Professional Pictures?

Professional pictures are EXPENSIVE.  I'm talking about the really good ones where you hire a photographer.  We had our first family picture taken about a year and a half ago.  We didn't even have to pay for the sitting fee thanks to our daycare provider, but just ordering the prints (which were really nice) was expensive. 

For other pictures, we've taken Jack (several times) and Maddie (once) to a cheaper portrait studio.  The pictures turn out okay with an occasional really nice picture.  The one time we took Maddie was when she was 3 months old and we had both kids' pictures taken.  With two kids it was significantly more expensive and the pictures were only okay.

We bought a really nice camera a few months before Maddie was born.  And we have taken a lot of pictures since then!  I don't really know how to use any of the manual settings and only kind of know how to use some of the automatic ones.  But just by having a nice camera, I get lucky sometimes and get some good shots.  {I hope to someday take a photography class....  when I have more time!}  But for now, I'm thankful we have such a nice camera!

So with a nice camera and not wanting to pay a lot of money for pictures that are not great, we've decided to try to get our own pictures at home until the fall.  Maddie will almost be one and Jack will be five.  Then we're going to hire a photographer and take some really good outdoor pictures.

Here are a few of the pictures that have turned out pretty well so far....

This was taken at the zoo.

A cropped shot that's not quite a smile, but still a pretty good picture.

This may be one of my favorite pictures ever!

Before I got the picture of Maddie in purple above, I tried getting some pictures of her on a random photo shoot.  None of them turned out as clear & crisp as the one above, but some of the poses are priceless!

At first I was taking the pictures in the rocking chair, but then decided the brown background was kind of ugly.  I put a blanket behind her as a different background and that went over real well!  Ha.

After trying many pictures....  just hanging out on the floor.

Love this picture too!

So after many, many pictures, I ended up with a few good ones.  Now to print some for family and friends....  Not sure which ones to use quite yet, so if you have any helpful recommendations, send them my way.  (And to the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, etc.... if there is anything you like in particular - tell me!)