I was happy to see the weathered yellow caboose parked right in the middle of the grass. Looking forward to coming back next summer and photographing him next to it to show how much he’s grown.

It’s great to know that Noah and London already share a passion for books. See, I knew they’d be fast friends!

I’ll see you all in a couple months when this handsome guy hits the 9 month mark!

We decided to document a hobby of this family’s, going fishing. We decided to go “fake fishing” since the area we were at didn’t allow fishing. Who knew we would still catch two frogs even without bait. I have to explain too, no fish were harmed in this photo session. They were gently taken off the hook and released back into the wild but not before we documented the excitement. You can see below, even the dog was into the action.

I love these images! A complete juxtaposition between girly girl and and tomboy. Sister in her frilly skirt that Mom says she constantly wears combined with her blue nail polish holding a huge frog.

This family was so full of fun and personality. I was entertained the entire night. So sad to see the sun set and our time together come to an end. I hope they are thrilled with the results from our evening together. I hope they see the beauty and love between each other and can come back to that feeling every time they view these images.

We’ll have my favorite vintage sofa out and ready to go. I love using this piece but due to it’s size I’m not always able to transport or unload it. So if you’ve dreamed of having your photos taken on a funky, vintage sofa in a beautiful outdoor setting, here’s your chance.

Ready for the details now? Sessions will take place on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010.

The $85.00 session fee guarantees your spot and includes the following:

• 20 minute session yielding 5-15 images for review in an online gallery
• One box of Holiday cards utilizing photos from this session (check out the 2010 Card choices)
• 10% off ala carte pricing

Just a few specifications, these are situations in which it’d be best to book a regular session:

• Mini-sessions can include families of 5 people or less.
• Sorry, due to time constraints pets won’t be included
• Payment is due to reserve your spot and is non-refundable. However, should you decide to cancel it will be applied towards a regular session to be used within the following year.

To sign up for your Mini-Session  just email me – cbyatesphoto at me.com. I have morning and late afternoon/early evening times available.  The remaining slots are sure to go quickly so don’t hesitate!

And before I end this post I’ll share some past client images captured with the funky sofa. Wardrobe choices are always fun to choose based on the color incorporated in the fabric. If you need clothing ideas I’d be happy to share some with you.

Cooler temperatures, football games, and beautiful foliage, we all know what these things have in common . . . it’s fall! With this time of year comes fall family portrait sessions and let me tell you, I’ve been busy with a bunch already. I still have some slots available for weekday mornings or weeknights in October and early November. Drop me an email if you’re interested!

I wanted to get the 2010 Holiday card samples posted to get people ready for what’s right around the corner. So proud of all my families that have already had their session done. All they have to do is choose their images and we’ll get their cards created. They’ll be on the ball once December hits and will have more time to enjoy the Holidays with their family.

Want to check out the choices a little closer? Head over to the proofing section of the website. This is also where you can place your order. As soon as your session is proofed and loaded to your private gallery I’ll send you an email with the link and password. From there you can choose which card you’d like and which photos you want to include. We can also customize the greeting, family names, date, etc.

I’ve left the 2009 card design choices online too in case you’d like more to choose from. I know that some of the designs seem specific to the type of shoot, example: wedding or newborn photography. Please feel free to look closer and know that even though those are the images shown doesn’t mean we can’t customize that card design with images from your family photo shoot.

Most of my clients order cards year after year but in case you haven’t seen them yet here are the specifics:

• Press Printed Cards are not photographs, but are produced on state of the art digital printing presses. The printing facility uses real liquid ink, not toner like a color copier as some other printers use, to give the cards the look and feel of a very high quality printed piece.
• Cards are double sided (more room to show off your gorgeous photos!)
• Size is 5″x 7″
• Ordered in increments of 25
• Pricing includes envelopes
• There are multiple paper finishes available (matte, glossy, watercolor paper, and pearlescent)
• Custom cards are $55 per box of 25 cards
• Quantity Discounts for multiple boxes
  

  3 – 5	$52.00
  6 – 9	$50.00
  10 +	$48.00

I am always excited to place orders for the Holiday cards. I love customizing the cards with images we’ve taken in the past year and waiting to see the end product. Everyone loves receiving them since they’re such a personalized item. And the other good thing about these cards is all you have to do is address the envelopes and you’re ready to mail. No signing needed since cards are printed with your name!

Holiday cards are available for all clients that have had a session or Wedding within the past year. If your session was earlier this year and you’d like to order cards please drop me an email and I’ll be happy to reinstate your gallery for you.

While at WPPI I took a class by Amber Holritz that really opened my eyes to the way I photograph families. I always strive to capture real life while it occurs showcasing the bond between parents and children but I want to take it a step further. I want to spend even more time with the families I photograph getting to know how they spend their time together. I want to document how they *love* each other. My goal in this is what Amber explained to us. She said the portraits she had of herself growing up told her what she “looked like”. Instead, she wanted to see what her “life looked like” and “how she was loved”. I instantly related to her thoughts thinking of how I don’t have many images of my mom and I together since most often she was the one taking the photograph.

I photographed baby R’s newborn images and then I hung around to showcase the new dynamic this family has having added one more child to love.

These images are my favorite. Everyone in Mom and Dad’s room getting “cozy” as big sister K would call it. She’s dressed in her PJ’s with accompanying ballerina skirt and accessorizing the third child with a feather boa. This is *their* family. This is how they spend their Saturday afternoon together. It isn’t scripted . . . it’s real and I hope these pictures will stir up memories for these kids someday when they’re grown. I hope they can feel the laughter and love and silliness going on here. I hope they see the looks on Mom and Dads faces and know how much they’re cherished.

Thank you for inviting me in to document and be a part of it.

Below are this year’s examples:

Another way to view these is by going to the proofing section of my website. This is also where you can place your holiday card order. As soon as your session is proofed and loaded to your private gallery I’ll send you an email with the link and password. From there you can choose which card you’d like and which photos you want to include. We can also customize the greeting, family names, date, etc. Also, I know that some of the designs seem specific to the type of shoot, example: wedding or newborn photography. Please feel free to look closer and know that even though those are the images shown doesn’t mean we can’t customize that card design with images from your family  photo shoot. I wanted to show a diverse sample of the many reasons to have custom cards printed.

Most of my clients have gotten a sneak peak at the card examples but in case you didn’t here are the specifics:

• Press Printed Cards are not photographs, but are produced on state of the art digital printing presses. The printing facility uses real liquid ink, not toner like a color copier as some other printers use, to give the cards the look and feel of a very high quality printed piece.
• Cards are double sided (more room to show off your gorgeous photos!)
• Size is 5″x 7″
• Ordered in increments of 25
• Pricing includes envelopes
• There are multiple paper finishes available (matte, glossy, watercolor paper, and pearlescent)
• Custom cards are $50 per box of 25 cards.

I am always excited to place orders for the Holiday cards. I love designing/customizing the cards with images we’ve taken in the past year and waiting to see the end product. Everyone loves receiving them since they’re such a personalized item. And the other good thing about these cards is all you have to do is address the envelopes and you’re ready to mail. No need to sign the card since we’ve already customized them with you family’s name.

Holiday cards are available for all clients that have had a session or Wedding within the past year. If your session was earlier this year and you’d like to order cards please drop me an email and I’ll be happy to reinstate your gallery for you.

This family is a special one to me because I’ve known the Mama since 3rd Grade. We’ve kept in touch through the years, she was in my wedding, and I photographed hers. One of my favorite memories was when Mike, her husband, came home from Iraq to meet his little girl for the first time. I was crying large alligator tears behind my lens as I photographed him embracing his wife and new daughter. That day made my love of photography even stronger. Being able to capture that emotion and give it to them in a photo was intense.

So now they’re stationed overseas and I don’t get to see them quite as much but I was excited to schedule a fun family shoot when then visited this summer. Again, I’m a little behind on the blogging but it’s just because I have so many great sessions I want to share!

Having fun and getting a little goofy. Makes for great smiles!

My fav photo has to be the last one. Gorgeous light surrounded this beautiful little family and I had to capture it. Gave me goosebumps.

Now, if I could just talk my husband into scheduling a trip to Italy to photograph them next year!

]]> http://www.cbyatesphotography.com/blog/2009/09/15/they-traveled-all-the-way-from-italy/feed/ 0 http://www.cbyatesphotography.com/blog/2009/06/15/the-much-anticipated-couch-session/ http://www.cbyatesphotography.com/blog/2009/06/15/the-much-anticipated-couch-session/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:25:27 +0000 Cara Bresette-Yates http://www.cbyatesphotography.com/blog/?p=583 I’m very happy to finally show off a great family portrait session utilizing my new prop . . . the flowered couch. I’ve been looking for something just like this for a long time. I scoured Craigslist but never found just the right one. Back in March, on an unplanned trip to Goodwill with a couple good friends, I found it. The colors were great, the price was fantastic, the only thing I worried about was talking my hubby into hauling it home and where were we going to put it? Well those issues are a thing of a past, now I just worry about hauling it to a shoot. Although Chuck has been great because he let me borrow the truck over a week ago to photograph this fun loving family. They were the *perfect* family to try this funky couch idea with.

I wanted a location with very tall grass to place this beast of a couch in. The kids didn’t mind tromping through the grass at all. Little “M” used it to tickle Mom and Dad.

This post is a long one because I couldn’t pick out just a couple to share.

After we grew tired of the outdoor furniture idea we went over to the pond to feed the ducks. Mom used this as a “treat” if the kids were good during photos. Didn’t have to mention it though because they were both well behaved. Come on, look at this little face below, Can you imagine her being naughty? I can’t.

And the last order of business for the morning was a couple updated head shots for Mom. She is a fabulously talented artist. This girl is so dang creative. I always feel invigorated after I get done talking new ideas with her. She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside too. Completely grateful to call her my friend. 

Check out her etsy store to see some of her creations!

Please click on the “email me” button above to get more info on availability and pricing. If any of my Gretna/Omaha customers have friends or family in the Destin Florida area that would be interested please feel free to pass on my blog address. Thanks!

So since I can’t post without photos I thought I’d share some family images that I was too busy to post this past fall.

There’s definitely a lot of love in this family. There was plenty of hugging and kissing going on! 

So this little guy was fun to work with. I’m so glad I remembered to grab a couple tootsie roll suckers outta my Halloween candy bucket before I left. They work wonders for making little guys smile! And what a smile he has.

I had to sneak one in of Mom and Dad. They looked so cute snuggling together while little man D was playing. Thanks again Ashley and Sam! I’ll have your gallery finished and uploaded very soon!