It was such a beautiful afternoon when I photographed Miller and her sweet parents, Margaret and Price, on Sunday.

I think starting up a photography business at this time of year was a great idea, but I’m definitely getting spoiled and am going to hate it when I don’t have this beautiful weather to work with everyday.

This job was a bit more challenging than Michael John and Neely, only because Miller is crawling and she. is. fast.

That in itself led to some really cute shots of her crawling away, and Margaret also had a great idea to put her on the bricks outside to slow her down…which also led to couple of really sweet pictures with her with Margaret in the background.

All in all, I am really happy with how these turned out. I didn’t get as many indoor shots as I would have liked, again I’m still trying to get used to indoor lighting. But these shoots are great practice for me, and I’m learning a lot.

A couple more sessions to look forward to…one will be in a new venue for me and I’m really excited about it!

Until then…

While brainstorming ideas for photographing babies, I thought it might be cute to have alphabet blocks that would spell the baby’s name in front of them, and then let the baby hold one or two in the picture, too.

I searched for blocks on a few different websites, thinking that I would find a good set on something like etsy.com, which I did, but many of them are really just custom sets and only offer certain letters or specific names, and the full sets are really pricey, (and I would soon find out why.)

So, I decided that I would make a set of blocks on my own instead. This is one of those times when having a carpenter for a dad comes in really handy. (Those times come up more than you would think, though.) He has a great shop with every tool you could possibly need and a ton of scrap wood. At least I think it’s scraps, maybe he just gives me the wood because he’s awesome.

I cut 2″ x 2″ pieces of wood and decided on making 20 of them. Sanding the edges and corners of each block took more time than I had planned, but I figured keeping the babies that I’m photographing free of scrapes and splinters was important enough, so I decided to work through it…

Once I got the blocks home, I cut up some leftover scrapbook paper that I used for a jewelry show. Then, I used Modge Podge to decoupage the scrapbook paper to one side of the blocks…

Then, I painted letters and pictures (A is for Apple sort of thing.) I wasn’t sure how many of each letter I needed, but hopefully I will have enough of each, and I suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble to head back to ole dad’s shop if I happen to photograph somebody with four V’s in their name…

It definitely took longer than I thought it was going to, but I love having a crafty project to work on and I’m really happy with how they turned out.

I have another family portrait session this weekend, Margaret and Price and their beautiful baby girl, Miller!

Until then…

So, I had my first official gig this morning…

I have to say, I was a little bit nervous when I woke up, but the weather has been so beautiful lately, it really does just make everything easier, happier, better for me.

Michael John and Neely are the beautiful babies of a sweet friend of mine, Beeb. We took the photos at their grandparents’ beautiful home on the river…and I love nothing more than using the river as a backdrop for my photography!

So a beautiful day, beautiful babies…and I must say, some beautiful photographs.

I’m still struggling to get the settings just right for lighting, I feel like I need to go back to my photography courses in college…but it’s coming back to me and it is getting easier.

All in all, I really am happy with how things turned out today, and I’m really getting excited about this whole photography thing…

When I left this morning, Michael John said, “Bye, Brooks! Thanks for taking our pictures for a long time…”

You’re welcome, Michael John.

I fell in love with photography at an early age.

Whenever my grandparents are photographed, my grandmother doesn’t smile at the camera, she turns and looks up at my grandfather.

When my mom is in a picture she doesn’t just smile, she laughs.

When you take a picture of a child, they don’t just look at the camera, they look at you.

I fell in love with photography at an early age, because when I looked at a picture I didn’t just see my grandparents…I saw the love in my grandmother’s eyes, or the joy on my mother’s face, or the innocence of a child.

I grew up knowing that I wanted to be able to capture those things…

So, over the next few months, and beyond, with the love and support of my family and friends, I will be building a photography business…

There are so many people that I am sure that I will be thanking as this journey unfolds, but I cannot go any further without acknowledging the amazing love and talent of my beautiful friend and web designer, Margaret McCarthy. Aside from working to build an amazing website, her love and encouragement have already carried me further than I thought I would go.

Check back soon for more news from Brooks Wilder Photography. Our website will be up and running in the next couple of months!

Love to you all…