LIGHTING - NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

I remember when I started out in this business I swore I would never become a "flash" photographer or mess with studio lighting. I loved natural light so much that I let any other type of lighting source intimidate me to the point of convulsions. I've since had the opportunity to work with a couple of different lighting mentors and the outcome is simple...I love having a variety of options when working with clients. There was a day when I would have said...natural light or nothing. However, with knowledge comes growth.

This image is just a small snippet of a shoot to come. I'll share more photos later. However, this is sweet Li Li (my friend and fellow photographer, Deb's daughter). We broke out the big guns (lights) when in Atlanta a few weeks back and had a great session in a nearby field. The skies were very gloomy on this particular night so I was unable to get a ton of "texture" in the skyline. However, this beautiful child more than made up for it. The sky also gave us a nice almost strange glow in color as the sun did set. Fun times for sure. Stay tuned for more to come. PS...This one was an out-take but I thought it fit the bill given today's date...

XOXO, Angie

MINE | NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

I got a new light that came in recently and decided I wanted to try it out. It's been sitting in the box for at lease two weeks since its arrival but I've been gone with traveling so much that I haven't had the chance to take it out and put it to good use. So...yesterday I got a few seconds to do just that. I tried bribing my son and eventually MADE him be the model for my initial set up. Of course he fought me on it but in the end I won. I think I threatened no this, no that, etc. until he finally caved. LOL! I'm such a mean mom. There was a day when that kid used to love getting in front of the camera for me. Now...he is just two weeks shy of officially becoming a teenager and can you ever tell it. UGH!

In the end, my oldest only gave me about 5 total minutes of studio time. That included the time it took me to set up my light source and so on. Needless to say, I was very limited. I had to make it happen fast. Because of that, I didn't get the overall solid ring look in his eyes that I was after but I'll just have to use it on a client for a trial run in the near future rather than my son. After five minutes, Brennen looked at me all serious and said, "I'm so over this." The sad thing was...I was suddenly propelled back into my childhood when my own mother used to do the same thing to me with her camera and I'd get so frustrated. So...I released him and made due with what I had.

It's always great fun to get a new toy especially when it relates to photography for me. This light will make a great addition to our arsenal. I'm extremely excited to try it out on my high school kids. I know they'll LOVE it. Until then, thanks for letting me share. I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend. Blessings, Angie

KROSS, OUR LIL' BEACH BUM (NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER)

In the hustle and bustle of our travels back and forth to Indiana, I realized this week that I hadn't taken any photos of Kross for his 8 month anniversary. So...I we headed out the door last night to watch the sunset at the beach and to snap some "beach baby" shots of Kross. Needless to say, Kross was stoked. As always, I thought I'd share some of the images with all of you. I'd love to know what he was looking up in the sky at in this top image and what he was thinking at that moment. If he could talk, I believe he'd be saying "Power to the surf" in this shot below...

Beings that Kross was born with the love of the beach running thru his veins, there is no doubt that he is a certified beach bum by DNA association due to his Mother being a beach bum at heart. So when he began sugaring his hands and toes in the sand the moment he got there...I knew he felt right at home. What I would have given to have grown up on at the seashore, on the coast, in the warm gulf waters with the wicked white surf.

It's a good darn thing a little sand ingestion never hurt a kid before because Kross ingested enough last night to feed a small army. Well ok...maybe a small bucket load anyway. LOL!

As a friend of mine said, he looks like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar here...

Like..."Who me???"

I love this boys smile. He can light up a room in an instant with these looks...

I think one of my favorite parts to the evening were these shots though...the blackmail shots of the future...

He was waving to passing beach-goers in this shot below. They were cracking up that he was "nek-ed." He kept on smiling and just kept waving to all of them like it was no big thang. :)

OK...I lied. My favorite part of the night was this moment...when Brennen was swimming with his baby brother...

God is good!

Until next time...Angie

THE "C" FAMILY - NAPLES FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

On Sunday I had the special priviledge of photographing a family of five here in Naples. We shot at "The Estuary" Country Club and boy was it beautiful.

Meet the "C" family. Their children are just too adorable for words.

Photogenic is a word that best describes them. Actually that word is an understatement.

And here is one sneak peek of a quick family shot. They were a phenomenal family to work with.

Big thanks to the "C" clan for making my job so very easy.

Much love, Angie

TRASH THE DRESS - PART 5 (NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER)

Many of you might remember this beautiful girl from one of my sunset portrait shoots on the beach back in April of this year. I fell in love with her look at that shoot and love her even more so now. Miss "M" was part of the trash the dress event as she wore her prom dress for the day. The blue of his dress really just radiates her beauty even that much more. It is a great color on her and goes wonderfully with her hair and skin tone.

Miss "M" is just a teenager but she has the maturity level of an adult. She too, climbed right into this swamp water for this shoot with no issues whatsoever. Brave girl. Very, very, brave.

Her look is one that is a force to be reckoned with. She looks like she should be on the cover of Vogue magazine or something. Stunning girl. Absolutely stunning!

There were three other young girls who participated in the prom event as well so I snapped this shot of the three of them while out in the water. The gal wearing the ivory dress is the one who ended up with the HUGE water spider on her dress while photographing a different image that day. Ewwwww! All three girls were beautiful and exuded total confidence while out in that murky water.

I'm so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with miss "M" twice now and hope that one day our paths will cross yet again. Thank you to her and her family for allowing me to photograph her during this shoot. I had a ball! Another shout out to Michele Galuppo for the magnificent hair on miss "M" for this event. You can find Michele for your wedding style needs by going to her website HERE.

I'm off to lunch with a FAB girlfriend of mine here in Naples. Hoping everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend. Until part 6...

Much love, Angie

SECRET BEACH PORTRAIT SESSION - NAPLES FLORIDA BEACH PHOTOGRAPHER

I had the wonderful privilege of photographing a beautiful young lady during sunset on the beach a couple of weeks ago. Due to my laptop being in the shop, I am just now getting around to sharing these. Here is a sneak peek of the fun we had and the absolute beauty that this sweet girl exudes. This next image...yeap...it is my absolute fav.

It happened to be quite windy and extremely chilly on this particular evening here in Naples, Florida. However, this girl was such a trooper. She ROCKED this session and never complained even once. I had a ball with her and can't thank her and her family enough for their time in front of my camera.

Again, this shot below is another one of my favorites. She has such natural beauty...

If you or your family happen to have a need for family portrait sessions on the beach here in Southwest Florida (Naples, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, and Miami/South Beach), email me at Angie@AngieSeamanPhotography.com to schedule a session with me. I'd be honored to photograph you and/or your loved ones.

XOXO, Angie

PIANO LOVER - NAPLES FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

When we were home in Indiana last week, we spent some time at my Mother-in-laws home. (otherwise known as Grandma "D's house" to all of the grand kids) Whenever we are there, my daughter, Kenidi, goes straight to her Grandma's beautiful white piano. She loves to bang on it and it makes me a nervous wreck. I fear she will knock it out of tune or something when she does it. Grandma D assures us that she is OK but it still makes me cringe to hear her press so hard on the keys. The other day though, she was being so gentle on the piano so I grabbed my camera and snapped these shots of just her little hands and fingers as she was playing on it.

I love the way this series of shots turned out. Her cute little fingers on the keys make my heart melt. Kenidi is such a music lover and is infatuated with singing and dancing. This isn't typical for a special needs child. Many in her situation are not fond of music or loud noise. While home in Indy, my Dad and Cathy got her hooked on the movie "The sound of music" one night while they babysat her. Apparently she wouldn't take her eyes off the screen while it was on. They said she would doze off during commercials - almost falling asleep - and then as soon as she would hear the "sound of music" come back on, she would perk right back up and begin watching again. Funny stuff. :)

Grandma "D" is so gracious to let her granddaughter bang play on her stunning white piano. Kenidi clearly feels as though she is too hot for words when she makes noise on it. I hope that she can one day exercise her love for music/dance somehow. The girl has more rhythm in her one pinkie toe than I do in my whole body. She is quite impressive to say the least. I don't just say that because I'm her mother either. Wink wink! ;)

I hope all of you are gearing up for a great weekend. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of my "blog" friends here in Naples this weekend. She and her family are moving here to Naples from Colorado. I met her several years ago while we were both heavy into blogging. She has since quit blogging but we've kept in contact via facebook and my blog. Love her! She actually used to reside in Orlando but moved from there to Colorado. She is now missing the beach and the Florida sunshine which is just one reason why she is so eager to get back down here. They should be arriving sometime on Sunday. I'm eager to finally get to meet her in person. I know we are going to have a ball together. She has a son the exact same age as Brennen (my son) and a daughter who is just a year younger than Kenidi (my daughter). Rumor has it that her husband has Italian running thru his veins and is the "cook" in the family. Oh you know I'll be inviting myself over for dinner every chance I can get. LOL! Italian food is like chocolate to me. With Italian running thru my veins as well, I'd take pasta over a steak any day. HA! Rachel wrote this in an email to me recently..."Who would have thought over 3 years ago when I found your blog living in Orlando and you in Indiana (you lived in the house you are trying to sell now) that we would be living so close in Naples next to the beach where we both belong...GOD is fantastic!" I agree girl. God is fantastic. Can't wait for your arrival this weekend. We are going to make great beach bums together. :)

Much love, Angie

SHELLS - SANIBEL ISLAND BEACH PHOTOGRAPHER

I've had many of you blog readers ask for shells from here in Southwest, Florida. For those who've asked, I've gone shelling to pick them out and then those who want them have paid for the shipping costs to ship them from here to their particular state. While I had another set out today getting them ready to ship, I thought I'd take some pictures of them just for the fun of it.

These particular shells came from Sanibel Island. My Mom and I walked on the beach over there one day and we grabbed these as we walked.

Sanibel is known for their "shelling." They have gorgeous shells over there - pretty good sized ones too.

Of course we found some coral pieces too.

I love the way my 105mm macro lens just picks up every little minor detail of these shells. You can almost feel the grit of the sand still on them.

I found this one (below) still in tact and connected...two halves still attached...

And this shot below...ummm...it's my new fav. Again, the detail that the macro lens provides is nothing short of amazing.

And oh yeah...I forgot to mention that we found some dead star fish on that walk too. I decided to bring them home for Brennen (my son) to see. No...I didn't ship these to my blog readers with their shells. LOL! I did take photos of them though. How cool is this??? (below)

And this last one...another one of my favs...

Hoping that the receiver of this package of shells loves them. They sure were fun to find and collect. Any afternoon in the sand, sun, and surf makes for tons of fun though. :)

xoxo, Angie

SEEING RED - NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

It just recently dawned on me that I hadn't yet blogged one of my sessions from back in Indiana. Thought I should get on that...LOL! Here is a sneak peek.

This guy - we'll call "G man." With G man's look and his ability to stay focused in front of the camera, he makes for a great model.

I love how he can give that GQ look and make it work...

We had a little fun at the end of the session and he gave me some poses. He had me crackin' up...

Smiles don't get any more adorable than this one...

What a natural. Thanks "G man" for allowing me to play a part in this session with you. A big thanks to your Mamma as well. Congrats on the news of your new sister or brother to be coming in July. How exciting!

xoxo, Angie