Welcome! I'm Shawna, an on-location natural light photographer from Kent, WA serving the greater Seattle and South Sound area. My passion is for birth photography! In birth or family sessions, I strive to capture details and the spontaneous moments that truly reflect the beauty in your life, and that you will treasure for ever. Sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy my musings, or better yet - pop me an email and introduce yourself. I love meeting new people!
Showing posts with label lifestyle photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle photography. Show all posts

And the winner is...

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Thank you to everyone who participated in our raffle this month, by donating or sharing with friends! Every little bit brings Cat closer to reaching her goal - a chance at a life saving surgery and getting to live her life more fully.

Please continue to follow her journey on Facebook. Share it with everyone so she can reach her goal, and stop by to offer some encouragement. She has been in the hospital for a month now, away from her daughter and friends, on a visit that was only supposed to last a few days. As a mother, I can only imagine the pain of being away from my baby a whole month. So let's send some love her way!

Now, on to the excitement!

We have three prizes up for grabs:

One grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! (Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.)
Two secondary prizes: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

Without further ado, our randomly chosen winners:


Grand prize: Keisha Reis

Secondary prizes:  Brie Chelton and Chrysoula Tsavelas

To everyone who participated, a heartfelt THANK YOU.  I was so nervous picking the numbers tonight and made my husband do it since I truly wish I could issue a prize to each and every person.  Congrats again to the winners - I'll be in touch!

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a little glam




A bit of glam to share with you today.  I love doing individual portraits, and this was an especially fun session. I can't believe I'm just now blogging it!

 

 Meet my wonderful friend, Brie!  We took a bit of time out of her visit from Oregon to make some portraits that highlight every little bit of her beauty. 
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Personally, I think everyone deserves to see themselves in this way and I love capturing it for people.  I myself certainly need some photographic reminders after a long day (or week) in which I may or may not have made it out of jammies, let alone gotten to brush my hair. Sometimes we get lost in ourselves and forget that the beauty is there all the time, no matter what. :O)  Hey, well I did say that these are some of my favorite kinds of sessions! 


P.S.  If you haven't entered the raffle yet, make sure you do before the end of the week! It's for a great cause, and you, too, could enjoy a relaxing afternoon just feeling beautiful and have portraits to show for it. :O)

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A raffle like no other!

**A big post today! Please take the time to read it through, because at the end there is a great opportunity for everyone!**


For most moms, life with a baby is busy, exhausting, and full of little gripes like, 'Augh! Another tantrum leaving the park today!' Or, 'Oh man, going on a walk with a toddler is torturously slow.' Few of us take the time to really consider what a treat it is to have the ability to experience all the ups and downs of keeping up with a child.

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I'd like like to introduce you to my dear friend, Catherine. She is an amazing mom and wishes only to have the chance to enjoy the wondrous bits of life that most moms cherish without a second thought. But with Sickle Cell Anemia and Pulmonary Hypertension, the cards are stacked against her. She has been on constant oxygen since the birth of her daughter, Ava, 17 months ago, and has made it through many difficult trials including coma, lung collapse, and extended hospital stays far from home. All the while she meets life with enthusiasm, and stays strong to be there for her daughter as she grows.

If you have never had watch your child learn to walk and wish you could hold her finger while she explores her new found talents, consider yourself lucky. If you've never had to wish you could twirl your child through the air or explain to her why you can't pick her up, consider yourself lucky. If you can make it through an entire book and groan about how many times you have to read it again, consider yourself lucky. If you have never sat in a hospital bed and hoped your baby would remember you when you come home, consider yourself lucky. If you have never had to pray that your child will have you by her side at her birthday this year and next, then you are truly lucky.

All you amazingly lucky people, this is where you come in! Catherine is blessed with wonderful family, friends, and doctors and has a chance at a life-changing surgery this summer, but she needs help getting there. A fundraiser has been set up to gather the funds to get her across the country where doctors are waiting to evaluate her candidacy.

I will be raffling off one complete portrait session, a $650 value!

Don't worry, if you aren't in the Pacific Northwest, since there will be secondary prizes that can be shipped anywhere. Each entry is $10, and you may enter as many times as you'd like.  Be sure to pass the word on, since the more entries I receive, the more prizes I will add to the pot!   It's a win-win situation, all around!


How to enter:  Please use the button on the top of this blog to purchase tickets. They are $10 a piece and you may enter as many times as you'd like. Each one brings you closer to winning, and brings Catherine closer to realizing her cross country trip and freedom from oxygen tanks! It's win-win. :0). 
As more raffle tickets are purchased, I will add more secondary prizes, so keep sharing with your friends all over the country!


I am very excited to have this raffle to offer my clients, fans and friends, so please share as much as you can! The more the merrier! (You will find more details below.)

You can get to know Catherine better and follow along on her journey here on her San Diego or Bust! page. Words of encouragement are always welcome!

And Cat, I plan for this to be you and Ava next summer- one more dream come true:

               (Portrait by Alta Dawne Photography)

Details: 
Grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.

Secondary prize: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

The raffle begins today and will last through June 1st at 9pm Seattle time. All proceeds will benefit San Diego or Bust. Portrait session may be redeemed in the greater Seattle, Portland, and Corvallis areas. Secondary prizes will be shipped worldwide. Prizes may not be redeemed for cash. If winner cannot redeem grand prize, winner may choose from the secondary prizes and a new grand prize winner will be chosen.

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Miss Elodie


Don't you think Elodie is just the sweetest name? It's a perfect fit for this little darling.



Elodie's portraits were nice and laid back (my favorite kind!) since her mama just happens to be a photographer.


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We missed out on her true newborn portraits since she surprised her mama a few weeks early. It made for a fun session, though, since she was the size of a newborn but interacted like a 4 week old. 


Jen, congratulations! You have certainly found yourself a keeper.

P.S. Be sure to pop over to Elodie's page to check out the rest of the images in her slideshow!

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Sweet peek - Isla

So excited to share this sneak peek with you!  So excited, in fact that I just had to add in a few extra images because this new family is just so flippin cute.



If you have ever welcomed a new baby into your family, you'll remember this feeling so well.  Just staring down at that little one, enamored with every feature, wondering how it could be possible that just a few days earlier you had never even met.

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And this moment... newborns are so impossibly small and perfect.


Thank you, Jennifer and Jonathan! It was such a privilege to visit during these most precious newborn days, so that you can remember them forever.

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Reflecting

One thing I love about photography is that it may be cold outside and ready to snow, but I can lose myself in an image and just like that, it's summer again. For a moment, Bella is newly three, the sun is bright, laughter is everywhere, and the air smells of grass and dandelions.



And then, back to my hot chocolate and dark cozy windows and I trudge nostalgically through a year of family photos. :O)

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Feeling like fall



Who else has been up to their elbows in pumpkins lately? Perhaps even a few pumpkin lattes?

(Not up to your elbows, of course.)

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! Well, and a happy October for that matter!

For me, autumn is all about the leaves! We've been having such a wonderfully dry autumn here, and it's the first year that Bella has really gotten to play in the leaves! Last year, Lillia couldn't stand the sound of leaves so piles of them were OUT! This year has been so much better.

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It reminds me of being back in New England. We even had frost-coated leaves this morning, and I ran Bella out of the house to show her. Yes, I love fall that much.

These images of Bella playing in the leaves sum it all up for me. Happiness, anticipation, wonder, and freedom. All in one big pile. :O)

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I would love to hear how you're celebrating this fall!

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April

One I found of Bella from April.  I'm chipping away at our family photos, little by little.

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I also have some great sessions to share. Time to get blogging!

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The sound

A visit to the sound. Such a beautiful day, and well worth the drive. The clouds lifted and the Olymics came out to enjoy the sunlight. I wish we could have stayed til sunset.

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Flying High

Sommmmebody turned two last week!

Here's her sneak peek. She gets more and more beautiful every time I see her!

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Can't wait to share the highlights of her birthday party! TWO cupcakes for one adorable two-year-old. :O)

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A very good morning

Oh my goodness, there is so much I could say about what an amazing time I had with this family last week.  They invited me into their home on a very special day and fully embraced capturing the beautiful, everyday moments. I love this image so much!

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Pancake mornings are a favorite tradition of ours, too, and this moment is exactly why.  More soon!

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One more

I fell in love with this image the first moment I saw it.

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I've finally finished this session, so no more swing portraits for a bit... unless you want to invite me over to your swing set!

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In sync and care free

(Even the grown up - and really, when do grown ups ever relax?)

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Apparently I have a slight fascination with swings. (What, this swinger and this dreamer didn't prove it already? You just wait, I have more.) If I could take swinging portraits all day long, I think I'd be in heaven. I mean, swings can be both magical and cathartic. Adventurous and relaxing. It's all there in the air.

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Daydream

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My cousin's beautiful daughter. Of this entire session, this was the only one I needed to have in black and white. Some stories are just stronger that way.

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Swing!

Working on this charmer's session tonight! It's long overdue and bringing back the memories of this hot (hot!) July day at the park in Washington, D.C.

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(Okay, so not as hot as the following week... But I sure could have used a swing to cool down.)

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Hurry up and relax!

If you didn't notice (Seattle residents may very well have not), Summer is here at last!


And in case you forgot,


Summer is the BEST time to get your family portraits done!

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Why do it now?

1.) We get great weather all through September
2.) Everyone in the family still has that rosy look and it's not from a head cold!
3.) By the time the holidays are here, you'll already have your specially designed cards up and ready to go - which leaves more time to enjoy pumpkin pie!
4.) Who doesn't love a framed photo, and that's one less trip out into the holiday shopping crowds (see also: pie benefits, above).


There are a few spots left this summer and you won't want to miss out!

Sign up for any full session before August 21st and you will get two free mini albums (woot, two gifts off your holiday list!) and 25% off holiday cards! What's not to love about that?

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Sisters

I was ambivalent about having another girl when I was pregnant with Lillia. I did, however, hope that Bella would someday have a sister - there's just something special about sisters.  When Lillia was born and I learned she was a girl, I had an unexpected relief and excitement - an anticipation of moments like this.


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Today was a rough day with not enough sleep and too much stress and the three of us clashing hour after hour.  Looking back at the images from today's Week in the Life captures, there are so many beautiful moments and I am so glad to have them forever.

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Freedom

When you can dress yourself, life really is just that good.

joy as a fashion

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After the mist

We could actually see the clouds blowing across our feet. In and out, mist and sun, and a relentless wind drawing ripples in the sand, breaking waves, and setting kites free.

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Misty Beach

A trip to the beach.  Mist, wind, sand, and bright blue bubbles.

blue bubbles on an empty beach.

So many things to share, but I have a whole month of posting every day, so this will do for now.

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