Elephant Line Up

Calvin was playing with his animals. I saw shadows.  I adjusted the two and got this image.  Light can be truly spectacular!

Reading with my Littles

Another image on my quest to get myself into more of my photos. I shot this using my tripod and self timer..not bad.  The kids love doing this sort of thing. As soon as the shutter snaps, they both run off the couch and see if it's a good one or not.  I've been loving creating more moments like this with the kids and have enjoyed seeing the rewards of really including them in my photography.  They seem much more inclined to get in the shot when they are involved in making it happen.

Experimenting with Light Sources

I've been having fun with the kids while using light differently in my photos.  They love getting to stay up a little later for photo fun in the evening.  Since David's been working late a lot, it's been nice to have something fun to do with them in the last half hour before bedtime.

 

Photo Walk at Tynehead

October 8
We came across this great little archway over a path at Tynehead park on one of our photo adventures.  I loved the way the light was shining through the trees, so magical!

I've been trying to get in more photos with the kids these days. Since David's been working  A LOT, I've been getting creative on how to do this. I actually handed the camera off and Calvin took the above shot. Even though our heads are cut, I still like this shot.

We took the walking bridge over the freeway to get to the park. The kids LOVED this!  Must do it again sometime soon.

Motherhood

October 1
I took some photos of my lovely friend Rachelle and her little girl Lenora.  I don't think that moms have nearly enough pics of them with their children.  Anyways, I wanted to practice using back lighting (when the sun is low and shining into the lens) and thought it would be a great opportunity to capture some moments of Rachelle and Lenora.  I was thrilled with how they turned out and have become a little addicted to the dreamy beauty of backlighting.

 

 

Calvin and Composition

This past week I was being more intentional about getting some "framing" photos for our chat about composition on Thursday.  Calvin was wonderfully framed in the circle above but then jumped out at the last second.  Oh well, love the expression!

I saw a photo with this idea awhile back. Thought it was really creative and loved how the cereal boxes framed the child.  My background isn't so good and the light wasn't great but I'm still gald I gave it a try.  Loving learning and pushing myself to try new things.  I've decided to take part in an online "study along" online photography workshop this fall. Just have to decide which one to take (so... many awesome ones).

Baby Joshua

Meet Joshua! On Friday I had the pleasure of taking some photos of my cousin Melissa's little babe. It was busy times taking care of our kids (and all that involves) and taking photos inbetween.

Photo Sessions

Yes, it's true, I've got Christmas on my mind. I like to have new Christmas card designs make their appearance sometime around the end of September/ beginning of October. I'm also going to be at the Fieldstone Market at the Abbotsford Eco Dairy on September 24th, so I thought it would be good to have some new printed cards ready to show there as well. So I've been getting ready for this wonderful time of year already. Seems a little crazy...but it makes sense.

Since we're living back in BC and once again I'm looking for wonderful models for cards, I've decided to have two photo shoot days. I have no idea what the response will be but I'm excited for the opportunity. This past year I've had 15 wonderful photo sessions with families and babies... loved the experiences!

Before I post the dates, info, etc on my page and site I thought I would post it here (friends first).

Details: Fall Photo Session
30 minute session, 8-12 high resolution edited images on a disc, 1 custom digital Christmas card
Cost is $50 for everything (due at the beginning of the session)

If you would like to book a time please email me at dolcettodesigns@gmail.com with your first and second choice date and time. Both locations will be in the Abbotsford/ Langley area. I must have at least 4 sessions booked for each date.

October 2, Sunday (Field Location)
10:30-11 am
11:15-11:45 am

12:30-1 pm
1:15-1:45 pm
2-2:30 pm
2:45-3:15 pm
3:30-4 pm

October 15, Saturday (Park/ Forrest Location)
9-9:30 am
9:45-10:15 am
10:30-11 am
11:15-11:45am The Jenkins Family

12:30-1 pm
1:15-1:45 pm
2-2:30 pm
2:45-3:15 pm
3:30-4 pm


Share this with a friend (who books) and receive a complimentary 5x7 professionally printed image. No limit.

Newborn Photography

Last week I had my 5th newborn session. With each session I've been amazed with how much I have learned and grown. I've had such a desire to learn how to use my camera better and really get a grasp on newborn photography specifically (I don't want to be a "Jack of all Trades"). I've been reading, practicing, posing and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. After each session, I review my pics at home and make note of one thing I did well and my two major flaws. Then I work on learning how to improve for my next session. Let me tell you, babies are not as easy to photograph as you may think. I'm happy to finally be in full manual mode and only use natural light, what a big learning curve for a non pro like me. I feel like it's all finally "clicked" (no pun intended).

It's kind of funny, since I only started taking newborn pics in order to get photos for my cards. However, I've come to really love it. I've decided that I'll continue with newborn photography as the opportunities allow. I have the baby connections anyways, and it always leads to birth announcement orders (or vice versa). I hate stock photos (and cards that end up looking similar to other sites), so it's really up to me to get the images. I've got an awesome group of wedding photographers that send me photos whenever I like, but the whole baby/ kids/ family is not so easy. There's really nothing worse than a website that has all the same pics in the cards or just really bad photos. Anyways, I thought I would post some pics from the last two sessions I did, just for something different. Hopefully you can see my growth. I have a long way to go, but feel really happy with the progress I've made so far. Celebrating milestones.

I love this little egg basket and so have the "clients." I'm posting this pic for my mom, since she thought I was crazy when I was trying to explain what I was doing with it. Lovin' Kijiji these days!

So there you have it, a couple precious little newborn girls. I still haven't photographed a newborn baby boy, hopefully soon! Spending time with all these babies such gets me excited for our own on the way!

Since we'll be living in the Lower Mainland again (yahoo!!!), I'm also thinking of doing some September mini family photo sessions/ Christmas card packages. Something like 30-40 minutes, aprox 15 high res edited images, and a digital Christmas card for aprox $50. It's a win win for everyone. Ideally, I would love to have three different days, and a different location for each. I'll have to put some feelers out there and see how much interest I would get from the Abby community. It would be fun! I feel like my mind is full of all kinds of ideas right now, watch out.