Goldsberry Birthstory | Cache Valley Newborn Photographer

Logan Utah and Cache Valley Newborn and Birth Story Photographer

I have decided the miracle of childbirth is a seriously amazing experience. This was my second birthstory in the same month and I was thrilled to be able to capture the delivery of a beautiful little girl. 

Danyel contacted me quite a few months ago and we arranged her Birthstory package. We took their maternity pictures at Willow Park last month. Their little boy, Bentley, was adorable. She was due the week after Memorial Day. I love how laid back Danyel was with everything. She made my job super easy! 

Thursday May 22nd. At about noon Danyel contacted me saying she was being induced that day and just wanted me to know. I was a little nervous at the time because she wasn't due for a few days and I also had another newborn session scheduled that night. I worked it out to change the newborn session and I cleared up my schedule. Danyel headed to the hospital at about 2:15 in the afternoon. By about 5:30 she was only progressed to a 2+ so I headed home after work. I got home started editing pictures and keeping busy. I headed to the hospital about 8:50. Danyel had a group of family/friends and supporters in her room with her, all eagerly ready to meet the new little baby as I'm sure she and Tyler were. She was looking amazing when I got there. Baby's arm was up by her head for a while there so they were a little worried they might have a slight issue with her shoulder/arm in delivery. By the time she progressed and was ready to deliver her arm had moved and all was well. Danyel did an amazing job pushing and delivered a beautiful and healthy baby girl. She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. 

The joy and experience of being in the Delivery room is just something else. I've been in both C-Sections and Vaginal Deliveries and they are both seriously amazing. I'm so blessed to have clients that trust me to join them on their journey. I was home that night by 11 pm. I went to visit them the next day to take some additional photos after they had gotten some rest. 

Congrats Goldsberry Family! She is perfect. 

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Throw Back Thursday Cruise and New Orleans | Cache Valley Photographer

I love to travel! It's been a growing passion over the years and recently, say in the last 4 years, I've been able to travel more and more and I'm loving it. This Throw Back Thursday post is to October of 2011. We went on a Cruise to Mexio, leaving the port from New Orleans. When the Cruise came back we stayed in New Orleans for a few days to tour, sight see and have some fun on Bourbon Street. 

This was my first cruise and I absolutely loved it. Andy and I had a blast and have been talking about doing another cruise ever since. Formal night was awesome, the food was amazing (and weird), I loved playing some cards in the poker room and even made it into a tournament on the ship. We met some fun, energetic people and loved the atmosphere. 

This was also my first time into Mexico, but they didn't even stamp my passport. :( We went to see the ancient Chicken Itza Mayan Ruins and actually got to walk on some of them. 

We took a boat/beach excursion one day to snorkel and soak up the sun. 

Then back to New Orleans. Ah. I LOVED this place. I actually loved it more than Las Vegas to be honest. Though it is farther and would cost more to visit again I highly recommend it and would prefer it over Vegas. Bourbon Street was something else. I can still remember it's smell, which sounds weird but its so true. 

We spent time touring around the French Quarter and enjoying the scenery in the area.  

And then there is Cafe Du Monde. O.M.G. My mouth just waters thinking about their amazing Beignets. Ah they are to die for. 

All around this trip was fantastic and I loved it all. I highly recommend a cruise if you've never gone on one and seriously recommend a trip to New Orleans. It's a place that deserves to be on everyone's bucket list.  

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The Tuesday Ten | Using your Phone Camera

How to get Amazing photos from your Camera Phone!

1. Use it! Using your camera phone is simple, easy, and is most likely always in your pocket or purse. If you already use it, great! If not, I challenge you to start taking pictures. Use that phone for more than just talking, texting, and the internet. Take advantage of the technology available to us. Most of us with smart phones have an fairly reasonable camera available to us 24/7. Start using it more!
2. Keep Steady. Though camera phones have come a long way with technology they are still not a DLSR. You can't change many or any of the settings. Get a good feel for using your camera so you know how it works. Some camera phones are easier to hold than others. But, always try to keep your hands steady or you'll get a blurry shot or the quality of the photo will be affected.
3. Lighting. Lighting is seriously one of the most important aspects of using any camera. Natural light is better than flash but again use both. Camera phones are actually pretty "smart" and take decent photos in any circumstance. Sometimes their white balance is much better than mine on my SLR (until I edit it in Lightroom).
4. Get to know your settings. I can't stress it enough that just using your camera and getting to know what it is capable of is the best way to ensure you get amazing pictures from your phone. Find out if you have a Face-Detection focus mode that you can put the priority on Human subjects, what about burst shots, self portrait, a timer, can you change your ISO settings, etc. Your camera is capable of taking some pretty awesome shots, you just need to play around with it and learn how to use it to it's full capacity. Don't have time? That's ok to. Camera phones have great auto settings as well. Leave them on auto and you'll be safe to capture those memories. When you get time try learning about one thing at a time. 
5. Keep your phone Clean. Believe it or not your phone's camera will take better pictures if it is clean! Remove any dust or finger prints before you use it.
6. Don't always zoom. Camera phones have the ability to zoom but I don't recommend always using it. Zooming makes your pictures more pixilated. Use Optical Zoom instead of digital zoom when available as your pictures will be more clear.
7. Editing programs. Did you know your phone most likely has it's own photo editing program? Check it out, play around with it. It may just help enhance your photo and make it better! If you don't have one or don't like the one you have there are plenty of Apps that are available as well. Some are free and others cost money. 
8. Capture those random, unplanned moments. Usually when I have my SLR out I am at an event, session, or trying to capture a specific photo. One of my favorite things about using my camera phone is its spontaneous. I can use it pretty much anywhere and I get to see all those fun, random and seriously unplanned moments. And I love that I have pictures of those moments. 
9. Back up your photos! I back up my camera phone photos to my hard drive as well as in the cloud back up option my phone service provides. I love keeping those memories and I take a lot of pictures with my phone. In the past I've had to delete photos to make room for additional ones. That's when I started backing them up so I don't loose those awesome, unplanned memories. 
10. Print them! I use Groovebook.  It's an app that prints your PHONE PHOTOS in a small keepsake photo book. They print one book a month for you that includes 100 pictures for $2.99 (Including shipping and handling). It's an awesome way to use your phone pictures for scrap booking, framing, bulletin boards, on the refrigerator, etc. Are they super high quality? No, but they are tangible and it's easy to use! I have a coupon code for a free book if you want to try it out. Let me know. 

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Trinity Newborns | Cache Valley Newborn Photographer

Logan Utah and Cache Valley Newborn Photographer

This little gal is so sweet. I'm go glad I was able to take her newborn pictures. Her mom, Andrea, contacted me when she was nearly 10 days old. We scheduled her newborn session for Thursday the 22 of May. Thursday rolled around and I got a text from another client that was going into Labor and I was scheduled to do a Birthstory for her. I contacted Andrea and asked to reschedule because I was needed at the hospital. Andrea was super nice and easy to work with, which not every client is. In those situations its hard to work around a baby on the way because you never really know when they are going to decide to be born or when the doctor might decide to induce labor. We moved little Trinity's session to Saturday morning instead. 

I can't think of a better way to start my holiday weekend than with this little girl. She nailed her session. She loved the flat baskets and slept so good on them. She wasn't too sure about some of the other poses and kept stretching her legs and trying to wake up but she did great non the less. She even slept on the new log bed. Pretty in Pink I must say. She has awesome hard hair and is perfect. I am in love with the headbands her mom brought. She was looking for a neutral theme for most of the pictures and I think we hit that pretty good with the wood backgrounds. Mom also brought a few hats. The owl hat is my favorite! She was so adorable and the hat is beautiful. I had the perfect accents to the owl hat and it's one of my favorites. 

Congratulations to the Carlisle Family. She is adorable and the perfect little baby. 

Thanks so much for letting me be your photographer. 

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Amber and Cody | Logan Utah Wedding Photographer

I have some of the best clients and Amber is seriously one of them. She and Cody got engaged this past December and I can honestly say I’m so happy for them. Cody’s sister told me they were all at her mom’s house one night for dinner and she noticed Amber’s ring. You see, Amber and Cody hadn’t announced their engagement yet. Amber and Cody had been dating for years so the family was thrilled when he popped the question.

Cody and Amber are just fun people… and they are super easy to photograph. Their December Christmas session was super easy so I knew their engagement session would be the same. Amber’s daughter, Ericka, is a doll. She pretty much did anything I asked her to do and she is beautiful. I really love that the three of them take great pictures.

We headed down to a park on the island in Logan and used the old garage door from the building across the street. It’s a pretty area and there are usually a good number of people there. I like the old rustic and antique feel of the door while at the park you get the greenery and bridge accents. It’s a great location all around and I’m glad they let me use it.

After we took their pictures and were headed back to the car their dogs started barking at us. I’m glad we got them out and took a picture with all 5 of them. I’m partial to my dog and really believe they are part of the family. Their two little ones are super cute and we got BOTH of them looking at the camera! Sometimes that is nearly impossible without treats but they rocked it.

Their wedding is next month and I’m so happy to be spending the time at their ceremony to capture them saying “I do”. Congrats you guys! 

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