i was so excited to see baby laird! when we did his three month pics i immediatly became smitten with his sweet chunk self!! he happens to have two of the sweetest parents as well so really…what is there not to love? he did TRY to play mr. serious but we didnt fall for that and eventually got some of his big huge smiles!! lovve those cheeks!

i have to say laird+squaeky giraffe+white garage door= mandy fav image!!! loooooove that one!

words cannot describe how much fun we had during this session. this adorable lil family is just edible and yummy and amazing! soo glad the storm held off long enough for us to meet. East Nash was busy at this tme of evening so there was alot to do and look at. But I have to say the funniest part was the boys. Big brother was full of it!! Every time I was focusing in on lil brother he would show up in my shot! IT was HILARIOUS!! See images at bottom to prove my point!

love you guys, thank you for being the crazy great family that you are and thank you for the YUMMY treats you brought me!!!

this lil (sorry dana for the use of lil again)  sweetness was a little blue. i think the nasty weather had finally gotten to him. but alas a smile we found! i photographed him and his adorable brother last year at this time, mom wanted lil man in the same outfit to do two wall portraits of her boys at the same age. soo cute! so in between the rain storms we found a sneak of sunshine and captured some amazing images. i know at this point your all ooohin over his yummy curls…he has his mommys hair..lucky him. simply divine!

Dont forget this Friday night is the Fall Open House. we have been very busy gathering door prizes, yummy foods and drinks and stuffing balloons with MJPHOTOGRAPHY freebies! Everyone will receive a prize and can enter for the Grand Drawing, a portrait collection worth over $900!! Oh yeahhhh!! So bring lots of friends, get a sitter, enjoy the night out! The band Kingston Springs, will be performing throughout the night, they are a group of amazingly talented high school boys, it will be loud but it will be awesome!! Hope to see you all there!! 7-10pm Friday!!

hello all of you beauties out there! today i am thankful for our Lord that will forgive me over and over. i am thankful He knows my heart and that He will not forget about me! i do wish he would stop the rain. Just some. i know we need rain, of course we need it, but every day for like two weeks and counting…really? do we NEED that much? since im not out shooting all of the sessions that were on the books i thought i would take this time to answer some of the many questions i receive weekly! so here we go. hope you dont get too bored.

most of these come from other photogs but some are just regular ole people

1. what type of camera and such do i use????

i use a canon 5d. love it. love it. Will i upgrade to the new Mark 5dII soon? maybe. maybe not.  I use the canon 50mm 1.4 lens the most, 90% of the time. Love this lens. love it soo much. I also use the 17-40mmL lens for fun wide angle shots and for alot of personal stuff. I also own the 85mm, 70-300mm, 100 macro which i use for nature stuff and for those amazing newborn closeups, and a few more that i wont bore you with.

remember….its not the latest and greatest equipt that will make you a fantastic photog…its learning how to use htem, hours and hours of practice, reading and more practice. its a passion for it.!!! and cool equipt helps after that!!

2. did i go to school? well no. not really. i started college for design. after about 6 weeks my plan soon unraveled and Gods plan soon became revealed….9 months later I was a full time mommy to Phoenix! Best thing that ever happend to me. so then i did not return to college and years later picked up my first slr camera and taught myself everything! with alot of help from other photogs and books, and online forums!

3. would you do a workshop? well as flattering as this is that many of you have asked me that…i am no where near ready to host a workshop. thank you for your trust in me but there are some great ones out there already! i just want to play with babes all day!!

4. looking for help? right now NO. should i be..YES!

5. where do i get my inspiration from? well…that is kinda a long answer. short version…first the beauty that our Lord has given us is everywhere. we just have to slow down and notice it! my passion for children has been there my whole life. i have been a babysitter since i was like 9. i was a nanny for two diff families through high school. and with two of my own i just LOOOOOVE kids. they are honest. they are just who they are! no make up. no fake identities..just take me for who i am and if you love me i will probaly love you back…i love that about them!! i like to look at magazines and ads for ideas, or sometimes i will see some lil prop and it will spark a new idea. i do not visit other photogs blogs and websites much as its hard to see a photo you like and not just COPY it, i do sometimes see something and try to make it my own. this business is full of copys so its best to try and find yourself and go with it! sometimes ideas totally flop and sometimes they work beautifully.!! those are the best

ok enough for now. im going to go look at the rain some more…………………and try to find joy in it