AC-You Rock!

AnneChristine is getting ready to fly the coop. We did some senior pictures that you definitely wont get from the school photographer!

AC is such a naturally beautiful person. She always makes me smile.

LincolnWay Central has been lucky to have AC. She is one of the best tennis players(if not THE best) the school has ever had. She's got several colleges interested in her. It'll be interesting to see where she ends up.

Thanks for giving me the honor of taking your senior pictures. I had a lot of fun with you & your mom while we did these. I'm so proud of all you've accomplished and can't wait to see what the future holds for you!

Down The Road I Go

Paul came to see me for his senior pictures last week. It was pretty chilly out but Paul and his mom were game for some outdoor shots. Paul-this one is your cd cover.

Love the sepia on this one. I kind of feel bad for seniors...such big decisions to make.It seems like there are so many more opportunities now then when I was a senior. (not that long ago...really.) Much harder to make a choice.My one piece of advice-love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life.I can't remember who said that but how true.

I still see the little boy in this one. I've known Paul since he was in 4th grade. Same smile. Same humor.A great athlete but equally great musician.Paul-I hope you keep your music alive.

This is one of my favorites. One of them. Jane-have fun picking. Tough choices, girlfriend.

I LOVE this one. It's SO them!! Jane-if you even say anything negative about this picture I will delete the whole file!!For real. Seriously, they have a really close relationship. It's beautiful to see. Love & respect.

Don't even ask. By picture #345 we were getting slap-happy. Paul-just out of respect for you-I didn't put the pumpkin one or the little white stool one in here. I'm saving those...

I really loved doing your pictures. I've watched you grow into a nice,young man and I can't wait to see what you do with your life.

Rock'em Sock'em

I'm pretty sure this was Jonathon & Kevin's favorite part of the session. It was at the end and they'd done an awesome job.We decided to have a little fun. This is one of my favorite pictures from the session.

Isn't this a commom pose among siblings?

They look like they could do some damage here.

Thanks, Jonathon & Kevin. You guys did a great job!

Richardson Rugrats

This is another family from Minnesota.There are so many great places to shoot from at the lake. Rosie,Sophie & Will are lucky enough to spend almost all summer at Pelican Lake!

I love how each child has their own personalty.Rosie is definitely the "big" sister.The younger kids look up to her and follow her lead when playing. Can't you tell how sweet she is?

Sophie is next in line. She's a little quieter. She's content to play in the sand or swing on her new swing over the water. She is always thinking. Very fun to observe.

Will is just a complete crack-up! He always has a twinkle in his eye.He laughs a lot. I watch him run from one part of the resort to another-constant action. I want that energy!

I like how this is not posed. They did such a good job with these family pictures.Great listeners!

Looks like Dad just told a funny joke.I love this age group-they still think their parents are the greatest.Jason & Audra have done an amazing job with their kids! They are smart,funny,polite & of course, beautiful.

The road to Shangri-La.This is the road that leads into the resort. It's such a pretty road-gentle curves and suggled in the trees.

Thanks Jason & Audra! It really is an honor to take your family pictures.You have a beautiful family!

Minnesota Family

While we were on our annual trip to Minnesota-I was able to do a few family portraits.Jeff,Paola,Nicci & Brooke were my first family.They look like they should be in a magazine!This is a barn that I have been admiring for a few years. It's perfect! The poor guy who owns it.I knocked on his door to ask if I could take a few pictures by his barn. I was totally out of breath and only half my words were coming out.He probably thought I was a crazy lady.(some of you might agree) He couldn't fathom why we wanted to use his barn. He doesn't see how cool looking it is.He just sees that it needs a coat of paint.I hope he never paints it.

I love these casual shots. This is the "real" them. Teenagers just don't stand with perfect posture,heads tilted at the "right" angle.They want to be comfortable...chill...I can't think of any other cool words.You get the picture.

Don't they look like they are in the Secret Garden? This is the path from one of the cabins to the place where we park our cars.It's so beautiful up there.

I felt really bad about this.I had the bright idea to have them standing in a field.Little did we know that it was an ant colony!Literally thousand's(okay-maybe hundreds) of ants everywhere!I've never seen anything like it.

Nicci could still feel them crawling.You know how that is after you know they are there.You feel them everywhere!

The show must go on though!We snapped this one really fast and got the heck out of there.They were crawling in our pant legs,on our feet(of course they were much worse for these guys than myself.)-EEEEWWWW!I can feel them right now.We were getting rid of ants for the rest of the shoot. I'm so sorry you guys!

Thanks Olson family.Your pictures turned out beautiful!It makes my job a lot easier when my clients are so photogenic!

Senioritis

On our way to the cabin we stopped to see our friends the Hoekers in Duluth. Josie wanted some senior pictures done. Talk about knock your socks off! Josie is so pretty and easy to photograph.I can't wait to work on the rest.

I love this shot-it's like an oxy-moron.Does anyone even say that anymore? We had to hike to get to this waterfall-real hiking. So I thought it would be cute with her heels because there's no way you'd wear those here. We took a lot here.

This was by Lake Superior in Minnesota. Duluth is one of my favorite towns in the world! Great shops/places to eat. Cool old buildings with textured brick walls. You guys know how I love texture!

Thanks for letting me take your senior pictures, Jos. I'm honored. You have so much to look forward to this year.Enjoy every minute of it!

Senior Pictures

It's that time again-senior pictures for the class of 2010.I had to take my daughter to the school photographer for hers. We just did the yearbook pictures because there's no way I would let someone else do her pictures-control freak that I am.

I'm continually amazed at the average pictures that people pay a lot of money for.Everything is an extra charge.They do the same five poses for everyone.It just re-enforced my belief that pictures should capture who the person really is.Anyone can tilt their head this way or that.I want to draw the real person out and show the world how beautiful they are.

These are just a small sample of the type of work I do. For senior sessions I do outside and studio work.My portraits range from simple and clean to mini-fashion shoots to sports to bands to just a little bit crazy!Whatever it takes to get "the" shot .

Check out my website for the monthly specials -www.aprilblairphotography.com.If there's something you'd like to do that's not listed-just ask.I love special requests!

Thanks, Chels for posing yet again for me. Luv ya!

I love people in love. I did the Malone/Maynard wedding 2 weeks a go.It was an outdoor wedding at her parent's house which is tucked back in the woods on a lake.It was such an awesome setting.I couldn't believe the attention to ALL the little details.This was probably the most personal wedding I've ever seen.Everything was so heart-felt.

At the front of the property is an original barn that Megan's grandpa had built.(I think she said it's around 100 years old.Megan-hope thats somewhat right.)It was really cool.Wide planks of weathered wood and thick beams.We only took a few there because a storm was rolling in and we lost our daylight.

What is it about a father giving his daughter away? It always chokes me up a little-even when it's a happy situation like Megan's.

Could they be any cuter? I'm really excited to see what life has in store for them. Thanks for letting me share this day with you!

Perfect Portraits

Today Baby "M" came back to see me.It was time for 6 months pictures.It's so amazing how much they change in just a few months.She's such a happy baby .It's fun for me to see how much Jamie & Tom adore her and just enjoy being parents.

There were so many great shots from this session.Baby "M" is so photogenic. Good luck trying to narrow your choices down, Jamie & Tom

Baby "M" is definitely a Daddy's girl.

Thanks for letting me get my baby "fix"!