PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARISA

Emma Sneak Peak

2011-03-02T22:53:00.000-06:00

R Family

2011-01-03T14:19:00.000-06:00

Just trying to get back into the swing of things after taking the month of December off. Have a few posts from the fall where I needed to hold off blogging until Christmas cards were sent out. Didn't want to reveal any pictures too soon! Enjoyed spending time with the R Family who spent most of the session wrestling on the ground.

Nelson Birth

2010-12-12T17:18:00.049-06:00

I have been going back over old photographs trying to clean up my files for the year and ran into these photographs. I think my intention was to never blog about this session, but after looking at them again I just fell in love with the pictures and called Nelson's mom for permission to blog them. Having 4 adopted children, I have never seen a baby being born or right after birth so this was a special experience for me. This was a c-section and there were too many people crowded around the mother to see any part of the procedure, so the pictures start right after removing Nelson from her stomach and passing him off to a nurse. Warning - these are not the pretty pictures you normally see on my blog.

8 pound, 10 ounce healthy baby boy

first picture with mom

he is just precious

At some point in the next few pictures, I can't tell when now - he was transported to the baby nursery for initial monitoring. I was not allowed in the nursery so some of these pictures are taken through the window and then at some point I sent my camera in with instructions to just take pictures of everything. If you had a picture of me, I would be standing at the window gesturing to just take more pictures. They could not get his oxygen levels to an acceptable level, so after a few hours he was sent to the NICU for a day and a half.

mom holding Nelson for the first time

I returned to the hospital two days later after he was out of the NICU to get some more pictures and have photographed him every month since to make an album of his first year, so stayed tuned for more of Nelson.

New Frames

2010-12-09T23:59:00.000-06:00

I love color, so when I first saw these frames I knew I wanted to sell them. I have been patiently waiting for the past month for my studio samples along with my first sale to arrive. Last week the boxes arrived and I feel like I have had my Christmas already. All the frames are custom ordered with the colors and styles you choose. Here are a few photos, I will have more soon.

Included in my shipment:

So excited to deliver this frame to its new home. We choose the colors for this frame from the colors in the photograph and the colors already in the room. The wall opposite the bed has custom painting done with green in it, so this frame really tied everything together.

This frame is a studio sample. The photograph is 20x30. I love to enlarge photographs and really make a statement in a room. This will end up on an easel in my studio, but it is photographed here in my home office. This style and color is a little more formal looking and I can imagine it hanging in an entry way, end of hallway or a family room. Presented with a photo horizontally it could look really sharp above the fireplace.

Mylee 9-months Sneak Peak

2010-11-19T09:21:00.000-06:00

Mylee turned 9 months this week. I was able to photograph her in a new area of my studio I just set up this past weekend using natural light. Here are couple of pictures from our session. Yes, her mouth is wide open in most of the pictures I was able to capture. It means she is happy and I think it is adorable.

Hinckley- 4 months

2010-11-05T00:07:00.001-05:00

What a sweety this one is. I first photographed Hinckley when he was a newborn which you can see here. He has changed so much in 4 months, I love his chubby cheeks and sweet smile.

N Family Session

2010-11-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

You never know how a family session is going to go, but these two kids were wonderful and made my job a lot easier. They are so adorable and sweet to each other. Thanks to Adam and Michelle for the privilege of photographing their family.

W Family Children

2010-10-25T23:52:00.000-05:00

After abandoning a few locations because of horrible mosquitos we ended up in backyard of the following family. It made for a much more relaxing session photographing the children one by one while the others were inside relaxing.

Zoey album

2010-10-24T13:42:00.004-05:00

I spent a few hours back in August with Zoey and her mom and dad when Zoey was two weeks old. It is so fun to be around first time parents and I had to tease them a little because I think dad was in just as many pictures as Zoey. I have many favorites, so I am just showing the album I created for them.

Sneak Peak "N" Family

2010-10-05T23:58:00.000-05:00

Hinckley Sneak Peak

2010-09-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

This is for you Ginnie

What I am working on

2010-09-16T00:55:00.000-05:00

Just realized it has been a month since my last post. I have been given the opportunity to try some new things and have been a little buried in editing. Here is a peak at some of what I am working on.

Hope to have more done soon!

Four Brothers

2010-08-11T00:22:00.000-05:00

The girls are going to be knocking down the doors of this house some day. These brothers are seriously adorable and so sweet. I love the outdoor colors, yet I love it in black and white too. Here is a little of both.

Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk

2010-07-28T01:07:00.000-05:00

Saturday was the 3rd annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. People around the world sign up to participate in one of 1,111 walks around the world. Des Moines had a walk in the morning downtown and in the evening at the State Fair Grounds. Here are some of my photographs from the day.

Macy - 4 year old

2010-07-27T13:41:00.000-05:00

Macy's mom is good about getting her children's pictures taken every year around their birthday. Macy just recently turned 4. She was all smiles today. She made my job easy with her cuteness. The last two poses she set up herself after taking a walk outside and ended up being her mom's favorites.

Sweet Shot Tuesday - 6

2010-07-20T21:39:00.001-05:00

It's Sweet Shot Tuesday over at http://www.my3boybarians.com/

Check out more "sweet shots" at http://www.my3boybarians.com/

Reed & Kate

2010-07-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

Kate is such a sweety and did great smiling for the camera. Her big brother Reed really wasn't into getting his picture no matter how many m&m's we used to bribe him, so we had to catch him on the go.

Nelson - Two Weeks Old

2010-07-18T14:51:00.000-05:00

This was not a planned session, I was having lunch with my sisters and mom and Nelson was just laying there sound asleep the whole time looking as cute as can be. The owner of the deli even got out her camera and took a picture of him and then gave them to us next time we were there. I had some props in my car from a previous session, so I ran home and got my camera and took these pictures at my mom's house. He is starting to not sleep so soundly during the day like this, so I am glad we were able to capture these photos. Also happy that I have a sister that will just let me take him and do whatever I want. Seriously, she is the most relaxed first time mom I have ever met.

Nelson - 2 day old

2010-07-17T22:33:00.001-05:00

Your going to be seeing a lot of this guy because he is my new nephew. I was there for his birth, but I will refrain from showing the birth photos. I visited him everyday he was in the hospital, but when he was 2 days old I was able to capture these photographs at the hospital. This was in May and we have already had a few more sessions, so you will be seeing more of him soon. Hopefully you like to look at him as much as I do. He is the sweetest baby.

Project 184 - Day 7

2010-07-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

Emma & Lily

2010-07-17T14:33:00.001-05:00

These two were fun to work with. Emma was a happy go lucky 3 year old and Lily is a sweet little 1 year old. Don't they have the most beautiful eyes.

Cade - 18 month old

2010-07-17T00:29:00.002-05:00

Cade is one of my favorite subjects. This is the my third session with him and it was fun to go back and look at photographs from our previous sessions. He was on the move for this one and didn't want much to do with my formal setup, so I had to catch him wandering around the studio.

In the middle of the session I ran home to get a tie because both his mom and I forgot one. I handed the camera to his mom and asked to her take some pictures if she could get him to stop moving. She took the two below and I edited them. They are two of my favorites from the session.

And a flashback to my favorites from his previous two sessions

Hinckley

2010-07-16T23:37:00.001-05:00

This little one is Hinckley. It was a new experience for me because I am used to my studio, but this day I went to Hinckley's house because he was born via emergency c-section and his mom was suppose to be taking it easy and we wanted to catch him when he was a few days old. He was awake most of the session and kind of wanted to do his own thing. These are a few of my favorites.

Judah

2010-07-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

Trying to catch up on blogging my sessions. Judah was part of my baby promotion late spring/early summer. He is such a sweet baby and we even got a few smiles out of him. Here of some of my favorites from the session.

Project 184 - Day 6

2010-07-15T00:31:00.002-05:00

4th of July Photo Shoot - Family 5

2010-07-15T00:14:00.001-05:00

Isn't this the most adorable family - curly bangs, freckles, baby soft cheeks, beautiful eyes! They make my job easy.

4th Of July Photo Shoot - Family 4

2010-07-14T18:51:00.000-05:00

Sweet Shot Tuesday - 5

2010-07-13T22:22:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I participated in Sweet Shot Tuesday over at http://www.my3boybarians.com/ This photograph was taken at the end of a session as I was packing up. I was on the inside of my studio and Sidney was on the outside. The little white specks everywhere is my dirty window. It would take forever to edit all of them out, so I will just say I think it adds character to the photograph. Wouldn't this be a great photo for a McDonald's advertisement?? Or not. Since McDonald's is her favorite restaurant, it does represent this time of her life.

Head on over to http://www.my3boybarians.com/ to see more "sweet" shots.

4th of July Photo Shoot - Family 3

2010-07-08T00:35:00.000-05:00

These kids just make me smile. They showed up ready to have fun. I didn't have to ask them to smile, they were already smiling.

Project 184 - Day 5

2010-07-05T23:44:00.000-05:00

Project 184 - Day 4

2010-07-04T00:43:00.000-05:00

4th of July Photo Shoot - Family 2

2010-07-03T20:32:00.000-05:00

Aren't these two adorable. I loved it when Cooper hugged his big sister Brynn close when I asked them to pose together. As a mom I would love to have this photo years from now. Timeless. If I had to choose one way to do photos it would be black and white, so I included some here.

4th of July Photo Shoot - Family 1

2010-07-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

These three were fun and the last group of my day. They were really sweet together and big brother Will was so loving towards little Ben and Ansley. They were on the move and had so much energy, it was hard to get them all together.

Project 184 - Day 3

2010-07-03T00:59:00.000-05:00

My Favorite

2010-07-02T22:20:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite photograph from Wednesday's 4th of July themed shoot.

Project 184 Day 2

2010-07-02T00:39:00.001-05:00

23 Sneak Peaks

2010-07-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

Project 184 Day 1

2010-07-01T20:17:00.003-05:00

Really Behind

2010-06-29T19:00:00.000-05:00

I am really behind in posting my sessions. I am caught up on getting pictures to my clients, so I will be working on getting everything blogged over the next couple of weeks. I can't wait to share, especially this sweet boy.

4th of July Themed Photo Shoot

2010-06-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Photo Shoot - Wednesday, June 30. I am going to try out something new and wanted to invite anyone who is interested. I am going to set up a 4th of July themed area outside and take pictures of my kids in their 4th of July outfits and pictures of them interacting. I am including a photo here from the Pottery Barn kids catalog only as an example of what it might look like. There will be a picnic table, umbrella, flags, food and other stuff. I have a limited number of time slots available for your kids to come and get their photo taken. Because I have never done this before, I will allow you to bring and take as many pictures as you want. The pictures I take will be edited and placed in an online gallery for you to view. You may purchase from me a disk with all of your photos on it (full resolution) for $40 or purchase prints from my website at 50% off. There is no obligation to purchase and if you like and are fine with the pictures you have taken, then I have no problem with you not making any purchases. I will allow about 20 minutes for each family. I will take a few pictures at the beginning asking them to look at the camera individually and as a group then after that it is just snapping photos of them playing and eating. There will be food involved and they are welcome to eat anything at the table. I am thinking lemonade, cookies, cupcakes, chips, etc. I have a limited number of spots available, so contact me as soon as possible if you are interested. I will give you a time and location via e-mail. marisa@photographybymarisa.com or 515-577-7125

Mylee - birth to 3 months

2010-05-30T16:26:00.001-05:00

I had the privilege of visiting and taking pictures of Mylee at the hospital when she was born in February. Here are a few of my favorites.

A couple weeks ago she came to my studio for her 3 month pictures. She has such a sweet innocent little face and I know she is spoiled by her mama.

Enjoy!

Fix It Friday - 05/28/10

2010-05-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

It's Fix it Friday again at www.iheartfaces.com When I looked at these sweet babies, I couldn't resist the urge to play around with the picture. Here is the before and after:

BEFORE

AFTER

Head on over to www.iheartfaces.com to see the other results

Sweet Shot Tuesday - 4

2010-05-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

It's sweet shot Tuesday again. My sister found this hat and gave it to me. It was freezing this last weekend for soccer games, so Jackson wore it. I love color, so I had to take some pictures. I tried some new things in Photoshop to brighten up the colors in the hat. It is always fun to try something new.

Head on over to www.my3boybarians.com to check out more "sweet shots"

ANDREW

2010-05-10T00:02:00.001-05:00

Doesn't Andrew have the sweetest little face. No smiles for this session, but I love his serious look. Thanks to mom for the opportunity.

MAX

2010-05-09T23:53:00.000-05:00

Max was the first baby I photographed through my promotion to build my portfolio of babies. He was such a good baby and hardly made a peep throughout the entire session. Thanks to his mom for letting me photograph Max and gaining invaluable experience. Enjoy!

Fix It Friday - 5/07/10

2010-05-07T14:59:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I participated in Fix It Friday with iheartfaces.com. This is always a challenge and a good way to practice my editing skills and have a little fun.
Here is the original:

And my version:

Head on over to iheartfaces.com to see what others did with this photo.

Andrew - sneak peak

2010-05-02T14:51:00.001-05:00

It has been a few days since my session with Andrew, but I wanted to share one with his mom who is patiently waiting. Beautiful blue eyes, I can't wait to edit more of him in the next few days.

Laney and Briley - Sisters

2010-05-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

This session was special because the girls are my great nieces. Briley just turned one and Laney will be three this month. I have photographed Laney several times before and she was a real performer today. We got lots of smiles. Briley was a mover and she did not want to stop to pose for photographs, but I think we got a few good ones.

One of my favorite because I have always wanted a tatoo.

Sweet Shot Tuesday - 3

2010-04-27T22:07:00.000-05:00

Since we had a new addition to our family today, it seems appropriate that my sweet shot Tuesday is of our new puppy. She is a 2 month old Yorkie-Chon and she flew in today from Pennsylvania. Introducing Daisy:

Head on over to www.my3boybarians.com to see more "sweet shots"

Max - Sneak Peak

2010-04-26T20:38:00.001-05:00

Spent a couple hours with Max today. He has the most beautiful eyes, a very serious look, the softest skin, and the most delicious rolls of baby chub in all the right places. I am still working on editing a previous session, but had to edit a few for mom to see.

Laney - sneak peak

2010-04-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

Kendra - this one is for you. I know you are patiently waiting. I will be editing this weekend.

More of Olivia

2010-04-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

Just put the finishing touches on Olivia's photographs last night. Here are a few of my favorite.

I love to try different things and play around in photoshop. I think I do it more for me than my client just to see what I can create. Olivia loves to read and I remember her mom talking about it, so I ask her to bring a book and this is what I came up with. The only place it will probably ever be is this blog, but I enjoyed creating it.

Sweet Shot Tuesday - 2

2010-04-20T23:48:00.000-05:00

It's Sweet Shot Tuesday again at www.my3boybarians.com. My Bradford Pear trees are blooming and they look beautiful. This particular tree sits right outside the window in our stairwell between the main and upper floor of our house. I took this picture through the window focusing on one particular bloom. Because I like to play around, I added a texture and removed the texture from the particular bloom I was focusing on. Check out more "sweet shots" at www.my3boybarians.com.

Miss Iowa Princess

2010-04-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

Sidney will be participating in a mentoring program through the Miss Iowa Pageant. In addition to appearing on stage during Miss Iowa in June she will attend community service events throughout the year with her mentor Elizabeth, who represents Muscatine county.
Sidney's picture for the program

Since she was all dressed up, we decided to try something different

I Heart Faces - Week 16 - Collages

2010-04-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

This week at iheartfaces.com the photo challenge is "collages." This is a collage I made from a family photo session.

Head on over to iheartfaces.com to check out other entries made this week.

Sweet Shot Tuesday - 1

2010-04-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

I find myself taking photos all the time of places and objects and they do nothing but sit on my computer. Darcy at my3boybarians.com is hosting a weekly "Sweet Shot Tuesday" to encourage everyone with a camera to get out and take pictures.
Here is my shot this week of an old barn in Pomeroy, Iowa. I took this a couple of weeks ago and loved the contrast of the old barn with its paint worn off and the blue sky.

Olivia

2010-04-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Not the best weather today, but between storms this evening I was able to sneak out and get a few photos of Olivia. Between her mom giving me great backdrop ideas and Olivia setting up her own poses my job was easy tonight. It doesn't hurt either that Olivia is so cute. I couldn't wait to get home and edit a few. I have a lot more to get through, but I thought her mom would enjoy seeing a few.

And because I love black and white

Fix It Friday

2010-04-02T23:39:00.000-05:00

In an effort to work on my editing skills and try different things I am going to try and participate in the weekly "Fix It Friday" challenge on Iheartfaces.com. Here is my first week
Original Photo:My edited version:

10 year old Beauty

2010-03-31T23:17:00.001-05:00

I was fortunate last night to spend some time with Morgan. She showed up in a beautiful pink dress, I felt like I was doing a NYC fashion shoot against the brick. Morgan, it was a pleasure talking with you. You are so beautiful! Here is a sneak peak at what I have edited so far.