Asher Sneak Peek!

This little guy has got to be one of my fave subjects. He has the most amazingly soulful eyes for a one year old! And Mommy and Daddy dress him in darling clothes (I loved his shoes), AND drive all the way from Chicago to let me photograph him!

So, I will have your session done soon, but I fell instantly in love with this one....he looks very "America's Next Top Baby Model" here, so I had to show him off!

Thanks again for coming down!! See you in July!

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby L.!

I have been photographing Baby L. since before she was born. Her Mommy is a good friend (and excellent childrens clothing designer) and when I realized today was Baby L.'s 2nd birthday, I had to give s special Birthday Shout Out to her!

I hope your day is fabulous Baby L.! I guess we cant really call you that anymore, Big Girl!!

In honor of your special day: my most favorite image of you, ever:

Somone told me

yesterday that I have an "overdeveloped" sense of fairness, and that its because I myself cannot take the easier road in life. Presumably this means that I resent the fact that others arent held back morally by such things.

I think its true. I wish I could allow myself to treat other people the way they sometimes deserve, I wish I could cheat on my taxes so I wouldnt have to write that huge check, I wish I could just do whatever the heck I wanted all the time...

But what does that teach my children? That you can cheat, and if you get away with it, that its OK? Is this what we want our society to fall into being?

I admit that I wish I could take the easier road, I admit that I wish other people played by the same rules that I do. But I cant, and they dont.

Someone told me that I only see things in Black and White, and the real world is just shades of gray. But I DONT see things as Black and White, folks, I see things they way they ARE:

not black and white, but RIGHT AND WRONG.

Come Vote for Me!!

I am a member of the Society of Child Portrait Specialists, and we are having an Image Competition starting today! Its People's Choice and the voting is open....come have a look and vote for your fave (I hope it is me, but who knows, there are some awesome shots!)

http://integrityinart.com/imagecompmain.htm

My submission:

FLY!

Yesterday we took the kids to the park to play (whereas TODAY they are both sick in bed with fevers, but that is another story). They had each gotten kites from the Easter Bunny and my 5 year old REALLY wanted to fly his. My 3 year old just wanted Daddy to hold his.

We told the kids they had to hold on tight, and run around with the kite so it would stay up in the air. Younger son pooped out and went to sit in the shade, but my older son is truly a kite lover, and a natural born flyer...

Big Brother to be

Recently I had a maternity session with one of my FAVORITE clients (and friend). She is having a second boy any day now (I know she is HOPING for any day now). I asked her if she wanted to get some of her with her first-born, and she said sure.

She had him in a very cute dress shirt, just like Daddy's, but you all know me, I stripped it right off him (he was displeased). But I asked him if he was excited about his new baby brother coming, and he said yes. Then he went to Mommy and laid his sweet nest of blond curls right up against her belly, and wrapped his arm around her leg, and I fired off the shot and sent up a short prayer to the photography gods that I got my focus and exposure just right, b/c it was such a perfect moment.

A split second later, he was gone...and all that was left was the memory...and the portrait.

New Hair!

My friend Shelly is the BEST stylist/make-up artist in the area, I swear! I went for a trim today, was feeling kind of in a funk and she chopped off my locks and colored them RED!!

I LOVE my new hair!!!

St. Luke's Northland Maternity Unit Display

Ok, procrastinator that I am, it has taken me forever to get my beautiful Labor and Delivery Unit display ready for hanging...but it is in the process of being hung, and I just couldnt resist some quickie snapshots of a few of the prints on the walls....

I do have to say though, the 20x30s look really small! Maybe we should have done 30x40 instead? ;)

Main lobby as you exit off the elevator:



To the side of the elevator (bad lighting in hospitals, ever notice that?):



Hallways:







Example of patient rooms (each room has one above each bed):



So, the other prints (42 of them!) are still being hung! Its very exciting for me, and the hospital staff seems really pleased!

I Love Snapshots!

When I started in this business, I became obsessed (ask my husband!) with “portraitizing” (yes, I made up a word) every event. I never went anywhere without all my gear, 2 camera bodies, lenses, etc. I spent the whole event looking at possible angles, fiddling with my settings, and MISSING the event!

We were on our way to Camp Snoopy one day last summer and I pulled into Target. I told my husband I’d be right back. I went in and bought a point and shoot camera that fits in my pocket.

No more over-accessorizing for me!

I can go anywhere without attracting attention!
I can snap away without thinking too much about it!
I can play soccer with my 3 year old and still get the pictures!
I don’t have the pressure of the “perfect” shot, b/c that won’t happen with that camera!

Now I make it a point to take that little guy everywhere. I get shots at the park, shots at the games, shots at the McDonalds play land, shots at the gym, shots at my parent’s house and shots in my yard.

Celebrate snapshots, fellow photographers! Time slips away so fast, don’t waste too much of it working on the perfect angle!

Some snapshots to share:

Baby L. Sneak Peek

Ok, so it was a *bit* of a long session at almost 4 hours. But sometimes, you just have to wait 'em out. So we did, didnt we, M?

I thought after all that effort yesterday, you should get a quick look at what is coming!

Enjoy!

Why use a professional photographer?

This is something I have been working on creating for a while. With all the new digital technology and the affordability of such technology, I thought it was important to share *why* I feel a Professional Photographer is still SO important!!

Please check it out! It is worth your time, especially if you are on the fence and think maybe you could "do it yourself" or go the chain store route....

http://www.susanrobichaud.com/musical.htm

Happy (early) Easter

I saw this on a cartoon like 15 years ago, and when I was buying chocolate bunnies the other day, it reminded me of it...

More Blogging!

I have decided to ditch my quarterly newsletter in favor of posting on my blog more often~So I wil be using this blog for announcements, specials and all the stuff that used to be in the newsletter!

This works better for everyone, many people never could get the newsletter b/c of their ISP blocks. Now everyone can get the info they want!

Happy Spring!!