bitting, party of eight | nappanee family photographer

this summer i did a very quick (30 minutes or less) photography session with my brother's family. my sister-in-law needed a few photos for a local magazine article she was writing, and here are some of the shots that we got.

we didn't have much time, but i love the idea of "poses" that bring out the personalities, and even with eight people in one photo, i think this one comes pretty close...

although she didn't get to use her headshot for the article, i have to post it because, as my youngest once said while he watched me editing her photos...

"she has such a cute face!"... and a beautiful smile and heart to go with it.

thanks guys - it's always a pleasure♥

my garden boys | nappanee photographer

how has your summer gone so far?

it's been kind of different for me.
i would really like to chat about why, but that will be a near-future post.

a normal summer break starts something like this:

clothes on the lines - check.
basketball camp for the over 6' crowd - check.
swim lessons - no more. (in the books as of last year)
summer camp - check.
mowing, and more mowing - check.
garden - check... err, kind of.

my flower garden is a disaster.
take-over of an ivy kind literally strangled out several of my perennials.
in my old age, i'm giving this up as "lesson learned".

our vegetable garden is mostly per the usual, except that my participation has been next to nill.

i went along to purchase seeds & plants as is the tradition, but i've done very little else.

post gardening rest...

did you know that a hoe can double as a light-saber or some other sort of weapon...?

although i had good intentions, the new strawberry patch was planted by the big guy alone.
i'm wondering about those new plants... i never really discussed the "proper way to plant strawberry starts" with him.
somehow i just don't have it in me to verify these facts.

so, i've been busy inside and my guys are doing all the gardening themselves.

*oh, hey... i did spread hair around the jalepeno plants, and well... that's a whole nother ball of wax.

sisters : etna green children's photographer

i have 13 nieces & nephews from my own siblings. with my 2 boys, there are 15 grandchildren (plus 1 on the way) from the 5 of us kids. out of the 15, there are 6 girls.

these are the big girls. or maybe i should say the older girls... that's how i catagorize the kids in my head. we have the big kids & the little kids... the teens & the munchkins. something like that☺

this is what happens when your aunt stops by unexpectedly & says "hey girls, let's take some pictures!" mom's in a panic because they're not exactly in perfect picture mode, but i just wanted to capture them right then - no big deal.

these are their "we can be beautiful without smiling" faces...

but then we're back to laughing because it's hard to be so serious when you're trying not to smile☺

don't they look as if they like each other?

this one below i look at and i think... LOVE....

this one is a personal favorite... so sweet...

and last but not least, we got one with her dog. now, i'm not a dog photographer, but that's a pretty good tongue shot, right?!


thanks girls, let me know what you think!

xo
apryl

the wells family : nappanee family photographer

a few weeks back i had the chance to photograph friends from church, a family of all adults - wow! that was something totally new to me! this group was a fun one...they really know how to laugh together!




thank you wells family - you guys were a joy to capture!

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• it's father's day weekend - happy father's day honey!
• this is the most recent picture of all the guys together...note to capture more of these!
• eveyone looks genuine here, even dad...which is unusual
• it's my 3 guys...love them!

*this image was shot @ f8, 1/80, iso 800 with a 50mm 1.4 lens

and in honor of father's day....

me & my dad circa 1970...

i have to start off by saying that this is possibly one of my favorite pictures of me & my dad. it's kind of a no-brainer since there are a total of about 2 pictures of "exclusively" me & my dad...this one & a formal one taken at my wedding.

*lesson here: take pictures of your kids, together & separately with their dad (and mom for that matter) so they have these meaningful photos to cherish in the future!

ps mom: i hope you're working on your photo composition☺

ah well, i still love this photo, it always makes me smile inside & out when i see it.

happy father's day dad!

xo

apryl

the smith's: family photo shoot

memorial day weekend i had the pleasure of photographing this adorable little lady & her family!





she even sang & danced for me...

here she is with mom & dad...

and the rest of her family...

my thanks to the family for letting me capture a bit of your weekend - you were all such great troopers!

~apryl

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• these are my men & they look sweet
• this is a typical thing, boys on top of dad...if you're on the ground, you're game...
• this is a really soft image, but it kind of works here (note to the wise: don't hand hold images at 1/6 of a second if you want them to be sharp!
• i actually took this photo straight with the horizon straight across, but i like the crop this way & i'm not concerned about a crooked horizon
• a note from my son: he is not naked in this photo! he's concerned that since he wasn't wearing a shirt & you can't see his shorts, someone will think he's in the buff, but he's not...so now you know

*this image was shot at f3.8, 1/6, iso 100 with an 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 22mm

the bitting 7: family photo shoot

as most of you know, i'm just starting out with my photography business, so when i got a request several weeks ago to shoot a family, it really hit me that i hadn't done any family sessions for a while & that i might be really rusty...it's not the same as working one on one with someone, so i was a tad nervous.

so, i called my sister-in-law & said "i need to take some family photos of you guys sometime this week!"

see, i knew she'd go for that...at least i know i would...so we worked it out that same night.

she's so nice to go to all the trouble for me. getting 5 kiddos ready, not to mention getting my brother to cooperate...that's a lot of work!

so here they are...some of the much anticipated images from that day. i hope that everyone else likes them as much as i do!

these guys are raising angus beef, so i thought it would work to have the family standing out by the gate to the pasture because this is their life right now...

here's a quick snap of 2 of the girls, these are the moments that make you scratch your head as a mom...one minute they're yelling & fighting with each other...the next...

here are a few of the family... mom had some good posing ideas...i like suggestions a lot!

apprarently, 2 yr old little boys aren't excited about shots where everybody squeezes in on top of them...


some of mom & dad...they make for one good lookin' couple...

now this here is why there's five kiddos...☺

and a few of the littlest people...i've been wanting to get some time with this one for a while...this girl can totally work it in front of the camera...

hard to believe she's just 5 yrs old...

and the baby boy...there's a story behind this hat...i guess sometimes he even likes to sleep in it...but don't you just look at those eyes & think "i need to take him home!"...

thanks guys...it was fun & you all helped me out a ton...

xoxo

~apryl