Family Friends

I recently had the opportunity to capture family photos for the Cook family. It is always a pleasure to be able to do something friends. Airen the oldest daughter has modeled for me before. Really great people.

The day we picked to do the photos was extremely windy. We were up on the bench above Bountiful. Wind or no, the Cooks are an extremely busy family. The boys arrived just off of football practice. So we made due...

The whole family:

So here are some photos of the children from youngest to oldest:

I think the wind got the kids riled up so getting them to hold still was a chore. What to do, get photos of them running off some of that steam!

Waiting for the boys to get cleaned up allowed time to find acorns.

Wish I had hair like this:

So I said the boys play football, bet you would never guess from a face like this:

Airen is the oldest, I just love this photos of big sister getting a kiss. See how the wind is blowing Airen's hair?

Another one of those between shooting moments, mother-daughter time.

I didn't mention it, but for some of the last shots I had a lighting assistant, the wind would have taken away my light if not for this little guy on the right:

And not be out done by the boys, girl power!

One more of the entire family, I get a kick out of the youngest girls face.

And one without flash on that nice sunset.

Dan, Elise and family

I am trying to separate the business side of my photography from my family personal side. The thing is that most of my clients have been friends, and family. This theme continues with Dan, Elise and their little family.

We were neighbors when we lived in the Bountiful condos. We moved to West Point and they moved to Farmington. They bought a beautiful home on the mountainside with a gorgeous view. It was awesome to see them, and a real honor to take their family photos. Of course there is going to have to be a re-shoot soon as Elise is pregnant and their family of 5 will become one of six...

First the family:





The baby is a girl and she is a little cutie!



Hey there is a new baby coming and you won't be the baby anymore...





The middle boy is a real toe head!



Did I mention he is a super-hero?





Last but not least is Dan Jr. He is going to be a lady killer with those blue eyes and dark hair!





Of course he couldn't be out done by his little bro (they both moonlight as super heroes keeping the Farmington suburbs safe).



Of course if you are looking for a Photog check out my new business blog:

My business blog

Christmas pictures for John and Mandy

Meet Buddy (also known as Johnny), Max (sometimes Christopher), and Kayla (her dad affectionately calls her Key Largo like in the beach boys song). John and Mandy are really good friends that live here in the town homes with us. They are the same friends we went to Maui with. They wanted some portraits for their Christmas cards....





Aren't they just the cutest kids? Max (the little guy) is Clayton's best buddy. Frequently he will tell us that he wants to go to Max's house to play.

We took pictures after a ginger bread house choir performance that Buddy and Kayla were part of, downtown here in Salt Lake City. Temple square is always so beautiful during the Christmas season.








So where are the parents you ask. Well Mandy is pregnant and didn't want to be in the picture for reasons any mother would understand (though men might not). It was a bit of a challenge to get all the kids to cooperate. Max is only two and it takes work to get the attention of a two year old, let alone his older siblings.



Of course when there is a camera around Kayla is always willing to jump in and take any one's place who might not feel up to the challenge of being photographed! She is such a cutie that no one minds.



Last picture, I promise.... Well the kids were pretty much worn out... Even Kayla had a hard time giving that brilliant smile she has. Plus the cold was starting to get to everyone, the kids only took off the coats for a second while I hurried and took pictures like mad, but still the cold was getting to everyone!

Wild, wild west

This follows a little more with the life in Bountiful thing that I have been blogging. When I say Bountiful I mean our life where we currently live. These posts always have a plethora of photos of our friends who mostly live in the town homes. When we move to a house we often talk about the things we will miss, like the great neighbors and the number of kids Clayton has to play with. At times it looks like a couple of kindergarten classes hanging out on the green in front of our home. And the great thing is that all the kids are really great kids with really wonderful parents. People who are just really good people. People who you feel totally comfortable knowing your child is associating with looking up to and learning from.

Just in case you didn't know, Clayton hangs with a pretty rough group of kids (I know I am contradicting here, but stick with me). These kids are all from the quad where we live. In case you didn't know we live in town homes that are grouped in four buildings (Thus we call it the quad). Between the buildings there is a nice grassy area where all kids gather to play. Look at these kids getting ready for world war III...



Ya there are some tough cookies in that group. They have more steel and ammo than well anyone I can think of.

Kayla is a real sharp shooter, reminds me a bit of Clint Eastwood.



She's got her sites on you!



Weston is a dual light saber welding Jedi. Watch out for the Jedi mind control!



Samuel is the one who caries a big stick but speaks softly. Trust me you don't want to make this kid unhappy!



Joah swings that ball and chain with a real rage. One tough little dude.



Let's just say that Buddy is trigger happy. I mean he is happy here but not in the way you think.....



Daniel is the real swordsman of the group. He is a regular knight in shining armor. At a moments notice he can pull out all the stops and start using the way of the samurai!



Of course Clayton hasn't taken the hard edge the older kids have.... Yet



Nor has his buddies Max and Bell.... Yet





Of course the group still needs an archer and maybe a demolitions expert and who knows what else? OK, I am taking the joke too far. These kids are just so cute!

Clayton's playground

We live in townhomes where there are a lot of young children. Clayton has a ton of playmates that live really close. He loves to play to try to play with the big kids and the are so good to him. They are always giving him hugs and calling his name. We are blessed that we have such awesome neighbors.

Of course Clayton also likes to play in the dirt and throw rocks or whatever he can find. Sometimes I really need to watch out!

One minute I am taking a couple of pictures as Clayton plays the next minute the little guy has body slammed me to the ground.



Man I love this kid!!!!

Clayton's friends

Clayton's best bud is our neighbors little boy Christopher. The poor kid is probably confused cuz he is also called by Max. Max is his middle name, and the name by which Clayton hails his friend Christoper.



Ya this kid loves to hang with Clayton.......






Clayton and Christopher both having fun in the upper deck of the swing set that sits outside of our quad. In fact that is what makes the photos so fun to take. I could set up my lighting gear (I know it was miday and there was plenty of light), and because Clayton and Christopher still aren't sure about going down the slide by themselves, I had plenty of time to experiment with my lights. A little experiement with cross lighting.



Of course Kayla had to get in on the action. This little girl is soooo photogenic and she loves her picture being taken, again and again and again. In fact she just might push your kid out of the photo op. so she can capture the spotlight.