Cake Smash: Tractor Style...

Photo and design by Nicole Jackson Photography
Cake by Occasional Cakes
Sonoma, CA

Framing for Effect...

I enjoyed adding a frame to this photo to bring attention to their newly ringed fingers!

Panoramics in Photoshop!

This past semester, my photoshop professor showed us a section of photoshop that we're not supposed to learn until the next semester in photoshop... But, I said PLEASE!!! :) He showed us how to shoot photos for a panoramic and how to merge them together using photoshop... I was SO happy I had already brought my camera with me that day to take photos of the clouds on my way to class! I had a little bit of extra time after class, before I had to pick up the boys, so I made my first attempt at a panoramic! This photo is 15 photos merged into one! I LOVE it and plan on having a lot more panoramic fun in the future!

Winner: Christmas Card Creativity Award!

Of all of the cards I received this year, that I was the photographer for, this is by far my favorite for creativity! We did the shoot sometime in the middle of the year, and she told me it would be their Christmas card, so I had to keep it a secret. THAT was a tough secret to keep because the shoot was SO cute! Isn't this fun:

Santa Baby...

This is absolutely one of my favorite photo sessions I've done. This little guy was the sweetest little Santa ever! His 6 month photo session was just a few days before Christmas, so we just had to do it!

My Newest Skill...

Today I learned about adjustment layers... Well, I used a "Curves" layer for the first time. I'm excited for all the future learning I will have with editing photos. For today, this is my before and after that I am probably WAY too proud of... but I've never done it before and my humble opinion is that it looks GREAT! :) This is my neice Lilli... it's her Senior year and we will be doing "Seasons of a Senior" through out the year. Today, we had fun with Fall!

Before:

 

 

 After:

Tutu Beauties

When I first arrive to a photo shoot, one of the greatest moments is to see a family show up that has picked GREAT outfits! Today, I met the Hewitt's and they have THE cutest two little girls! Their pretty sandals and fluffy Tutus! I had a BLAST working with their family! Avery is 17 months and became my little friend, wanting to hold my fingers and walk with me. Reese is 3 and FULL of energy. She was giggling and running/dancing almost the whole time, I loved it! Here are some shots from tonight's session:

My First Double Cake Smash!

Today was a new adventure... I LOVE new adventures! A mom of two little boys who have just turned 2 and turning 1 today wanted to do a cake smash together. I said, "Sounds fun!" Well, now that I've done it (and the two boys did NOT show up wanting to do a photo session! lol)... I've come to two conclusions:
1) All future BOY cake smash sessions will be OUTSIDE! lol Oh my GOODNESS these boys had so much fun making a huge mess and flinging their frosting engulfed hands all over!
2) I will do one at a time! Ha ha ha (Actually, I'd do two again, it was fun... but I'd hire an assistant!)

I guess I learned one more thing: Don't allow the cake frosting color choice to be anything that could blend together to look like a baby stuck his face in a daiper! Yep... Check it out!

(This picture was inspired by another photographer on Pinterest, and I had an awesome green chair planned for him to sit on... BUT, he wanted nothing to do with it! I was thankful for other props I had around!)

(Cakes by Occasional Cakes in Sonoma! Christina always takes my requests and amazes me with her talent! These fit my client's requests perfectly!)

(See what I'm sayin about the daiper?) ;)

The most fun I've had making a HUGE mess! ;)

 

Working with kids primarily, I never really KNOW what I'm going to get. These two boys are so handsome and a lot of fun, but they were just having an emotional morning. They were clingy to Mama, and just feeling like they needed a good cry. ;) We rolled with it, and I did my best to help their Mom understand... It's ok with me. I'm ok with kids being kids and it's actually a part of the fun of my "job." I get to watch myself overcome the hurdles and create something their Mama can love. It IS a challenge, sometimes more than others, but I still truly enjoy that challenge.

 

Good Times!