Hugs & Kisses

come by the bushel-load here!

I used a photo of my daughter before for a previous challenge, and I really thought, I’d just use another photo from that session that I loved so much.

But I thought I’d go ahead and take another one just in case I like it better….

….and of course…

I did.

The other photo is more dramatic, and the colors are just beyond beautiful,

but this one shows the hell and back this sweet, precious baby boy has come from.

The death that he cheated.

Again.

For a baby of only 9 months old, he has a testimony of mercy and grace from God that most people just don’t have.

And, still, my daughter loves this baby so much.  He is her world.

Fostering is the most incredible journey I’ve ever been blessed to do!

is obviously in honor of Valentine’s Day this week!

HEARTS!

I have to admit a little something:

I’m not one to stray from the pretty pictures.

I have a difficult time with the whimsical photos.

Oh, we can BE silly and funny, and I have a TON of laughing photos…

but to try something totally whimsical?

I’m all about the pretty picture.

This week…..I tried it.

To be totally honest, I DID take the pretty picture first (of course), and then decided to go ahead and challenge myself to try something I’ve always wanted to try!  Sometimes Brooklyn is game for fun stuff….and sometimes she is not.  Tonight, it was 50/50.  LOL

She thought I was crazy.

“You’re going to what?”

Draw a big pink heart on the ground and then you are going to pretend it’s a balloon and it’s lifting you off the ground.

“You do know I will be laying on the ground right?”

HAAAAAAA!  Oh my girl is a HOOT!

excitement

excitement for my excitement (thanks friends! LOL)

curiosity

lots of questions….mostly “WHY?”

and one VISIBLE/AUDIBLE recoil in disgust.

Let me set the record straight:

BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT LIKE THE BIRTH VIDEOS.

Let me share  a little of what I mean.

Birth photography is the story of the DAY.

It’s about the people that are there:

The FAMILY to share the emotions with you.

The SUPPORT of special people.

It tells the story of the little moments:

Belly dancing in labor…

(is she NOT the coolest laboring lady you’ve EVER seen???)

Laughing with your spouse during contractions…

and concentration and finding your inner peace.

It’s about a LABOR OF LOVE:

you would do anything for this new life…

You would voluntarily go through hell and back for this baby you love so much…

all for that ONE glorious moment…

that FIRST look

It’s about meeting your son for the first time:

And then finally….it’s all about

BABY!

So, when I say, “I’m a Birth Photographer”…

this is what I mean:  telling a story.

(Sessions are limited, so call in plenty of time!  Scheduled inductions work best for the moment, but that is subject to change in the fall.

Birth sessions start at $400 for the day which includes the edited photos from the birth.)

]]> http://danasuggs.com/molly-tulsa-birth-photography/feed/ 0 http://danasuggs.com/heart-faces-silly/ http://danasuggs.com/heart-faces-silly/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:55:07 +0000 Dana http://danasuggs.com/?p=1355 This week’s photo challenge for I Heart Faces is

“Oh so silly!”

Is it weird that I had to narrow it down?

Is it normal to have more silly photos than serious ones?

Those are my favorite.

But the photo that I had to choose is my dear friend, Liz.

She makes me smile.  She reminds me not to take anything too seriously.  She makes me believe in myself.  She makes me believe I’m beautiful.

She is good and she is Godly.

She makes me laugh.

I love my sweet friend.

To see the entire series of photo-booth style photos that she envisioned and I was lucky enough to photography,

go here.

So before they moved far away to the wilds of Louisiana,

I made sure to photograph them one last time.

I had a lot of really gorgeous, beautiful photos.

But the ones that stood out to me, were the fun ones.

And they were all her idea!

She will hang them all together, like giant, photo booth photos!

I think they are genius!

]]> http://danasuggs.com/haynes-family-tulsa-photographer/feed/ 2 http://danasuggs.com/winner-owasso-photographer/ http://danasuggs.com/winner-owasso-photographer/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:02:38 +0000 Dana http://danasuggs.com/?p=1343

I’m so excited!

I placed 5th Place

out of 401 entries

in this week’s I Heart Faces Photo Challenge!

I’m just a little excited.

My winning photo:

There are so many amazing photographers that enter these contests, so it’s always a nice surprise when one of MY photos is selected by the judge!

Next week’s contest theme is “Oh so silly!”  Anyone can enter!  I’d love to see your photos!  Add your entry link with mine on my Facebook fanpage, and let’s share some comment love with each other!

This week’s photo challenge theme is

“By the Book”.

Now, I have always been an avid reader!  But in the last few years, my love of books has dwindled…..

down to one book in particular…

The Bible.

Now, it’s the only one I read every day.

(I’m on my 4th time reading the Bible through in a Year!  YAY!  That takes dedication!)

Of course, I have little time to read anything else these days anyway.

I always hoped that our daily Bible reading would rub off onto our children….

And I believe it has.

I told Brooklyn to grab a book and run outside with me…

and what book would she have?

Her new Bible from church of course!

She sat down and opened it to Psalms….her very favorite….

and sat down and started reading whatever words she knows.

Made my heart so proud!

(And I’m just now remembering that I always use her for my contest photos!  LOL  Is everyone getting tired of seeing her face?  LOL)

This photo was processed using Florabella’s Classic Workflow action “Classic Color” with a touch of “Mulberry Sky” from the Hazy Sky collection.

photo sessions

I’ve ever been honored to shoot!

Here is just a small sneak peek:

is Family Fun.

There are just some families that I LOVE to photograph!

I cannot get enough of photographing them….

….they make it EASY….

….and FUN.

I’ve known the Whites before they were the Whites, I was blessed to work with them in the Youth dept at church.

Wait….does that tell my age?

Scratch that….

So this week I thought it’d be fun to revisit one of my favorite families:

I love returning clients that trust me with their growing and changing families!

Photo edited with the newest amazing textures by Love that Shot’s Fairytale Collection.