Betsy Jo Photography Blog

There’s something about babies that bring joy and softness, clarity and fulfillment to life. A new, precious little life, fresh and unmarred by the external goings-on of a noise-filled world. Sometimes babies can bring us more than that, even. They remind us of those we love, and we seek to see others in their eyes.

Just six months ago this past weekend, Tucker’s mom lost her only brother, Michael, very suddenly. The hurt and sadness don’t seem to go away, and the pain is something that we seek to alleviate. We wish we weren’t so helpless in the midst of such grief. And then Tucker Michael comes in, maybe not to take away the pain, but to give hope. Because it’s hard to hold this baby and not think of life. It’s hard to feel his soft, downy hair and not think of newness. It’s hard to look in his little eyes and not see a future. It’s hard to feel his hand and not feel comfort. It’s hard to look at his perfect little lips and not think of shared laughter from years past. It’s hard to say his name and not feel remembrance.

There’s just something about a baby.

And I am now admitting how completely biased I am when it comes to the child of my very dear friend. (See the rest of her children here.)

This one makes my heart smile. Because, what is so sweet as little baby toes peeking from a blanket?

We had a lovely evening to roam around town getting Nicole’s senior pictures. She’s graduating from THS next year, and wanted some relaxed, outdoor portraits. Nicole brought her mother and sister along, and we all enjoyed our time exploring for unique spots around the area. We managed to get some ‘sister’ pictures done while we were at it, and I’m so happy with how well Rachel and Nicole did.

Nicole’s mom contacted me after seeing Katie & Sam’s session, and booked me to take Nicole’s pictures, as a surprise for her!

Thanks to all 3 of you for being so kind and willing to go along with whatever I asked you to do, whether it was climbing in underbrush, or laying on fallen apples in the orchard!Thanks for trusting me, and enjoy your senior year, Nicole!

*To learn about or purchase ‘Prints for a Purpose‘, click here. Thank you for the interest and support thus far!*

I’m going through your images now, Nicole, when I should be studying. I can’t help it, though. I am pretty much jumping up and down inside. Really.

So, just to hold you over while I go through them all and try to figure out how to pick out my many, many favorites– here are two.

~~~~~

Seriously? Okay, Nicole has this beautiful, amazing, light-casting smile. So it seems a travesty to post a pensive, quiet image. But I couldn’t help it. There’s something about this one. Seriously.

And this one? This one. Hello, light. Welcome, soft, almost-autumn, warm, tastes-like butter, enveloping, filmy light. Hello.

This is the kind of light that I dream about. The kind that makes my heart leap a tiny bit and almost puts a lump in my throat. When I’m driving somewhere in the evening, this light makes me want to stop in my tracks, get out of the car and walk in the field with my camera. Oh, if only I were joking…

So, take this light and add a pair of carefree, laughing sisters. And then, I am ebullient.

I can’t wait to share the rest with you when they’re ready, Nicole! ‘Hope this can hold you and Rachel and your Mom over for a little bit. I loved working with all 3 of you– thanks for contacting me to do your senior pictures!

We had a beautiful afternoon to get some group photos of the whole ‘Z’ crew!

Mom and Dad:

The Original 4 girls-

‘Love the light in this next one.

This image has a little story behind it. We had gotten the children all set up for a ‘grandparent/grandchildren’ shot, and I was shooting away. I stopped, and was ready to move on, since I knew I had ‘gotten it.’ That is, until I looked down at my screen and saw something that made me laugh. And laugh some more.

Ready?

This is what I saw:

Wait for it…

And…

Needless to say, I started over. With a big grin on my face.

I think a household with this little guy in it would be a lively one. Thanks for making me smile, Blake!

And with that fun little image, I end this post.

This session was done a number of weeks ago, but had to be kept under wraps until the birth announcements went out. I’m excited to share this little sweetheart’s pictures.

I love being able to feel comfortable and welcomed into someone’s home, and have them ready for me to document an amazing, memorable time in their family’s life. This was certainly the case with Rachel, Addison’s mom. We had a great time rearranging furniture, and changing Addison’s outfits, trying hard to get her to sleep, and setting up my vintage scale for some adorable birth announcement photos. We even set the scale to her birth weight…So, thank you, Rachel (& Brent, too) for trusting me with this special time.

And a special thanks to Addison JaNae for smiling for the first time just when I was clicking away… You’re a lovely girl!

(cocoon and scale from Etsy.com)

Look at that dimple!

And just one more, since I couldn’t decide on vintage or black and white: