The Cutest Subjects

I think I've mentioned on here before that I love photography.  No, I'm not going to attempt to ever start a business with it and I definitely have a ton to learn, but I'm always excited when I get to use the knowledge that I do have to take pictures for a friend or family member.  So when my sister, Mindy, asked me to take some pics of her son, Adam, when she was in town this past weekend, I jumped on the opportunity!  Jake was with me, too, and thank goodness our oldest sister, Angie, came along to help us "herd" the kiddos... they were all over the place!  The pictures were taken at the Kentucky Horse Park, which lent us so many beautiful places to shoot.  It took me a little while to get my settings correct (like I said, I'm no professional but I do always try to shoot in Manual mode so I can practice) but by the end of the day (and about 500 shots later), I think we got some good ones!  None of these are edited (aside from making a couple of them black and white) as my sister is the Photoshop expert, but here are a few of our fav's:

Such a serious face, but I thought it was so sweet!

Yes he is holding a shoe... it made him smile, so we went with it!

Despite my efforts, his Mommy ended up getting the "money shot" of the day:

I love this one I took of Adam and his mom... her hair comes out so beautifully in photos!  Then again, it's incredibly beautiful in person, too:

Of course I took some of my favorite little man, too.... but mostly just got his back as he ran all over the place!  That boy loves to go go go!  I actually liked the shots from behind though as this captures his personality at this age:

My favorite: 

And how did we keep the kiddos occupied and smiling for the hour + that we were out there?

First off, Auntie Angie was essential!  Thank you for coming along and entertaining them both! 

And the real secret?  Oh yes, our kids love the iPhone.  Here's our geeky children with their gadgets... too funny:

My sister was also sweet enough to take a couple of prego-pics of me and Lilly, but I'm saving those for another post since this one is already pretty picture-heavy.  Besides, I am way behind on a belly update, so I'll have the hubby take one today and let you know how it's going tomorrow.  I have a doctor appointment later anyway.

Apparently I passed the test because I get to take pictures of this whole family in the fall!  Yay!  And luckily I won't have a big belly to work around since photographing toddlers takes a lot of bending over, laying on the ground, etc.

I hope you enjoyed your daily (double) dose of cuteness today!  Thanks, Mindy, for letting me practice my favorite hobby on my super-dooper adorable nephew!  Oh how I love that little guy!