Wilmington, Delaware Autumn Family Portraits

      There's truly nothing like a beautiful October afternoon on the East coast is there?! Throw in a new puppy and I am just smitten. These kiddos were thankfully game for throwing leaves and being silly. The internet is this funny place that can either bring people together or push people apart. Thankfully this is an instance of where the internet had a hand in brining this adorable family to me for a photo session! (Thank you local Facebook page where friends recommended me!) 

Do you not love her laugh and first grade teeth?! I ADORE it!

This is where it all begins, love snagging a few portraits of just mom and dad!

Wilmington Delaware, Autumn Family Portraits

 We met early in the morning, praying for the rain to hold off! Thankfully our hopes were fulfilled and the rain didn't come until we were pulling out of the parking lot! I have had the privilege of photographing these kiddos every fall since they were 3 and 1. It's been fun to watch them grow each year and hear what they are into. I am thankful for clients who trust me continually to capture their memories!

A Sweet 6 months Session

     Life has a way of speeding past us doesn't it? I remember chatting with a mama friend about doing a newborn session and then she said, "we might just wait until he's 6 months for a session." Can I just say that I think that was the best decision ever?! I know those newborn days are sweet but I swear when I say this, the 6 months age is one of my favorite! The personality of the child starts to come through but they cannot yet escape you :) I enjoyed this 6 month session immensely because precious baby J could actually interact with me! I am way more into clients I can interact with, nothing against sweet sleeping newborns. What's not to love about the adorable world travel nursery as well?! I confess I also struggled to choose what to share so hopefully his mama & daddy don't mind me sharing so many! 

 Such a beautiful family!

For some reason this little series of images with daddy are my faves...

A personal fave!

Family Friday!

Here's an adorable family that I got to shoot a few weekends ago in the beautiful fall weather! I have known Paulo & Ashley since our high school days :) It's so fun to get to see old friends in their current lives as parents. These kiddos were adorable and great sports during our shoot. I really enjoyed getting to photograph them!

Who doesn't love a little ring around the rosie?!

How beautiful are these two?! I love it...

Isn't this the sweetest?! He will definitely have to scare away all her future boyfriends!

This little guy is his own brand of cute too!

Just love her! 

Have a wonderful weekend friends! 

Neighbors and friends...

Our story began when we bought our first house, Andy And Stef were our neighbors. We became fast friends and enjoyed hanging out. Life progressed like it has a way of doing and they eventually moved but that didn't (thankfully) end our friendship. It has gotten harder to get together with 5 kids between us but we won't give up! I have had the honor of photographing them the last two summers for their annual family portraits. I love getting to be a part of capturing their family's memories! Their kiddos are precious and were great sports when we met up for this shoot at UD. This was another one of those sessions that had literally been rescheduled 3 times due to the crazy rain/storm/wind weather we have had this summer. Enjoy friends!

Such a cute family, right?!

Watch out preschool ladies...

Miss P is cute and saucy!

Loved these flowers...

Kids wanted to climb in this awesome tree so thankfully mom and dad said "go for it!"

 She's almost two, can you tell? :)

Could just squeeze all her cuteness!

It all started with these two great people :)

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Luke Henry turns one!

Has it really almost been a year since my best friend called to say she had a 9lb baby boy over 2 weeks early?! We were so excited to hear that Luke Henry had arrived into the world. I got to capture all his one year-old cuteness in a quick photo session while they were here visiting. The poor boy has lived in South Texas all his life and this 34 degree weather is not fun for him! He was a big sport though as we snapped some outdoor shots with his mommy and daddy. Happy first birthday Luke Henry!

We didn't want mom and dad to feel left out...

LH is not quite walking...but almost!

This is a perfect example of an image that is not perfect technically or sharp but I love the moment, and that my friends, is what it's all about!

Behind the Scenes

"Putting your best foot forward" is an old saying that really means that you show off the best part of yourself. Most photo blogs are all about that, we pick the "best of the best" to show the readers. We certainly don't usually show the out of focus, under exposed, or oddly composed images. Last week I showed you a few new favorite shots of my kids and I often talk about how hard it is for me to get good photos of them! If you think child photography is "easy" because kids are "cute." That is actually far from the truth and honestly, I still don't have a photo that I love with all 3 of my kids in it! Here's an attempt to get a photo of all three...

Hopefully you are laughing by now and realize just how hard it can be to get multiple kiddos in one shot! To get them all looking the same direction, smiling, not drooling, running away, or hurting each other feels like a near impossibility!

Here's another attempt where I felt a  lot like Dean...would rather bang my head on the ground!

So to get this...

 This is my ABSOLUTE new fav of Max!! 

You have to also take a stack of these...

 

 

Hope I made you smile today! Happy Tuesday!

A Day in My Life

"You have your hands full" is the most common comment I get out in public. Some people are sweet about it, reminding them of their days as parents of little ones. Others are a little more brash like "You know where babies come from, right?!" I will be the first to admit that many days can be exhausting and down right tough...but I know these moments are fleeting.

A common misconception is that I am a photographer so I must have tons of great pictures of my own kids, right?! Wrong! I am busier being their mom than taking the time to photograph them. I forced a last minute photo session this past weekend with our kids to try to get some pictures of these growing little people! We bribed them with lolly pops and lunch at friendlys to get these images....I am not going to lie, I got choked up while editing. I can't believe how the twins are becoming real little people with opinions and personalities, everything from Dean telling me I need to drive the "other way to dama's [grandma's] house" and "I no like 'dis" about whatever dinner I made.... 

I will have some more of these to post but these are just a few I had time to post tonight!

This is how a lot of trouble starts...

And then there's sweet baby Max who is an angel 99% of the time!

The Haines family summer portraits

Gotta' love a warm summer afternoon for a photo shoot! This beautiful family became our friends when they were our neighbors (we were just married and so were they, this was LBK, "life before kids.") Although they have moved, thankfully we have kept in touch and I was super excited to meet them for this session this past weekend. Their sweeties are almost 3 years and 7 months, so we have lots in common!  Both kids were great but Miss Payton especially loved my camera! Get ready for an epic post because I can't contain my excitement for these photos!

For photogs out there that are curious - these were all shot with a Canon 5D Mark II with the 50mm 1.2 lens...it's seriously like 'butta' when you use it correctly! Don't ever sell yourself short with your gear - it does make a difference! And not to sound uppity but there was absolutely no "eye sharpening" techniques in these images. Sometimes we photogs need these tools to adjust less than perfect images but some people go crazy with it. If your gear and skill can meet up to make a great "in camera" image - that's ideal!  

 

This is what I mean by a "straight out of camera" image - no retouching. 

Beautiful Family!

Sweet little Payton...sneak peek!

I had the pleasure of photographing friends and their beautiful family this past weekend. I am currently editing the images and am in love with sweet little Payton who is 7 months old! Here's a sneak peek...

Summer Family Photo Session!

We got a beautiful summer evening for this particular family session. Matt & I know this family from our current church where Terry (the dad) is the associate pastor. His wonderful wife Libby is a fellow photographer and friend so we have been chatting for a while about setting up a session. I was super excited when it all came together but there's also a little extra pressure when photographing another photographer's family. Their kids are super sweet but the little 2yr old decided that she didn't want anything to do with me :) I have two 2yr olds of my own that don't want anything to do with me so I am used to it thankfully! We made the most of it and had a lot of fun capturing this sweet family. By the way, Terry and Libby just celebrated their 15th anniversary so congrats to them! It made for a perfect time to capture their family as they have been together 20 years and married for 15 with four beautiful children (And Libby - you definitely don't look like a mom of four kids - you go!). May we all be so blessed!

This is for all the photogs out there - even the best idea for a shot might not work out if you have an unwilling participant ;) We just went with it though and captured this family true to life!

Sweet Charlie

Sometimes expressions are weird like, "I could just eat you up," but then there are times they just make sense! I met my sweet new friend Charlie for a little spring photo shoot. When he showed up dapper in his little khakis and sailor sweater vest, I could literally...EAT HIM UP! His smiles, his cheeks, and his energy all made my job fun. Having two almost 2 years olds myself certainly helps me when meeting a new toddler, we have lots to talk about like Elmo, going on easter egg hunt,s and airplanes in the sky... you know... the good stuff! I had a lot of fun on a pretty spring day capturing this little boy's spirit. Charlie of course had his pretty mommy along for the adventure too and we of course managed to get some shots with her too!

Charlie and Mommy, she can look at these pictures when he leaves for his senior prom and doesn't even want to hug her in public anymore! :)

Love the tongue, I swear it always helps a person concentrate!

I mean REALLY? He probably gets away with everything because of this cheeky smile!

An airplane flew over head and it was major cause for excitement as we tried to spot it in the sky. 

Charlie decided he could stand to sit for a few more frames with Mommy included. 

He was glad to hear when we were almost done picture time...

Thanks Charlie and Melanie for making me remember why I love my job! 

For those of you who are still interested in booking a spring shoot, my schedule is tight but don't be afraid to inquire! emily@emilytroutmanphoto.com

the Everyday

I have been once again challenged lately that I slack in taking pictures of my own family! I have also caught myself looking at sweet moments in my everyday life that I was like "wish I had my camera," which usually means we are up stairs and my camera is two flights of stairs down in the office area :) I was determined to overcome that this week and take some snapshots of my every day. I mostly have noticed just how much the twins are growing and changing every day, not to mention that in a few short months our family itself will change entirely! I think the key to these types of images is to really just capture moments and not focus too hard on photographic perfection, which I sometimes get caught up in...go figure!

One day I was checking out a blog I visit sometimes, girltalk, and I read about their 52Home project. I might have been emotional that day but this quote brought me to tears...

"Ordinary is where we all live most of the time. And yet our mundane, repetitive days are full of enduring work. Homes are being built. Families are being knit together. Little souls are being shaped for eternity. The tedious is, in fact, momentous—when done for the sake of Christ: “…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10).

This truth can get lost in piles of laundry and dirty dishes. We need help to see the glory peaking out from behind the ordinary. Our hope is that you’ll see your own ordinary, yet glorious life in these pictures. That you’ll glimpse the faithfulness of God that undergirds his faithful ones. That you’ll see reflections of the eternal in the everyday." 

So I challenge myself with these words...yes I feel like I live a lot in the mundane but "little souls are being shaped for eternity" and (crying while writing this) "we need to help see the glory peaking out from behind the ordinary"... just so blessed to have the life that I have. 

Disclaimer: I felt brave to photograph anything in the chaos that is usually my bedroom so please disregard any messes, laundry or otherwise...

(Update: passed that glucose test with flying colors! The nurse asked me over the phone "Did you feel like you were going to die when you were leaving though?! Your blood sugar was very low"... well duh :) 

Bowman!

Hey friends - vacation was great (more on that later) but it already seems long gone since getting home yesterday at 2am :) I am back in full swing and working on a session I did right before I left. Sweet Bowman is 6 months old and was SUCH a good sport doing an outside shoot in a billion degree weather. He laughed, smiled, wiggled and sat up like a big boy! You can definitely see why his parents are so smitten with him. Enjoy!

Mia Rose

My good friend Chantel had a baby a couple weeks ago and her sweet baby girl is Mia Rose. (I like her middle name, it's my middle name too :) Mia is so little and cute, it's hard to think that she will ever tell a lie or hit her brother...but we know these things will come in time! But for today, I just ate up her cuteness and I want to share some of that cuteness with all of you! Of course we had to squeeze in some shot with big brother Josh too!!

Happy 1st Birthday Kyle!

Meet my new friend Kyle, he's a sweet boy that's turning one today! I got the chance to capture some of his fun personality this week. He is definitely curious and wants to be everywhere. His mom Sara is a friend of mine from way back and we actually reconnected last year when we were in the same parenting class at the hospital. It was fun to take pictures of Kyle while hearing all about Sara's life these days, which includes Kyle of course :) And the crazy part is that this sweet family now lives in Amsterdam, far far away - but we made time for a photo session while Kyle was in town to celebrate his birthday with his American side of family. Happy Birthday Kyle!

Here we grow again :) Ben at 14 months!

This is my best friend's little boy. I am pretty sure the pictures say it all but if you don't want to reach in there and grab his cheeks, you just aren't right :)