3 months.

Hello again. It has been three months, a quarter of a year, since I posted last. SO much as happened!

I've had lots of shoots, and for the first time in a really, really long time, I am the most confident in my shooting, the most comfortable. That may be because...

I GRADUATED!!!

Ok, so not anything formal like university status, but the Professional Photography course I enrolled in last year. The one I hadn't even looked at in 6+ months, and was pretty certain I would never finish. Then one day, I realized that I had nothing to lose, and that I had learned a lot over the past year, so I jumped in. Ok, more liked LEAPED! I finished 8 assignments, which usually takes 4-8 months, in less than THREE weeks! I've never been this proud of myself. I was sure I had wasted my money once again, but proved myself wrong!

In March, I did Maddie's First birthday pictures. Here are a few that from that shoot, which were also on display at her party!




Not long after Maddie's pictures, I did a shoot in Shell Beach with the Gonzalez family, along with an asthma attack! Luckily they are friends, so it wasn't TOO embarassing, but still, not fun. Not to be cocky, but THESE pictures, I knew would be gorgeous, not because of me, but because they are a gorgeous family, AND since I was still a student, I was able to purchase Photoshop CS5 (the big one) and Photoshop Lightroom 3, two amazing, and very needed programs. Purchasing them as a student allowed be to get them at 80+% off! I'm so lucky. And I was so lucky to get THESE shots...







...Told you, GORGEOUS! :)

A few weeks later, I did Amanda & Henry's engagement shoot! Their wedding is this weekend! :)









I also went to Texas again, and finally got to meet Rylan! Of course I took pictures of him :)







Oh! And before I went to Texas, I did a surprise 4 month shoot with Miss Poppy M...here are a few of her too! :)








So I have a shoot with kids at the beach this Friday. Amanda & Henry's wedding on Saturday. I also have a wedding in July, and TWO in August! :)

So. Blessed.

***UPDATE***I've had this blog saved because it wouldn't post!

So...it has been almost two weeks since the beach shoot and Amanda & Henry's wedding. I was so super stoked on the pictures I got from both shoots, I'm feeling pretty confident in my skills...FINALLY.Here are a few from my beach shoot with Angel and Sammy:







And of course, a "few" from Amanda & Henry's wedding! I just love LOVE! :)







So that's it, that's been my last few months...and I still have 3 more weddings to go! :)

-NS

Babies.

I love them. They are so tiny and adorable. Taking newborn pictures is very special. When babies are born, there is usually lots of chaos. Mom is sore, Dad is scared, and there are people coming in and out bringing gifts, food, etc. While all that is very nice, I would think things must get pretty annoying at some point. With all of the new adjustments and changes, taking out your camera during that first week may seem like a pretty daunting task. Before you know it, the baby is a month old and in different size clothes already. That's where I come in. Schedule me BEFORE the birth, and all you have to do if give me a call when you get home. Easy peasy. Spread the word.

My birthday was this past weekend (thank you), and the say after, as a little gift, I had the priviledge of taking Baby Kaydence's very first professional pictures. Kaydence was a stubborn little girl who refused to really sleep, and was only happy with her paci in her mouth, so that made things a little complicated. I'm still really happy with the pictures that I got, and hopefully mom & dad love them, because that's all that really matters. Here are a few of Baby Kaydence :)

Happy New Year.

So I'm a little behind. Typical. Most people have me as a friend on Facebook, but in case you don't or have some spare time to waste, I will continue to blog.

My last post was at the end of October. The beginning of November brought a baby shower and a trip to Texas. While in Texas, I had the awesome chance to take my aunt's family's pictures. They are so fun, and I'm so lucky to be a part of their lives, from 1500 miles away. I also got to co-shoot with my aunt while doing my cousin, who is like my little sister, Danielle's maternity shoot. SO fun. Love them. Below you will find some of the Texas trip pictures.









Right before I went to Texas, I also shot one of my besties, Amanda, her maternity and family pictures, in case baby Poppy arrived before I came home. Here are some from that shoot.








When I got home from Texas, I did a mini shoot with Caleb and Penny for Christmas presents. Too adorable.




December was a very busy month at The Hitching Post! Our gift cards were welcomed into Costco just days before Christmas! Such excellent timing, and an even better blessing. I didn't do much shooting in December. HOWEVER, this little angel arrived very early on December 30th, and I was very honored to be there!



10ish days later, I shot the "official" shoot of Poppy and her family!







Just before Christmas, my uncle proposed to his girlfriend Angie, and guess who was hired as the photographer? ME! :) A week after doing Poppy's shoot, I did my first engagement session. Here are a few of my favs...







With my last two sessions, I've noticed my external flash has not been working properly. If you know anything about photography, you may know that the actual flash on your camera is like a flash light, not a very good one. So I had a lot of lighting issues becaus of that. I was going to put off getting a new one for a few weeks, but then I was offered an excellent opprotunity by a local childrens clothing store. Beach Babies in Grover Beach wants me to be one of their "in house" photographers! I would actually be the one to do outdoor shoots of the kids since I prefer non statue like pictures! All in all, SO awesome. So then I determined that to proceed, waiting to get a flash was non realistic. So I got one, a Canon Speedlite 430. And it is AMAZING. I'm also looking at a phenominal new lens, but that little puppy has to wait!

So that is my update! I'm hoping I get to go back to Texas soon to meet Baby Rylan who was born on my Grandma's birthday :), and do a shoot with him!

Goodnight!