Switching Over!

All - I have finally decided to join the world of designed and hosted blogs and will no longer be posting here. To see my new blog, please visit www.katiethackerphotography.com/blog. I have a very busy week this week, so there should be LOTS of sneak peaks coming!

Thanks everyone!
Katie

Woah eyes!

I could not believe the gorgeous eyes on this family that I worked with this evening, and I just fell in love with all the personalities, too. With four siblings and one cousin, I got a work out tonight capturing moments with each child, and then making a few attempts at some group shots, too (which will require a lot more editing, so no previews of those tonight!)

A preview of each child:

Horse Vaulting!

A few weeks ago (I know, I'm very slow to post these!) I got the chance to go photograph a horse vaulting practice for two sisters. I had barely heard of the sport, but watching the practice made me realize that this is a beautiful, but very difficult, sport! The last time I personally went horseback riding was on a trail at a campground - and I was sore just from balancing myself for that ride.

Basically, the girls train to do gymnastics on the back of a horse, and the horses can get pretty fast. Part of the training was doing skills on a trampoline while teammates bounced around! Talk about stable muscle control!!!

A few sneaks from the session:

Sweet senior with beautiful eyes!

This senior goes to Blacksburg High School so we had to do her shoot in the morning since she has to go to school at night now (no fun!). Regardless we still had a great time, even if we both ended up covered in wet grass from the morning dew. We played on the town playground and out in the grass, and it made for a really sweet set of images for her family before she heads of to be in the world of "grown ups" at college : )

Click on any of the images below to see them in full size.

Runner Up Lilia!

I've known Miss Lilia for awhile, so I knew that when her mom came to me to schedule her for her session after the Little Ones contest, I was going to be in for a high-energy treat. Little did I know that our first session would be canceled because of an all-out downpour, and then our rescheduled session would still be soaking wet! Lilia was a super brave girl, though, and showed me all kinds of energy! I had some fun with the edits on a few of these - in a playful mood tonight after an afternoon splashing around in the rain. Here are a few sneaks from the session:

Contest Winner Adelyn!

After a rain delay, and another near-rain delay today, I got a chance to play with my contest winner Adelyn! Apparently some of her funny expresions were brand new just for me. Adelyn has an amazing big sister who is 12 years older than her, and I had such a great time with the entire family. A few sneaks below. Leave a comment and share the love for cute little Adelyn!

Baby Anna Grace!

I had the opportunity to photograph 6-day-old Anna Grace today and it was such a loving experience. She was so tiny - just about 5.5 lbs - after an unexpected early delivery. Mom and Dad were wonderful; I loved seeing them so in love with their new baby girl, and what a beautiful girl she was. She slept like an angel for most of our time together, and when she was awake, she make the cutest faces. Anna lives about an hour away, but the drive was beautiful (and an hour of peace needed on my behalf, I must admit!). I hope I get the chance to go back out and capture more of Anna's milestones.

Adelyn is our winner!

After a week of having emails pop up night and day with the names of our super cuties, I am very pleased to announce that Miss Adelyn has won the grand prize! She will receive a complimentary photo session, a set of four wallet-size accordion albums, and a beautiful 20x24 gallery-wrapped canvas of an image from her session. 

Of course, I can't stand to see all the effort put in by the entrants go to waste, so I am giving a set of three accordion albums to all of our contestants! I also wanted to hand out a few honorable mentions:

Tied for Second Place: Lilia and Olivia

Olivia and Lilia will each receive a half-price session to go with their accordion album!

Top Boy: Mason

I couldn't let all of the attention go to the ladies, so I wanted to recognize my top boy. He will also receive a half-price session to go with his accordion albums! 

I am so excited to work with Adelyn and all of my other contest entrants. Thank you to everyone who submitted a vote - I had a great time with this contest and am sure to do it again sometime.

Keep an eye out for previews from these sessions to pop up in the coming weeks. 

In Other News - Mother's Day Special

Don't forget about my Mother's Day special. Anyone who books a session between now and Mother's Day and prepays the session fee will receive a complementary 10x30 storyboard with any order. This is a great way to surprise mom with a gift that will mean much more to her than the same-old flowers and candy!

Little Ones Contest Entries! Time to start voting!

It's been a crazy week around here, hence the delay in getting these adorable kiddos posted, but I am so excited to share these 17 cuties with the world! Voting starts NOW and will end at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 24, 2010. To vote, send an email to katie@katiethackerphotography.com and put the name of your favorite little one in the subject line. You can vote up to one time per day per person (no multiple email addresses, please) and votes can come from wherever you can get them, so be sure to recruit friends, neighbors, and relatives to submit their votes!

Remember, the winner will receive a free session, a set of 4 wallet-size accordion albums, and a beautiful 20x24 gallery-wrapped canvas (a $300 value!). Plus, the 16 runners up will all receive a certificate for a set of accordion albums with a photo session (a $35 value).

Drum roll, please...

And the entrants for the 2010 Little Ones contest (in alphabetical order):

Adelyn

Bryson

Chase

Cole

Grace

Gracie

Iain

Joey

Julia

Lilia

Logan

Madeline

Mason

Miles

Olivia

Payton

Piper