Sunday Sawyer shots - an infant portrait session

At the time of this shoot, Sawyer had been outside the womb a mere 19 days. And I've probably already taken his picture 150 times. He's just gonna have to deal.

Stuff I don't wanna forget about this shoot - 

• Joey (aka MacGyver, aka The Professional) gettin a 2x4 to hang the flower basket from
• Bryson puttin on a cap, messin his hair up in the process, then goin and slickin his hair down (think Alfafa from the Little Rascals minus the twig in back) which meant Jen had to blow dry it and fix it a second time
• McKenzie diggin a shirt out of the dirty laundry pile to try to wear (we vetoed her on that one)
• Bryson givin me ideas on poses/setups every 5 seconds (who knows, he may grow up and be a professional photographer one day)
• McKenzie eatin on Bryson's melted chocolate milkshake while wearing her white shirt (scarrrry)

For anyone interested in the technical stuff - 

EQUIPMENT - I shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel xTi camera (no, this isn't the most recent digital SLR by Canon). The lens I typically use (and used for this session) is a 28-90 mm so as you can see, I don't have the most cutting edge, up to date equipment. If you know your equipment and its limitations, you can utilize it to its full potential without breakin the bank.

LIGHTING - Window light...natural, beautiful light created by God... no flash needed if you get the right exposure and figure out what you want out of your setup. Picture it before you shoot it. People who click and hope for a good shot are l a z y. Sorry if you think that's too strong, but it's true.

SETUP - Use whatcha got! Try to think outside the box. You don't have to go buy a bunch of expensive props to create a nice scene at home. If you do buy things, keep your receipts in case they don't work out for ya. As long as they're not damaged, I don't see an ethical issue with this.

PHOTOSHOP - Yes, I use it. I try not to overdo it though. Adjusting or removing color, removing a scratch or blemish, adding a vignette, just the small finishing touches. And of course a 2 week old babe can't hold his little noggin up so I just Photoshop'd Dad's hand outta the shots in the coffee cup planter. Ain't I talented?!

Hope you enjoy these shots. I sure did enjoy doing them! 

random weekend things & Dad is H O M E

Thursday night was the talent show at our local high school. My friend Lisa (Riley's mom) is the choir teacher, so she asked me to take up $ at the door and Anthony was on for a judge's seat. Counting back change and adding multiple entry fees - not my bag. I hope I didn't short anybody. If I did, I'm sorry! 

When we finished with the gate, I was able to go inside and watch the show so I of course found the seat closest to this little dude. 

We played and I kissed him. Several times. And told him I loved him. And that he's a good boy. Many times. Cuz I pretty much <3 him all to pieces. Wish I could clone him.
I ended up havin to take over for one of the judges who had to leave. So then I had to pay attention. Riley didn't seem to mind. He ran off to his mom. I like to think she's the only other woman in his life 'sides me. 

At Anthony's judging table, these were gonna be left behind. 

Can't have that. Poor little Cokes might get an inferiority complex. Feelin unwanted like that. So we snatched em up. 

But guess what we don't have at our house - you guessed it, a bottle opener. So I googled how to open a bottle without a bottle opener. And it seems there's a ton of ways to accomplish this little task... Some were interesting to say the least - a piece of paper, a chainsaw, a lighter, your wedding ring or your iPhone apparently have dual purposes. I opted for the old timey can opener. So anyway Anthony has enjoyed a few bottled cokes thanks to my ingenuity. 
*Side bar - Lyndy doesn't drink cokes (and by "cokes" I mean any carbonated soft drink). Stopped drinkin em in 9th grade as a New Year's Resolution. Only NYR I ever kept. Just thought you should know that. 

Friday was a work day, but the weather got rough in a lot of places here in the south, so I ended up coming home early. Thankfully where I live, we were blessed that it only rained hard. 
*Side bar - We had a storm a while back that had some terrible lightning and thunder with it and we're pretty sure lightning struck in our back yard. It was so strong it knocked the mirror off our wall in the master bath. Anthony was home at the time, along with our cat of course. Anthony said it was so loud he just knew he'd walk into the master bath to find a gaping hole in the wall. Fortunately no hole. But there was glass everywhere. Took him 3 hours to clean it up. Ever since then when it storms very bad, the cat goes behind the couch in the living room. When it stormed on Friday, Anthony said Tinsley was in her "safe place." I thought that was clever. And cute.  

Anyway once we knew the storms Friday had passed, we headed off to Cracker Barrel with Joey, Jen & the boys. McKenzie missed out, she was spending the night with her bf. 

I've been lovingly referring to Sawyer as #5 - cuz now they're a family of five.

Bryson was excited about playing checkers after we ate. It was a bit too chilly on the front porch, so they played near the fireplace. Anthony said it had been so long since he had played, he kinda forgot how. Bryson wasn't complaining.

Saturday I did my 5 mile run.  

Dad didn't get to come home from the hospital Saturday so we went to see him. He sat up in a chair while we visited. I was amazed at how well he can walk already. The getting up from laying to standing - slow and steady. 

We swung by a few places on our way home and made a few purchases. Nothing really blogworthy though. 

Sunday was church of course and in the afternoon I shot some more super cute pics of Sawyer. CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW YOU. 

Dad also came home from the hospital today!! And he might have been sittin on the front row at church tonight. But I won't say cuz his doctor and nurse might read this here blog. Idk 4 sure...it is the WORLDWIDE WEBBY ya know.