Fur babies! | Helena, Montana Pet Photographer

I had some surprise visitors to the studio last week and I couldn't resist taking them in the studio for a few minutes. I just love dogs and these American Pitbull puppies were so cute! My brother's friend was transporting them from a breader in Anaconda, MT, Smelter City Pits, to their new loving home in North Dakota. My Mom helped me out in the studio to get these awesome shots. She is so good with animals and I could not have done it without her. I think photographing pets is more challenging than photographing newborns or small children any day! I hope to do more pet photography in the future. I love capturing their personalities and their cuteness!

Twins! | Helena, Montana Newborn Photographer

These precious LITTLE girls are adorable! They were almost 5 weeks old at their session, which we did 1 day after their expected due date, and still they only weighed around 5 lbs. I remember when my second daughter was this tiny, she too was born prematurely at 35 weeks. It is unbelievable to think back and realize how small she really was. These two baby girls did amazing for their session! I was a little worried, this was my first time photographing twins, but they did so great and we got some precious shots of them with Mom , together and alone. This was also my first try at just using the natural light in my studio. I usually shoot with my strobes but I wanted to try and see if using the natural light would work better, and it did! I couldn't be happier with the way these images turned out. I just LOVE them!

Mr. R | Helena, Montana Newborn Photographer

This little guy's arrival has been much anticipated since his parents announced they were adding another child to their family of 5 girls. I think we all prayed for weeks that it would finally be a boy. For his newborn session we wanted to keep things simple. Mom loves black and white and so do I. There is just something about capturing in black and white the simplicity and pureness of a newborn. We had a great session, and got some great photographs of this little guy, even though he was a little tempermental about falling asleep.

Rayden's Birth Story | Helena, Montana Birth Photographer

This little guy's arrival has been much anticipated from his family and from me!  I was so thankful that I was in town during his birth.  April was a busy month for me traveling out of town for conventions and personal stuff.  And we knew that he would probably come a little bit early like his sister did.  His entry into this world was fast and furious as expected.  Mom had lots of support in the delivery room and did a great job laboring.  He was born just an hour after her water was broke.  He wanted to make sure we all knew he was here and was very vocal the first bit.  He is going to need that strong voice in a house full of 5 girls! Please click on the link below to watch a short video of his birth story.  



Rayden's Birth Story

A beautiful woman of God | Helena, Montana Portrait Photographer

This beautiful woman is near and dear to my heart, my Great Aunt Bonnie., and probably even more so after this past year. In December we lost her sister, my Great Aunt Rita, to a massive heart attack. She was too young and it was very sudden. It has really hit our family hard, especially after losing another one of their sisters, my Great Aunt Edwina who lived in Oregon, just two weeks prior to her death. All of these women are women who I have looked up to my whole life and I have treasured the relationships that I held with each of them. So, it makes it even more special to me that she asked me to take some photographs of her for an upcoming Ministry Retreat she will be speaking at in May at Fort Peck. If anyone knows my Great Aunt's, knows that they are all women of God, and that they diligently seek to do God's work. My Aunt Bonnie runs Manna Basket Ministries here in Helena and does outreaches several times a year and tries to go on at least one International Mission trip a year. Her last trip was to Nepal in November last year. I really admire what she is doing and the peace that she has about traveling over seas. I hope one day to be able to travel with her and carry out the good work she is doing for God. I wish her the best as she goes out to Eastern Montana this month to reach out to Native Americans on the Reservation at Fort Peck. All of our reservations need prayer and support and I know it is near and dear to her heart, as our family is members of the Little Shell Tribe, here in Montana. Make sure you go check out Manna Basket Ministries Facebook page to see more of what she is doing!

A beautiful Mom to be | Helena, Montana Maternity Portrait Photographer

This beautiful Mom to be is such a great person,and although we have known each other since we were younger playing sports together, I have had the joy of photographing her and her family the past couple of years as they grow in numbers. She married my cousin a few years ago, both bringing their children from prior relationships together, to form a big happy family that they keep adding to. All of their chidlren are absolutley adorable and some of the best mannered kids around. I was so thrilled last fall when she told me they were expecting again! We were just finishing up their newest addition, little Miss A who is just adorable, and her first year of portraits. This time around they were hoping for a boy, since they have a house full of 5 girls, and sure enough they are planning to add a little boy to the mix. I am so excited for them and cannot wait to share the rest of their story with you. We will follow this little guy who is on his way from birth to his first year birthday!

My new obsession! | Helena, Montana Portrait Photographer

In April I attended the Montana Professional Photographers Annual Convention in Bozeman and as usual there were some pretty amazing speakers there. The first day was spent leanring from Dennis and Cheri Hammon out of Idaho Falls, ID. They are a husband and wife combo who run a very successful studio and both very talented. We got to learn more about Boudoir photography, which I hope to dabble in this year and how to digital paint with Cheri. Cheri is one of 9 people in the whole world who holds all 4 Masters Degrees through Professional Photographers of America. She is so talented and I absolutely loved her class. She taught us how to use Corel Painter which is a software program in which you can digitally paint your photographs. I don't know why I waited so long to try this program out. I love painting and even had a full Art Scholarship in college. Needless to say, when I got home the first thing I did was download the trial and start trying out the things that she taughts us. I am obsessed with it now and hope to master it enought to include this as part of my services that I offer in my studio. Here are a few images that I tried out. I still need to work on learning the different brushes and how they work but I am pretty happy with the results so far.

It's been a while since my last post... | Helena, Montana Professional Photographer

Well, last fall got away from me. Blogging was not a top priority for me this past fall when I had some of the busiest months I have had to date since opening my business in the fall of 2012. Over the winter I cut back my schedule to study for the Professional Photographers of Americal Certification exam. This is a very important first step in a long line of goals I have outlined for myself and my business. I took the test in January and passed. This was the first part of the process and now I am focusing on my images I will have to submit for my portfolio. I was going to try to submit my portfolio this spring but I have been dealing with some health issues and I am scheduled to have surgery soon. I plan on submitting my portfolio this summer or fall. So hopefully, by the end of this year I will be able to proudly say that I am a Certified Professional Photographer. What does that mean? Why is it so important for you as a consumer? It means that when it comes to photography I have demonstrated that I understand techniques, lighting, posing and post processing. This is very important in today's industry. There are a lot of people out there that claim to be photographers but really do not know the first thing about how their camera operates, how to run studio lights, or even control lighting when shooting in outdoor situations. Being certified is something that you as a consumer should look for when hiring a Professional Photographer. It protects your investment. Who wants to go spend their hard earned money for a product they can do nothing with? I have had numerous people come to me after bad experiences with other photographers. Those photographers may have been cheap and affordable, but is it really affordable to go and waste $75 on a session, where you don't even want anyone to see the pictures because they are so bad or even think about hanging them on your wall. Make sure you check out your photographer before you book them. Make sure they belong to a professional organization, are taking time to educate and better themselves, and are not just out to take your hard earned money by claiming they are a photographer. Everyone these days can pick up an expensive camera and can take a picture but that doesn't make them a photographer. For more information on Professional Photographers of America, the Certification process or help finding a Photographer in your area make sure to check out their website. Professional Photographers of America