Orange Crush {the crystal image photoblog}

{ cast your vote—baby & child entries are on display! }

Tomorrow marks the beginning of our public voting for the local 2009 Baby & Child Portrait Contest and we can't wait for you to see the range of ages, styles and categories! It's up to the public to choose the top three favorites—with each winner receiving 24 free wallets. Our judging panel will select the first, second and third prize winners—each to be awarded great prizes totaling more than $600! Plus, this year we added a local sponsor to the event. A big thanks to Central National Bank for their participation in this awesome contest. Thanks to CNB, first, second and third prize winners will also receive special coupons redeemable for a piggy bank and cash deposit into the kid's Central Secret Agent Savers youth account (in the amounts of $25, $15 and $10 respectively). The three popular vote winners will also receive a piggy bank and $10 voucher. 

The entries will be on display for the entire month of July, so be sure to drop by the studio to cast your vote! This is a great time to drop by the studio and check out our work. Individuals ages 13 and up may vote. Want to arrange a specific time to drop by? Just give us a call so we can make sure we'll be in the office (we've been on location a lot lately, so if you've dropped by and missed us, but sure to try again!).

And, because posts are just more exciting with photos, here are a few of this year's entries.

{ brothers }

We have had a lot of siblings here in the studio lately. A lot. And, as always with siblings, it has been interesting. You just never know what might happen. One set of sisters wound up foregoing the sibling shot—after big sis opted to style herself up a fairly frightening faux hawk just days before their session. We're talking big chunks of hair, missing smack on the top of her head. Some kids will resort to anything to not have their photo taken! (Okay, seeing as how she's only three I'm pretty sure it wasn't intentional, but you never know!) Of course, she then DID want her pic taken, so we took a few to placate her—by using a few creative angles, I might have even captured one that hid the new 'do. No matter what, sibling sessions are always a whirlwind. Especially when they're little ones. 

Meet Christopher and Benjamin. They are five and almost two. And, as with most almost two year olds, Benjamin couldn't have cared less what I was doing with the big lights and camera, he was just into doing his own thing. And ignoring me completely. So pretty much a typical day here at the studio! Luckily I was able to capture him in motion. Big brother Christopher was well-schooled in the picture taking routine, so he was eager to cooperate. 

 

I love, love, love this one. Doesn't he look like a child actor?

Yeah Benjamin!

And this one, well this one just makes me laugh. The only thing that could have made it more perfect is if baby brother Benjamin would have had his finger up his nose AND had been creeping up!

And, just to prove my point, here's another recent session with brothers. This little brother was not happy. At all. Look at those big sad eyes.

Clinging to mom.

Oh, getting better...

So sweet.

Uh-oh. Check out big brother's face—it's priceless! It's got that 'here we go again' quality. I love it!

I tell you, with multiple kids in one session you just never know what's going to happen. That's why it's so much fun! If everything went too smoothly it would make for pretty boring days. ;)

{ ridiculously cute }

This little girl continues to amaze me. She is so expressive and so freaking cute! This time around Parker was in for her seven month session and mom brought along the most darling tutu and headband ensemble. Now, we have tutus here at the studio, but this one, on Parker, with the flower headband, was ridiculously cute. At first she wasn't too sure how she felt about this new look, but she quickly started pouring on the charm.

But first, one with her stuffed elephant, both in the buff:

(as always, click to see larger)

Cuteness overload!

Anticipating dad going for the toes! I love it!

Simply sweet.

{ haylee }

A lot of parents are very devoted to having their child's photos taken regularly. That is, until they hit about one or two and then the physical changes aren't as readily apparent (after all, when you see them everyday it's easy to not notice) or there's the addition of a sibling or they just forget. And then all of a sudden they're eight, 10 or 15 and you're wondering where all of the baby fat and chubby cheeks have gone! That's why age five is considered one of the best ages to get portraits taken. Why? It represents the end of their babyhood. By five the kids have already started to morph into the preteens they will eventually become—yet there's still that little hint of baby-ness left in their faces. This age is usually right before they start losing their baby teeth too—which is another big transformation to their features. We recently added a Toddler Trio program here at the studio to address the in-between ages that so often get forgotten or overlooked. The Toddler Trio features three sessions for the price of two ($100+tax) and offers package pricing plus a few special products that I will reveal on the blog in the next few weeks. It's perfect for the parents who want to be reminded to have pictures taken, yet isn't as involved as our Fingers & Toes Baby Program. You have two years to use the sessions and it's available for children ages 18 months to 5 years of age. Give us a call for details or keep checking the blog. 

So mom decided to bring Haylee in for a session before she started to change even more. She is such a pretty girl! And sweet to boot. I love interacting with the kids when they come in for a session. Each age is so wildly different, as is each child. Haylee started off fairly shy (as most do), clinging to mom, looking for reassurance. But once we got going her true personality shined through! Here are a few of my favorites from the day. Thanks for bringing her in Beth! She's such an amazing little girl!

{ help wanted }

Know someone that is looking for part-time work that is fun and interesting? I am looking for a part-time assistant here at the studio. This person would need to be able to work days and possibly be able to work some evening hours in the fall. A minimum of 15-20 hours but potential for more based upon our workflow. Must be a visual person and eager to learn new things. 

The ideal applicant would be reliable, responsible, good with people, adept at Photoshop and love photography. And a dose of common sense goes a long way too! 

Intrigued? Contact Crystal at 785.393.1958 or email your resume to info@tcistudio.com. I am looking to hire immediately so time is of the essence. 

{ daniel the acrobat }

My session with Daniel was crazy! I have never had a 20 month old in the studio with the balance and coordination and dexterity of Daniel. I kept forgetting how little he really is because of the things he was able to do. It's probably a good thing we don't have anything to swing from in the studio—he would have been all over that! Besides being super cute, Daniel is full of curiosity and is so bright! He was on the go the entire shoot and mom and I both could have used a nap when we were done (but really that's the case with most sessions!). Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

Oh, and did I mention he's pretty expressive too? :)

And a few with mom:

{ finn }

Baby Finn is one of the sweetest eight month olds I've ever met. He is also a very big boy and I'm not sure how mom is able to lug him around. I believe he and his car seat combined top out around 50+ pounds! She had me hold Finn in his car seat the last time they were in and it literally almost ripped my arm off. Okay, not literally, but it was pretty heavy. As Finn is the youngest of three boys, I have a feeling that mom gets her workout in pretty easily when lifting, hauling, playing, wrangling the boys. Finn is a member of our Fingers & Toes baby program, so I'm excited that I will get to watch him as he continues to grow!

Mmmm, good phone.

Look at that sweet face. How could you say no to that face? :)

{ baby boy gavin }

New mom Ala has been waiting patiently to see a sneak peek of sweet Gavin's newborn session and the time has come. (Actually she's been stalking me via Facebook, but we'll pretend she's been patient. Love ya Ala!) Gavin is so amazingly sweet and cute. He's one of those babies that looks more like a little person and less like a squishy baby. Does that make sense? I think you'll see what I mean when you look at a few of his pics. He's just checking it all out, trying to figure out what in the world I am doing. I can't wait to see how he grows and changes in the coming year.

Ryan and Ala (and grandma!)—enjoy your sneak peek! I'll see you on Friday. 

{ help us help babies }

Every year, I try my best to donate my time to organizations that I feel strongly about. That's why this year will mark the first annual Hope sessions. What are the Hope sessions? These are special half-hour sessions that are available for a limited time—with partial session fees donated to a children's charity. This year we've opted to work with the March of Dimes, a fantastic organization that is all about healthy babies. This year $15 of each $40 session fee (up to two people, each extra add $15) will go directly to the March of Dimes. These special sessions will also feature package pricing, and a portion of that will also benefit to the March of Dimes. The package pricing will be posted on my website later this week. It's my goal to get to the point where I am able to donate every single cent of these sessions to a children's charity. This year I hope to raise a minimum of $350 for the March of Dimes (but the more I can raise, the better!). With your help, I'll be able to do so. 

So please, help us help babies and get some great pictures in the process. The sessions are available June 1-20th. These special half hour sessions work great for all ages—whether a little one or a family of five. One outfit per session.

Have a children's charity that you'd like me to do a fundraiser for? Give me a call and we'll see what we can come up with. 785.393.1958