Oh What a Beautiful Morning (Alpharetta Family Photography)

I love that time in the evening when the sun is about set, but the morning is gorgeous too!

It's not really realistic to get families out for a sunrise session (or the photographer for that matter), but early morning before the heat of the day and extra bright noon-day sun kicks in works great- especially with plenty of open shade left for running around with the kids.

What's also great- there's plenty of time left in the day to reward those kiddos for how great they were (and parents to recover from having so much fun with them !:).



Testing out balancing skills with the little bro on the go- he didn't want to hang out there on the fence for long!








I love that Radio Flyer!  The kids loved it too- they play with it all the time.  It's great when mom and dad bring things the kids know and love to help keep it fun for them!



The kids were enthralled with the classic tale- 'Batman' :)



A nice end to the morning!





I believe a trip for candy was what was in store for these cute brothers (and a little r&r for mom and dad!:).

Family Field Trip- Vickery Creek/Old Roswell Mill

This summer's heat has been unbearable without water involved!  With school right around the corner, I'm trying to cram in the fun before life gets even crazier with my son starting 3rd grade and daughter in Pre-K! 

We've loved hanging out at our neighborhood's pool this summer, but what we really love are rivers!  We've had a blast shootin' the hooch up in Helen and hanging out on the Hiwassee in NC, but last weekend, we needed to stay closer to home.



I remembered through scouting photo session locations and exploring the creek with the family last year that the Old Roswell Mill area and Vickery Creek would have potential to help us beat the heat last weekend.  I was right and surprised!

For all the years we've been here, I never even knew how great that area is.  We loved reading the plaques with the kids on the history of the mill (check out more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_Mill , http://www.georgiatrails.com/gt/Old_Roswell_Mill ), and seeing the ruins, but what surprised us was the old dam (with water flowing over it making a very cool waterfall).  I'm not sure why we never knew about it, but we could pretend it was a mini-Niagra falls or something! :)  There were a few other people there enjoying what looked like a swimming hole right beside the dam. 

David and Benjamin enjoyed walking up the creek to check it out- The one thing David was a little concerned with was the possibility of something coming over the edge, so they didn't stay too close to it for long.



After playing in the creek/waterfall area, we checked out some of the ruins...



...and read about the dam/mill construction... (Kids were actually more interested than photo on right would portray :).



We then headed past the old machine shop and over the covered bridge to hang out in another section of the creek.  We just missed being a part of photos from a wedding with groomsmen on the bridge:



After a bit of a steep/slippery walk down to creek, there was a great view of the covered bridge above.  The water was actually pretty warm compared with mountain rivers we've visited, but definitely more freshing than the bath-water pool after all those days in the 90s! If you go, remember the swim shoes- there are a lot of rocks in the creek:



I'm sure come winter and the break from this heat, we'll be wishing for warmer days where we could play in the water- at least that's what I've been telling myself!  :) It was definitely a fun 'in town' family field trip where we could pretend we were up in the mountains for a while and learn a little about the history of our area.

Like Kids in a Candy Store (Alpharetta Children's Photography)

So it sounded exciting and harmless enough... I was asked to do a photoshoot for Impressions Magazine June/July edition:  http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/impressions_20110607/#/2 , https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Impressions-Magazine/317583300067.  Even more fun, the edition was featuring kids' clothing and my kids could be the models! 

After a few days of scouting out locations for what could represent summer- it dawned on me- ice cream!  Ice cream at a photoshoot is not necessarily the best idea, but candy would be great too!  We have a wonderful store in our neck of the woods that features both:  Scoops!  http://www.scoopssweettreats.com/ ,
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Scoops-Crabapple/119365404763500

The date was set and with kids in tow in their outfits (along with Impressions' fearless art director, Wendi) we were off to Scoops (they graciously allowed our photoshoot in their store) with my lighting and the thought this would be fun.

OK, so now I understand how it is for parents when their kids don't act perfectly as expected.  I am so patient with other kids, but when it comes to my own, adding in the fact that this was an on-location/limited-time shoot- the stress was on! :) In all fairness, the kids were in a CANDY STORE and asked not to drool over/touch/whine about all the amazing goodies that lined the wall. 

Bribery was the key to the day- the promise of ice cream was repeated often (as well as the constant questioning by the kiddos of when they were going to get it) :)

Pay no attention to the wall of heavenly goodies behind you...



It is nearly impossible to keep clothes with wording straight/visible with the constant movements/slouching of little kids...



Sit real still and pretend you're angels for a few seconds more...



We were nearing the end of kid cooperation at this point- ice cream was imminent - I grabbed one quick shot that ended up on the table of contents:



The kids finally got their ice cream after a wardrobe change (these outfits didn't make the magazine.  For consistency and the colors along with the indoors of the shop, the first outfits were the ones that made the cut):









The cover!  Make sure to check out the digital edition of the magazine here- the other pictures are on the table of contents (page 2) and the article 'Cool Kidswear' page 22!
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/impressions_20110607/#/2




All in all, it was a challenging day, but so fun to see the end result!  Thanks to Impressions for the opportunity and Scoops for letting us shoot at the store!  The kids still ask to go back there often (as long as mommy leaves her camera at home ;).

Weekend of the Twins (Alpharetta Newborn/Children's Photography)

The weekend started off with twin newborn boys! (well, they weren't extremely newborn anymore- already close to 10 pounds having been born premature a couple months before!  Actually, the weekend we had the maternity session planned, that's when the little guys decided to make an appearance!

I figured since I usually try to keep babies warm with heating pads and space heaters inside, 95 degrees in the shade weather outside would work perfectly to keep those babies content!

Any guesses where mom and dad went to school?


Brother #1: Getting sleepy/content :)


Brother #2: Just chillin'


Hanging out in the faux fur:




Then came the adorable owl hats!




I couldn't leave without getting some of the cute nursery details:


The next day- more twins! An adorable boy/girl duo this time- and no longer sleepy little babies, but active, fun 2 year olds!

Quick family pics before it was off to the races:


Yes, to answer that question- getting two two-year olds in one place/facing one direction is like herding cats :)


When they are this age, it works best to run around after them than try to get them to stay still:




So sweet!


You follow them around long enough, you're likely to capture some sweet moments!




After the weekend of the twins, I went home to my two kids (over three years apart) and wondered why I thought one at a time was so hard! :)

Mia is 2! (Alpharetta Children's Photography)

I've been lucky to take little Mia's pictures since she was a newborn! She had a lot of hair even then!



Last year for her 1st birthday, she was standing and relatively stationary:



Now she and big bro are growing up, her hair was a lot longer than a year ago and the biggest difference- she ran- and fast! Here was one of the famiy pics at the beginning when she was willing to sit for a second or two:



After that, there was really no standing still for long- there's definitely no need for a workout when you're running all over the grounds of Bulloch Hall after a two year old!



The little gardeners:




On the go...



She wasn't the only one on the go- big brother actually ran towards me rather than away :)







A moment of rest:





A sweet end to a busy girl's day. They really grow up fast and I cherish these moments I can spend with the little ones, even when they keep me on my toes (and keep me running!)  The great thing is, this is Mia at 2- not really posed, but letting them run around and running after them, you get to see kids as they are at their age, and I love that.