Mason

Ashley shot these photos of Mason at Grey's Lake in Des Moines. The southeast corner of the lake has become one of my favorite spots. The lighting early in the evening rivals most locations in Des Moines. This area along with the west side of the Rose Garden and across the Raccoon River Bridge in Water Works Park are a couple of our favorite spots for golden hour shots. For those who do not know, Golden Hour is the half hour before sunset and the half hour after sunset. This is when the best lighting is for photos. The sun provides an even cast of light across the sky and lighting is both smooth and even. Cloudy days, not so much. Unless you are lucky enough to catch a day when the sun is sneaking under the clouds on the horizon using the clouds as the world's largest reflector.

Evalyn

Ashley photographed Evalyn at Water Works Park last month. Evalyn really liked her bubbles. This is an age where as a photographer you have to let them be themselves and just chase and shoot. It sounds crazy. But it's a lot more fun then you'd think. Two year olds are probably my favorite age to shoot just because of the challenge they present. You have to work with them and within their rules. If you are patient they will warm up and give you the exact shots you are looking for. For us that means we get shots of them acting like themselves in whatever environment we are in. Ashley and I are very lucky to get to work with all of you.

Aaron

Ashley has been photographing Aaron since he was just a newborn. He is now two years old. It can NEVER be over stated how fast time flies once you have kids and they grow so fast. Take lots of photos, and I don't just mean with us, I mean with your camera, your cell phone, your video camera, draw a picture, whatever it takes to capture them at all the stages they go through. Ashley shot these downtown in the Sculpture Garden area. Two is a tough age to photograph because they are so excited about everything and extremely mobile. You have to chase and shoot and chase and shoot.

Ethan and Audrey

We've photographed Ethan and Audrey several times. I've even photographed them since these photos were shot. They are both fun to work with and have a great time on the photo shoots. These were shot in the Rose Garden behind the Art Center in Des Moines. We've shot there quit a bit lately. Check out a few of our favorites below.

Hudson

Hudson's photos were taken at Water Works Park in Des Moines. Judging by his expression in the photos he may or may not have been up for the photo shoot. With little ones, especially in the 3-6 month range, you just never know what you are going to get. Boys are far worse than girls when it comes to wanting photos taken and it gets even worse as they get older. Girls like to dress up and have photos taken, boys want to play with frogs, toads, and snakes.

Jack

Ashley shot these photos back in June at the Rose Garden. We've been shooting at both the Rose Garden and Water Works Park a lot lately. We are definitely comfortable with both and are learning more and more about what time's of days and locations we like the most. With these hot summer days the more we have planned out ahead of time the better. Keep the shoots short and sweet by planning ahead and working quickly. Check out some of Jack's photos below.

Karly