Matt's Senior Session

I've been waiting for the right football player to try out a shot like this and I'm pretty excited with how it turned out. Matt has some pretty mad skills on the field and he spends the winter months in the wrestling room. I was happy to work with him on his senior photo shoot. 

Matt and his mom had some great ideas for the session and he was up for just about anything - as long as we were quick enough to save time for homework :)

Wow to the eyes - nice work! I think its great when seniors infuse their personality and town into their pictures. We went to the Petrified Wood Part for some of Matt's shots. 

Ever have a shirt that you just can't get enough of? Maybe it has a few holes in it and smells like a gym locker? I think Matt wins the award for shirt with the most character. It also brought out his best smiles of the day. Thanks for a fun session and good luck at the Homecoming Game tomorrow night! Go Cowboys!!

To see more of our work, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com

The Many (at least a few) Faces of Gage

You probably already know this, but I am madly in love with three people. Today, however, is all about Gage. I'll save the lovey dovey Jack + Kim love story for another day because really, who needs that on a Saturday morning? And Max's birthday is coming up and he'll have his own special post before long.

But Gage. G-Mac. A kid who I referred to as "Little Man" for a really long time until recently when I was reprimanded and corrected because he is a "Big Man". The kid who hates sleep so much, last night he had nightmares about sleeping. (No lie - you can't make this stuff up.) He is a rockstar. Gage launched us into parenting and basically swept the unvacuumed rug right out from under our feet. No book, no video, no class, nothing could have prepared us for Gage. Think you've figured him out? He's ready to throw a wrench at you. (He's only ever thrown a real wrench at me once. Twice at the dog. But never at the babysitter.)

Though challenging at best, he shows us everyday what its like to go full speed ahead from dawn until dusk. And then some. His zest for life is unbelievable.

Let me show you a few faces of Gage.

He likes to control the "clicker" - the remote for the camera. Hey, whatever works to get me a face like this one. Need a recipe to melt a mother's heart? See below.

Here Gage, hold this up in front of you. :) He followed the directions exactly. The trouble with his listening skills is that I tend to (from time to time) be a little teeny tiny bit sarcastic. It will definitely come back to bite me in the ass someday. And possibly quite literally and probably sooner rather than later.

That's better! I've been a tad stressed lately because the child who once loved reading books all day, eating fruit snacks and cooking (ok, he still LOVES cooking) is now almost exclusively into playtime killing, shooting and violence. I blame it on The Power Rangers. It probably has more to do with testosterone. I was more into dolls and fairies growing up, so I'm still devising a plan to foster these new tendencies carefully. I think it will have to do with taking more pictures like this. And praying.

"Hey Gage, can you make a sad face?" Obviously...not possible. We do get grumpy once in a while. Like when he has to share something sacred with his brother. Golf clubs anyone? If he's upset with you, you will get a "well you aren't my friend anymore." Seriously? Where do they come up with this stuff? And really, isn't he like 18 months old? What? 3-1/2? You're kidding me...

Ok, make an "angry Gage" face. That eyebrow trick? It's prevalent on both sides of his family. I've been known to make it a time or two but I think we'll send attributes to Great Grandma Nora.

This little ditty? This face? Stone cold. Ok, kidding. I shared this on Facebook recently but its worth repeating. We like to watch The History Channel and Discovery Channel with Gage. Among his favorites are Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs. He has taste! We found a great show called Pawn Stars recently and while watching it they threw out a very obvious, "Damn it!" which he promptly repeated, and we ignored. Flash forward a week to story time (at home, thankfully). Me: "Rotten luck. Can't go. My truck is stuck!" Gage: "Damn it!" Props for using it right Little Big Man! Let's not do it again though, k?

Back to cooking. He can make Jello and Pudding without reading the directions. He's great at stirring batter, pouring ingredients and licking spoons. He also recently put all of the toppings on a homemade pizza. And loved every minute of it. He's actually very good help in the kitchen. I think I'll teach him to chop onions. I hate chopping onions.

Gage you are a rockstar. We think you're pretty neat. Stay cool k? Oh, and let's not swear at daycare. Love, Mom

Cousins!

These one year old cousins were full of energy for their combined photoshoot. Talk about busy!! Elijah was really into the camera when we first got started. He'd run out in front of me, sit down nice, fold his hands and smile. Perfection. Then he decided he needed a peek inside the lens. Love it!

We had to explore some interesting antics to keep the kids entertained. I think we were chasing a butterfly when I snapped this little gem. Doesn't he look ready for preschool?

Aleyna is equally as cute and busy, just a bit smaller. :) She really liked this rocking chair.

Unfortunately, so did Elijah. And I only brought one.

So we distracted him with bubbles. Who needs suds and a wand when you're a pro at blowing them yourself? I was impressed!

While we captured some great shots of each kid, our biggest challenge was getting one of them together. By this point, he was done with us and ready to chase Grandpa around the yard.

Can you say cute? Love this!

But I like this too.

I had a great time kiddos and hopefully the rest of your pics will be ready soon!

Logan's Preview!

The baby girl with one million smiles was really confused when I showed up at her house to take pictures. We (meaning her Mommy, Super Dad and our BFF) worked extremely hard to get a few precious smiles. Grandma showed up right at the end to bring out a few more. Smiles or not, we had a great session with this little dumpling and have loads of great pictures for her. Enjoy!

I loved that denim "Princess" jacket in the first shot, but coming from a house full of denim (and dirt) I ate up her pink wardrobe. And seriously with these headbands - love them! Her mom said little girls have to wear these otherwise they just look like little boys dressed in pink. I think Logan looks all girl, but would keep her in headbands anyway. :)

They had so many great ideas for pictures and it was fun to use what was available in their house and yard. The apples? From a tree in their backyard. I'm not sure which parent deserves the credit for this idea, but you definitely earned a gold star.

Logan, your Mom and Dad are CRAZY out you and its pretty easy to see why.

 

For more work by CSquared Photography, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com

John Peter's Sneak Peak

John was pretty excited for his senior photo session. He had some really cool ideas for his outside shots, and we have some fun stuff planned indoors as well. The bonus for me was getting to hang out at the lake, take a little boat ride and then scramble back to town just in time for a thunderstorm. We'll start the preview out with a quick shot of JP's little brother.

I think this is a shot that John's mom requested and then nervously watched us set up. I'm a bit of a putz, and had to watch my step near the edge - fun stuff though!

There are plenty of other great shots of John in the water including a pretty sweet jump that'll leave you breathless...or was that just you sucking air John?

He spends a little time most of his life out on the water in the summer, so we took advantage of his interests. Nice work John - can't wait to shoot some more in the near future. Enjoy your Sneak Peak while I'm working on the rest.

For more work by CSquared Photography, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com

Julie's Round Two

I had an awesome time with Julie and her family (and friend!) at their ranch taking some more senior pictures. Anyone who knows Julie is aware of her adept ranching experience and handiwork in the shop. She also is quite proficient in checking all of the fluid levels in her foreign car. Here are a couple shots to hold you over until I can finish up with the rest. Thanks for being patient.

Meet Callie - we snapped a few pictures of Julie's niece also. There will be more pics up on the website soon. You'll want to tune in to see her matching rainboots!

Here are the snapshots we did of Julie and Brandi as the sun was barely holding on. Fun, right? Its pretty much a reflection of the entire session. Lots of laughs and plenty of crazy faces too.

For more work by CSquared Photography, visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com

The Best of Intentions

Yikes. No updates for 10 months. How lame. Considering the amount of free time I've had since I last posted I should have several volumes of blog posts hand copied onto stone tablets and filed in permanent storage.

Right.

Its not that I haven't had anything to say its just that my thoughts have been translated into baby speak, toddler speak and an occasional attempt at adult conversation.

But I'm back. So stay tuned.