Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Family Portraits

I know you're anxious, but don't scroll down for the photos just yet. I have to give you a little bit of backstory first.

I'm currently plugged into a fantastic on-line group of moms that are local to my area. It has been such a blessing to not only my life but to Preston's as well. We have many, many friends who love to have playdates and when we're not meeting in person we're talking just about anything and everything on-line. One aspect that continues to amaze me is just how talented this group of women is. From crafts to cooking to photography - you name it, someone can do it, and do it well. We have at least a couple of dozen women who are either professional photographers or semi-professional. And then there are the rest of us aspiring photographers or wannabes.


My good friend Chera was once one of us wannabes (that's probably not an accurate description as she's always had amazing photography skills) but has worked her way through the trenches to become one of the best photographers I know. It has been such a joy to watch her photography skills improve by leaps and bounds. She has such a talent working with little ones and really captures the spirit of the child. She really isn't in it for the money, she truly loves her work and for that I adore her. Not to mention she has the most precious, adorable little girl, Cassidy.



Talking with Chera one day she graciously agreed to do what we call a mini-session swap. Basically she spends about 10-15 minutes taking some photos of my family and then we swap and I do the same for hers. I really wanted to get a few family shots done before our newest addition arrived. And since there are practically zero photos of me pregnant with Preston, I wanted at least one for this one. Unfortunately the weather was quite uncooperative - 35 mile per hour winds and bitter cold does not make for good outside photos, especially for sweet Cassidy. She was not digging the cold or wind at all. The good news is Chera didn't let it slow her down and got some good shots of us anyway. We tried really hard to act like it wasn't freezing and the wind was blowing, but as you'll see it wasn't easy. Please enjoy. And if you get a chance stop by her blog Chera25 Photography and check out more of her fantastic photos.





















And here are just a couple that I took of Chera and her sweet family. I took these with her camera which completely puts my old Sony to shame. I've had camera envy ever since.

This one is Chera's favorite. She said it shows the "real" them and plans to use it for their Christmas card. I love that!



And we did finally get a little smile out of Cassidy. I told you she was cute!

1 comment:

Shama-Lama Mama said...

Oh my gosh! She did such an awesome job, and you look positively RADIANT! I love the one of Preston kissing your belly. She is a really great post-processor, too!