It's 2016!

I am excited for this new year. I know who I am and what I want. I know that I will succeed and also that I will fail, and that's okay. There will be great happiness as well as sorrow. I will laugh and I may cry. I won't dwell on loss, or pain but will look at the good placed before us. I refuse to belittle others who choose to live their lives differently than I do. Instead I will choose to love them even when I don't agree with them. Ultimately, I have been chosen; and I choose to live my life in a way that will point others towards the Source of happiness, peace, love, and joy. I choose joy! Happy 2016!
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Happy 13th! ~A Sneak Peak~

I had the honor to do some photography for a 13th birthday tea party last weekend. We were able to do a quick set of portrait shots before it started. It was lots of fun to see this beautiful girl celebrate with her family. So, lots more pictures to work on, but here are a few to get started with.

The birthday girl was presented with this special china....that also has a special meaning.

AND...if you want to have your own tea party, with some of the amazing treats below and so much more, I just might be able to hook you up with the greatest tea party hostess ever! :)

More Urban Baby ~Albany Oregon Photographer

Just wanted to post a few more shots of the sweet little girl I took pictures of earlier this week. I am loving the funky color in this first one!

Western Oregon Family Photographer

A few more SunnyPatch images

View SunnyPatch Boutique online!

~Outtakes~

Just had to post a couple of cute, silly pictures from the session last Friday. Hope they make you smile!

Look closely and the child on the left...

Sweet Miss E

Just had to post a few more of this sweet girl since I know her family is checking for pictures!

Baby Girl ~Oregon Infant Photographer~

Since I have a feeling that a certain mama is waiting to see some pictures, I'll post a few that I have finished. Still lots more to come...

Fix It Friday Week 13 @ I ♥ Faces

Fix it Friday again...yay!

This week we are fixing the following picture....the first thing I noticed was the bright background and underexposed subject. I thought of using PW's action to "dim the lights" and it worked beautifully. My edits are below...I tried not to do a bunch this week, but as I have said before, once I get started, I just don't want to stop! :)

ORIGINAL

Cropped, dimmed the lights and then lightened the girl, then ran "Lovely and Ethereal"

Rotated, cropped, dimmed the background, lightened the girl and ran 70's Action

Rotated, cropped, dimmed the lights and then lightened the girl, then ran "Lovely and Ethereal"

Same as above, but converted to black and white.

Same as above, but layered the black and white over the color, then used a layer mask to remove the b&w from the tulips.

I ♥ Faces "Laughter" ~Adults Category

This one I pulled from some fun pictures I took of a friend back in November...she and I can have a lot of fun together, so it wasn't too hard to get her laughing. ;)

I ♥ Faces "Laughter" ~Kids

I saw this sweet picture and thought it fit nicely with the "laughter" theme for the contest at

This is my sweet 4 year old...we were out taking some birthday pictures last month and she was just posing away, so I started shooting and caught this adorable moment of her laughing!

Whirlwind processing...

Whew, can't believe I already finished up the session from last Sunday. It helps that this little cutie pie doesn't need much done to her images to make them gorgeous. We had a great combination of cute baby, perfect overcast weather for great lighting, no rain (until we were walking to the car), and a great location. So, a little color boost here, and an eye enhance there and wa-la...we are done.

Willamette Valley, Oregon Child Photographer

"Miss M" ~5 Month Session~

I know this little girls mama has probably been waiting all week to see some images....I am just now able to get to them, but we are moving right along. This sweetheart did so good for us...I can't believe she is already sitting up at just 5 months! She is so cute and I even got some smiles from her this time. It made my day Stacey!

Willamette Valley, Oregon Child Photographer

~Editing~ Willamette Valley, Oregon Senior Photographer

Wow, this has been a busy week. I feel like I have been editing images night and day. (But we got so many good ones!) I am finishing up on Shelley's senior pictures, and should have them done by this afternoon. I have another session that I can't wait to get started on for Miss Maggie! (her 5 month portraits!)

Willamette Valley, Oregon Senior Photographer

Opinions Needed!! Willamette Valley, Oregon Senior Photographer

This session has been so fun to edit so far...we got some great shots! I can't wait to finish it up. I have quite a few more to go though.

I have a love/hate relationship with senior sessions. I LOVE shooting seniors, they are so fun and always end up with some awesome shots, but in the same breath I have a really hard time deciding which shots I like the most, and it takes time editing them because there are so many options for each of the pictures!

Take the image below...I love how it turned out, but then I ran one little action on it and it looks so fun both ways I can't decide which one I like more! Leave me a comment and let me know which way you like it.... Click on either image for a side by side comparison.

Willamette Valley, Oregon Senior Photographer