hey everyone! thank you for tuning in this morning for my segment on milwaukee’s fox 6 morning show, WakeUp!  i had a great time chatting with nicole about newborn photography and was happy to share six tips for photographing your own baby.  for those who missed it, here is a quick overview of the tips:

1. let there be light! turn OFF that flash – please oh please, turn off the flash.  don’t know how? check your manual! lost your manual? google it.  move your subject to the biggest window you can find and let the natural light do it’s job.  on camera flash creates red eyes and flat lighting, not pretty at all.

2. angle.  get down on baby’s level and shoot at eye level.

3. simplify!  for super sweet shots that show of your beautiful baby, ditch the props.  grab a solid onsie and a plain blanket and shoot away.  for sitting babies or older kids, clear the background of any clutter or objects that will take focus away from your subject.

4. timing.  first thing in the morning right after a good feed.  baby’s fresh, mama’s rested (?), daddy’s patient, siblings have not yet driven you crazy.  and the light is pretty!

5. jump in! don’t forget to hand the camera to your spouse, friend, three year old, neighbor…. anyone.  be in the photos, too.  we are our own worst critic (believe me, i GET this – i just had to watch myself on television!) and we’re not always feeling and looking our best right after giving birth, but you’ll want these later.  do it for your future self, do it for your kids.

6. print! how many of us have loads of photos sitting on our cameras, our harddrives, our cell phones?  well hard drives fail! cell phones drop in toilets (not that i have ANY experience with this), cameras are lost.  print the photos! my all-time favorite way to document and store images is to print off photo books at mpix.com — just upload a year’s worth, a month’s worth, whatever, and let the software do the work.   use the code fox6 for free shipping on ANY mpix order of $25 or more between now and 2/14/2012.

and of course i’m here to photograph your family as well. 

Wanna learn my six top tips for photographing your own gorgeous baby?  Tune into Fox 6 WakeUp tomorrow where I will join Nicole Koglin for WakeUp’s Baby Week.  I’ll be on at 8:15!

I’m excited and flattered (and crazy nervous) and I hope you’ll tune in!

well hello there!  it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?  when i wrote the most recent blog carousel post, i noticed that this blog hadn’t been updated in over two months!  that’s especially crazy because i have no less than one zillion sessions that i’m dying to post.

2012 started off with a(nother) new studio location.  i know, right?   i just think of it as my tour of milwaukee’s third ward studio spaces.  you’ll love it, though, and as soon as you see it, you’ll see why i moved again so quickly.  it’s bright and airy and bright and peaceful and did i mention bright? the window light, oh how i missed that.  nine HUGE windows bring in glorious natural light.  cream city brick, funky stained concrete, really really awesome.  as soon as the prints are up on the wall, i’ll post some photos for you.

let’s start with images from last fall’s portrait day, since i get the most requests to post these  (and yes, i will get them up on facebook for you guys, too!).  aren’t they FUN?  i love portrait day, it’s such a great way to grab a few really awesome photographs of your kids in between regular sessions.

are you ready for a LOT of photos?  they may take a bit to load!

i think any professional photographer would agree that publicly posting their random daily snapshots can be a little bit of a nerve wracking experience.  this month’s theme for our blog carousel is “alternative cameras” and while i had big plans of pulling out one of my medium format cameras, or at least my trusty little point-n-shoot, that just never happened because the truth of the matter is, i use my iphone to document just about everything in our day to day lives.

a walk to the park on the last dry day of winter (right before milwaukee saw it’s first snow of the season).  we found a nest of some sort, and my girls invented some very elaborate game involving sticks, counting down and hiding.

a shot of rachel and me – she’s 7 now, can you believe it?   and two of ellie’s many faces – i love her face so much, i want to eat it up!

rachel in the snow, trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.  my girls are lucky to have a daddy born and raised in wisconsin because i prefer sit in a warm house and watch the snow play from the window!  (edited with snapseed – an iphone app that i love love love – you can very quickly and easily edit any photo taken with your iphone.  it’s great!)

to see another photographers take on the alternative cameras theme, check out san francisco baby, kids and family photographer Alpana Aras- she’s amazing!

can believe this little dude is all grown up?  here he was back in april 2007

and look at him now!  (and this little one, too – here she was just a couple of years ago!)

i met these kiddos on one of the last leafy fall days in chicago.  milwaukee’s leaves had already mostly fallen, so i was so happy to drive through this neighborhood and see the amazing colors!