This is One LOVED Baby!

Recognize mama-to-be in these images? It's Ashley! I had done a test shoot with her during the summer time for an assignment and also to get some practice at maternity shots! Ashley asked if I would shoot her baby shower and I gladly agreed too! This was my first time shooting an indoor event in a low light (to photographers) situation. I think its time to invest in a external flash for my camera. 

The baby shower was SO much fun! Tons of games and friendly competition, loads of funny presents and tons of love from friends and family. At one point during the present opening "ceremony" I turned to our childhood friend and told her that I just couldn't believe that we were all at this point in our lives. We are witnessing our first baby shower for a dear friend. I just cant wait to meet Rory and I think I am even more excited to watch Ashley be a great mom (anyone else with me on this one!?)!

So congratulations Chuck and Ashley...I seriously couldn't help but watch you two glow and not tear up a little!

Cookie dough cupcakes and fresh strawberry cupcakes! YUMM!! That strawberry frosting was so fresh and light!

If you want a successful baby shower...bring Krispy Kreme to the party!

Check out the "Rory Cake"!! All these little diapers were rolled up to create that awesome masterpiece! One of the games was to guess how many diapers were on the cake and how many Q-Tips were in the baby bottle! 

The flowers were actually separated into four vases for various winners! How stinkin' cute is that!?

He was practicing...just kiddin'! This was the most clever game of the night! Melted chocolate candy bars in diapers. You had to guess which candy bar it was...yumm!

Everyone cut a piece of string from a yarn ball to guess how round Ashley was...I threw mine away... 

So much fun!! Ashley was such a good sport about all of us who "over guessed"...

Tryin' to find the winner...

I think this was by far the best gift! It was a daddy kit! It had tongs, goggles and other various safety gear for daddy-to-be Chuck!

Dad, Ashley, Step-Mom and Brother

Ashley and her super cute Grandma!

Blazer game was on...

Rory, you are being born to some pretty awesome parents. Trust me, you will be the cool kid in class... guaranteed!

I absolutely LOVE how much Ashley's dad and brother willing chose to be in these shots. Inside, I was tearing up...there is just SO much love in this family! I can't wait to see Rory engulfed in all the love!

-Nicole

Jon and Lisa | Engaged!

This sweet couple have a big spot in my heart and I was more than happy to offer up some engagement shots for them! Its the least I could do for offering so many years of love and kindness to myself and others! I have known these two for quite some time now and it only makes sense that they fell in love and are now engaged!


When I was in fourth grade (years and years and years ago...maybe ever decades...anywho) my neighbors took me to their church. The very first person they introduced me to was Jon. My neighbor introduced us by saying "Jon, this is Nicole, DON'T SCARE HER"! Through out the years, I continued to go to that same church and work in the same children's ministries that Jon did. In high school, I was transferred to Jon's high school and he made sure that I was well taken care of during my year there. Now, Jon is a grown man with the biggest heart of gold (much like when I first met him). He would give you everything he had if he knew it would make you happy. He has so much love in his heart that anyone would be blessed just to meet him.


I met Lisa a few years back while working in the same children's ministry as Jon. Lisa was a Kidz Town helper and was friends with a past boyfriend of mines sister. So we always hung out with Lisa or vice versa. She is super sweet and equally as caring as Jon. Lisa has such a gentle soul and is so caring! I enjoyed seeing her sweet little smile while working on Sundays.


Arranging this shoot was a bit of an obstacle as I had many roadblocks that continued to push their shoot out to a further date. Luckily for me, Jon and Lisa were more than patient with me. The day of our shoot, there was a little bit of talk about snow. When we met up at Washington Park, it was starting to sprinkle. By the time we really got into it, it started to rain. By the time I was ready to go inside, it began to snow! And we just happened to be right where Jon proposed to Lisa. It made for a perfect composition!


Thank you Jon and Lisa for being such great sports about the weather, timing and my being new to engagement photography! Congratulations you two! I cant wait to see you married and watch you live your lives together forever!

There is still more to come...stay posted!

Nicole

Baby Judah Revived My Faith

Can I first say, this was the BEST SESSION TO DATE. I had been going through a bit of self doubt with my newborn photography but the Morgan's revived my faith! For those of you who have not done baby posing or baby photography, it can be one of the more challenging subjects to photograph. It takes a lot of patience and time but is well worth all the effort in the end. I have to give special thanks to Keri Meyers who helped me figure out ways to pose newborns more comfortably.


For those who are interested in my newborn photography, timing is essential! Infants need to be two weeks or less. The younger, the better!!


Baby Judah was a CHARM! Slept through everything, posed perfectly and was extremely patient with me! He was my first boy to photograph and Serena and Grace were my first children. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect shoot! I really hope to see this family again in the near future. They were so beautiful! May I now introduce, the Morgan's...

More posts coming soon! Promise...

Nicole

Keri Meyers | Baby Posing Class

Yesterday, I made the four hour drive at 4:00am to Duvall, WA to get some more posing guidance from Keri Meyers of Keri Meyers Photography. The drive was the usual until I got off I-405 and started to head into Renton and Duvall. Can I just say that if I ever decide to move, its going to be to Duvall, WA! Its the PERFECT little city!! All country except for patches of Safeways (thank goodness!) and Starbucks! And the little bits of city that were scattered about were so cute and up to date! If you are a true Oregonian, you would love Duvall, WA. It has just enough to keep you interested and is surrounded by enough nature and fresh air that you would feel at home!


I had met Keri about a year go at the Kelley Ryden class and have followed her work since then. She is amazing!! When I saw that she was offering one on one mentoring sessions, I decided to sign up. I needed to get a little more practice under my belt and I knew that Keri would be the perfect person to learn from. She has such an organic, natural style about her work that its like a breath of fresh air. And she was such a great teacher too! Totally hands on, really made sure I understood what was going on, she was ultra patient. She is just great!! She is one of the most positive people I know in this photography business and I love it! She has always been so encouraging to me and I appreciate it so much!


I would totally recommend Keri to anyone who is looking to get into baby posing professionally. I cant say enough great things about her!!

In other news, I think I have found my permanent photography name:

URBAN BELLA PHOTOGRAPHY

Love it...

Nicole

The World's Most Amazing Kids...

I met April and Rob about four years ago on a trip to Canon Beach. Shortly after, I was introduced to their three, GORGEOUS kids! All two years apart, these three are a riot! They are the kind of kids that even if you don't know them that well, they pour out this amazing amount of love and generosity. I love visiting Rob and April and I especially love getting hugs from these three. May I please introduce Sabrina, Darren and Joseph!

Natural smiles for a whole three hours! They made my job easy (I promise April...)! Thanks for letting me apart of the love and fun that your family exudes!

-Nicole

Baby Ashlyn is Here!

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing a co-workers first baby! Baby Ashlyn was just meeting her third week of life when I got my little photographic hands on her! She was so feisty! And I LOVED it! She had such a sassy attitude and squeaky cry that she definitely was letting me know what she did and did not like! And she had so many GREAT facial expressions!! 
It was such a great experience for me to work with a newborn like Ashlyn because she taught me to be quick, ready, and patient. Though I felt a little bummed that I didn't get to put her into as many poses and props as I would have liked, I learned a lot and I have to be grateful for this.
Thank you so much to dad and mom for giving me the opportunity to photograph your beautiful, perfect, sweet little girl. I cannot wait to see all of you again soon!! 


World, I would like to introduce you to Ashlyn... 

That's all for now! Hope you all enjoyed baby Ashlyn as much as I did!

-nicole

Pricing!

After much, MUCH, MUCH consideration, I have decided to start charing for my photography services. This has been a hard decision for me because I love to give people gifts and photographs are the best gifts I have to give. But after evaluating my time, travel, and materials, I have decided to take the plunge and become official! I have kept my prices extremely low for a couple of reasons:


1. I am still learning, going to school, shooting things I have yet to shoot...ect...


2. While still learning, I still do not have the means for professional equipment such as a CD printer, super sweet packaging, ect. But have no fears, your images will be to die for and top notch quality!


3. Because I love you and want you to give me the opportunity to show you your beauty!


Please visit my investments page for pricing information.


When considering my prices, I made sure to keep in mind that I am still a student who is learning and striving through my learnings at The Art Institute of Portland. Right now, my prices are kept low but eventually, I will increase them over time. 


Thanks for all of your support and understanding! I hope to see you soon!


-nicole

Sweet Meredith!

Yet again, I was suppose to be working on a fashion shoot (you know, shooting the outfit, shoes, earrings, ect) but it is so hard to focus on boring aspects when you have such a gorgeous model! A friend from work volunteered her super sweet sister to be a model for me. I had what I wanted in mind and she was fine with doing what I needed. But once we started shooting, I lost my focus...I guess we can add fashion photography to my "cannot do" list! Lets add "portrait on location" photography instead!

I took Meredith out to a vacant field that I had shot in the day before (see Sabrina's blog!). It's a great, big field with a huge, old tree and a couple of hay stacks. Perfect for shooting in! There were a ton of crickets attacking us while we shot and we had to be super careful while we walked as there were a few poky weeds around. But nevertheless, we conquered that field and got some great shots!

Never underestimate a strong woman...a lovely, sweet, caring, and beautiful woman...

See what I am talking about...

Thank you soooo much Meredith for being such a willing and great model! You are so beautiful! I hope you enjoy your pictures as much as I have...and Jenn, thank you so much for finding me the PERFECT model!! You both are awesome!

-nicole