A little vintage feel

We have four sets of twins in our congregation at church. Two sets are 8-9 year old girls & the other two sets are boy/girl one year(well almost!) old twins. These guys will be turning one in about a week!



I had the pleasure of taking their 3 month old shots too.



When I first met Emily we went out shopping together. We met at her home and I fell in love with her picture wall. She took an alcove people would typically put a huge entertainment center in and filled it with a ton of photos. They are all very eclectic with mostly non studio shots. It really had a great vibe so my goal with these photos was to give them some sweet stuff to add to their collection. I played around with some antique coloring so popular right now and my more typical processing.


We didn't have a real plan for the shoot which I'm really coming to love!







Both babies have such compelling faces for different reasons. And why is it that girls never get the hair the boys get at least early on? Blake & Madison are the same way.


I'm soooo in love with the next two shots. We saw this small carnival off the side of the road and stopped to ask them if we could use the carousel. They totally said yes!


Do you just totally see the joy, wonder and love in this shot? I think this shot is totally going on my new blog header!


As with most twins I've met they get just as happy and interested in the others happiness as they often are in their own. Definitely double the joy.

Fine Art Friday - Seeing Stars

Today's print has the very popular star theme to it. I saw this great display of stars during a photo shoot this summer. I couldn't help myself, & just had to take a few shots. The rust & different textures are so interesting. Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by! I'd love to hear your suggestions for prints you would like to see offered on special in future weeks. Check out our other fine art products here. This print is now available there too!


In other news. I'm so excited to have a real logo in the works! In all of my 18 years as a professional photographer I have only used our name in text to define the business. When Guy and I got together we changed the name to S & G Photography also using Life Long Impressions for our website & blog. The logo my fabulous designer is working on will incorporate both names to tie it all together. We really feel like the piece of artwork that he is working on will represent us, our brand & all aspects of our business. Our logo is behind two other projects so we'll most likely be launching all the new branding, website, blog design and packaging around the end of October! Woooo Hoooo! I can't wait! Do you have any guesses on what kind of art struck our fancy? It is one main 'object' for you to guess. If someone gets it right I just 'may' have something cool for you...

Fine Art Friday - Yummy summer days grass

Today's print is one most people who see it love. It isn't one I thought many people would like, but it garners some positive emotion from all who see it. When you hang this print up in your home people will definitely be complimenting you on it regularly. Enjoy!

This print is now available with the rest of our fine art prints here.

Thank you for stopping by! I'd love to hear your suggestions for prints you would like to see offered on special in future weeks. Check out our other fine art products here.

Extended family shooting fun & a tip

The Fine Art Friday post will be coming soon today.

This family was a lot of fun. We actually didn't make it to the location of the shoot because I saw this cool restaurant then the fun barrels across the street, then the nice weathered building next to those, and finally we stopped at the river park. By then we were all starving so it was time to call it done.... Sometimes with a fun family I feel like we could shoot all day since there are endless combinations & locations.

One of the moms, Cindy, is very interested in photography. She asked me what her next purchase for her DSLR camera should be. "Definitely a great lens," I said! Here is the example of what a good lens with a nice wide aperture can do compared to a 'kit' lens sold with most digital SLR cameras. These photos were taken at the same time with the same lighting and the same editing treatment. The only difference is the aperture was 3.5 on the left and 1.4 on the right. It makes a huge difference in the colors & depth captured in the shot. She looks great in both pictures, but the richness and portrait look to the right one is definitely superior.


We started off at this restaurant for a nice casual big family photo.






I love mom's face here! There are several more cool ones from this spot, but this one is definitely my favorite.


This spot was soooo bright, but everyone thought it was a cool spot to try.


These guys were so cute. When it came time for a couples shot they declined, because all they have up till now is shots of just them. They are so very thrilled to be first time parents.


These guys in the first photo have a couple normal smiley photos too, but I would put this one up on my wall over the others. LOVE IT! It is my favorite shot of the whole shoot.

The behind the scenes shot for this session. I completely bit it coming down the hill before them which is why they are being extra careful! Man, my body was stiff up the next day. Then this weekend I did the same thing picking up the kids from the sitter after a session! Madison and I have had matching scrapped knees this week. She got hers from pushing her walking toy on the driveway too fast so she fell down behind it. Oh, and when I fell down the stairs this weekend, Madison was holding my hand. I made sure to let go as I was falling. As I was coming to my senses with a mental review of body parts for injury and watching Madison two steps above me she does a sympathy suicide dive after me thankfully where I could catch her! So as we are at the bottom of the steps in a cuddle Blake is at the top of our steps with the sitter watching us. He decides it was too much drama for him & starts whaling. All this for missing the bottom step! LOL



The kids had a blast running for these though is took three times to get them to run where we wanted them too... Check out the joy in their faces.

Fine Art Friday - Vintage Truck

Today's print is one of my current favorites. It's a fabulous old truck with some cool textures giving it a unique look. It is on sale in several sizes. If you are interested in any other vintage car prints they can be found here. A lady I met at the Millbrook Art Fair told me about this location. She described the site so vividly I KNEW it would be a place I looked for soon. Sure enough the whole place was just as she described it. The road is curvy with large trees covering it much of the way. All of a sudden when you come around a bend there are these fabulous old cars everywhere. The man who owns them has them all over his property. Some are tucked back in the trees, and some have trees growing through them! The oldest car I saw would have to be from the early 20's back when they had to crank them to get it started. I definitely want to make some time to visit this property again.

I hope you enjoy this print as much as I do!

This print is now available here along with our other fine art photography.

3 month old cutie

We decided this little one has the cutest baby booty ever! They traveled here all the way from Washington state to visit family and do their photo shoot. The other family who had their photos done by me inspired her to get them while they were here. I didn't talk to her or meet her at all prior to the shoot since her sister in law (Lisa - my biggest photography fan!) set everything up so I just came up with a location I liked. Lisa is convinced I have a spiritual gift for picking just the right location and style for each shoot. The location I picked here perfectly fit in with the family style! Mom has horses & loves the green and rustic look. She also loved the big piles of mulch we put him in! Sweet!

Every time I get a new accordion album sale I fall in love with these even more. There are so many options to personalize your photos in this great package. They can also be set on a shelf or desk to be on permanent display. Then when the mood strikes turn it around for a whole new look. I also can make these into a calendar for you. How many times have you needed to pull out a calendar quickly from your hand bag? With these you can get the calendar and a look at your awesome family! Accordion wallet albums are $15 each with a minimum order of 3.


Every time I pass these hay bales I want to put a baby on them. He looks perfectly at home here. There are also a bunch of them across the street that would be fun to put a whole family scattered around on top of them with the large trees around them. Way fun.




The landscaping company had a trailer with a bit of hay in the back. The hay was perfect with her love of horses.


Love both of these.


They think he looks a little like a baby Jesus here. I love the different textures of mulch all around him. It came out as cool as I imagined when driving by.


He has such big brown eyes. The crying shot is adorable.


He was not having this. We think he was just too warm with the blankets around him.


I love all of these. It would be impossible to pick one.

Fine Art Friday - Great Australian Tree

Fine Art Friday Print Sale
Today's fine art print sale is a tree Guy & I saw while in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. This tree has tons of character and visual interest. The coloring has a bit of todays popular 70's look to it. I can also add some cool modern textures to it if you would like. This can also be a warm black and white. Please say you would like the texture added and/or warm black & white in the comment section when you order.



I just decided to offer a second print! Yay! This one is from my native Arizona just outside of Sedona last year. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the very different beauty of my wild Arizona landscape. This edit is a very traditional one with bright crisp colors. Other edit options are available upon request.

These prints are now available here.

Thank you for stopping by! I'd love to hear your suggestions for prints you would like to see offered on special in future weeks. Check out our other fine art products here.

Your chance to win a free sitting or a fine art gift certificate!

If you are feeling crabby I have the pick me up for you.

Would you like to earn a free sitting or a fine art gift certificate from our company S & G Photography? You can by entering our contest at the Multiples and More Blog Party. I'll be featured sometime today as one of the big contests. They will be posting new contests every 1-2 hours all day. Already I entered to win some nice handmade silver jewelry. All of the official contests will be open until Sunday after dinner. There is also an area where many more will be linking to their own contest. Check it all out here!

Don't forget about Fine Art Friday starting tomorrow! It will be happening here with your chance to get a great fine art print at a discounted price.

Wedding cake beauty & Calling my fellow photographers!

Recently I've been thinking about weddings. They are so much fun to photograph. My next one is coming up in October & I still need to share some of the Williams wedding photos with you. Their album is way cool definitely showcasing their colors of Black, White and Red. I get emails (tooo many most of the time!) from Real Simple magazine with little bits of information & ideas about numerous topics. Today the photo of a completely beautiful cake came into my inbox. Check it out! If I liked cake this would be my pick for our wedding cake redo. Since I got to wear my dress 4 times & it is now a dress up dress and tutu that would be impossible, but this cake is right up my current creative alley in perfection! It is definitely inspiring me to make some cool cards with a similar design. Maybe an album design would be even better. Couldn't you imagine your little girls photos elegently set among such beauty?
Hey fellow photographers.... I'm looking to start a collaboration group of photographers from different markets to help each other out with our design and paperwork needs. It would be great to start out with some group designs for Christmas cards, albums, wall inspiration guide, documents & any other thing the group deems necessary for our businesses. Please email or call me if you are interested. My email is sandgphotography @ cox.net and my number is 919-585-6433. Thanks!

Shannon