I find myself thinking often about what makes a great photograph - the right light, the perfect setting, an engaging subject….these things all seem to play an important role, but there is a certain unexplainable quality about an image that can draw you in and make you wonder about the people or places that are in it.

What is it that draws us to a particular photograph?

For me, it’s the ability to see and feel an honest moment. As a portrait photographer, these are the moments when the distance between you and your subject disappears and their true nature comes out…when the camera disappears, even for a moment, and you glimpse the true essence of who someone is.

This is something that happens most often when working with young children. It seems to be a mixture of that fact that they haven’t yet learned to be self-concious in front of the camera and their intense need to explore the many exciting things the world has to offer - the photographer in front of them being just another in a long list of curiousities. This can lead to very candid and unexpected images.

For these reasons, I love working with children. Through casual and playful sessions, I try to capture a piece of the messy, energetic, unpredictable and mysterious adventure that is childhood. No bright flashing lights, fake backgrounds and satin bows allowed. By working with children in their own element and getting down to their level (so to speak), I try to make them feel a part of the process and create beautiful images that will remind those that love them of that special time in their life for years to come.

As I’ve begun to book more children’s sessions over the coming months, I’ve also updated the children’s gallery on the website with some of my favorite images from past sessions. Please take a moment to check it out here.

And if you feel like it, leave me your thoughts - what is it that draws you to a particular photograph?

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Children’s Portrait Session
$250 / Includes on-location session and your proofs set in a beautiful cloth album.
Gift Certificates available for the holidays.

Please contact me for more information or to reserve your session.

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This week I headed up to Seattle to take some photographs for Annie’s Art and Frame, a great little framing shop in the Ballard District. Annie’s is a family owned business and carries a nice selection of local artists (they also feature a new up and coming artist every month for the Seattle Artwalk). Thier state of the art framing shop is very popular and features an exclusive 40 ft. frame wall with every imaginable color and texture of molding to choose from. In addition to new and vintage poster art, the shop is also filled with a selection of unique and creative gifts…(I may have to go back to do my Christmas shopping!) If you’re in the Seattle area, stop by and check them out at 2212 NW Market St.

The photographs that we took will be part of a new website for the store, so be sure and check back in a couple months for more on that…In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites:

Annie’s owner Kristie Kisbye:

This is Claire and she’s two. We chatted for a bit on the walk home the other day while she was fixing her bike.

The fantastic traveling musical duo of Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry rolled through town recently and we spent an afternoon together shooting some new promotional photos. We were lucky enough to catch a bit of beautiful fall sunshine and we made the most of it! Tracy and Jim are incredibly talented musicians and it was great to see them again (plus, getting to listen to live music during a shoot is pretty darn cool). You can check out some of their tunes on tracygrammer.com (Tracy’s website was also a Five Petal production). Here are a few of my favorite shots from their session:

Custom-designed Photo Christmas Cards
What better way to show off your new photos than as beautiful Christmas cards? Your favorite photos from your Five Petal session are artistically retouched and turned into one-of-a-kind designs with your personalized text. Each card is printed on archival quality paper and shipped with a button and tie clasp envelope for an elegant presentation.

There are many styles to choose from, including color and vintage effects:

And fun, family styles:

Cards are printed on Archival Lustre Paper with Professonal Inks.
Back is left blank for a personal message.

Set of 25 Cards with Tie-Clasp Envelopes………….$100
(Envelopes come in your choice of chocolate brown, hunter green or dark red)
Each Additional Set of 25……………………………………..$75

Cards are boxed and shipped directly to you.
Actual finished size is 9.25″H x 4″W.

To order or for more information, please send an email here.

New Clients: Receive 10% of your first photo session with your order of Custom Christmas Cards by Nov.15, 2007.