first of all i promise never to take such a hiatus from blogging, MY WORD, its been a while! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and an even better first two days of 2010! I am slightly back, as in my house is nothing short of a disaster full of toys from mimi’s, toys from gammy’s, luggage and bags full of clothes, shoot there may even be some sugar cookies hanging around somewhere, oh and did i mentions TOYS! remember the playroom pic people?! i am trying to figure out what in the world we are going to do since daddy cheeks has shot down the idea of simply making another playroom, heehee….no really, we are going on toy detox and we are going to be going through and picking out toys to donate, toys to put away for later and toys that are clearly ready for the trash. but for now my house is seriously a disaster and all i can do is giggle and dream about the fun few weeks we have had….
moving on…
so lots of new things to come that i havent even really gotten completely together but i am seriously busting at the seams to show yall, plus i have had a new website started since july but havent gotten around to finishing it, i know call me lame! but with all that is awaiting me and a FULL january of shooting, i have to admit the beginning of the new year puts me in one of those moods…ya know those sappy, high on life, warm fuzzy, stop and breathe moods…
first i have to tell you about my new year’s resolution (apparently if you tell someone it increases your chances of sticking with it). So my NYR is to put my own kidlets on my calendar every month for their very own shoot! I know it sounds silly but honestly i have so many fab places i have taken your kids but have never taken my own. Now dont get all raised eyebrows on me, their lives have been documented quite well, i have a hubby who is the self proclamied king of photo flip books! Yep, he proudly proclaimed to me the other day that “we” (i use the term loosely) take on avg 200 pics a month! nope not a joke….anyhoo so thats it, the thing is i started doing a family yearbook this year (its a layflat coffee table book full of this years pics and a nice little summary of everyone’s doing’s from this past year) so this will make next years last few pages super easy, heehee…look for the cheeks girls first shoot later month it will be my way of launching one of my big new ideas for 2010.
second, its time to come out of hiding people….i get a stat count on you weekly and i am pretty much addicted to where yall are from, how you got to me, where you go when you leave me, etc….yea i have had it since the beginning so you only thought you were being sneaky, lol!!! anyway the point is, this little ol’ blog gets about 300 or so hits a day, makes me kind of blush….anyhoo WHO ARE YOU?!?!? leave a comment, i always return comments and i always answer questions, i get tons of these too…ask me anything, lenses, camera bodies, NEWBORN SHOOTING TIPS,the weather in houston?! i dont care but please comment and i will hit ya right back or at least we can add eachother to our google readers so i know to check in on ya once in a while.
third, my holiday in a nutshell…shot a handgun for the first time ever, def not a sharp shooter…welcomed triple-icious into our home (more about him later)…read two whole books front to back (awwww how i miss having time to read)…got a new camera bag a crumpler and i la la love it…sat and listened to sister giggles while drinking hot chocolate and enjoying a warm fire…(here comes that sappy mood) gave thanks that i have discovered my passion, found someone who is truly proud of me doing it, and get to wake up to two little angels every day.
and since this post turned into blah blah blah i am peacin’ out now but of course a photo is a must….so here are a few more from the cheeks family shoot….images taken by kim mckown photography edited by yours truly
Just beautiful. Each and every one of you.
Okay I totally confess to stalking you Shalonda! You caught me. 😉 Just checking in on how your getting on with those FABULOUS headbands you purchased from my store, I see you are putting them to good use! 🙂
Lisa
P.S. Your family is really truly stinkin’ CUTE and your work is inspiring!
Yup, I’m a stalker too. I check your blog when I can (at cough cough… work) for updates… love the pics! Look forward to our first shoot in March–will email you to confirm! Sounds like your break was wonderful.
Oh, I stalk you every. single. day. Apparently, even when you tell us that you’re going to take a blogging break for the holidays- I still feel the need to pop over and see if you posted anything! haha! 🙂 I found you through my friend Whitney West. I talked to you through email probably 7 months ago about newborn pics for my baby girl- but well, she was born, and I got totally sidetracked! Anyway, just wanted to “come out of hiding” and say hello. I absolutely adore your work- everything you do is so beautiful! I have a link to your site on my blog, under the section titled “Sites I Stalk Daily”. haha! 😉
Haha!! Love your COME OUT PEOPLE spiel! 🙂 You know I’m here and loving every post! Welcome back mama (and wahoo for shooting for the first time!).
I love reading your blog!!! You took pics of me and my fam early in 09–our feet our on the top of the blog. I had also started a photography biz around the time of the session and I am still loving every minute–I only get to do it part time–but it is my passion too!! Your work is amazing!!! I follow your blog often–it has given me lots of inspiration. Do you belong to a group or forum?? Just wondering how you hook up with your other photo friends??? I don’t really know any in my area and it would be so nice to have people to bounce ideas around with.
thanks everyone nice to meet you all…
kristal i remember you hun! yes i am a part of several private groups on flickr and i am a pro in ilp, which taught me so much when i was just starting out.
oh lisa you know i have some orders to place
erin, hahaha cant wait to really meet yall
sarah thanks for the link i do get several hits from your blog address
jenny love ya girl
Shalonda, Love all of your posts and your pics! Have even shared your blog with some girls at work and they loved your work! Great job girl! Your girls are adorable and you and Steven look great! Hope we can catch up sometime in the future.
you crack me up!! glad you and the fam had a wonderful christmas and a happy new year. these pictures turned out great; such a beautiful family!!
okay..btw I just checked out sitemeter and that thing is quite impressive. crazy b/c dave and I were just talking about whether or not we should take our blog private b/c we had someone really random leave a comment last week! i may just have to implement something like this to see what is really going on!
what a great new year’s resolution! love the images…you have a gorgeous family!
Yours is on my list of favorite blogs that I try to check daily. Many times get interrupted, so on some days I may visit more than once! Love, love, love your work … It’s creative and colorful and you always nail your exposure! Noticed that you use Canon. So, here’s a question or 3 … Which lens do you use most often when photographing 2 or more kiddos? Also, do you have a favorite camera? And, do you have a favorite blog? Can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2010! Again, you do such beautiful work!
hey ms rhonda nice to “meet” you too figured i would answer you here and in email…yes i use canon, and while my fav camera is the 5dmkii i actually do not have it YET, inthe next few months i will though and i will be selling my 50d.
as far as lenses my all time fav that hardly ever comes off of my camera is the 50 1.2L. it was worth every penny! the 24-70 is a fab lens for photographing several people at once as well.
fav blog, well hands down i have a huge blog crush on tara whitney. she photograph’s REAL life and her motto is perfectly imperfect. she doesnt always follow “the rules” and her style just speaks to me in so many ways. i woudl do anythign for her to shoot my family
I enjoy viewing your work! You have a great eye and are blessed with great skills! We have a couple mutual friends – Christine Jaster is one of them. I hope you have a very successul year and I look forward to seeing all of your work!
your probably 1 of 10 or so photographers blogs i follow, i don’t know why i do this, most of them will probably never even shoot my fam or kiddos, i love photography and looking at pictures, plus your funny!
*officially coming out of hiding* haha, love you girl!
Beautiful photos! I found you through google, and I am really impressed! I am going to be starting this type of photog work soon (in Georgia), and I am looking into lenses. You say you use the 50 1.2L the most — do you use it handheld, on a tripod, with a flash on or off the camera? What is your normal shooting setup?
I am about to make a purchase with B&H and I want to make the right lens decision. Your photos are absolutely perfect and are just what I am looking to do.
Thanks in advance for the response!
Sorry, I should have added — I plan to do outdoor/natural light photos. So aim my questions at those types of photos only 🙂 Thanks!!
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