Lovely (and lively) little Leni...Blue Springs Newborn Photographer

Usually when I am contacted to schedule a newborn, the baby is still in mommy's tummy.  So when Leni's mommy called me to schedule a newborn session and told me that her baby was already a few weeks old...I knew we needed to hurry. After the two week mark, newborns are suddenly more alert, awake and aware and this makes getting them into a deep sleep that is perfect for squishing them up and posing them in cute positions trickier.   Luckily, scheduling with newborns is usually a bit more flexible since mom is at home on maternity leave so we were able to get her scheduled quickly.  Leni wasn't all that impressed with our efforts though and decided to be awake most of the 3 hours of her session anyway.  Like I told her mom though, when you are this cute...it doesn't really  matter.  Big Sister Ellie was a great helper too!  Such pretty girls and a wonderful family.

Quinn is 1!....Blue Springs, Mo Children's Photographer

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I was shooting little Quinn's newborn photos!  I love seeing how much my littlest clients grow between sessions.  I think he must have remembered what to do because he ROCKED his 1 year session!  So many cute expressions and although I'm not sure he actually ate any of the cake he had a great time smooshing it and "talking" about it.

Downtown Kansas City Session...Senior Photographer

I can't begin to tell you how excited I was when Maja asked me to do her sister, Marija's senior photos!  The last time I did a session with these girls was one of the best times ever and this one even topped it.  They are not only beautiful, but so much fun.  The day was a little bittersweet because Maja was leaving for London to study only 2 days after this session.  I know they will miss each other dearly, but I hope this session not only gave them memories in photographs, but also some great memories of all of the fun we had shooting them.  The last photo of the phone booth was Maja's idea and we talked about how she would probably be seeing these in London soon.  Sure enough, I have seen some of her photos since arriving and there are already some of her with a phone booth just like this.  Very cool.

Hadley Mae...Newborn in Odessa, Mo.

I had the pleasure of meeting Hadley Mae (isn't her name fabulous?) and her mommy on her 1 week birthday.  She was the perfect tiny client and ate while I set up the carload of props that I always bring on a newborn session and then fell asleep.  I couldn't have asked for it to go any better than that.  Hadley is one of my "Watch Me Grow" clients and I am so excited to see her every few months and see how she is changing and share her with all of you.

This little girl's headband collection put mine to shame!

...These guys were just hanging out down the road from Hadley's house and I couldn't resist pulling over and getting a shot of them.  I love it.  I had to share this here because the next session that I blog will be such a sharp contrast from this and it really makes me realize how lucky I am to live where I do and have the best of both worlds.  Beautiful countryside one direction and an awesome downtown the other.

One big happy family...in Higginsville, Mo

This was one BIG family.  With lots of little ones.  And I had to bring my own kids.  WOW, sounds pretty scary, right?  Actually I was lucky...this is one of my wonderful friends and her beautiful (and did I mention big?) family.  There are many challenges to shooting large families.  Getting everyone to look at you, smile, and hopefully have their eyes open.  Figuring out the wardrobe; matching, but not TOO matchy.  Trying to pose everyone so you can see all of their faces.  And probably the biggest challenge of all...finding a date and time that both the photographer and everyone involved have available.  After many, many discussions and date changes we finally decided on one.  When I realized my husband was going to be gone and I had no babysitter there was no way I was going to try to change it.  Luckily, this was not only one of my good friends, but also one of my daughter's best friend's family so when she wasn't busy smiling for me, they got to play.  Then a few days before the session the forecast called for rain.  Lucky for us it held off and we got the job done.  :)

Back to School Beauties

Didn't have a huge response to my Back to School Mini Sessions this year. There was a lot of interest, but I think I picked a bad weekend. If I do it again next year, I think it will be earlier in August (before schools have started up, but I would love to hear your feedback on why you would or would not schedule one next year (and why or why not). Anyway, I still consider it a HUGE success. Got some adorable shots of my own little girl and then got to hang out with these fantastic girls from our gymnastics family at their mini session. Aren't they gorgeous?

300 Fan Give-Away Winner is.....

Congratulations to Tonya! She was the 8th person to comment and the winner of the 300 Facebook fan give-away! If you were not a winner, make sure you stay tuned to my Facebook page for the next give-away and other specials and promotions. Don't forget to tell your friends to "like" Heather Neal Photography on Facebook. The sooner I reach the next big number the sooner I will do another give-away. :)