Clear Sky Portrait Blog

I just have to say it—God amazes me.  A dear friend of mine was widowed a little over a year ago; she was suddenly a young mother on her own raising four little children.  Fast forward to present day: she is now busy planning a wedding to a wonderful man who has been a blessing to both her and her children.  It is incredible to see the way God provides for one’s needs and even the desires of one’s heart.  It is incredible to be taking pictures for this soon-to-be-wed couple and soon-to-be new family.  These engagement pictures started first with family pictures.

Just the couple:

They were both so kind as to indulge me in some fun pictures (thanks, guys!).

And here I was stalking them ala paparazzi-style from across the street.  I wonder what passersby thought of us in our small little town!

Many blessings on a life filled with happiness, my friends!

This couple appropriately named their wedding festivities, “Wedding on Tour.”  They were married in early June in Sweden, then travelled to the U.S. to have a reception at the groom’s parents’ home.  These pictures are from “Part 2”—the American reception.  Besides being incredibly photogenic, this bride and groom were also fun-loving and affectionate (perfect combinations for bridal pictures!). 

And such a lovely setting….on a beautiful Minnesotan lake….

Their day had so many fun details, most of which showcased a good sense of humor:

(The bathroom arrow led a person straight into a forest!)  Minnows in the water pitcher, of course!

Delicious appetizers, food, and desert:

And a fun opportunity for guests to take the mike and share with the newlyweds:

Trying something new…..using Lightroom 3 and some crazy pieces of fabric I bought for a backdrop. 

The last family session I did included a wardrobe change involving the family’s favorite baseball attire.  Brilliant?  I thought so—I love brilliant clients!  These are some of the fun images we captured.  It seemed like the kids had fun playing and posing out on the baseball field and fun is always my number one priority! 

Love this one of big brother helping little brother:

Cheering on the Minnesota Twins!  What enthusiastic fans!

A few pictures from a recent photo session.  There are more to come, but I just had to share these first!

I love all the facial expressions in this one! 

My husband is a willing practice model for me, so here are some shots on the new camera.  A good camera and a good lens really make photography a lot of FUN!  I spent more time figuring out locations and angles than wondering if my camera could handle the lighting or the speed at which I was snapping.  Can you tell I’m in love?  (With both the hubby AND the new camera…)

And by that, I mean a NEW CAMERA!  We are up and running with the Canon 7D.  A huge leap for me considering that I’ve been using a Canon 10D for the last 4 years.  I’ve got a lot to learn on this new one, but am blown away by the quality.  I did some comparison pictures between my old camera and the new.  I kept the settings the same for these first pictures.  My ISO was at 1600 (the highest ISO available on the 10D), f1.4 and 1/250 sec.  (I did no editing on these pictures.)

The 10D is first:

The next two pictures were done with the lights off.  Again, on the 10D, the ISO was at 1600 (as high as it would go) and the aperture and shutter speed stayed the same as the above pictures. 

On the 7D, I increased the ISO to 6400 (is that even possible?!!!!) and kept the other settings the same.  Again, no editing on any of these pictures.  Are you as amazed at the difference as I am?!  I’m excited to see what’s next with this camera!

Well, first things first, I have to upgrade my Photoshop.  It turns out that CS3 won’t support the RAW images from the 7D.  Blah…so I guess a new camera means a lot of new “investments”! 

There’s nothing better than a baby in a bucket.  Do you agree?

I’ve had the privilege of photographing this cutie pie since she was a wee little thing.  She is a beautiful little one-year-old and while a bit shy of the weird lady with the camera (that’s me), she was as sweet as can be!

Her mom (who always has fun ideas) wanted to get out the bubbles and, boy, was this little girl entranced!

There’s some personality peeking through!

I had the fun job of photographing these handsome little guys recently.  These are a few of my favorite pictures—and as with little boys, most were taken while they were playing!