a fishy face photography post, oops, wrong blog

 don't you hate it when that happens?
i was wondering why the tags I was typing weren't already in there.  oh well, aren't these babies cute? they were born on Tyler's due date. I was still able to do their maternity pictures and I took Tyler w/ me for their newborn retakes. (The mom realized she wanted another pose and I'm nice.) It's a part of my life now, doing photo shoots, so why not put a little part of a session here. here's my crate and a white blanket I found at a consignment store.

 my books,

 my kids' hat and tie,

 and the exact spot where our year's family portrait was taken (it's on the back of our Got Eggnog Christmas card.) And all 3 of my kids have worn these suspenders.

 I think I did a head swap here b/c one twin was always looking somewhere else or blinking or crying.

 I'm going to take a picture of all 6 of my kids in this buggy this month.

I really feel more confident taking pictures now. I know how to give direction b/c I really know what will look better. I have pretty much defined my style as colorful with a mix of posed and natural images. I always include black and white conversions and use Lacey's A Cherry On Top Workshop actions on every image. At least her short cuts for blending modes anyway. I still stay up WAY too late editing and it takes me at least 3 full nights per session, so like 20 hours per session.  I was going to just do 2/month, but I always have things come up like Barbie's Bridals (which I'd love to share, but you'll have to wait 'til after her wedding on Saturday!) I squeeze headshots in and will raise my prices on those b/c it still takes me hours to go through those and I like the way they turn out so figure I should charge accordingly. I love receiving cold calls from strangers for sessions. I refer about half away b/c they're on Sunday, I'm already booked, or they want weddings. I'm going to do Ivy's 1 yr photos, Ella's 3 mo photos, (Tyler's 10 mo photo), Andre and Barbie's wedding photo (not paid, just b/c I'm going to want one good one myself!), a past client's headshot,  a newborn who's been booked since the mom told me at their family session that she had just found out she was pregnant - that happens a lot, and an underwater session for www.hatsWithHair.com. That's 7 events! This session is actually from May. It's good to be busy, but with the wedding, the end of Kindergarten, Father's Day, and Steven's birthday month, I felt like I was getting sick a couple of days ago. I need to budget sleep into my days (b/c nights are too booked). The other evening I asked Steven if he wanted a pedicure, massage, or for the kitchen/dining room to be cleaned that evening. I can't do it all even though that was his reply. I'm actually excited for July. I'll be traveling to Utah for a photo shoot, and it's my birthday month. I want to get my teeth cleaned, and I'm going to try to keep it to just the 3 sessions that are already booked. I'm working on underground advertising, but only because I want to be appreciated. I can't really do quantity sessions, so I'll keep them quality. I'm going to have to stick to my limit of 25 images/session instead of the 30-45 I usually give. I want/need a new camera too, so I'm hoping July will be the magic month for that. I've been spending a lot this month too, photography related. I really love working with clients and am so happy with my work right now. I used to look at other photographers and wonder how they get what they get, but now I look and think I'm at the level or am almost there! There's ALWAYS room for improvement and I know my weaknesses, but I also know what to avoid to be able to highlight the good.