Two weeks ago my family had the extreme privilege of having our Christmas photos taken by the lovely Chelsea, from Chelsea Giraldo Photography. Chelsea was advertising a mini session giveaway on her Facebook page a few months ago, and I ended up being a lucky winner! Due to Justin's Army schedule and Chelsea adding a new addition to her family, we could never figure out the right time to schedule a session. Luckily, this holiday season allowed for our schedules to correlate and we met Chelsea at one of the local tree farms in our area.

Right from the initial meeting, I knew that she was going to be a sweet photographer. She was extremely personable, super helpful with directions, and she was flexible about the impending rain we had all week. I was also impressed with how well she did with Ava bug. Our girl was in no mood to have her pictures taken that morning, but we still managed to receive photos with smiles and a happy Ava. She even captured some of the lifestyle photos of our sweet girl that just made my heart melt.

During our session, Chelsea continued to be efficient and helpful. She didn't make us feel overly posey, but she did capture the traditional Christmas pictures that my family always aims for. She brought cute little props with her that added the holiday spirits to our session, and I was very grateful for that (I spaced on bringing props to our session guys)!

After our mini session was over, Chelsea gave us a window of when to expect our photos. We definitely had a great family session with her, and I enjoyed learning about her passions for photography and motherhood. Since the Howland's are on the hunt for a new photographer in our area, I think it's safe to say that we have found her! Anyone that gets my husband to genuinely smile is a win in my book. If you are in the Auburn, Washington area, I highly recommend that you contact Chelsea to book a session. She delivered our photos in the window she anticipated, stayed professional through the entire process, and she gave us beautiful holiday photos that we will cherish for years to come.

I'm excited to book future sessions with her. Here's a sneak peak of some of the amazing photos Chelsea captured for us:

Happy Saturday all!

♥- Leilani

Snow

Saturday morning my entire family woke up to the snow falling ever so lightly outside of our bedroom window. It amazes me how my inner child quickly comes running at the sight of it. I got extremely giddy and excited which in turn caused Ava bug to become giddy and extremely excited. I watched her walk to the window, sleep still in her eyes, just gazing away with absolute amazement. She pointed from time to time, and giggled in between. In those first few moments I just watched over her, happy that she shared my love of snow (my New Yorker husband is less than amused by the sight of snow). I quickly rushed for my camera (almost instinctively), because I knew I wanted to have that moment forever. Luckily, Ava didn't move an inch. I got some pretty awesome photos of my sweet girl in those moments.

I wasted no time getting all three of us out the door to play in the snow! We didn't get as much as I would have liked, but I could still hear the crunch of snow as Ava's boots touched the ground, and that is my absolute favorite snow sound. We drove a little ways down from our home so I could take photos of Ava and Justin in a huge field that had a ton of snow in it. I'm glad we did because we were one of just a few people there. It was completely freezing outside, so naturally we bundled Ava up. That was also one of my favorite moments from Saturday. Being able to get my sweet girl all warm and snuggly in her winter coat, hat, and gloves. We didn't know how Ava was going to respond to actually being in snow... but to our surprise she loved it from the start. 

She immediately started dancing in, eating, and throwing snow. It was like she had done this her entire life. I started snapping away after enjoying a snow ball hit from my sneaky husband (I still owe you one babe). As we approached the field of snow, I decided to get a running start so I could get better photos.. The first time I ran, nothing happened. I didn't slip, I was graceful, and I got some great shots. The next time I ran, I fell. Hard. I couldn't believe it. Justin's laughter was one that is rare. It was one of those genuinely loud and belly wrenching laughs. This in turn caused Ava to laugh.. which in turn caused me to laugh at myself. That was when we'd decided that we'd had enough of the snow experience for the day. 

We ended up going out for a nice family breakfast, and yes I dined with wet, grass stained clothing. Aside from my fall, it was a pretty fantastic experience. I'm not sure when it'll snow in our area again, but I'm really happy that Ava got a little taste of what this time of year brings. Tomorrow is the day my backdrop will be finished for me to take Ava bug's holiday pictures. It's still really weird that the sessions I prep her for will be with her mama! 

Do any of my readers have snow in their area? How do your kiddos respond to all the "white stuff" outside? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below or by email! 

Happy Saturday all!

♥- Leilani

Mama got a new lens

This photography "stuff" has become a bit of an obsession lately. I enjoy taking quality photos of my family and I'm really learning more than I ever expected to learn about the entire process of taking photos. That being said, I am already realizing that certain accessories I own have placed limitations on the type of photos I want to take. Although I have zero plans of pursuing a career in photography, I keep reminding myself that creating my own art in the form of a photo is enough validation to splurge when needed on camera accessories. Which brings me to the title of this blog post. I purchased a new lens yesterday after consulting with other photographers in an "inspire me" group. I want to take better quality photos while I am indoors.

It's been raining too much in the state of Washington these last couple weeks, so a lot of the photos i've taken have had to be indoors. I don't mind taking pictures indoors, but it definitely is discouraging when you don't have a lens that fits your needs. Since purchasing my new lens, I have noticed a complete 180 in my indoor photos. They aren't as grainy, and they have this "creamy" factor to them. I absolutely love it! So far I've got three different kinds of lenses, and at least one of them suit my needs for indoor and outdoor photos.

I plan on purchasing at least a couple more lenses as I learn and grow more with my current DSLR. For those of my readers that were anxious to see my photography blog... I opted not to share it. I'm recording my own personal document of my experience, and as much as I love sharing my life and passions with you guys, I'd really like to keep this journey to myself (for the most part). Take a look at some of the indoor photos I snapped this morning. I didn't edit them or change anything. These are straight from the camera. Isn't Ava bug just a doll? She's been working on her letters and numbers from the learning books her nana sent.  I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I do! The exposure is a bit too high, but overall, I'm impressed.

Happy Wednesday all!

♥- Leilani

Jessica Oda Photography

As promised, here is a review of our experience with Jessica Oda Photography. We met up with Jessica at Golden Gardens in Seattle, and right off the bat, I knew that she'd suggested a beautiful location. Jessica was prompt and arrived before our session time even started. She was vibrant and full of smiles from the start; I just knew it was going to be a great session.

She immediately got down to business and started taking pictures of our sweet girl. Little does she know one of the first pictures she took, has turned into one of our all-time favorite pictures of Ava bug! She allowed us to do what made us feel comfortable, while giving us great direction for the pictures that had more of a pose. Justin liked the fact that Jessica was open to our ideas, and incorporated some of her own as well.

What I loved most was how she communicated with Ava. She interacted with her, talked to her, and she really did get some good smiles out of her. There were a few times were Ava was being a little stingy with the smiles, but Jessica worked through it and was still able to deliver awesome photos. Overall our session couldn't have gone better! She even did well with Justin going on about how  hungry he was, haha!

After our session was over, I was able to see a preview of the session that night. I'm a bit finicky when it comes to pictures of myself, but Jessica was more than understanding, and she wanted to make sure that I was comfortable with the images she took. When I was able to view the full gallery of our time with Jessica, I was in complete awe! I couldn't believe how many photos were popping out for me. Tons of great material, and I really just couldn't have been more grateful. Take a look at some of the stunning images that were captured:

All in all I would recommend Jessica to anyone looking for a lifestyle photo session in our area. She's attentive, has a quick turn around time, and she's really easy to work with. I hope we are able to book future sessions with her.

Happy Sunday all!

♥- Leilani