Today, I feel like this....

Ok, well no, I am not going to sit on the floor with my paci and cry. But I sort of want to. I have been having preterm contractions since this weekend and my Dr. has advised that I stick to modified bedrest, which means my maternity leave will be starting earlier than I had anticipated. I am bummed that I've had to cancel sessions, and some of my orders are going to be going out just a tinge slower than usual. Please do keep checking back for more updates, as I will still be posting on my blog (probably mostly pictures of my G). Also if you are not on my email newsletter list and you would like to be, please email me at courtneyvickersphotography@yahoo.com, or fill out the contact form on my website. I have a special going on right now only through my newsletter!

So, here's the rest of the sneak peek from the session above. The above picture was just an outtake that I found funny. See all you moms? Every child is the same!

Incidentally, that little guy has been throwing me the same face for 14 months....here he is at 4 months old. One of my very favorite shots ever...

And of course, I can't forget his big brother. This was my first time meeting "C" and I hope to see him again! He's a great kid!

First few shots...

With my brand new 5d. I have been waiting for this camera for a long time. I still have to get used to how to change the settings quickly like I could on the old camera, but hopefully that will only take a week or so! While I firmly believe that a great photograph is more about the photographer than the camera, just like a great meal is more about the chef than the pan he uses, I am loving the new dimension of control I am going to have. And more megapixels never hurts!

Aw, I feel sort of honored.

Why? Well, tonight I got my first business related prank call. ;)

Now, a few pointers to the young man who called me.

1. When you restrict the number, it's an automatic red flag. Although I do understand the point. That way you don't have a bunch of folks calling your mom Monday morning to tell her what you're up to.

2. Saying "Hi, this is 'that guy' from 'the photo session' " is another clue to me that you're not really a client.

3. Also, saying "the photos suck and you're going to have to come back out" isn't really what I'd expect from a client either. If they're that bad, I'm pretty sure they don't want me back to repeat the torture.

4. Making a fake vomit noise at the end of the call, while it made me giggle, also negates your authenticity.

However, it was a lovely try and provided some entertainment for the evening.

And since I don't want to leave everyone without some pics, here's some of little miss "I" who is hopefully still about 12 years away from her days of crank calling.

The happy couple

"H and S" are friends of the family who recently got engaged. We headed on down to Ybor for some fun, colorful shots. I highly encourage ALL of my clients to consider Ybor for a session. Even Kids have an awesome time there! It's very family friendly during the daytime.

Always gotta get the "jump shot!"

See "S", this one was not as bad as you thought! I was just trying to get "H" to laugh! ;)

Loving the texture on this one. Had to do it because I forgot photographer rule #1 and you can see me in the window reflection. Oops! So I had to bring it down a level!

For the "E" family.

This family is leaving this week for a move to MN. I am sad they're going because they have become some of my favorite clients. Mom and Dad are super laid back and up for anything and oh how it shows in the images of their kids. I am going to miss you "J,J,T and T". Come back and visit!

I have been playing with textures lately to make some of my images look more "fine art" like. I am loving them on these two!

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

I wanted to take a moment and blog about an organization that I am involved in that I love. If anyone caught the tail end of the Today show today, you saw the special segment on Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (which I will henceforth refer to as NILMDTS). For anyone who didn't (I am sure most of my clients spend the morning watching Mickey Mouse, like I do) let me just talk about NILMDTS for a little bit.
NILMDTS is a non profit organization founded by Cheryl Haggard, a mother grieving the loss of her infant son, and Sandy Puc', who is a very succesful photographer based in my home state of Colorado. Cheryl contacted Sandy when she realized that she wanted family portraits that included her 6 day old baby Maddux, who was about to be taken off of life support.
Cheryl and Sandy teamed together in the following year to help other families obtain portraits of their own infants that they might never have had. In three years, this orginazation has grown by leaps and bounds. It has gone from just Sandy as the photographer to include 3200 affiliate photographers from around the globe.
I realize this may be a hard concept for everyone to understand. Why would you want a picture of a baby who is not going to live, or has already passed on? Every parent testimonial that I have seen indicates that these photos are a beautiful reminder that their child did exist, if only for a very short time. None of them ever express that they regret having the portraits done.
If you would like to know more about NILMDTS, you can visit their website by scrolling all the way down to the bottom of my blog and clicking on the banner down there. I am not posting the link right here because I do want you to take a moment to consider if you're emotionally prepared for some of the stories and pictures. The first time I visited the site, I browsed for two hours, bawling the whole time. Even to this day, it tears at my heart. But knowing that there are 3200 of us out there preserving the precious memories of families makes it all worthwhile.

Because it goes so fast.

My friend Stacey reminded me to keep taking pictures of G. She knows sometimes I get caught up with work and life, and so she told me that he's growing up quick and once our other little G gets here, it's going to go even faster. I knew I wouldn't get him for long, so we had a three minute photo session (literally) yesterday morning. And he insists on the hat. He won't let me take his picture without one, which I secretly love.