Why City on a Hill Photography?

I should be officially put into an asylum for taking on such a large endeavor this weekend. 10 bunny sessions total yesterday and today. Oh yes, that included: a live bunny, which I am proud to say is still alive, one newborn, two babies, two brothers, a few toddlers, a few pre-K children, and one very very exhausted photographer.

Oh wait…did you catch that? Oh yes, I did it, I finally called myself a photographer. I am from this point allowing myself to say that I am a photographer who loves Lifestyle Photo’s and specializes in newborns. I didn’t claim to be a perfect, professional, or experienced photographer, just a photographer.

I want to take this time to thank all the moms who allowed me to take 30-45 minutes to talk to their children like they were in the middle of Barney and Friends. Everything is happy, everything thing is glee….that’s kind of the way you have to be.

I would especially like to thank my great friend Annie for offering her precious male bunny called Mona, for our bunny sessions for the last two days. Mona did a great job of keeping still for most of our sessions. He did not bite, nibble, or even make a mean face at any of our children. We were aware of Mona’s tame background but when put in the hands of many strangers, we were unsure of what reality would hold.

I have used muscles for the last two days that I haven’t used in years. It was an extreme workout holding a position to get various angles and to get on the subject’s level. I really need to do this every weekend to lose some weight. I didn’t even eat lunch today!

One of my children’s moms today commented that there is a certain “Wow” factor that you see in a picture that just makes you gasp a little. I agree totally. I took over 1200 pictures this weekend and only a handful received that quick breath of inward air from me. A few of the sessions I felt like, the WoW factor was missing. It wasn’t by fault of the subject, the bunny, the lighting, or the parents. It was maybe because a chair and a window just didn’t do them justice. They needed a field with a barn, maybe an old tractor, maybe a radio flyer red wagon, an old pond. Just something!! Well perhaps I will have the opportunity to bring that WoW factor to life in another session. I hope so!

So again, thank you Lord that our precious Mona survived and is happy and healthy back with her owners, thank you for the previsions that this weekend brought to our family, thank you for the kind words that everyone is sharing about my photography, and thank you again for our real reason to celebrate this coming Spring……your Son….the reason that Easter is!

I did reveal a watermark a few weeks ago. After thinking about how light is in control and powerful of a photograph I decided, with the help of my husband, to name it…..City on a Hill Photography……….

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, let your light shine before others, and glorify your Father in Heaven

Matthew 5:14-16

You'll never walk Alone

I finally have felt comfortable with actually paying full attention to my subject at this last photo shoot. Mr. M was the most perfect baby to takes pictures of. He slept 90% of the time and was only bothered one moment when his diaper was off and …well…..you can guess what happened. I felt as if I could position his small body in a number of different ways to create peace and happiness within his little heart! During the shoot I felt more comfortable with my camera; my adjustments came more natural and less of a distraction to the flow of the shoot. I did however decide to peek at my ISO settings at the end (ps…not a good time to check that), and to my shock it was set on auto!!! To even my feeble mind that means that light adjustments were in the control of the camera and not me. This is not a good thing. As Alton Brown would describe bad gravy…not Good Eats. I had a small panic attack because even though the images recorded on the display appeared to be acceptable, downloading them and seeing them on the computer always is the real moment you see what was captured. Sometimes my camera is very reliable, it knows when adjust and when not too. However a lot of times it is better for me to control all settings for the best shot. Thankfully the camera, Larry, I think I will name him (from previous blog posts you will remember) did a great job and only a few black out shots were incorrectly exposed.

I came out of this newborn session very confident and full of fresh new ideas to put into place for the next one. I want each newborn to be different but there are some poses that I just can’t resist putting each one into. I am still amazed that the first time mothers are so poised. My client’s mother tagged along and was a great inspiration in some of the reflection poses for mom and baby. I could tell though that Nana B was more worried about the baby’s comfort and wellbeing than mom was. This is not to say that Nana was a worrier or that mom was not. It is just a compliment to address the finesse that I saw in this first time mom’s actions.  Lest we forget that she had a C-section 7 short days ago!

Baby M’s father is a Liverpool Soccer fan. The theme song before each game is presented to the crowd and everyone joins in the anthem of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. How fitting for a newborn session. Our children will make mistakes through life and will grow. I think we can safely say that hopefully they will not make as many as we did. In any moment we find ourselves wishing that parenting was easier we pride ourselves in standing firm on one piece of information…..They will never walk alone. We will always be there, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind…..but together.

New Photos for Baby S

                                                I swear he looks like the Gerber baby!

                           I picture him being delivered by the stork in this picture.

                    His mom wanted to celebrate her husband's heritage

                                 Couldn't pass up the opportunity to give him a little Mohawk.

New pictures of Past Sessions

               Already an App Fan!

                                          This was a difficult set up but turned out beautifully, I knew
                                     it was worth it when I showed her mom the image on the camera and she
                                         said, "I'm gonna cry".

                                              Angelic moments are preserved for her
                                                                  to look back on later.

                      A very special family, I am so                        
                     pleased to know!