Holding wonder like a cup.

I recently had a client comment "I love the pictures of the kids faces looking up at you. I can't figure out why I like that so much." Well, I told her why I love that pose and she said "That's it!"
Here's what I told her. That is how you see your little one a thousand times a day. Looking up at you with big eyes. Be it a tearful pout or a big ol' grin, that is, for the most part, how you view them. From above. Before long, your child will be able to look at you face to face. If you're a short mom like me, it will be all too soon when they are able to look down at you.
Those photos remind me of a phrase from one of my favorite poems.
It's from "Bartar" by Sarah Teasdale.
Life has loveliness to sell
All beautiful and splendid things
Blue waves whitened on a cliff
Soaring fire that sways and sings
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

And here's my G. The way I see him.


I know what you're really here for is the contest, not my sentimental ramblings. So here it is. Again, you need to be the first person to leave a comment on this post to win. You must be a new client, meaning you have never had a session with me and do not currently have one booked. You will win a free regular session with me sometime in Feb. or March, plus a free 8x10 print of your child "looking up." SO, if you're a blog stalker and you have a friend who's been putting off a session, it might be worth a phone call!

Congrats "M"

The winner of my Valentines Photo contest is little "M" with a whopping 152 votes! Here's all of the proofs from his mini session that mom will be able to choose from for her free canvas. Congrats also to to baby "N" who came in second place with 112 votes, and will get a free set of 8 wallets.

In the spirit of contests, the first person to leave a comment on this post (besides a family member of the two winners above, they can't win again) will win a free 8x10 print from your most recent session with me, be it these mini sessions, one you have scheduled, or one you had last year. I am even disabling the comment moderation, so just be nice :)

First Contest!

Ok, so before I left for CO I promised some fun contests upon my return. SO I am going to launch those today. I'll have one in each new blog post for a week or so. Check back often.
This one involves some mini sessions I did for my playgroup yesterday. I do these every year to thank them for being such a great group. Last year I had a contest for them too! So this year I will continue the tradition. There is (hopefully) a poll on the righthand side of the page. Each of the following pictures is numbered. Vote for your favorite cutie for whatever reason. The child with the most votes on Monday at 1 pm wins. Mom will get a free 8x10 (or equivalent) gallery wrap canvas of one of the shots of her child. That's a $125 value, so feel free to pass on the blog link to others you know!

sigh.

This little 10 day old was a perfect angel. He never even pooped on my backdrops (which is virtually unheard of for newborns). He made me really excited to see my own little guy here in a few more months.

On that note, please see the updated schedule info to the right of this post (in brown). I am going to be on and off for the rest of 2008 with the arrival of the baby, so if you would like to schedule a session, there is no time like the present. If you are expecting a baby, the best time to contact me is before your baby is born so we can set a tentative session date in the first 10 days after you think your little one will be here!

Please ignore the strange watermarks. I am trying to work on a new one and I am just not there yet, so I kind of threw random stuff on these as I got them proofed.

Valentines Mini Sessions

Ok, in general I try not to go for images that scream "kiddie candids." However, on Valentines Day I feel that props are sort of....essential. I had not planned to do anything special for Valentines day this year, but after having little "A" over to my house to try some things out, I have decided to offer a one day mini session extravaganza. On Saturday, January 26th from 10 am to 2 pm. My session fee will be waived for this event (read: $100 in your pocket)! Each mini session will be 15 minutes long and time slots will be filled on a first come, first served basis. You will be given several proofs to choose from in an online gallery.

The turnaround time on these will have to be quite quick. I am going to try to get them edited within 2-3 days and then you will have another 2-3 days to order so we can get them back in time for Valentines day. If you are interested in booking a mini session, please call 813-352-4479 or email me at courtneyvickersphotography@yahoo.com . Oh, and I do have things for boys too. I won't make them wear a red tutu! ;)

I'm baaaaccck!

Well, technically. Of course the week after vacation is always a hectic one and add on top of that the fact that "G" has been sick...well I am a little behind. However I plan on being back full swing by Monday and everything should be caught up by then. For now, here's adorable one year old "J".

I am not supposed to be proofing

No, I am not. I am supposed to be cleaning and packing for our trip tomorrow. But I am easily distracted (which is probably why I am good at my job) and I just had to throw a few from a recent family session up. I think there was a total of 19 people there, so I am just going to share some of the kids for now. And then I really do have to get ready...

This one just *screams* preteen boy to me...Look at their smirks... Check out the eyes on this guy. WOWZA! And the perfect little model all day long. I love 6 year old girls!