And I could tell Stacy was a lot of fun. And a very pretty girl. And then I showed up and I was all, “WHOA. YOU. ARE. GORGEOUS.” Seriously, Internet, don’t you agree?

I feel like Stacy looks like someone famous in this photo but I can’t put my finger on who. Anybody want to offer up suggestions?Stacy’s mom had one request: That I photograph the back of her daughter’s beautiful dress. To which I said, “I think we can do that!”  

I looked at this image right after I took it on my camera’s LCD screen and squealed. Stacy just looks SO happy and relaxed here, doesn’t she? (and her eyes are really that blue!) After shooting at the Botanical Gardens, we headed over to Fort Wayne’s Grand Wayne Center and it was SO nice to shoot here. IN AIR CONDITIONING. We had the place to ourselves, Stacy was super relaxed at this point and this next series of images? Well, I think they speak for themselves Stacy’s necklace was a family heirloom. I love when brides make their accessories personal like that. (I had a broach with a “G” on it on my bouquet that was in honor of my great-grandmother who just so happens to be my namesake!)

FAVORITE!! Pretty enough for a wedding magazine. That’s ALL Stacy, by the way…not trying to toot my own horn here!Tyra may have wore this phrase out, but I can’t help it: “Stacy, YOU LOOK FIERCE!”Stacy, I’m sorry I couldn’t photograph your wedding day. If you looked a tenth as pretty as you did during our afternoon together, well, I know you wowed every one of your guests and that new hubby of yours too!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

TRACY AND KEVIN, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

But I can’t create this post without talking about the LOVE I felt among this trio. The love that’s going to grow in a few more weeks after April gives birth to their second son. This was one of those sessions where I felt it. Magic. Behind the camera. In front of me. Watching these two tickle Jack. Hold hands as they walked through the field. Snuggle in tight without me asking them to. With every look Dustin gave his sweet wife, I just couldn’t quit snapping away. It’s a session I won’t soon forget and a demonstration of affection that made me hug my own husband extra tight when I got home that night—grateful for the love I have in my own life and how this session reminded me of this and all I hope to look forward to in the years to come.

WATCH THEIR SLIDESHOW

Jack and Dustin are adorable together. When they were laying on this blanket and Dustin was making up stories for Jack about firemen and dump trucks and all the things little boys love, I had the biggest smile on my face behind the camera. I adore men who are doting fathers. It’s just the sweetest thing. Happy belated Father’s Day Dustin! I’ve photographed a lot of papas throwing their kiddos into the air, but this might be the best action shot of it yet! (PS- Don’t you love Jack’s red Converse? ) Do I even have to tell you that I ADORE both of these next two images? While April and Dustin went inside to freshen up (oooh boy was it HOT out) and change, Jack and I hung out for a bit in the grass. Naturally, a game of hide-and-seek ensued. And then it was time to focus in on capturing this beautiful time in Dustin and April’s lives as they get ready to welcome a second Smith to their home. This shot is just the sweetest! I can’t even begin to pick a favorite from this session because I love all of these so much, but I’ll tell ya, this one’s up there! Dustin’s one request was to take some shots of the family in front of their property. And that spectacular house of theirs. Which I LOVED. Or did I already say that? And April’s wish? That the storms that loomed before and during our session would make way for the sun. April, I’m SO glad we were able to make that happen for you guys! THANK YOU SMITH FAMILY …I had SUCH a blast getting to know you guys. I hope I get to photograph your family again some day!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

I’m guilty of this too. But what Jess wrote stuck with me and maybe it’s why, when I started editing through my photo shoot of the Smith family, I found myself holding on to this image below. It made it through the first, second and third round and there it was at the end. Like it had snuck its way into the pile. I don’t know what it is but I just love this shot of Jack. Something about it stirs something in me—makes me think of what it’s like to be a kid again—and I realized there was just no way I could trash it.

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

When she contacted me about taking photos of her family, I hopped at the chance. This is just a sneak peek of what’s to come and while I’m all, “I don’t usually blog THREE photos for family sneak peeks,” darn it all if April, her husband Dustin, and their little man, Jack, aren’t too cute to deny you all a triple peek. (It was either that or a full post that, no joke, would have been bulging with 20 photos!)

This photo is so precious. Makes me think of the Dr. Seuss “Hop on Pop” book but instead, the Smiths are playing “Hop on Jack.” He LOVED it!

April is due this July with their second boy and she is one hot mama (and mama-to-be). I ADORE this photo. And while she may have cringed that it was hiding in the barn, that’s Dustin’s old Camaro that you can barely see back there (I think it’s a Camaro, right guys?). The only reason I’m sharing is that Dustin informed me it was the car he and April went on their first date on. Ahhhhhh…. Their couple-cuteness ratio just went way up, right? I have photo after photo of Dustin looking at April like this and I think it’s both the sweetest and the sexiest thing. They make 11 years of marriage look GOOOOODDDDDDDD. Can’t WAIT to share the rest!

And April, will you do me the honor of making one of these your Facebook profile? I’D LOVE IT!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Friend Gail on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Of course, Erin, Jeff and I have a bit of a connection. I’m superclose with Stacey, Erin’s sister, whose own sweet family made an appearance earlier this year on my old blog. When Stacey shared with me that her sister was moving westward, the two of us soon began planning a trip out there (an effort supplanted only by our failed plottings to track down our favorite celebrities). (Ahem…Ryan… ahem…Gosling…).

Photographing Erin, Jeff and their precious little Maya was the least I could do as a thank you to these wonderful hosts. Jeff and Erin, thank you for welcoming me into that apartment of yours with its incredible jealousy-inducing views of the ocean. Thank you for letting me drink all your coffee. And for letting me take over your couch. And for letting me elbow in as the third wheel to your L.A. adventures with your sister.

And thank you, most of all, for being the linchpin to one of the best trips in recent memory. If it wasn’t for your relocation to L.A., well, Stace and I wouldn’t have had weeks to count down to our visit. And it may have taken me years to make the trek out to — and promptly fall in love with — southern California.

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed editing them. They were my last images of L.A. I had left to tackle (sniff, sniff) and I love how they capture this new time in your lives. And of course there’s a SLIDESHOW. This song came on during one of our many trips with Maya in the car, and it just made me smile and I knew right there it’d accompany the images from this show. If you ask me, it’s pretty perfect for the occasion

We shot most of this session at the pier in Santa Monica. This photo is one of my favorites from our time there.

To me, this image is just all sorts of wonderful.

Jeff loves his little girl and will do what it takes to try to get a laugh out of her.

What a perfect little family of three.

Well helllooooo there Maya

I used to think SoCal photogs had it SO easy. I mean, come on, it’s CALIFORNIA they’re shooting in. There’s the sun. And the surf. And that perfect golden light. But I realized they have their own points of contention. The crowds (oooh but there was a crowd at this pier on a Saturday night!), the same quickly sinking sun (we had to book it from the pier down to the beach .. it’s a haul with a baby and a stroller in tow and I was cursing that we didn’t start the session earlier) and SAND. (My God the sand… I think I can still hear its grit in my camera body!) But I guess it’s pretty worth it when the result are images like these:

With the sun having set, it didn’t take long for all of us to get cranky, hungry and ready to head home. I told Jeff and Erin we’d aim to get a few more shots of them on our last morning there because we HAD to get a few with their first “baby”, Cooper, in the photos. And seriously folks, these next two images? I think they are my two favorite photos I took during my whole time in Cali. LOVE THESE SO MUCH

With a full belly, we laid a happy Maya on a white blanket next to the open sliding door and you wanna know what happened next? Magic, that’s what happened. HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS BABY GIRL?

Oh. my. goodness.

Jeff and Erin, if you like what you see in this session, you know, I’m ALWAYS down for another trip to L.A. (wink wink )

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Friend Gail on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

When we were in high school, Zeb was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatments and I can remember going to see him with friends at the hospital and can still recall how touched I was by his upbeat personality. He was the one in the hospital bed making US laugh, not the other way around! So it’s nice to see that some things never change and that the Zeb who met me with his growing family was the same Zeb I remembered from all those years ago.

If you want to see more of the Johnston brood (and you know you wanna!), check out THEIR SLIDESHOW!

Zeb’s wife, Amy, had one request: “Could we get a shot where it’s our lower halves and just Logan?” Yup, we definitely can!

I just love these next two — the colors, the light, Logan’s little smile. So fun!

If you want to know what kind of dad Zeb is*, these next two images should answer that!

* A really fun one!

I asked Amy if Zeb would ever, you know, toss Logan up in the air, and before she could respond, Zeb was all, “OH YOU MEAN LIKE THIS?”! Logan loved it!

Kids in hats just get me every time …

This photo is the definition of a perfect candid. We were waiting on Amy to come back from the van and I turned around from looking for her to snap this. Zeb’s eyes on Logan, Logan so anxious to see his mommy coming over that hill … it’s just … wow. That’s the look of a happy man and child, for sure!

Amy brought apples as a cute little prop and Logan decided to take his first bite of one. I couldn’t resist posting this photo – too funny!

Dear Mother Nature,

Thank you for being so awesome during this session!

Love, Gail

PS – How GREAT did Zeb and Amy do on the wardrobe for a fall session? Those grasses behind Zeb MATCH HIS SHIRT for cryin’ out loud!

These two photos right here? They’re unscripted. They’re real. And they represent everything this business of mine is built upon.

Amy is such a devoted, fantastic mother who also happens to be a wonderful blogger and has documented their journey of adopting Logan with such love. Amy, keep up the great work (and speaking of blogs, thanks for being such a devoted follower of mine! )

I feel like this image is the perfect way to remember your childhood. Don’t you?

Thank you Johnston family and here’s to hoping this isn’t the last time we see you on this blog! And Amy, this post of yours is so, so wonderful. I wish you and Zeb best wishes as you pray for your next child to join the family!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Friend Gail on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

I’m reintroducing you to the Schaller Family. What a fun session this was! I’m always amazed how I can end a family session sometimes feeling just as tired as I do a wedding and I gotta say, this family kept me on the move! Mostly it was my efforts to keep up with the little ones. Annika and Matthew, you guys were a blast!

This probably sounds a little wackadoo, but I’m someone who believes a smidge in the whole aura of people. Maybe it’s all the years of yoga I’ve taken, but if the Schallers’ were a color, I’d say they were (collectively) yellow. (Which, coincidently happens to be my favorite! No wonder we got along!) Intelligent, creative, playful, optimistic and easy-going. Yep, I can’t think of better words to describe this delightful foursome!

Thanks again to the Schallers for a wonderful day of park exploring. And make sure to enjoy THEIR SLIDESHOW too! (My friend Betsy introduced me to the song I chose ages ago, and it’s always been a song that makes me think of my own family with a smile! )

So, so adorable …

On your mark? Ready … set … GO!!!!!!!

I love that Molly wanted to bring along the family pooch, Pierre. It was so fun to watch this little guy (a Jack Russell) tag along with us. He had to keep those little legs a-movin’!

Annika is EVERYTHING I remember about being 7. Missing teeth, a little camera shy (’til she gets to know you), coming into herself. We bonded over her Hello Kitty necklace, the American Girl series, and a mutual love of hats

Molly this photo is as much for you as it is Matthew. I feel like any child who has a photo like this with his or her mama is a very lucky child indeed

Molly mentioned that she and her husband, Soren, hadn’t had photos taken of just the two of them since their wedding 12 years ago this month. Well now, we had to take care of THAT problem!

Perfection.

Molly is a knitter too and, turns out, she is one of my friends on Ravelry. So naturally, we had to fit in a little talk about our love of yarn and I had to go gaga over these precious hats she made for her little ones!

I love this photo so much!

What a beautiful boy who just happens to love his puppy very, very much

And….everybody cuddle!!!

Thanks again you guys and may these photos be a joyful reminder of your love for one another this holiday season!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Friend Gail on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

I’d rather play at hug o’war,

Where everyone hugs

Instead of tugs,

Where everyone giggles

And rolls on the rug,

Where everyone kisses,

And everyone grins,

And everyone cuddles,

And everyone wins.

– Shel Silverstein

One of the best things about photographing children is being reminded of your own childhood. Sometimes, as in this case, in the most unexpected ways. As soon as I took this photograph, I was reminded of my favorite children’s book, Where the Sidewalk Ends. Of all the books in my current collection, its my tattered copy of Sidewalk that perhaps means the most to me. Inside is an inscription in my mother’s sweet handwriting that reads: To Gail — my little sweetheart. Merry Christmas — 1988. I hope you always have such a love of reading. It will give you endless hours of enjoyment. Much love, Mom

Truer words have never been spoken … thank you mom. And thank you sweet Annika and Matthew for reminding me of this.

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Friend Gail on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Amy sent me an e-mail this morning, excitedly asking me when her family’s sneak peek was gonna hit the blog (“I’ve been checking like, 100 times a day” she confessed, to which I say, “Bless your heart girl”) and so now I can finally (excitedly) tell her, HERE YOU GO AMY

Can’t WAIT to share the rest of this session. Zeb is a friend and former classmate of mine (I’m pretty sure we might have even gone to preschool together – did we Zeb? ) so it was such a wonderful pleasure to meet his wife Amy and the little guy who’s now bringing so much pleasure into their own lives. More to come!

Love Logan’s peepers here!

HOW CUTE ARE THEY?!!!!