Just reading this poem makes my eyes start to well up with tears. 

I think about my own two daughters and how time has flown!  They both have birthdays next month and while they will always be my babies, they aren't really babies anymore.  Every day is a quest to seek more independence....every day, I reluctantly give a little to them.  I would have to say that some days my reluctance is much stronger than others.  Some evenings when I get home, I would love to give them the independence to, for instance, cook their own dinner or do their own laundry.  Most of the time though I dread the day when they won't need me so much for the little things.

This is why I believe, and always will, that it is SO important to do everything I can to document everything I can.  My number one way to do that is through photos.  I want my photos to be able to verbalize what is actually going on without a lot of explanation.  I want to be able to give that to everyone else who I take photographs for as well.

I have an upcoming cake smash with TWINS!  I am super excited and I also want it to be a huge success.  I'm on a quest to do everything I can to make it a memorable moment for two special one year olds. 

I have to remember though that a success, especially where children are concerned in a photo session, is not necessarily obtaining the perfect photo that I had envisioned.  I think we all know that kids of any age can be almost as unpredictable as this Nebraska weather.  My measurement of success when I take photos of children is the true picture of the child during the session.  While I do think posed photos are nice and it's always a bonus when you have a child who is willing to sit for a session for some awesome posed photos, we all know that most of them get way more pleasure and happy faces from being able to do what they want to do which is play and be silly!  True genuine smiles are the best!

I remember when I was a kid, I thought it was good enough to just show my teeth for a photo when I was told to smile.  While those photos seem funny when I look at them now especially because I remember what I thought, it sure would have made for nicer photos if I had been caught with a good old fashioned natural smile.

I've learned through the variety of kids that I've taken photos of that it's actually better for me to act as silly as they are.  So parents, be prepared to hear my not-so-good singing voice chiming in with a few kids' songs if that's what it takes to get your child to flash those pearly whites for me. 

Cake Smashes are no exception to catching some PRIME candid moments!  This is an opportunity for your child to SHINE as they prepare to celebrate their VERY FIRST BIRTHDAY!  They virtually get to be as silly and messy as they want.  With that being said and as I stated a few paragraphs above, I want your Cake Smash to be a success.  Below I've compiled a list from other sources and my own observations that I think are very important to prepare for your Cake Smash session:

1. Cake and icing choices matter

When picking out your own cake or making one to bring to a smash session, it's suggested to choose a white cake over chocolate or red velvet. Bright or pastel covered icing seems to photograph better than plain white or chocolate, with the exception of red. Why you ask?When chocolate or red icing is smeared everywhere (and it usually will be during a cake smash session) it can resemble things less appetizing and at first glance people may not realize that what your son or daughter is covered in is actually cake. Gross, right? I have also found that creamier icing and less dense cakes are better for smashing. Fondant and really stiff icing can make it harder for them to get messy. If your cake is going to be refrigerated before the session, let it sit out about a half hour before leaving for the cake smash session so the icing is less stiff.

2.  Let your baby have some cake experience before your Cake Smash Session

This will assist in a few different ways.  First, you will know beforehand if your baby has any allergies or sensitivities to cake ingredients.  As scary as it sounds, it can happen.  We want to make sure that your child has no adverse reactions to cake or any of the ingredients.  Secondly, we don't want your baby to be scared of cake.  We want your baby to remember that yummy taste that he or she has experienced before. This will help your little cake smasher get more excited about the cake and he or she will be more likely to be interested in the cake versus being scared and anxious.  

3.  Props

While I am of the mindset when it comes to photos that less is more, not everyone shares my vision.  I personally like the attention to be on the main character of our photo session which is your little Cake Smasher.  I provide the backdrop and a few props like a chalkboard, letter blocks and other minor miscellaneous items.  It is up to you to provide the cakes and and other props your would like to implement like balloons.  Keep in mind that banners will tend to get chopped out of a photo.  My focus will be on the child and cropped in on him or her. Banners tend to be too wide for what we are trying to achieve.  A nice bouquet of helium balloons can be fun though.  

4.  Clothing

Be sure to bring clothing that you won't mind being permanently stained.  If your child is going to get messy with cake frosting, it's unlikely that bright colors will wash out.  My daughter wore a tutu.  I didn't even try to remove the stains.   There are lots of different ideas for what children wear for cake smashes.  Be sure to check out ideas on Pinterest for what you want your child to wear.  It's helpful to let me know what they will be wearing and even to send me a picture.  I can better select the backdrop and have it all ready when you get here.

Remember that we just want to have fun!  Even the smallest little details make for some great moments to remember your child's 1st Birthday!

You will probably get a little messy too so wear clothes that are okay to get some icing and cake on!

Desmond Tutu

Although I'm a few days behind in getting this blog entry written, I wanted to be sure I got it done while this photo session was still relatively fresh in my mind.

This was the third time for me to take family photos for Mark, Rachel, Lily and Elliot.  I am so humbled (in a good way) that they have entrusted me with their family photos three times now!  It's so much fun watching Lily and Elliot get bigger and seeing the new things they are doing each time I see them.

Little Elliot has been through a lot in his two years.  He received a heart transplant on January 14, 2014 due to being born with a heart condition called CHD - Congenital Heart Disease.  You can read more about his journey at http://www.theindependent.com/news/local/st-paul-toddler-recovering-with-new-heart/article_e30916be-a1cb-11e3-bfa5-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=story

He is looking so healthy and was kind of the star of the session as he didn't seem to mind being in front of the camera.  I took many photos of Elliot while his mom, Rachel sang "Five Little Monkeys" to him.  The song made him smile and I even tried my hand at singing it although the words weren't nearly as well rehearsed coming from my mouth.  He enjoyed the song and even added his own hand choreography to it.  

Not to take any credit away from big sister, Lily, as she did a fabulous job of posing for me as well.  I took my oldest daughter along on this session as she and Lily have been going to dance school together for three years now so they had some fun playing too.

Thank you, Sazama family, for letting me photograph your family again.  Your family is very special and you have one amazing little Heart Hero.

Follow this link to find out more about Heart Heroes and all they do.  heartheroes.org

John Burroughs

I believe this quote spells out what nature and the countryside can do for a person.

I spent the last nine days off of work and just kind of had my own vacation and did a little exploring of our state of Nebraska on my own.  I didn't venture really all that far.....the furthest I went was to Lincoln where I visited the Sunken Gardens.  I had seen it from a distance plenty of times but never took the time to stop and really see it.  I took that opportunity and was truly amazed at the beauty of this place.  

While I'm no green thumb myself, I have a great respect for people who are.  Don't get me wrong, I've tried my hand a few times but I just seem to be better off hitting the farmer's market and admiring the flower growing talents of others.

~And, there is a lot to admire here. 

Needless to say, I'm hoping to be able to use Sunken Gardens as a photo location someday for a family, couple or individual session.  The possibilities are endless!  

I was able to use this location to get a few close up shots which is a style of photography that I absolutely LOVE!

I would hate to continue to write this blog about excellent locations in Nebraska without at least mentioning two more that I explored during my time off.  

This bridge on Nine Bridge Road between Doniphan and Grand Island is a beautiful and mysterious location that has plenty of stories to go along with the beauty of the bridge.  While the graffiti has taken over a large part of the bridge, it just seems to add to her mystique.  How many stories could this bridge tell??  Probably enough to fill a lifetime.  She serves as an excellent background for practically any style of photo while also being able to hold her own as a photo subject.  

One other great location that I visited along with my husband and two daughters was an old barn that is no longer in use.  This barn, like some people, just gets better with age.  Although I didn't get a good shot of the whole barn on this trip, I'll be visiting it again soon.  My daughters were excellent sports while they allowed me to test out this old barn as a background.  I do have to say that it's one of the favorites that I've used so far.  

This state of Nebraska has a lot of beauty.  Most everywhere you look, you can find it.  We may not be by the ocean or close to a mountain range, but there are plenty of other landmarks, manmade and natural that are beautiful.  I'm sorry that my vacation and exploration time is over.  I plan to do much more of it as time permits because there is a lot of credit to give to this state.  I have to thank the Facebook groups that are dedicated to photos of places around Nebraska for sparking my interest.

Until next time.....

I would have to say that that quote is a great reminder to me of how special our pets are to our families.  

I was also reminded a few nights ago during my Engagement session with Jon and Katie how special dogs are and how they are such important family members.  I remember when Katie and I were communicating about her upcoming photo session with Jon and she asked me the question as to whether or not I would allow their two dogs to join their photo session.  Being a pet lover myself, I didn't hesitate to agree and thought that it would be a wonderful enhancement to a regular Engagement photo session.  

My family and I lost our K-9 family member, Sadie over a year ago.  While we know she joined a wonderful group of our loved ones and friends in heaven, we miss her like crazy.  Part of my agreeing to welcome these dog family members was a bit for my own selfishness to interact with a dog or two, I'm sure.

When it was all said and done, I was so impressed with Princess and Chloe's posing skills!  I am so glad that my first session that intentionally included pets had Princess and Chloe as photo subjects.  Princess is the black one and Chloe is white.  They also looked adorable in their pink bows and seemed to know just how pretty they looked in them.  

They were also willing to share the spotlight with our engaged couple.....and not even reluctantly.

Not to give Princess and Chloe all the credit though.  Jon and Katie did a great job and selected a beautiful location for their Engagement photos. You just can't go wrong at Harmon Park in Kearney.  As I mentioned on my Facebook Page, there were so many beautiful backgrounds to choose from and we had some tough decisions to make as to what places to use.  

I think we used some great backgrounds though and I can't wait to finish editing all the photos that we took.

Thank you, Jon and Katie, for selecting me to take your Engagement portraits!  I appreciate it very much.  

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” 
― Angela Schwindt

I found this quote while I was getting ready to write this post for my blog.  

It seems as though when I find the right quote, it helps to inspire me when I'm ready to post on my blog.

Tonight I photographed two children, a brother and a sister.  They are one and almost three, respectively.  The sister, when I asked her how old she was, held up three fingers.  When she was asked by her mother to tell me when her birthday was, I found out that it is a little later this month and she's not quite three yet.  This reminds of how exciting it used to be to turn a year older when I was a kid. Now if only we could take two steps forward and one step back with the birthdays, we as adults just might be a little more happy when that inevitable birthday rolled around.  

Since I'm pretty sure by now that there is no chance of turning back the clock, I have found that watching children and seeing how they relate to each other is something that makes me happy.  I love traveling to their world with them for a little while and remembering how it was when the adult stress didn't exist......when we could just be kids and be ourselves without worrying what anyone else thought.

Remembering what it was like when we had kid fun with siblings and trying to imagine what it was like spending so much time with my brother!  How did we keep from just beating each other silly?  Not that Brayden and Kenzie are letting on that their relationship is like that.  They were fun to take photos of and made my job very easy tonight.  They interacted with each other wonderfully.

dillonCOPYRIGHT SARA YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHY

With some good help from their mom and dad with getting some good genuine smiles going, I was able to capture some very cute moments between siblings and with each of them individually.

This pretty girl was a natural in front of the camera and huge help in getting her little brother to ham it up in front of the camera.

Thank you, Benson Family!  Can't wait to dive into editing the rest of our session tonight and showing off your childrens' beautiful expressions! :)

“You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second

and think of it all your life.”
― Joan Miró

I strive to do my best to take photos that have meaning.  I love photos that capture natural expressions and movement - especially for children.  I get lots of practice with my own children for that.  It's interesting to see, as I take photos for other people, how different children react to different methods to get them to interact with the camera. 

Sometimes I just like to sit back for a bit and let them be themselves.......

DavidAnn-263

My daughter was taking a rest from practicing on her pogo stick in this photo.  I think I'll always wonder what she was thinking about when I took this photo.  I guess it's up to the imagination. :)

2. Look at your home decor.
Do you like bright colors? Neutrals? Since you will be hanging these photos in your house you want to make sure the colors of your clothes go with the color scheme of your home.

3. Don’t forget accessories.
Accessories not only add to your outfit but they can be fun to use in photos. Have the man wear a tie for the woman to hold. Necklaces for the kids to play with or hats to hide behind.

4. Limit patterns.
It's nice having an outfit in the mix that has all the colors in it. However, not everyone in the photo should wear patterns as it may distract the final image.

5. Look for clothing collections.
When shopping for clothes for kids, head to stores that typically have color coordinating collections. You can then purchase clothes for all the children from one store and know their clothes will coordinate.

6. Plan ahead.
Once you book your session, start thinking of the clothes right away. You may think certain clothes will fit your kids or that one dress is clean. If you wait until the day of or day before, you may run into an issue of clothes not fitting, being dirty or need to be dry cleaned.

7. Say no to characters.
Yes, your little one may love their Toy Story or Dora shirt but you may want to skip it for the family photo session. Just like patterns, characters on shirts can be distracting.

8. Avoid all white or all black clothing.
If you are wearing an all white shirt then it is very easy to blow out parts of your shirt causing it to lose its detail. The same can be said with all black.  It’s easy to have clipping on black clothing and the detail is lost.

9. Textures are your friend.
Adding textures like scarves or belts add a little more to the image. Don’t shy away from different textures.

10. Consider your background.
If you are taking photos in front of a backdrop, consider what you are wearing.  The same goes for considering the outdoor location for your photos.  Try not to wear colors that blend with the background.  We want you and your clothes to "pop" since you are the subject and you are who we want to be noticed in your photos. 

11. Think classic.

These photos will be hanging on your walls and treasured for years to come. By choosing simple, classic clothes you will help give your images a timeless feel.