I love Christmasy sessions.  Especially when there are two adorable reindeer involved.

I also love big ol' extended family sessions.  Most photographers tend to shy away from them, but I love it.  I love to see the connection between family members and I love that these images will be cherished because I know how much I cherish our big extended family pictures that we had done a few years ago.

I am so glad that Brad's parents were able to come from out East and spend time for the week and also that we were able to do pictures.

These boys are so lucky to have sweet and loving grandmas and grandpas.

This one is one of my favorites! 

I have been taking pictures of both of these boys since they were newborns.  I love being able to watch them grow!

Look at these beautiful women!!

Is there anything cuter than these two all wrapped up in Christmas lights?  Nope.

Brad and Marcie.  You guys are so cute (and a blast to be around.  I love our sessions.)

Father/Daughter and then Mother/Son.  Love it!

Thanks for trusting me with all of your family photos over the last few years.  I love you guys!

For more photos visit www.photolilo.com or my Facebook page.

Last Minute Ideas- Christmas is coming!

Hey everyone!  2016 is winding down and it is almost time for Christmas.  Are you a planner-aheader?  Or are you a putter-offer?

I am a type-A personality so I am usually a planner-aheader.  It usually serves me well (unless the kids decide to change what they are going to ask for from Santa at the last minute).

I was pretty on top of it this year and tried really hard to get all of my stuff done ahead of time so that I could really enjoy the season.  I hate rushing around at the last minute and thanks to Amazon Prime, most of my shopping was accomplished online.  It was wonderful!

Are you still looking for a few last minute ideas?  Here are some fun gift ideas for you as you are frantically try to finish up your shopping this week.

Need something small for your co-workers?  Get a cute roll of wrapping paper and attach a brand-new roll of tape and ribbon to it.  Everyone has to wrap packages and therefore this makes a great gift that is very practical.  I did this for my co-workers this year and they loved it.  Easy and cheap.  That is hard to come by.  Target has the cutest wrapping this year for only $2.50!

Need a teacher gift or something small for neighbors or friends?  Did you know that you can buy promo codes for RedBox???  Genius!  You can buy as many codes as you want and have them emailed to you and then you can divide the codes up.   Click here to find their site and then click on "eGifts" and then "buy promo codes".  After you get the codes emailed to you, print out a holiday gift tags (click just above "promo codes" for some really cute ones) and then you can wrap the gift tag around a bag of microwave popcorn and/or candy and then you have a cute and cheap gift for anyone for less than $2.  This is perfect when your kids get into middle and high school and they have 6 teachers.  Now you can get the teachers something they will be able to use to relax with their family over the holiday break without breaking the bank!

Looking for something for grandma?  They love calendars, ornaments, framed photos or anything with pictures of their grandkids.  Shutterfly and Snapfish have so many great, personalized gifts that you can give to your loved ones. 

Cookies- who doesn't love a plate full of home-made goodness?  Each year I bake 2-3 different kinds of cookies and then get together with some family friends and do a cookie exchange.  We spend an hour or so loading plates and plates of cookies for friends, co-workers, mail carriers, trash men, teachers...you name it.  This year we did 77 plates and we each got to take 11 plates home with us.  Everyone LOVES getting them and all it takes is some ingredients and a little love!

Men- are you still looking for something for your wife?  Is she impossible to buy for?  I have a guarantee gift that she will LOVE.  Get her a gift certificate to have your family pictures done.  She will be so happy to have you initiate the process.  I have gift certificates available so let me know if you are interested in making it the best Christmas for your wife.

Anyone else have an easy go-to gift that they want to share??  I would love to hear what you are getting the important people on your list.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

After Shadows Investigators- Littleton Photographer

Mark this down as the most interesting and unusual session I have ever done.

 

This team of investigators are like real life Ghostbusters!  They investigate the paranormal and supernatural realm from a scientific viewpoint. Their goal is to investigate with open hearts but look at the evidence with skeptical minds.  More of science meets spirit but I still like to think of them as Ghostbusters.

They are wanting to ramp up their business and therefore wanted to get their website up to date with professional pictures.

Meet the Team. 

Doug- Psychic (I think he looks like he should be on TV, right??)

Heather- Psychic (It was so interesting to watch her "feel" her way through the cemetery)

Davy- Demonologist (he insisted that he wasn't photogenic, but I seriously beg to differ)

Mieke - Investigator (she had all of the cool equipment)

Diane is their lead and I have been lucky enough to do pictures of her sweet family and their darling little girls.  When she contacted me to do pictures for their team I was excited about the opportunity to do something totally different than my norm.

I have to admit, I am a total scaredy cat when it comes to the paranormal.  My sister, on the other hand, LOVES all things ghosts and loves scary movies.  I probably hate them because she tortured me as a child and LOVED to tell me spooky stories and jump out from around corners to scare me.  When I told her what I was going to do, she asked to tag along.  I always love having her around and she was great about carrying all of my stuff and helping out during the session.  She LOVED it and they even invited her along when they do their next ghost hunt.  She was thrilled!

They wanted to do the session in a cemetery which I was a bit skeptical of.  I tried to do some research of sessions done in cemeteries so I could get some ideas but they were few and far between and most of them were super weird.  SO I went into the session with an open mind and a goal of looking for good lighting and letting the rest fall into place.

I am thrilled with the results.  This team is top notch and I really enjoyed getting to know them.  It was kind of fun wandering through the graves and finding interesting shadows and light.

This is my favorite shot.  This was at the very end as we were all headed back to the cars. I saw the beautiful light coming through the tree and then had them stand in front of it.  Don't you love the long shadows that are cast?

The Littleton Cemetery is home to the remains of the famous Coloradoan, Alfred Packard.  Apparently they had to cement his grave and headstone because people kept digging up the headstone and pranking people by putting it on someone's lawn.  Tacky!!!

We found this freshly dug grave with these beautiful dead flowers.  So sad yet I was drawn to it because it was so beautiful in its own way.

This group recently did some ghost tours at the Melting Pot near Halloween and had some interesting findings.  You can visit their website here to find out more information about them and their findings. And while we didn't see any ghosts (thank goodness for me) they did get a few readings on some of their equipment and they definitely felt some spirits present.  Thanks for a fun and interesting session ASI!

For more pictures visit www.photolilo.com or my Facebook page.

The Bugoci Family- Lakewood Family Photography

I am so proud of this little family. 

When we started these pictures it was 15 degrees outside.  Yes, 15! 

I don't know about you guys, but I think that is pretty cold.

But these guys ROCKED it.

Not only that, but I LOVE pictures with people that are all bundled up.  Don't they look so cozy?

And these hats for the boys are to DIE for.  

Their big brown eyes are so expressive...even when they aren't smiling.  I think they have been practicing their "smoulder".

Don't you just love their little rosy cheeks and noses?

 

How about a little brotherly love and kisses?

 

Look at this beautiful mama and her little bear.

After our session we figured out that this sweet family lives in my parent's neighborhood.  They live in the 7 dwarf's house.  That is what my sister and I called that house when we were growing up.  It is the cutest ranch style house with little peaked roofs and with scallops on them.  They have an open lot next to theirs and it is where I want to build my dream house!!  And then I could have these guys for neighbors.  

I loved meeting you guys and you have the sweetest boys!  I look forward to our next session being a bit warmer.

For more pictures visit www.photolilo.com or my Facebook page.