Meet Teddy - 1 Year Shoot: Heath, Ohio

There are two things you need to know about Teddy- he has amazing blue eye and LOVES cookies. Okay, those two things are pretty obvious from the pictures, but they're still important. I met Teddy's parents at the Wheeler Wedding a few weeks ago. His mom, Morgan was one of the lovely bridesmaids. As I arrived at Morgan's parents' house in Heath for the shoot, Morgan, Teddy, and his dad, Dave, met me at the door. Teddy was a little unsure of me but I was told they had been practicing their "cheese!"s and were ready for the shoot.

It was true. Teddy warmed up to me almost immediately and the plate of cookies used as an incentive was devoured just as quickly. While I never got him to actually say "cheese!", Teddy was great and gave me a very wide variety of adorable expressions to work with.

Love his expression here- he's so ready to be done!

Morgan and Dave- you have one charming little guy on your hands. Thank you so much for allowing me to capture Teddy during this magical age and time of year. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas and will continue sticking him in that huge stocking until he out grows it. So cute!

Keep smiling,
Kaylina

Read More

Meet Clark - Newborn Shoot: Columbus, Ohio

Clark was very comfy in Grandma's arms when I arrived at Sarah and Dan's home last Wednesday. He was absolutely precious (and sleepy) curled up in her arms and was not happy about being separated from those warm arms to take pictures. We managed to calm him down through a combination of a "white noise" app and generous amounts of time with his binky and got some adorable pictures of him with his new mommy and daddy.

I absolutely loved all the faces he was making at me.

And his precious baby fingers and toes.

Sarah and Dan - Thank you so much for choosing me to take your brand new family pictures! Clark is a very handsome little man and you two are amazing parents. Congratulations!

Keep smiling,
Kaylina

Read More

Pitman Family Portraits - Canal Winchester, Ohio

When Julie contacted me and told me she was interested in having her family portraits taken at Slate Run Farm, I was instantly excited for the shoot. And when she told me she had two boys, ages 2 and 10 months, I got even more excited. The last time I had a shoot at Slate Run it was for the Faz Engagement/Family shoot in March. And it was so much fun then, that I knew the Pitman Family shoot last Saturday was going to be absolutely amazing. Then Julie threw in the cherry on top: she was bringing suckers.

Julie and Roy are an adorable couple that has made an incredibly beautiful family with their sons Samuel and Andrew. I started the shoot by hanging back and just capturing the way they interacted with each other while they walked around the farm. We stopped to check out the sheep, chickens, and even a 1 day old baby calf.  And after the grand tour and lots of pictures along the way, Samuel and Andrew were given lollipops and the cuteness factor was instantly multiplied by 100.

Roy and Julie, thank you so much for spending last Saturday with me and sharing your gorgeous boys with me! I had a great time taking your pictures and I hope I captured your boys just as you know and love them.

Keep smiling,
Kaylina

Read More

Jonas and Owen: 9 month and 3 year old Children's Session

I had the pleasure of stopping by the Glay household last Saturday and had a short session with 9 month old Jonas and 3 year old Owen. You may recognize these handsome hunks from my two previous sessions with them, Jonas's newborn and 5 month shoots. Compared to his all smiles demeanor for his 5 month shoot, Jonas was a little crabby this past Saturday. But that's okay because mom, Nicole, and dad, Adam, and I spent an hour making funny noises and faces and managed to get some smiles out of him. Big brother, Owen was very cooperative and very happy throughout the entire shoot showing me all of his baseballs and his complete set of yard tools (a matching plastic lawnmower, weed whacker, and leaf blower).

Thank you to the Glay family for spending a gorgeous Saturday morning with me and I hope that the next time I get to see the boys they'll be more smiles to go around!

Keep smiling,
Kaylina

Read More

Your Guide to the Cutest Baby Pictures

So yes, I've been AWOL the last few weeks. But finals week is next week so the end is in sight. In the spirit of my upcoming Spring break and the urge to go outside and play (no matter what your age), I wanted to hand out some tips about taking great pictures of your children.

1. Don't do it alone

Bring back-up, people! Children, especially babies, need someone or something to direct their attention where you want it. Yes, you can try to coach their eyes toward you verbally or with a shiny, new toy but while you're doing that you're missing some great shots. So make sure you have another person with you who can help wrangle those kids into a shot you want.

This adorable smile is all thanks to Jonas's mommy
who was a big help during the shoot.

2. Don't focus on poses

If you try to pose a child, you're wasting your time. Even if you can get them into the position you want, it will be obvious in the pictures that you coaxed them into it. Let them wiggle, run, or crawl around. Just keep up with them and never stop snapping pictures. Their natural movements, facial expressions, and poses will be 10x cuter than anything you could try to set-up

3. Get on their level

This is a general rule of photography- get on the level of your subject. You want to see the world how your child sees it. So be prepared to squat a lot and maybe even sprawl out on your stomach. The shots you get will totally be worth the grass stains and aching knees.

Laying down beside Miss Aleah got me this wonderful shot
and captured her gorgeous eyes.

4. Be on their time

I have seen a few pictures of crying babies that are beautiful. But they're a rare exception. In real life faces turn tomato red and tears and snot start flowing. I schedule my children's shoots for an hour, but rarely do the kids actually last that long. Play it by ear. If your child starts to get frustrated or fussy back off for 20 minutes and try again if it's appropriate. The great thing about kids is they're cute everyday- you can always try again.

5. Keep them busy

Most children are NOT camera shy. They strike a pose and scream "cheeeeeeeeeeese!" at the sight of a camera. Unfortunately, those pictures aren't the ones you want. So give them something to do. Give older children a craft, activity, or just make up a game to take their minds off the fact you have a camera. This also works for those children that are camera shy.

Giving Miss Melody these puzzle pieces got her to
relax and give me some great, candid expressions.

6. Get creative

If you're taking these pictures with a purpose in mind (greeting cards, calendars, or just wall art) you may want to dress the little one up more than usual. To me there is nothing cuter than an unexpected outfit on a child. Have son dress like just like daddy or put daughter in a pair of mommy's old heels. Give them props to go along with the outfit (maybe a briefcase or a long strand of pearls).

Looking for examples of outfits, props, or just great baby photos? Check out my "Kids and Babies" board on Pinterest. Don't forget to "like" my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter to stay in the loop. Hopefully this will help at least one person out there. Feel free to leave a comment with your own tips or any questions.

Keep smiling!
Kaylina

Read More

Meet Aleah: 4 Month Baby Session

Aleah is one lucky girl- she has a mom, Mechelle, that never stops buying her outfits. And not only are those outfits exceptionally adorable, they come with accessories! When I first talked to Mechelle through my Facebook page, I let her know what she would need for a typical baby portrait session (a room with great windows for lots of natural light and a baby- that's about it) and sent her a link to some example sessions that I liked (Jessica Frey out of California has some amazing pictures). She responded back with about a bazillion pictures of outfits she had just bought for Aleah for the shoot and how excited she was. That's my kind of woman!

When I arrived at their house on Sunday I was greeted loudly by the dog, Lucky, who seemed to never stop barking. But that didn't bother 4 month old Aleah. She was so calm the whole time. She let mommy dress her up in three outfits and never seemed to stop talking to me. I wish I could speak baby, because she sure had a lot to say. Although it was a little hard to get her to crack a smile, Aleah had such bright, beautiful eyes, it was easy to get great pictures from her.

Mechelle, thank you so much for sharing Aleah with me for an hour! She's such a beautiful girl. And don't stop buying her stuff- she's definitely the best dressed baby that I know.

Keep smiling,
Kaylina

Read More

Meet Jonas and Owen: 5 months and 3 year old Children's Session

I've decided that there is nothing cuter than a 3 year old boy competing for attention against his adorable 5 month old brother. You might remember these two from the newborn shoot I did of Jonas, here. Owen had been my big helper that day, taking pictures with his Elmo camera for me. But when I arrived at the Glay home on Saturday, 3-year-old Owen wanted nothing to do with me. He was watching Finding Nemo and was just fine on that couch by himself. So mommy Nicole took Jonas and I into another room with incredible light and we set up shop. It didn't take long for Owen's inner photographer to kick in and join me, this time using mommy's real camera. After several "oopsies" dropping the camera and a few pictures of his eye, daddy convinced Owen his time was better spent on something else. We all moved upstairs for even more amazing light (seriously, Nicole, your house is amazing). Jonas was just the happiest, low maintenance baby in the world with bright eyes that loved the camera. I couldn't have asked for an easier model. Not to be outdone, halfway through the shoot I look over and see that Owen has put on his Halloween M&M costume and is standing next to me inside of his little brother's whale bath tub. Cutest thing ever. He had won- we gave Jonas a break and spent the rest of the time shooting Owen. In all the glory of a three year old boy: temporary pirate tattoo, house slippers, his favorite football t-shirt, jumping on his bed.

It was such a fun shoot that kept me laughing and running around. Thank you so much to the Glay family for sharing a beautiful afternoon with me. The boys are absolutely hilarious and I'm sure they'll keep things exciting for you for many years to come.

Keep smiling,
Kaylina

Read More