Brown Eyes and a Thousand Expressions

The first time I photographed this brown eyed beauty, she was just barely sitting up. You know, the silver platter baby? What a difference a year makes! On Saturday, we could barely get her to sit down. Oh, but I get sucked into those big brown eyes every time. She's simply beautiful!

This lucky young lady has one handsome and hilarious big brother (and a big sister I have yet to photograph... hmmm I'll have to remedy that soon). He literally has a thousand expressions, and I captured several of them. Here are two. Enjoy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, I just finished my last shoot before the holidays. I'm back to my normal relaxed schedule of shooting only one session a week and boy am I glad! The busy-ness was fun while it lasted, but I'm not sure I'm ready to do that year round until my babies are a bit bigger.

I did want to let everyone know that Thornton Photography will be closed for the holidays from December 20, 2008 to January 3, 2009. Before then I'll be posting a sneak peek from today's session and I may find one or two other things of bloggable importance. Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's a portrait of my beautiful babies, one that I decided to use for our Christmas cards this year. Can you believe our own Christmas pictures only took 30 minutes!? No crying or bribing was necessary. There was much celebrating afterwards though. :)

New Friends

I've always felt like Debbie and I 'should' be friends. She and I have several mutual friends, but our paths just rarely cross. I was so excited when she called to book a session, especially after I toured her beautiful home and we discussed our ideas (she had so many great ones!) She and her husband were so laid back and her children were so easy to photograph! I mean seriously, how could you go wrong with such a beautiful family!?

I seriously laughed out loud at this one! How cute are they? (...the kids of course)
Mmmmm.... sweet love!
Mommy and Me...
Honestly, it's never too young to start. :)
*Sigh* Simply beautiful.
Oh so handsome too!

Certainly Not Least!

I was so excited when this mom contacted me for family portraits this year. Back in the summer, I had the pleasure of photographing her beautiful daughter for The Helping House website and today I was able to meet the whole family. This family is my last for the Christmas season. Oh, I have more in December and January, but they are the caboose in a long line of Christmas cards and portraits. I was so glad to end on such a great note too. Just take a look at these!

Brand New Family

This family contacted me in October, and I was completely booked! Yikes! But mom decided to book for December and then be put on a waiting list for an earlier date. Well, wouldn't you know, the stars aligned and a spot opened up. Her sweet hubby rearranged his work schedule and we were on! I'm so glad I was able to get them in, her boys are SO handsome and SO easy! We did this family session in less than an hour! Good thing too, because it was stinkin' cold! I'm pleased beyond belief by all the lovely images we captured as well.


Mmmm... Texture.


I love how baby C looks like he planned this with me!

Soooo sweet!

Long Time Clients (and special friends)

I've been in business for 4 years now, and this family was one of my very first clients. I first photographed mom when she was expecting their son. Boy has my photography grown since then; but then again, so has their family. Their son, D, loves (almost to the point of obsession) his trains. He brought Thomas with him, and I was able to get some great laughs simply by putting Thomas on my head and squealing about being "run over". His baby sister, C, is adorable... just wait till you get to the pictures... you'll see.


Okay, so K isn't really amused by Thomas on my head, but D thinks I'm hilarious!

I think we had just thrown Thomas into the ivy below me, when I got this little grin.


See? I mean, for real, who can resist a baby face like THIS!

One of my many favorites from this session. *sigh*

Beautiful Family of Four

Friday morning I had the pleasure of photographing this lovely family. They were so easy going, and willing to try anything. Their son J was a busy little boy, and it made for some fun images. His baby sister was on the move too. Now I know how mom stays so fit!

Here's just a peek!

Sweet Siblings

If these two look familiar to you... they should. I've photographed them a total of 3 times in the last 6 months. I am really getting to know M and E well, and always look forward to trying something new with every session. This time, mom was specifically looking for a portrait of the two of them together, for holiday cards. Here is just a sampling. Enjoy!

Oh Boy!

I arrived at this session pumped and ready to have to work for some great shots. You see, I was hired by a grandmother to photograph her 5 grandchildren ages varying from six to 4 months. We hoped for the best, but planned for the worst.

You know what? Things went wonderfully! The boys were energetic and a little silly but they did great listening to instructions and were so careful with their newest cousin, a 4 month old baby girl. She too was a trooper, and even let her oldest cousin hold her for a while. I'm just tickled with the fun shots we was able to come away with. Here is just a taste!

Don't hate me, but I think this is my favorite! They're just having so much fun!

Boys will be Boys

I really enjoyed a change of pace on Saturday when I had the pleasure of photographing these two young men. I've known W and R for several years now, but this is the first time I had the opportunity to photograph them. We just hung out, talked about hunting, Halloween, and then they offered up some suggested portrait locations. While we were walking around their property, W spotted several deer. I even shot the baby one (with my camera of course :D).

This was per W's request... just for you mom. :)

Ahhh... I just love this tall grass! This is my favorite!
For these I asked the brother to stand behind me and make the other laugh. I didn't ask what they were doing, I'm sure I don't want to know... either way, it worked. :)

Oh and here's the shot of the baby deer. It (and it's momma) were literally only about 30 yards from us, and didn't immediately take off for the woods. They just stood there a while as if they wanted to pose for portraits as well.

I love sessions like this!

These two were so much fun to photograph. I was extremely worn out when I left, and in need of a caffeine pick me up, but it was SO worth it! The morning began with both boys leaping off the top bunk in D's room onto a large bean bag, and ended with D making noises by placing his mouth on his brothers arm and blowing. I'll let you guess what it sounded like, and why they were cracking up laughing. I will never understand why certain sounds are so funny to boys, but then again, you probably have to be one to 'get it'. Well Holly, enjoy your sneak peek!

Oh and I forgot... Mom let them play in the PJs when I first arrived. So fun!

Can you guess which one instigates all the silliness?My favorite! Thanks dad for dragging the chair downstairs for me. :D

First Ever!

I've known this family for a few years now, and can you believe, this is their First Ever family portrait?!? I was floored when mom told me. Needless to say, she was super excited about the session, and dad was super excited when I told him the yard and porch were shady enough to shoot at 10:00a.m. You see, last weekend was first day of deer season for youth hunters, and he'd made a promise to take a couple of kids hunting. They even saw a couple bucks and a handful of does. (Is that right?, I never noticed that the plural of doe, is spelled like that)

Okay, back to the shoot. Well we had lots of fun playing around. M was very sassy, and brave, I might add. That window she's sitting in is a good 4 feet off the ground, if not more. C was such a great sport. You know guys his age, are not into the whole portrait thing, but he was awesome, and never once complained! Thanks you guys.

Oh and mom, just a little something to consider, my personal goal is to have a family portrait taken once every two years by a professional photographer. Yes, that's right, I plan to hire someone else to photograph me and my family. :) You might consider something similar for your family. Capture them as they grow, so when they're gone, you'll have beautiful reminders of their youth decorating your walls.

Two In One

Very rarely will I do more than one shoot in a day. Being a work at home mom with 3 children under the age of 4, I am very cautious about the time I spend away from my family. Last week I had to reschedule my Wednesday shoot because of rain. I was so bummed. The good thing was, weather was fabulous on Saturday, and my scheduled allowed for me to shoot the family Rice family in the morning, and then reschedule the Pierce family for the evening. It worked out wonderfully and both families were SO MUCH FUN!

First... The Rice Family...

Mom, really is a woman I can connect with. Her two babies are 18 months apart (My three are 18 and 17 months apart for those that don't know) so we were quickly laughing about how crazy life can be with little ones so close in age. I actually met Nancy and David for the first time on Saturday morning. They were so easy going, and the kids were so easy to photograph! The only down side, was the cold front that blew through the day before. Little E and J were real troopers though, and we were able to shoot for a good hour before it was time to get in the car and warm up. Here are a few of my favorites...






Then... The Pierce Family...


Dari and I have known each other since my youngest was in the womb. She was the nurse that listened to his heartbeat with me every OB visit. I was so excited when she called to book a session because, well, can I be honest? Her family is beautiful! It's so easy to take great pictures when you photograph great people. We had so much fun, and yes, we broke the law. Apparently the youngest Pierce had a bit of a conscience, because she confessed to her Sunday School teacher that she'd done something illegal the day before. Ha! Technically, it is against the law to trespass onto railroad tracks. We decided it was worth the risk... and I'm so glad we did! Check these out!