This week, I came across my “Reflections” shot somewhat by accident. I’ve had it on my list forever to do a self-portrait, and procrastination has ruled quite a few days. But last week I decided to put on my Dairy Godmother t-shirt — more on that in a future Mother Wit post, if I’m brave enough — and to make an attempt at capturing an image of myself. I did add one of them to my bio on my main website.

What began as a little experiment after my first run at a self-portrait became my favorite 52 project shot so far… one of a series of my son as a photographer. On a whim, I put my camera on a tripod, adjusted the settings to maximize his chances, and attached a remote trigger for D to play with. That boy loves anything electronic (the more buttons the better), and the 5D’s shutter is pretty loud in close quarters — so he had a blast.

The thing that I love most is that I caught his total concentration in his project, and he caught my joy at watching him work. To me, these images look like our real life. The resulting shots also show our shared habit of chimping a bit : )

Here is my favorite Reflection, all grained up since I’m shooting for me (and I do love some grainy b&w):

And, wincing slightly, my favorite shot that D took of me. You can see that I’m a doting mama for sure. I even let him have my favorite camera, while I used the backup : )

And finally, the letter I abounds in this shot taken downtown near VCU in Richmond, Virginia on my trip to second shoot with Allegra’s Studio (post about this gorgeous wedding coming soon):

I’m a little behind per usual and digging out slowly. I managed to catch what I hope is a very bad cold just before heading to Richmond to assist the amazingly talented Allegra of Allegra’s Studio, whose work I’ve admired for years. Fortunately, adrenalin is a pretty good decongestant, so I felt great during the wedding and reception. And my husband gets a shout-out for doing all of the driving to and from, so as of today I am feeling a little better even though I sound more Kate-Smith-sings-”God Bless America”-meets-smoker’s-cough than my usual soprano self. D has caught something similar, though he seems to have more fever and less congestion, so we’re a red-eyed little crew this week even though nobody feels horrible. Between the heat and the germs, we’re keeping to ourselves for another day or two and hoping to be in better shape soon. I do have a great family shoot coming up on Thursday that I’ve been waiting months for — a real live American hero and his family are getting portraits made for their new home. That will get its own post, for sure. In the mean time….

Things to catch up on: I took a great class on off-camera lighting a few weeks ago, and here are a few of my favorites from that shoot.

This is one doing what we were supposed to do ~ soft box as a supplemental light source in an environmental portrait. I’m excited to try more work like these when I photograph adults and newborns.

And here is one of those sun-drenched shots that I couldn’t resist even though it wasn’t really the assignment — I just loved the tree, the glasses, and that warm light. Many thanks to S for being a great model in our round robin game of photograph the photographer.

I seem always to be behind on the 52 project. I shot some street stuff in Richmond that “counts,” but those files are still in transit. In the mean time, here are the letters F & G : )

I’m excited to be booking July and getting ready for by far the busiest portrait months — September and October. Shoot me an email or give me a call if you want to set up a session, especially if you need a weekend date, as those fill very fast.

I love the continuity of knowing and shooting the same families as they get married, start families, and help their children venture off into their own adult lives. I am sure that Liz will be disappointed that I am choosing not to write about knowing her when she was in middle school, but instead to focus on the beautiful, poised, talented woman that hopped out of her car (early!) for her headshots.

Liz was a ton of fun to shoot — and it was especially interesting to pose an adult who already understands light and angles of view, etc. and who can portray various thoughts and feelings visually on command. She even indulged me in a few “character shots” just for fun. I saved those for the full gallery, though!

So, watch out for Liz’s name as she balances acting and grad school and then heads out to a career on the stage.