I <3 pregnant bellies!

This beautiful couple is expecting their first baby in about 6 weeks. I think that she looks so great! I could see the love for each other and the love for their baby. I can't wait to meet their baby!
I like this one....

I hope that you like your photos! Good luck with the baby!
TTFN! Martha

Little Miss L is 1½ years old!

I love watching little ones grow up! It is hard to believe that little L is 18 months old already! She is walking and talking and she is very smart! You can see the photos from her past sessions by clicking HERE!
She was such a joy to photograph! So well behaved and polite! She could say "Please?" It was so cute!

TTFN! Martha

Mr I is one!

Mr I came for his 6 month old photos:

....and now he is one! He wasn't feeling the greatest, so I didn't get too many smiles. Here is your sneak peek!

Mostly I got looks like this!His mama would put him in the spot where he was supposed to stay, and he would laugh and run away! I caught a few of these onery smiles!Your proofs will be ready to look at soon!
TTFN! Martha

Proofs are ready....

Gingerich family, your proofs are ready to look at!
Let me know if you have any questions!

TTFN! Martha

It's my birthday!

I have been so busy today that I almost forgot to post about my big day....

40
The big 4-0
FORTY!

Wow, that sounds old!
These big birthdays have a way of getting in your head. I have been thinking about turning 40 for a couple of weeks now, and here are my thoughts....

I have had many great jobs over the years, many of which I wouldn't change. I when I was 21 I was a nanny for a wonderful family. I learned so much from them that helped me raise my own family. When Lauren was 7 weeks old I started a home day care. For the first year I just had my niece who was three at the time. She was a great kid, and she loved Lauren. The next year I had Olivia, and added a few more kids. At one point I was feeding 11 kids breakfast in the morning! I then sent 4 of them to school, and played with the other 7 kids all day! Boy were our grocery bills high then! But my days were filled with fun and children's laughter! What greater music is there??

Once my kids were all in school, I kept at the day care for a few more years. I love children and it was a great way for me to still be at home for my kids before and after school.
In the spring of 2005, with the help of my husband's encouragement, I started my own photography studio. There was a lot of learning in that first year! But I discovered that I loved being a photographer. I absolutely love children and babies, and I love capturing their smiles and personalities in photographs that will live on for generations. I love to be able to shoot images of pregnant bellies that mother's can look at for years to come and remember that feeling of life inside of them. I love catching that look of love in a bride's eyes. I love to hold newborn babies, and get the first images of them still curled up from the womb.

I also have been thinking about my family. My husband and I got married on October 3, 1992, and our first child was born on July 3, 1993. (that is exactly 9 months later for the slow!) So we pretty much didn't have any alone time as a couple before we were thrown into parenthood. Then by the time we were married for 3 years and 9 months, we had 3 kids! Crazy! You would have thought that we could have figured it out by at least the second baby! =)

God has truly blessed me with three beautiful children. They all get straight A's every report card, and they are all talented in other areas too. Lauren is the best Macro photographer! She loves to shoot bugs, and rings, and other 'things'. She is a great landscape photographer too! Olivia is so great with kids. All children love her! She is a big help in the studio when I have a child or baby session, and she is a great babysitter. Adam is a great artist (he loves to draw) and write stories (we have some saved that he wrote in second grade and they still make us laugh!). And he is also great at Math! Last year he scored a perfect score in the Math section of the Ohio Achievement Test! We are very proud of him!

So, I have been blessed with an amazing talent and an amazing job! I have three of the best kids! I have a husband that is very patient with me, and who loves me very much!

So turning 40 has been weighing on my mind.....Am I where I thought that I would be? Am I where I hope to be?
I could not have imagined my life as it is now, and I wouldn't change it either. God has richly blessed me and my family!
TTFN! Martha

My website has been hacked....

I do not understand hackers! Ugh! My site has been hacked into twice in the past few months and it is frustrating!
I cannot get in to update the list of proofs that are ready to view, so I will put them here.

The following galleries are ready to view:
Charli & Luke

TTFN! Martha

Sample Wall Display

If you want to see how your photos will look with a mat and a frame, I can show you! I am now selling frames, and if you would like to see one of your images in a 'virtual' frame just let me know the image number.

I can also show you how they would look on a wall.

Here is an example of some framed images from a recent photo shoot. The pictures are 11x14, with a two inch white mat, and a two inch black frame. The feet photo is a representation of a 10x30 gallery wrapped canvas. The wall words can be purchased from this site
http://www.wisedecor.com/

I have not used this site before, but I love the things that they offer!

If you click on the photo above, you can see it larger.

The shortest photo shoot ever!

This is Mr L...he does not like me or my camera! His big brother was just the opposite and loved to smile for me!

I did get a few smiles by playing peek a boo with him and a blankie, but that only lasted for a minute.

So, most shoots last about an hour and I take about 80+ photos. I weed out the bad ones, and the duplicates and proof around 25-30 images. This shoot lasted about 20 minutes and I only took 25 images!

I got a few smiles, a few scowls and a few of him crying.

TTFN! Martha

Baby Charli!

Charli was sick last week and didn't get to come, but we rescheduled for this week so she would be feeling better.

She is almost 2 months old, and she is so strong! And she has the softest hair! It feels like silk!

Look how strong she is! She could lay on her belly and push herself up for a long time! She fell asleep at the end of the session. Who can resist a sleeping baby?? Adorable!TTFN! Martha

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you are spending your day with someone that you love!

Here is just one from my shoot yesterday! I will put a few more up tonight or tomorrow!
Isn't she the cutest?? I love her hair.
Gotta run, we are headed to my mom's for lunch, and we are making a few stops first!
TTFN! Martha

The Gingerich family

This is the beautiful Gingerich family! They have the best eyes! This is M age 6, Z age 3½, C age 1½, and the newest member, B age 3 months. This is a new size, a 10x30.

Here are their feet! I *heart* little feet! This is a 10x30 also.

After the rest of the gang went home with their daddy, I shot a few of Miss B for her three month session. This is another one of my new hats! Isn't it the best?

And even though she isn't smiling on this one, it really grabs me!

I am working on your proofs now! They will be ready to look at soon!
TTFN! Martha

We have a new driver in the family!

Lauren is at that age! She took her permit test on Friday and got her actual learner's permit on Saturday! Kurt let her practice in the Holmesville school parking lot, and then drive home! Yikes!

She also drove home from church on Sunday. I am not sure who is more excited, her or Liv! I sat in the back with Olivia, and she was beaming all the way home! We are all proud of Lauren!

Grady and Ava!

Last Friday I had a girl from Garaway High School, Kathryn, come and 'job shadow' me for the day. So I called one of my favorite little guys to come in for a photo shoot so that I could show Kathryn a few things about how a shoot goes.

So Grady came and brought his new puppy, Ava. She was adorable! She wasn't into sitting still for me, though!

Here are a few of the shots we captured:
Say Awwwwwwwwwwwww....

Thanks Amy for bringing your little guy and girl over! We had a lot of fun!
TTFN! Martha

A and R

I love these little cuties! I used to babysit for A starting when she was 8-9 months old. I started my photography business when she was 15 months old. I used her for practice many times when I was first starting out!

And Miss R is my favorite thumbsucker. You can see her by clicking here .

Here is a 10x20 I made of all her sessions:

The only smile we got out of her!
Her new birthday coat!Miss A is now 5! I can't hardly believe it! I think that she looks so tall in this picture!
Your proofs are up and ready to look at!
TTFN! Martha

Miss N is 18 months old!

It is so hard to believe it when I see the babies that have been coming since birth growing up! Miss N can now walk and talk, and her eyes are still as pretty as ever!

She is a busy little girl, and so I was glad that my kids had a snow day, so Olivia could help me with her! Olivia loves children, and they are drawn to her too.

Here are a few of the smiles we captured during her session last week.
At first she didn't want to smile, so her mama said "Show us your teeth!" and this is what she did:Then we got a few natural ones!

Miss N is always so stylish! I love the tights!A little lady!And this is my new prop....I am not sure how I am going to use it yet, but when I saw it, I had to have it!TTFN! Martha