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!

I had a session last week with three little adorable guys…I absolutely LOVE this one—two arms around Mom and squeezing.  More to come later!

I still have a hard time thinking of photography as my job or my profession. I think of it as just a hobby of mine that God has allowed me to use to meet new people, to capture memories for my family and for other families, and every once in awhile, He lets me use it for things that are close to my heart.

Some friends of mine and their three beautiful children are planning on adding to their family through adoption.  It blessed me tremendously when they asked me to get some pictures of them for the adoption profile book that birth mothers would look through when choosing a family for their baby.  With a deadline looming, we made plans to get pictures taken, giving ourselves just enough time to get the pictures edited and sent off.  Well, of course rain threatened to ruin our plans.  Instead this beautiful family braved wind, cold, and drizzle to get some pictures.  Here is round one (we ended up adding another session a couple of days later to get a few more pictures for them to choose from….you’ll see those right below this post).

My favorite pictures are those where you can just hear laughter.  I love laughter and I love when we can share it during a session!

Ok, in addition to laughter, I love when couples have a glance……one of them glancing at the other……it makes my heart smile.

Did I mention their delightful children?  I mean just fun, sweet, and beautiful kids!

I gave each kid a chance to “be in the spotlight.”  You’ll be able to tell that they liked it.

The night ended with the rain we were dreading, but it meant some wonderful shots with the umbrella!

If it’s above zero, we take pictures outside, right, Minnesotans?

I had already posted pictures of the cute little two year old.  Here are some of the big brother!

A sneak peek for my friend!

Her three boys and her little girl:

We did some pictures indoors and then moved outdoors.

I loved capturing the sibling relationships–they have so much fun together!

Individual pictures to be posted soon!

That is what these pictures give me because I can just hear all the girls giggling when I look at these pictures.  This family loves to laugh (which is why I love to be around them!) and you can tell by just looking at their smiles!

I learned something new, too.  My friend, who is Finnish, informed me that the “family on the front step” picture is a uniquely American pose.  So, here you go, Kata…..you are officially American!

And kids still want to do the same thing….play in the sand, of course!  I took pictures for a good friend of mine and seeing this one made me smile!  Those girls were good to go along with all of my directions, “Stand here!  Smile!  Can you stand here?  Look here!” (some of those will get posted later) but they were so relieved when we told them, “Ok, you can play in the sand!”  I love the look between Mom & Dad here:

It was here last week and luckily I got in two family fall sessions before the snow.  The first session was with this sweet, perfect family.  They are always so easy to work with and this time was no exception.  In fact, they are all so cooperative and good-looking that I hardly had to spend much time editing!  (Thanks for making my job so fun and easy!)

This next one is easily one of my favorite pictures ever….doesn’t she have a great smile?

And sorry humans, the dog was totally stealing the show in this picture (can you tell I love dogs?).  Look at his patient expression!

One of just the girls!

And a couple of just mom and dad!  We even got dad to give his real smile (I am pretty sure he is laughing in the first one!), right Kim?  I love the last one and the way she is looking back at him.

Thank you guys!

My friend has sweet kids…I believe it’s rooted in good parenting and a good marriage.  Every time these two love birds snuggled up to one another, their kids whispered, “Sarah!” and pointed, hinting that I should get a cute picture.  I loved this because it showed that they are used to seeing Mom and Dad so affectionate with one another and it helped me get cute pictures!

These are a couple of the “on the sly” shots:

And when they were expecting it…..

And some individual shots….

A couple of final family ones:

A few years ago my friend asked me to photograph her family.  I have been blessed to be able to get together with them each year and take new family pictures.  The kids grow and change so much, but it is when I take their pictures and begin editing them that I realize how much they have changed.  This beautiful young lady is a prime example!  (Click here to see last year’s pictures)

I love her adorable expression in this one:

Daddy’s girl:

We tried to get pictures of each parent with each kid (this was mom’s great idea–how fun for each kid to have these pictures to look back on someday!):

What a good sport, taking some affection from mom!  (These kids are so sweet, if you can’t tell by their pictures):

Some fun family and sibling ones:

And couple of the little men:

I could post pictures of these guys forever!  More of Mom & Dad to come soon….