combine them both. 

Thank you for making my 2011 the most blessed year. I look forward to meeting new faces and getting to watch these kids grow up! Happy New Year!

Christmas Photo Session with My Children

I had great plans this year when thinking of our own Christmas session.  My oldest son does great, especially when candy is involved.  And well, as you can tell by all of photos, my daughter is my little model.  My youngest son usually always follows what big brother and sister are doing, but not this time!  Nothing worked - none of my tricks - nada!  At the end, I had to photoshop my youngest son to look up in the photo of the three of my kids.  I will share the before and after photo later.

These are my favorite images from the session!  Click on the individual images to enlarge and displays a slideshow.

Sometimes things are just meant to be

I thought I was done with sessions for 2011, until I received an email from a dad who wanted to get family portraits with his grown up children.  They were visiting for Christmas, and getting together as a family is getting harder and harder.

I just couldn’t say no, and after a few emails we found out that we are part of the same church family.  The mom actually teaches my daughter in Sunday School!  So we braved the cold and windy beach.  Actually, they braved the cold and windy beach.  I had my gloves and winter jacket, and they pretty much went jacketless the whole time!  It was all worth it because we got some beautiful shots!  What a blessing to spend the afternoon and end my 2011 photo session year with this funny and loving family.

Let's never forget

It is hard for me to find the words to describe this family and these images.  I’ve been so touched by this family and feel so blessed to be able to be part of their lives.  Even through hardships, this family’s love and joy remains strong and evident.  Through this family, I am reminded to appreciate each day and to find joy through it all… even those REALLY crazy days!

{Four generations} | Falmouth Maine Family Photographer

I had the honor of photographing this four generation family the day after Thanksgiving. I left this session with a huge smile on my face and warm heart. Everyone was constantly smiling, laughing, and having a good time! I just love being able to be a part of someone’s family - even if it is only for an hour or two.

Have I said lately how much I LOVE MY JOB!?!  I am so thankful that I can stay home with my three adorable children, and get to do this part-time.  

Can't wait

I seriously cannot wait for my Christmas cards to arrive this year.  I ordered them from Pinhole Press, who creates beautiful pieces of art with their paper and printing.  I love the heaviness of their paper, the texture, and clear, crisp printing of images.

Here is a little taste of one of the photos from my children’s photo session.  I can’t wait to see them on the Pinhole Press cards!

Right now they have a special discount code: HOLIDAY10 - for free shipping on orders over $50, plus 10% off!  Make sure to use photographer’s code: CATHYCLICKS to see more professional choices!

{Down on Wharf Street} Portland Maine Family Photographer

I was 7 months pregnant, with a 3 and 1 year old when we moved to Greater Portland, Maine.  We found a quaint house to rent while we searched for a place to buy.  We were blessed to find our realtor Kristen, who showed us all around the Portland area.  The next three months was quite a roller coaster of a journey.  The house we wanted fell through, leaving us to look for a house three weeks before my due date.  Through all of the hardship, Kristen and her family were there to help and encourage.  We felt like we were her only clients!

I am so glad that I can now call Kristen a friend.  I feel honored that she chooses me to photograph her beautiful family.

Operation Christmas Child →

For the past few days, my family and I have been packing shoeboxes for Operation Childmas Child.  

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ/

It is a great way for you and your child to buy and pack a box for children who do not get the luxuries that we do during Christmas.  This organization partners with churches around the world to give a gift-filled box and to share the Good News of Jesus to hurting children. 

This weekend is the last weekend (sorry for the short notice) they are collecting boxes.  You can drop off your box at the address below from 6-7:30pm Friday, or 1-4pm on Saturday or Sunday.

Green Memorial AME Zion Church

46 Sheridan Street in Portland

Mini-Christmas Session feat. Pinhole Press

It’s time to start thinking about the holidays, and I’m excited to introduce you to my new vendor for holiday cards and photo gifts: Pinhole Press. I recently started to use Pinhole Press because of the simplicity of their design, beauty of their crafted books, and high quality of their paper and printing.

As a professional photographer, Pinhole Press gives me access to a collection of exclusive products that are not available to all customers. I’d like to share these products with you! In order to access these exclusive photo gifts, you can go to Pinhole Press using my link:

http://www.PinholePress.com/?prc=CATHYCLICKS 

Pinhole Press just launched their new holiday card and gift guide collections. Now you can take those family portraits and pictures of the kids off your computer and include them in a number of gifts that are perfect for the holidays.

As a special Christmas promotion - I would like to offer you a Mini-Christmas Session for $100.  This session will include:

- 30min-1 hour at Ferry Beach in Scarborough or Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth,

- 10-15 finished images displayed on an on-line slideshow,

- 8X10 print, and

- order your Christmas cards or Holiday gifts through Pinhole Press, and I will upload 1 to 2 high resolution images directly to Pinhole Press for you to use.

This special promotion is only valid for Saturday, Nov. 19 (Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth) and Friday, Dec. 2 (Ferry Beach in Scarborough). Very Limited bookings available, so contact me today!

Cute Potato Family

I was honored again to photograph the family behind the popular blog Cute Potato: Your Guide to kid-friendly Maine.  

It was a beautiful evening at East Promenade in Portland.  The early evening light was perfect for a photo session, but it being Monday and that time of day doesn’t always work well with young children.  However, the Cute Potatoes did beautifully. There was definitely some coaxing that had to be done, but they had a good time and I was able to capture it with my camera.

Along with the Potato family, Mom Potato’s parents were in town.  It was so great to capture the interactions between grandparents and kids!  What a beautiful and full of life family!

Go to their feature about this session, and enter the giveaway for a photo session and $50 print credit ($200 value) by Friday, October 21st, 2011.

What a journey

It has been a busy summer and a busy start of the school year.  I have so many great pictures to share and met so many great families this summer.  

My first baby started Kindergarten last week.  It was a hard and painful journey for my son and I.  On the first day, he resisted (more like screamed and wouldn’t let go of me) and I had to flee the room, while his teacher and principal held him back.  The wonderful principal called us a few hours later and told us he was doing just fine.  The whole rest of the week, he said, “I don’t want to go to Kindergarten,” had tantrums, challenged every possible instruction we asked of him, and had nightmares every night.  

Today was the first morning he did not complain about going to school.  Yesterday, he nodded yes (with a huge smile), when I asked him if he had fun at school.  My son is happy, and back to his ol’ self again!  I am one happy mama now!

My daughter had her first day of preschool this week.  She is total opposite of my son.  She went into her classroom without looking back.

And of course, I can’t leave my third one out.  He just follows me around as I play chauffeur, but of course he had to wear a little backpack just like big brother and sister.

All three - I love this picture because it just really expresses each of my child’s personalities!

{Photography Tip #7} FIND THE SHADE

The sun…. it brings us warmth, beach days, and vitamin D.  Usually we love it, but probably not the past couple of days with the heatwave.  The sun is a double edge sword for any photographer - we need it, but just not too much of it!  This month’s tip - FIND THE SHADE!  The bright sun causes sharp shadows and unflattering lines across faces.  It makes people squint and can show every blemish.  Think about putting a flashlight underneath your face in the dark… scary, huh? When the sun is above us, it causes the same strong shadows.  When you take pictures in the shade, you are using the light but it is diffused in the shadow.  I use trees and buildings to block out the sun, and place my subjects in it’s shadow.  The “Golden Hour” is another way to stay away from the bright sun.  The Golden Hour is one hour after the sun rises and one hour before the sun sets.  This is the best time to take photographs because the sun produces a soft beautiful light.  

Here are some examples of lighting situations:

The above picture was taken during the “golden hour.”  The sun was still a little too bright for my taste, but notice the warmer tones.  There aren’t any shadows on their faces, but the shadows elsewhere are distracting.  Right after I took this picture, a cloud covered the sun and we got this picture:

I definitely like the second photograph better.  Hope this tip helps while photographing this summer!

Happy clicking!