maternity :: baby :: family

::year end evaluation::

2009-12-31T07:25:00.001-08:00

2009 has been a BLAST for me starting to develop my photography hobby and share that with people and families! After spending several hours editing each session I start to notice some trends for each individual session. I want to keep getting better, but only so much improvement comes out of reading tutorials online, stalking the blogs and websites of photographers that i LOVE (check out my blogroll for some extremely talented photographers, you won't be disappointed), and reflecting after each session on how i can improve. i want to keep having my own artistic style, and yet at the same time be able to give families images that they love. SO here are some things i want to improve on for 2010...we'll see how it goes.

*get better at taking landscape layout pictures. i don't mean as in nature landscape, i mean that probably a good 90% of my pictures in ANY session i take vertically. i just seem to gravitate towards capturing images vertically, so i want to get better at taking landscape images.
*directing photo sessions. while i LOVE capturing moments between families that unfold naturally without any direction at all, and most young children need little to no help creating beautiful images, i've forgotten that getting your picture taken without knowing what to do is just awkward. (flashback to my own engagement session by the incredibly talented Anne Ruthmann...Jason and I had no idea what to do, SHE is great at subtly directing without interfering). people tend to get frustrated by the question "what am i supposed to be doing?" so i want to be able to direct natural poses or creating situations that allow for my subjects to forget that their being photographed. one of my favorites of these is having momma and daddy tickle their kiddos. works like a charm!
*low-light photography. now that its chilly outside, i've taken a hiatus from my beloved outdoor sessions, giving me perfect opportunity to work on indoor photography. i'm still working with my entry-level D40, which i love. but i would like to keep improving so that i'm not so limited to have to do sessions outside only. afterall, inside people's homes is where every day life happens.

so part of this evaluation (which by the way, its nice to be evaluating myself without breaking out in hives all over my neck like in my formal evaluation...its a problem i have) is that i want YOUR input! what are some of your favorite maternity/baby/family pictures that you've seen that are yours, friends, from a magazine, stored up in your brain? what are some things you see in your own family pictures that make you think "why on earth would you think that was good?" (i think of my mom's own frustration with olan mills photographers), is it cropping a certain way? your kid's shirt being buttoned unevenly? leave your comments and please be kind! thanks for your help and HAPPY NEW YEAR, friends!!

::very exciting news!::

2009-12-31T07:05:00.001-08:00

hello blog reading friends (if you're still out there!) my new photography exciting news is that my very good friend who happens to be one of the most creative people i know is building me a photography website! that's right! i'm so excited! there's not a set date on when that will be unveiled, but i wanted to give you a heads up. i'm just so excited to have a portfolio of some of my favorite images. i'll keep ya posted!
ps i do still have lots of catching up to do on posting actual sessions. i had a TON of them for Christmas cards and got to take lots of pictures of some extremely adorable families, so i'll work on that as soon as i can! love to you!

::DPP 6::

2009-12-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

Day 6...i'm trying! these are a few of my favorite things, which really aren't things at all. my handsome godson. Layton William in his warm bomber hat. what a stud!

and after having to stay away from babies for a few weeks i FINALLY got to meet Gabriel Wetherbee again! i hadn't seen him since he was a few hours old in the NICU when he decided to make his grand entrance even grander and earlier than expected. these handsome little men happen to be the sons of my good friends Shelly and Emily. i'm so thankful to have these girls in my life who share their families with me and let me have the blessing of watching them start to raise their kiddos to know and love the Lord. how do i have so many beautiful people in my life?! they are everywhere around me! merry Christmas to Gabriel, Layton, and all my other friends celebrating Christmas with little families!!

::DPP 3::

2009-12-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

oops...missed yesterday. and technically i didn't take this picture today, but just so i don't give up entirely, i cheated (a very bad life motto). this one is from fall break with jase's family. my niece Carlie is hilarious, this is us making goofy faces. being a bad influence is what being an auntie is all about!

::December Photo Project::

2009-12-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

Hay blogging friends! This is so fun! One of my sweet friends has done this in years past (she has adorable kiddos and a fresh eye for fun pictures) and I thought I'd give it a whirl. Join me if you want, just for fun: http://www.tredways.org/december-photo-project/

So 2 reasons I think this is cool, #1 because making sure I take at least one picture a day is fun to document the day-to-day stories that happen in our lives that make for such beautiful moments. #2, so i don't get in the habit of thinking that every picture i take has to be completely perfect photographically and so i challenge myself to just get out there and take pictures.

So sign up and lets do this together! Its for everyone and its ok if you miss a few days...so here's my December 1!

I love detail shots. Raise your hand if you agree: long eyelashes, wedding ring pictures, baby toes...this is my recently decorated Christmas tree. I love Christmas decorating (who doesnt?!) and Jase and I just put ours up yesterday. I'm slightly crazy about building family traditions while we're a young married couple. We also watched Elf/listened to the new Shane and Shane Christmas CD (two thumbs UP!) while we decked the halls. Merry Jesus Christmas to you!

::JR and Julia preview::

2009-11-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

I'm going to need plenty of time to post on JR and Julia's maternity session; but until then, enjoy a few of my many favorites! And I hope everyone had a truly thankful Thanksgiving!!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

::weger::family::

2009-11-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

call me crazy, but i kinda have a special place in my heart to brown-eyed kiddos. my entire family (sans moi) have beautiful brown eyes, as does my handsome husband. i always seem to photograph beautiful children, and these weger kids were just the same! go on, check em out for yourself!

cheesin' it up!

perfect sunlight while they enjoyed the tire swing

sweet Hannah

handsome Trey

tickle fight!

could he have prettier eyes?!

Hannah has such a pro grin!

Weger family, thanks so much for the fun afternoon! I'm glad we had such perfect weather!

::professional printing::

2009-10-14T11:27:00.001-07:00

Hi friends...I'm so excited to say that I've found an online professional printing lab that I REALLY like and have started using for my sessions. Just a few aspects of this lab that I'm super excited about:
::tons of size variety from wallet size all the way to 30x40, lots of fun album options, proof books, and gallery wraps::
::GREAT price and quality...and I do mean GREAT! They even off stunning metallic printing, a type of finish that really makes color and detail POP! I plan on ordering most of my large prints on this paper. I have sample 8x10s if you'd like to see::
::quick shipping...because who wants to wait?::
::image hosting, so hopefully I can eventually start using this website to send to clients so they can purchase prints directly from the website::

Let me know if you want to see price sheets or sample prints...as you can tell I'm pretty pumped to finally have this printing company as an option. I really want to be able to offer clients the best possible images and printing is a HUGE part of that!

::Tis Almost the Season::

2009-10-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Don't panic! There's lots of time left until Christmas...but now that fall is upon us, its time to start pulling out the address book and updating your Christmas card list. Time to plan your matching satin and velvet outfits, checking out shutterfly.com for your fabulous family picture card, and scratching out the rough draft of your family update letter. I have lots of availability starting after October, so let me know if you're interested in having a family picture for your Christmas Card 2009 ed. I'll meet you in front of your fireplace :)

::email address is megan.doddridge@gmail.com ::

Just for fun...a few of my favorite online card stores...

shutterfly.com

tinyprints.com

photoaffections.com

::Happy Birthday, Lily!::

2009-10-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Brooke asked me to help take pictures at her daughter's 6th birthday party months ago and I was WAY too happy to oblige mah-self. Not only do I have a not-so-secret crush on her sweet sweet family, but who can turn down an invite to a carnival themed 6th birthday party?! Not having been around many 6 year olds, I forgot how much flipping fun they are! Such joy and unbridled love for each other and everything in their little world! I could go on for awhile about how much fun I had...but instead how about I just show you! I think I almost maxed out the number of images you can even put on a single blog post!!

detail shots for Brooke...she always puts SO much effort into making creative and beautiful birthday cakes for her kiddos. this year Lily got one big flower cake and lots of little dragonfly cupcakes. colorful and oh.so.adorable!

carnival games in eager anticipation of small children to play!

is that the face of a birthday girl on her big day or what?!

love her butterfly clip. the girl knows how to accessorize!

Brooke's mom brought a HUGE bunch of beautiful balloons! the most perfect grandma i think any girl could ask for

I think this picture just sums Brooke up so well: so happy and carefree...beautiful mother

a little DOF just for you, Brookie

this series almost makes me tear up with its sheer cuteness. Max is one of the cutest little guys...and I just love the interactions between him and the guys in their family.

craft table

Brooke had a great playlist for the afternoon. I think Lily is dancing to Sound of Music here. Reason #28374 i love her. She just dances to the soundtrack of her own life :)

game time!

at some point a girl is just SICK of gettin her picture taken. priceless, Lil!

little girls are the sweetest!

it was so precious how they all congregated further back in the woods to enjoy their dragonfly cupcakes...

how sweet is this little miss?

Maxo goin in for more cupcake

Alberta, the tank of a dog, enjoying some birthday cake too

Berenstain Bairs and too much birthday fun...

oh the victory of the birthday gifts

more DOF and detail for Brooke. there were so many pretty and colorful details!

I think this pretty much sums up Brooke and her husband Josh. I love to see grown ups flirt!

{sigh!} What a FUN day! This afternoon was so full of color and laughter and hugging. These are the kinds of things I hope I'm up to the task for if the Lord provides us with children in our future. Special moments that celebrate life and joy in such simple and thoughtful ways. I truly hope for Lily that as she grows up she remembers these beautiful childhood memories.

::Girls in White Dresses::

2009-10-05T17:46:00.001-07:00

"...with blue satin sashes..." sing it with me, friends! this family just made me so happy! I work with Danielle, and her mother had made beautiful white dresses for the three generations of girls in her family. Her daughter, Serena is such a beautiful little girl and we just had a perfect day for the pictures. Serena totally loved the pond full of ducks too.

3 generations together!

Grandma love

don't you love her tiny pearls? she picked them out herself. classy lady!

sigh...beautiful moment

one...two...three...SWING! (doesn't every kid love this game?)

pretty white shoes all in a row

Well besides singing "The Sound of Music" for the rest of the day, this was definitely a fun first for me to shoot three generations of pretty pretty girls! Clean white shoes, lovely blonde hair, tiny girl pearls...these are a few of my favorite things!

::little man layton::6months::

2009-10-04T18:48:00.001-07:00

I really do have the most handsome godson ever! Layton is growing into such a big boy...he has the sweetest little giggle, and his mommy and daddy just ADORE him! It was pretty hot and humid outside the day of our shoot, but Layton managed to pull his coy smile enough to get plenty of happy-boy shots. Love you, LJ!!

it took a team effort from Shel and JJ to get some big laughs...i love how sweet this family is.

so serious chillin in the grass

"guys seriously with the camera again?"

i just love his kissable cheeks!

perfectly round baby head

happy family!

this one just cuts me up! i think he'll be making this face again in 15 years or so...

shy little grin

Layton has the clearest blue eyes, just what Shel wanted :)

Its no news to Jeremy and Shelly that they have such a little stud on their hands...I just love watching him grow and change so fast! Smooches from Auntie Megs!

::baby Adelle::

2009-09-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

how.cute! are these girls?!! three pretty girls...the older two are just SUPER blonde and precious! the focus was mostly on baby sister adelle, but big sisters got in on the action too. big sister courtney is such a ham and little reagan just was not a fan of the camera. check out how adorable!

oh my mercy she's so cute!

reagan doing her own thing

blondies blondies!

little sissy loving

each of the older two girls have a newborn picture in daddy's arms, so of course we had to continue that pose

mama and her sweet girls

kisses for baby

i totally love their interactions and how much they laugh together!

beeYOUtiful eyes!

"just call me sweet cheeks!"

the girls lost interest in the camera pretty quickly, but they sure loved those ice pops

Its so fun for me to get to know these great families and see a new life come into the world. I'm sure you'll agree they are just so sweet and just the happiest family!

::Leonard Family::

2009-09-07T18:36:00.001-07:00

You guessed it! Another NICU nurse family photo sesh! The Leonards are some seriously beautiful people and had tons of energy (I'll let you guess which kiddo contributed the most spunk)!

Briana in all her teenage sassiness! The girl knows how to work that pose!

Sweet Maizie...what a doll

...and Timmy (is he going to be a heartbreaker or what?! check out those dimples!)

probably one of my very favorite pictures; father and son

perfect perfect perfect

they said they've totally done this pose before...just old pros

They are definitely raising some serious athletes; they ran down this hill several times and still had energy to spare

check out her loooong lashes

lovely ladies

crack me up

so beautiful

...and is it any wonder why the kids are so adorable?!

Thanks, Leonard family! You guys are great!

::Hatcher Family::

2009-09-07T18:06:00.001-07:00

oh.my.mercy! FIVE teenage gentlemen in ONE family! My coworker Ann (aka SuperWoman and Mom to this clan of studs) brought her crew over to Holliday Park on a sweltering afternoon. I have to admit, I was a little nervous to do a session like this, but the guys were total professionals and knew how to work those manly poses. They did most of the work for me!

William Jr, the oldest of the group

Ben

Justin...a little camera shy but check how how handsome he is!

Christian rockin the faux hawk

Isaiah is big into baseball and brought along some of his gear

how awesome is this tree? they just climbed on up and took some really fun shots!

the whole group together

such a proud papa...

...and boy do they love their mama!

What an amazing family...and so much fun!

::gabi::

2009-09-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well it only took me a few months to catch up on postings, but boy has this been a fun summer! I did several sessions with my work friends and their sweet families, so here's the first: Nikki and her beautiful daughter Gabi! We had a perfect afternoon at the IMA; here are some of my favorites!

adorable little giggles!

she was a little suspicious at first...

These girls are so sweet together!

sniffin' the pretty flowers

dancing and singing!

OBSESSED with her beautiful curls

I just loved this mama daughter session; we basically just followed Miss Gabi around and loved the results! Thanks Nikki!!

::little man layton::

2009-04-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

what.a.little.stud! layton is now one month old, but i took these pictures when the little man was only a few days old. he's really a sweet boy, so content and happy!

ALL hands and cheeks!

snuggled up with dad

winky!

he's so alert...

probably my favorite of Jeremy and baby

little bit of a mama's boy

...all because two people fell in love

i just love little baby boy heads!

sweet dreams handsome boy!

fast asleep in his BEAUTIFUL hand crafted cradle

Layton was perfect for my first baby session, but wow did he ever cash out quickly after all that posing :) i'm so glad he's finally here!!

::sweet shelly's belly...and jeremy too!::

2009-04-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

yikes! So this is my first ever photography shoot. I totally forced Shelly into doing this session for me, and she and Jeremy were such excellent models, don't you think? Shel is a great friend of mine from the NICU, and boy to we ever LOOOVE our homegrown NICU babies! Even though Layton is now almost three weeks old, I definitely wanted to share these photographs. Thanks for being such great victims for me, Shelly and Jeremy!

happy mommy-to-be!

cooler tones

the whole fam

i love how obvious it is that Jeremy just adores her

Shelly's laugh is so infectious; isn't she so cute?!

love :: love :: love

such a sweet daddy!

Well, that's my first session. I definitely want to keep practicing and getting better, but I couldn't have asked for a better model couple to help me out. Jeremy and Shelly, it's going to be so much fun to watch little Layton grow up!

Paul and Jen Maternity

2009-04-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

So Paul and Jen were my second maternity couple; they were kind enough to give me some practice for their maternity photographs. It was fun! They are such a wonderful couple and are going to be really great parents. They're the first of our small group to get pregnant, and its been so much fun to watch Jen's cute little belly grow and for them to head into parenthood. Aren't they adorable?! (Paul, by adorable, of course I mean Jen)

Can we all agree that Jen is an absolutely gorgeous mother-to-be?!

Paul came up with this one; I hope you crack up as much as I did. Creative and hilarious!

babylove

"Children are a gift from the Lord..." Psalm 127:3

i spy a sweet moment

how.flipping.cute!

Paul was cracking me up with his ridiculous facial expressions and

Jen with her sweet belly laughs!

So there we have it...my first blog post. I hope it wasn't too obvious that I'm totally new at this! Thanks, Paul and Jen, I just can't wait to meet sweet baby Madeline!