Sibling Time Once Again

Once again, it's that time of year: every autumn since 2008, my mother has had me take my siblings' school portraits. I certainly wouldn't blame her; I'm much less expensive than the photographers their school hires. My mother helped put a roof over my head and food in my stomach for the first 19 and a half years of my life; that's payment enough.

This year, I was finally able to take some photos by the ocean. My family and I had plans to go to our church's annual ocean-side service in Waldoboro; my mom brought up the idea of doing school photos while we were right there by the water. Why not? Don't they say it's always better to kill two birds with one stone?

Unfortunately, everything didn't go as planned. My brother and other sister both "forgot" to dress school-picture-appropriate, but, thankfully, my youngest sister was prepared and ready for her close-up.

I absolutely adore this photo because it's my sister "in the raw," so to speak. Every year, mom always says that her smile looks a little fake, so this year, I took a different approach: I made my sister laugh as much as I could. That's how this shot came about, and I love it.

I just hope my other siblings' photographs come out just as, if not more, successful than this.

Back again.

I had to share this school photo of my other sister. This is one of the best I've ever captured of her and I'm definately in love with it.

Vanessa

One of many good things I can say about Vanessa is that she's committed. This woman trudged through the mosquito-ridden woods with me on a day that we thought was going to be nice and cool, yet we were both sweating by the time we reached our location. Despite all of that, however, it was still yet another successful photoshoot in the world of S.M. Photography.

Vanessa and I have known each other for a very, very long time; almost 15 years to be more precise. Because of that, there was a great level of comfort between the two of us, which made this day even easier. We even collaberated on ideas when my mind went blank (which was a few times, honestly; it had been a long weekend).

All of her shots came out absolutely gorgeous, but this is definately in my top five.

Kaylee: Boudoir

Earlier this summer, I myself had "bikini boudoir" done for my husband when he came home from Afghanistan. I was so extremely excited about them that I absolutely had to show Kaylee, who then became inspired to get some boudoir photos done herself. Who did she go to? Well, it's quite obvious isn't it? :)

I have to say, I was a little nervous going into this shoot, especially since I had never done one before, but Kaylee was so comfortable with everything that it made me feel comfortable as well. So there we were in the middle of the woods, listening to music from the Burlesque soundtrack, throwing up victory-V's (you would have to know us to understand), and getting eaten alive by mosquitos. It was such a successful photoshoot that neither of us could actually believe it; it was also some of the most fun I've had.

I never thought I would do a boudoir shoot, but Kaylee's enthusiasm and high level of comfort helped both of us breeze through it easily. It also helped that we're pretty close friends; I think that's what made me the most comfortable that day.

More boudoir sessions in the future? We'll have to see what the future holds, I suppose.

P.S. I'm crazy about this shot; it's definately one of my favorites from the bunch.

Carolyn

Working with Carolyn was a true treat for me. She's the type of child a photographer dreams to work with; she didn't complain once, she was willing to climb rocks and trees (though I think that was more for her mother than my), and she was just overall fun. It was certainly a breath of fresh air, especially since the only younger kids I usually work with are my siblings, and working with them is like pulling teeth. No teeth-pulling necessary here; Carolyn was fantastic.

If you look through all of her shots, you would notice that there was a lack of smiling-with-her-teeth. Her mother, Pam, stood behind me and tried to make her laugh, but it didn't work most of the time; oh, she would laugh, but those teeth were imprisoned behind her lips. Despite it, however, she was still adorable in every shot. She was prepared, as well; she brought along two or three other outfit changes-something that rarely happens in my shoots. It was definately a fantastic surprise.

Together, Carolyn, Pam, and I pulled together one fabulous photoshoot; a photoshoot that, I believe, we were all pleased with.