Sarah Kelber Photography

Mother's Day with the D family

J & M's wedding

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the wedding of our friends J & M. They had a wedding that included both Jewish and Marine Corps traditions. It was a ton of fun. My husband finally got his dress blues and the chance to don his personalized sword. I managed to snag some shots from my seat in the audience:

 
 
 
 
 
 

Little Miss L

Somehow I missed posting from a session last fall. Sweet Miss L!:

 
 

The importance of family photography

A few weeks back, my family gathered to say goodbye to my grandfather Selton. He was nearing his 91st birthday, and after breaking his hip, he had a tough time recovering from surgery. It was my first loss in my immediate family in quite a long time, and it also brought back a barrage of emotions from when we lost my grandmother Helen far too young, back in 1987.

My dad's cousin brought us a copy of this Kickler family photo, which is from the mid- to late-1930s. Granddaddy is the one on the far right, with the dog jumping on him. There is so much personality just bursting out of this picture. I almost don't have words to communicate how much comfort and joy this photo brought us in a time of sorrow.

And don't you think everyone in this picture looks like they're up to something? I love it.

 

 

More surprises

Before Christmas, I did a shoot with little C as a surprise present for his dad. He had a ton of energy, but we kept him still enough to capture a few shots:

 
 
 
 

D family portraits

Back in December, I did a shoot with the D family, since everyone was in town for Christmas:

 

We also took the opportunity to take a head shot:

 

Natural light assignment

I took a class earlier this year to expand my natural-light horizons a bit. My husband was a big trouper and posed quite a lot for my assignment. This was my favorite shot:

 

Stinkin' poochy doggies

A few weeks ago, I was home in Texas for my grandfather's funeral. More about that in a bit.

During some downtime, I got to meet -- and photograph -- my brother and his girlfriend's dogs. I've always had cats, so it sometimes takes me a little while to warm up to doggies, but these two were so sweet.

They were always on the move, but I did manage to freeze a couple of moments in time:

 

 

 

Surprise parties are the best parties

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to photograph a surprise party for the lovely Mrs. B. All of her children and grandchildren -- as well as bunch of her friends and other family -- gathered together for a fun springtime party. We also took the opportunity to take some family portraits. Here's a sampling from the day:

 
 
How about these gorgeous dresses? (And gorgeous sisters, too, natch.)

 

So many hugs for the birthday girl ...

 

This is right after the surprise:

 

When a ham gets egged on ...

... you get this:

 

My kid is a goofball, but I think he comes by it naturally.

I heart this sweet (January) face

It's I Heart Faces contest time again. I've had a rather quiet January, photo-wise, but this is one of my favorite shots from the month, of my little guy, Isaac:

 

Check out the rest of the entries here.

 

I Heart Mr. S's smile

I need to catch up on some editing and posting here pretty soon. But first, this week's I Heart Faces contest theme is "Smiles." I immediately thought of this picture of Mr. S from his one-year shoot. He is so expressive and such a cutie.

 

Don't forget to head to I Heart Faces to check out all the fun entries! I can't wait to see all the smiles. 

I Heart ... my boys

For the first photo contest of the year, I Heart Faces is asking people to choose their favorite face(s) of 2010. This is not my most technically proficient photograph, but it is of my two favorite faces in the world, and it's made more poignant by the knowledge that my husband is being deployed next later this year. (I started this entry in December.)

So yes, some big challenges to come for all of us in 2011!

 

See the rest of the favorite faces entries here for some inspiration in the new year.

 

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

 

I Heart Billy's eyes

I decided to try something new this week and play in a photo contest at I Heart Faces. This week's theme is pets, and though I have a trazillion and one photos of my three cats, I pointed the camera at Billy yet again. I love his eyes so much! I could shoot him every day. (Hmm, is that a good idea for a Project 365? Probably not.)

And this is a good reminder to not forget your non-people family when booking a shoot. Later this week, I'll show you some of my favorite pet photos from some recent sessions. Keep an eye out!