Congratulations!

I just wanted to share my excitement for a couple cuties and their families.
The first is Kamri and her photo won 3rd place in the digitally enhanced category of McKenna Professional's Tiny Tots Contest.
It's their 29th Annual National Children's Contest, so there were entries from across the United States.
She won a $15 Toys R Us gift card...
And the second cutie I need to congratulate is John (JP) Lynne. He won 2nd place in the bloopers category and he will be receiving a $25 Toys R Us gift card!

Hooray! :) I'm so happy for these kids.
They were some cute photos, but the contest is supposed to be judged on the cuteness of the kid, not so much the photography... but a good photographer never hurts! :)
Enjoy!
Rebecca

Megan & Ryan : Beautiful Wedding Photography : Mason City, IA

This gorgeous couple was featured earlier this year in a post about their winter engagement session... well, it's summer, finally! And their wedding day was perfect in spite of the storms that hit days before and the night of their wedding.
The wedding was at Reformed Christian Church in Mason City, IA and the reception followed at the Mason City Country Club.
We were able to make some stops along the way to the reception, including East Park and PM Park in Clear Lake, with the wedding party and get those fun, outdoor pictures that everyone loves! My favorite is the one of the wedding party jumping on the beach. I had so many other great ideas that we just didn't have time for... there never seems to be enough! :)
I can't wait to share these with Megan and Ryan... so I'm going to stop writing and just say...
Enjoy!
Rebecca

Carys : Newborn Portait Photography

Carys (pronounced like Paris... only with a K-sounding C) is a sweet little chunk of baby goodness. :) Her parents live all the way out by Springfield, VA but they were home visiting and thanks to my never-ending blog and facebook presence, they thought of having me do a photo session for them during their stay.
I'm really glad they did... I think Carys is a great baby and her mommy is so beautiful and laid-back to boot! She said my favorite words... "Do whatever you like, you're the artist." Can't get much better than that!!!
So I had this idea to use the American flag in a couple pictures because it was close to the Fourth of July and it turned out that her daddy was in the military... so I can't wait to hear what he thinks of those images.
And our main objective, going into the session was to get some cute pictures of Carys in her baptismal gown and let's just say... it was gorgeous! They had a wonderfully talented gal create it out of leftover fabric from mom's wedding dress and the peachy colored panels are from grandma's wedding dress. Isn't that amazing? What an heirloom piece!
As for the rest of the session... that was spent just doing my traditional "style" of clean, simple "real.life" portraits.
Enjoy!
Rebecca

Happy 4th of July!

I just wanted to post this quick picture of my sweetheart... decked out for the 4th of July! I can't believe how fast time flies. He's two and a half now. He's not much of a baby anymore... but he's always going to be MY baby! :)
Enjoy!
Rebecca
P.S. Have a fun and safe holiday weekend! Hope the weather clears up for fireworks tonight!

Emily : Baby Portrait Session

This little cutie was a ton of fun to photograph. We met at her grandparent's home and did some fun shots in the yard and later in the house...
Her mommy had bought her the most adorable clothes. I love the headbands she created to match the dresses.
This age, right before their first birthday, is such a great time to get your child photographed because they have so many great expressions and it allows me to create some really amazing images that showcase your son/daughter's personality.
Also, if you plan ahead, it allows you to have me design some really unique first birthday invites!
Enjoy!
Rebecca

The Erbes Family

I love, love, love this family. I have been photographing them for a few years now and we did her mom's side this session. They live in the country near Sioux Falls, SD so I get to travel out there and enjoy working in some gorgeous State Parks!
I enjoy the change of pace, but I love being home for my family on my regular work days.
So we got lucky and had some beautiful weather. It was a blast. The kids were really good, but it wasn't easy getting all four, age 5 and under, to look, stand normal, and smile at the same time.
The youngest, she's not a big fan of the camera, so I was working my butt off. I even resorted to my slap-trick. Yeah, you guessed it. Slap myself in the face for a laugh! :) Works great for the guys... but you wouldn't believe... it works better for the girls!!!
Well, back to work. It's my birthday - yup! - good 'ol 29!
So I'm hustling to get stuff done before picking up Collin so I can have dinner with the family and eat cake. Yummmm!
Have a wedding this weekend, so I'm sure I'll be posting those pictures before too long. Can't wait!
Enjoy!
Becca

The Lutz Family : Northern Iowa Family Portraits

It was rainy last Friday, and as I watched the weather go from bad to worse around noon I was worried I'd need to reschedule the Lutz family photo shoot. Which is hardly ever a good thing, because it can be so difficult to coordinate multiple family schedules. But, luckily, even though it looked like rain... they said "Let's give it a shot!".
Thankfully the rain held out and right toward the end of the session the sun came out. Actually, I was happy that we had some clouds, bright sunshine isn't the best for taking photographs anyhow - too harsh of shadows and people end up squinting.
You may or may not recognize the little blonde boy, but he's been featured on my blog before... as a newborn. Boy has he changed! I love catching up with the families that I have photographed in the past.
I didn't hang around long after the session, since the family was getting ready to have a birthday party and I had to get home to my two loves... but I wish I could have snuck a piece of cake before I left! LOL! (I'm slightly addicted to desserts, in case you didn't already know)
Enjoy!
Becca