COURTNEY - SENIOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER, NAPLES FLORIDA
Of course I had a ton of shoots right before leaving on maternity leave last week. And now that I'm "officially" on leave, I've had a massive amount of calls from clients wanting to book sessions before the end of the year. Apparently the magazine spreads I've been doing are catching some attention locally and it has helped send lots of new clients my way. It kills me to have to delay sessions for people due to my current state of being 9 months pregnant with a c-section scheduled in just 36 more hours. I feel so out of commission and it drives me crazy not being able to control all of that. I love my clients and I want to work them in as much as possible. However, I've hit that spot where it isn't an option for at least the next 3-4 weeks. Grrrr! The good news is though, in return for my hands being so tied with business, I'm fixing to get a newborn placed within them that will help keep my mind off the business I'm stalling. :) What a gift! I'll take that exchange any day.
I had the honor of photographing Courtney a week or two ago and thoroughly enjoyed my shoot with her. I thought I'd share some sneak peeks of her session here on the AGD blog as well. We did a bright and early sunrise session at 6:45am and the lighting couldn't have been anymore gorgeous at that moment.
It about killed us to get out of bed and start that early but boy was it ever worth it in the end. Amazing isn't a strong enough word for the gorgeous sun rays that beamed down over the top of her at that hour.
I love the above shot. I love it soooo much that I've decided after I have this baby, I'm cutting up a cute pair of jeans and working some magic on them as Courtney had on her own. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Her jeans were to die for. Can you tell I'm dying to get out of these maternity clothes and back into some ROCKIN' style worthy jeans again? WHEW! It's been a long time. :)
During the session, we ironically stumbled upon some very cool backdrop items that gave her images a grunged up feel. I was in heaven. Bring on the beat up lockers, the trash, the old broken down chair, etc. It really added that much more character to the location. So fun!
Again, the early morning sunshine/rays ROCKED our socks off.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with you Courtney. I had a blast. Can't wait to do it again sometime.
As for the final countdown to baby Seaman's arrival, we are in the homestretch now. I've run ragged - like a chicken with my head cut off - over the past two days trying to get everything done before my parents arrival from Indiana tomorrow evening as well as before I head to the hospital Thursday morning. I'm happy to report the the only things left on my to do list are a meeting at Kenidi's school tomorrow, a nail/pedicure appt. after that, some last minute Christmas shopping and then on to my pre-op appointment at the hospital tomorrow at 4pm. Once I'm done with the pre-op, I'll be picking my parents up from the airport. YAY!
I doubt that I'll have much time to blog tomorrow so if I don't, please know how much I appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that are rolling in from all of you. Brennen has graciously offered to update my facebook page ever so often for us on Thursday morning with minute by minute accounts of all the action. If you aren't a friend of mine on facebook yet, feel free to friend me HERE. In the meantime, I hope to be able to update the blog later in the day Thursday with a quick picture or two. The hospital has confirmed to us that they have spotty and very limited internet access. Therefore, I'm praying that it will work for us during the three days I'm stuck there. :) Either way, I will update all of you just as soon as I possibly can. Thank you again for your constant encouragement, love and support for our family. There are no words to express what my blog family means to me.
Kenidi has been exceptionally clingy in the past week - more so the past couple of nights. I'm convinced that she senses his arrival is very near. Brent commented last night on how she had fallen asleep with her arm around my big ol' pregnant belly and her face tucked snugly right into my chest. She was belly to belly with me and I couldn't bare to move for the longest time. I didn't want to alter her position. I've always said that she is my "cuddle bug" - sometimes we say "snuggle bug." She knows it too. Kenidi is definitely our affectionate child - to the extreme. She gives hugs and kisses throughout any given day as if she was getting paid for them. It melts my heart in ways I can't even begin to describe. Since being pregnant and growing this huge belly of mine, she will kiss my belly a 1000 times a day and say the babies name as she pats me there. (Yes, we chose a name that she can say easily) It is the cutest thing ever. Little does she know just how much her world is about to get rocked once this baby arrives.
I got all emotional the other day thinking about how hard Brennen took "her" arrival when we had her. He had been our universe for 4.5 straight years. When Kenidi came into this world, it rocked Brennen to the core and he went into a withdrawn spell for a couple of weeks following her birth. He eventually snapped out of it and fell in love with his little sister but it left me broken hearted initially. He didn't take her permanent placement in our family well at all in those first few days. We worry with Kenidi even more. Given her special needs issues, we can't talk with her about her feelings the way we did with Brennen. She will only see this new baby getting all the attention and become frustrated at the thought that she is lacking some of it now. I plan to work really hard on making her feel just as included and loved as ever. In my heart of hearts though, I know that there is no way to protect her little feelings completely. She is my baby girl. Always will be. Even though she is 7, she functions more like a three or four year old verbally. Therefore, Brent and I always have a hard time remembering that she really is seven years old. She still seems like our baby girl even with her growth and beautiful accomplishments as she ages. The picture above is one I took of her last Fall when we still lived in Indiana. It's amazing just how much she has changed in that short years time. It's proof that they grow so very quickly. This new baby will do the same. The time will fly by just as it has with Brennen and Kenidi.
My heart is aching for the effect this new little one will have on Kenidi but then again, I know God had a plan when it came to the creation of this baby. Baby Seaman #3 is coming for a reason. His entrance in our lives is something God feels we need and is purposeful. I trust the good Lord above completely and know without a shadow of a doubt that he'll help us conquer this new journey and the transition with Kenidi and her new baby brother just perfectly. I'm not naive to think that the first month or two isn't going to be tough. However, I'm convinced, like Brennen - she will love her baby brother with time and eventually not be able to imagine her life without him.
In the meantime, as we relish these last four nights together as a family of four, I intend to squeeze her tight and take advantage of the love she gives unconditionally. As I type, she is fresh out of the bath, smelling like a new baby herself with a hint of coconut scent to her. (her shampoo) She is huddled up next to me, on my right arm, yawning as she watches Edward and Bella in Twilight on our master bedroom TV for the 600th time. Kenidi enjoys repetition. She thrives off routines. Cuddling with her mama is part of her nightly routine and I will soak that up for as long as I possibly can. In a few short days, she'll be snuggled up next to me as I nurse her new baby brother. I'm looking forward to those new connections amongst the two of them as well as with Brennen and his baby brother to be. That boy is pinging off the walls with excitement. He cannot wait for this new little ones arrival. I'm eager to see their expressions the first time that Brennen and Kenidi meet him. Be still my beating heart...
Thank you God for this unexpected blessing we learned about 9 months ago. Thank you for the beautiful daughter you gave us 7.5 years ago. And thank you for the handsome son you gave us almost 12 years ago. I'm so proud that you chose me to be their mother. Thank you for your continued gifts in life Lord. You take such good care of us all. I know you are watching over this baby as he spends his last few nights in this tummy of mine. I know you will work your magic thru the hands of the doctors in the operating room come Thursday morning. I know you will protect our 2nd sons arrival and bring him into this world happy and healthy. I know that you will give me the calm, the peace, and the strength to endure this surgery and the recovery that comes along with it. Bottom line, I'm confident that you are here. Here with us. Here helping us prepare for the journey that we are about to embark upon. Chapter 3, 524 is about to begin and I can't possibly imagine how we'd write that chapter in our book without you Lord. We owe all of the glory and all of the thanks to you.
Five. Just five more days. Cinque, Cinco, Cinci, Cinq. Five. As one of my fellow photographer peeps put it...I'm so bored while waiting this out that I'm now learning how to count down the days in foreign languages. LOL!
Who would've ever guessed that when I wrote this post back in April of this year, that we'd get to this moment in time, with only five days to go - so quickly? I swear this pregnancy has flown by at a lightening fast rate. I can't believe I'm saying that considering how miserable I've felt in the past couple of weeks but the truth is...it really has flown by. I've hit that pivotal point where I'm ready to "evict" this kiddo. At 38 and a half weeks, I feel he has "baked" in there long enough. It's time to smoke this baby out of his hole. LOL! I'm glad he has decided to hold off on his arrival until this week though. It makes it much easier on my parents to get here - as expected. They fly in this Wednesday evening and I'm just as excited to get them here as I am to get our lil' man here. :)
Brennen put the baby swing together for me on Thanksgiving. He wanted to do it all himself and he did. My Mom supervised him while she was here but he assembled that thing like an ol' pro. After we did that, Brent dug the Christmas tree and decorations out for us. We spent the evening putting the tree up together and getting the house Christmas ready. I wanted to do it all before I go into the hospital this week because I didn't want to mess with all of that once I was home and barely able to move. My goal is to knock out all of my Christmas shopping in the next 5 days as well - so that it is completely done too. I realize I'm asking for a miracle here but that never stopped me before. It's worth a shot and I'm going to attempt to accomplish it all in between all of my other scheduled appointments. Hair, last OB appt., nails/pedicure, a good ol' waxing, school visits for Kenidi next week, grocery shopping, a pre-op appointment at the hospital and so forth.
We have to be at the hospital by 6am Thursday morning. My c-section is scheduled to begin at 7:15am. I hope to be out of the OR by 8am and in a recovery room until 9am. From 9am on...I should be in my postpartum room and enjoying our newborn. I have two of my photography peeps coming in to take photos of the big day for us. They are braving those early morning hours and getting there where I'm wheeled back to the OR at 7:15am. I can't begin to express how grateful I am that they will both be there documenting the arrival of our 3rd little one and for the fact that they are going to be my "eyes" while I'm missing beautiful moments because of undergoing another c-section. I'm sure they will have gorgeous images to share and I know they plan to post "some" of them on facebook. Therefore, if you are a friend of mine on facebook, keep a look out for them. And of course once I'm able to move myself, I'll be taking my own pictures and will do a post here on the ol' blog as soon as humanly possible. I plan to have Brent or Brennen update my page on Facebook as much as possible that morning. For those who are friends of mine on FB, you'll get step by step accounts of what all is happening as it happens. I'm praying that I won't be so drugged up that I can't enjoy that first day or that I'm not dry heaving and sick like I was with my last two c-sections (for hours following the surgery) to where I can't soak all of those first few hours in clearly and coherently. Speaking of praying, any prayers you guys can send our way over this next week would be phenomenal. I'm extremely anxious about undergoing the spinal this time and having to endure that surgery and recovery process yet again in my life. I've been praying that God will give me an unbelievable amount of peace that morning and the days leading up to the birth. If all of my prayer warriors can pray for my peace and sense of calm as well, I'd be forever grateful. I know many of you have already begun emailing me and posting little notes on my FB page letting me know that you are praying for our family in the coming days and that you can't wait to see photos of our little guy. I can't thank you enough for your prayers and for your words of support, love, and encouragement. There is no way to put into words what all of your friendships mean to me. Cyber driven or not. Hundreds of you have been a part of our lives for many many years - long time and loyal, faithful, blog readers. I realize this moment in our lives is just as big an event for all of you as it is for us. Because of that, I'm so thankful and so blessed by each of your caring, prayerful, and kind demeanor's. Your hearts are huge and we are definitely feelin' the love. Thank you so very much for being here for us during such a joyous occasion. We can't wait to share "him" with all of you come Thursday. :)
I hope to blog a few more times in between now and then should time allow it.
It's black Friday and I'm in the mood to give some cool deals on some rockin' classes. As most of you know, I officially went on maternity leave as of this week. My c-section to deliver our 3rd little one is this coming Thursday morning, December 2nd. Therefore, my online beginner classes as well as the photoshop classes I teach are on hold until January. I figured that would be enough time for all of us to get thru the holiday season as well as time for me to recover before teaching engagements begin again.
So...if you are at all interested in the online beginner photography class that starts January 24th, click HERE and go to my "classes" page for details. The class is normally $159 but due to it being Black Friday, I'm offering $20 off the class price making it $139 for the 4 week course. If you want to sign up/reserve a spot in the class, shoot me an email directly at Angie@AngieSeamanPhotography.com and I'll send you a pay pal invoice requesting payment.
If you are interested in taking the next LIVE beginner online photoshop techniques class, I'm offering $10 off the normal class price of $99. Thus making the price $89 for today only (until midnight tonight). That class is a one night class that takes place on January 26th. If you'd like to register for it, email me directly at the above email address and I'll send you a pay pal invoice for the $89. You can read about details surrounding that class on my website - on the classes page.
Please note: These discounts are only good thru midnight tonight (11/26/10)
Therefore, get in on the deals while you can. Each class is limited to only a specific number of students. Reserve your seat in one of them or in both of them before they sell out. Happy shopping!
Blessings, Angie
PS...I'll be back soon with a regular blog update. Still here - no baby yet. 6 days and a wake up to go - as Brent said. :) If you aren't my friend on facebook yet but would like to follow the count down over this last week as well as be the first to see pictures of baby Seaman when he arrives this coming Thursday morning, feel free to friend request me by going HERE. Not only will you guys be the first to read the step by step accounts of my morning and the birth itself but you'll be the first to hear the news, see the our new little one in pictures, as well as be the first to find out his name. LOL! Aren't you excited now???
This past Saturday, I worked an event for Kenidi's horse therapy facility. (hippotherapy) They were holding a HUGE charity event to raise funds for their riding program. There were VIP's of all kind there and it made for a great night of fun. Of course I was all about photographing the event for them because I hold such a big place in my heart for their staff and the program itself because of what it means to Kenidi and our family. I can't share all of the photos that were taken with you but I thought I'd share a few detail shots with ya just because the set up was so gorgeous that night.
I removed/photoshopped out their company name off the above sign for security reasons of course but I still wanted to share this image due to that brilliant blue sky that night. It was stunning out. The weather here in South Florida is a very comfortable 84 degrees - give or take a couple - with no humidity now that the Fall season has hit. The evenings are simply stunning.
They had a silent auction at the event and I donated a complimentary photography session. It's always fun to watch the bids rise on the items. Not only did they have a silent auction but they had a live auction that was just as fun.
Along with that, they had a mechanical bull ride...
(The beautiful Miss "C" riding the bull - the daughter of a sweet friend)
There was food galore - everywhere.
Then, the entire sand floor of the barn was covered with temporary flooring for the ROCKIN' dance floor where the attendees jammed to impeccable tunes by the band delivering the tunes...
As you can imagine, there was plenty of line dancing at the event which meant lots of cowboy attire/hats and some of the "raddest" cowboy boots one has ever laid eyes on...
All in all, there were around 500 people in attendance at their annual barn dance charity event...
Which required lots of volunteer work from their staff and others who gave their time to help out...
We are so very blessed by this facility and it truly is the highlight of our daughters life. It is the one thing that brings her massive joy in life and the one thing that she looks forward to and talks about every week. She loves riding her horse there...(Dotty) and these people present for the event all understand why. It's an awesome program with amazing volunteers. Each parent pays only $10 a session for their child to ride there in comparison to the $180 a session we paid for her to ride back in Indiana. BIG difference! As you can imagine though, with that little of a riding fee, they depend and rely on donations and volunteers.
Thank you to everyone who volunteers there and thank you to those who work there to provide such a rewarding experience for our special needs kiddo's. We adore all of you and will never be able to repay you for the happiness you've brought to Kenidi's life since starting her riding sessions there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Nope...no baby Seaman yet. We are still here - big, HUGE, and moving reaalllllyyyyy slowwwwww. It just dawned on me that I haven't blogged in a week. I'm such a slacker. You can tell I'm a little busy getting ready for our new little guy to arrive, eh? We have 16 days until he makes his grand entrance into this world so needless to say, I'm a bit frantic at this point. I've been working my tail end off with photo shoots and events so that I can stay busy and keep my mind off the nervous jitters. With each shoot I do, my feet and back pay for it royally because of how far along I am. I shot for a charity event this past Saturday night and must have looked miserable or just "bad" overall. I had some lady walk past me and go..."you poor thing." I didn't know whether to feel good about her sympathizing with me or be hormonal and ticked that she clearly felt like I looked like some "poor thing." LOL! I laughed with her and moved on but it haunted me the rest of the night. Every 10 feet someone stopped me and would say things like..."You are having a baby, right?" I would answer with..."I sure hope so!" :) If not then I'm getting ready to give birth to a small country of hippo's. You can tell they are scared to ask in case I'm not really pregnant. One of these times I'm going to get brave enough to joke with them and tell them "No" when they ask if I'm expecting. I'm dying to just see the follow up look on their face if I were to tell them "no." Yes, I'm mean and hormonal. It's a good thing I only have 2.5 weeks left or my practical jokes could get real bad. Hee hee!
I have a couple more magazine shoots to do in the next two weeks and then another creative shoot this Saturday at the crack of dawn. After those, I should be able to take it down a notch and just wait out the big day. I want to keep moving because in the back of my mind I know I'm going to be home bound for several weeks - unable to drive or get out at my leisure as I normally would. So...I'm taking advantage of being able to run around like a chicken with my head cut off and am totally relishing in how great my abdominal muscles feel right now considering how they are about to be sliced open - end to end - in 16 more days. Gross I know. The thought of not being able to get up and down out of chairs and/or my bed on my own for a bit after the c-section makes me cringe. The idea of having stitches in that spot again makes me sick at the mere thought. Having to look at the incision site for the first time following the surgery is always the worst. It takes mental preparation for me. Lots of it! I'm asking all of my prayer warriors to please just pray for me regarding a safe surgery - a fast recovery - and of course a very healthy baby. We are down to the wire friends. I still can't believe how fast these past 9 months have gone. The staff at Starbucks is fixing to miss my morning drive thru visits for oatmeal and an iced carmel machiatto every morning. LOL! They know my order like the back of their hand. Decaf, nonfat, and 2 brown sugar packets with my oatmeal. They too finally got brave enough to ask if I was expecting the other morning. I've only been going there EVERYDAY for the past 6 months. My oatmeal craving has been too strong to deny and they've got the best. It took them this long to finally ask me if I was pregnant. I explained that yes...I was...and they've helped soothe my cravings during my past two trimesters. According to one of the staff members, I'm known as the "brown sugar lady." I guess there could be worse names in life, eh? :0)
This week is set to be a busy one. (what's new?) It makes the days go by so much quicker to stay busy so as I said...I'm totally ok with this schedule. I can't believe I haven't run this kid right out of me yet but he clearly likes his womb. And I like him staying there until December 2nd because I want my parents here in time for his arrival. It's awesome to know that my Dad and Cathy will be here before I know it. They come in on the 1st of December and I'm so ready to see them and spend those next couple of weeks with them. My Dad is even bringing me some boxes of coco wheats from good ol' Indy. For some reason, the Florida grocery stores do not sell coco wheats here. Criminal I say, Criminal. Brennen and I have been craving coco wheats for a year now. And yes, speaking of a year, can you believe that on the 20th of this month - this Friday actually - we will have lived here for one year already? Crazy how fast that time has flown too. 12 months, 9 months, man a lot has happened in that short little time frame. God's plans are amazing aren't they?
Happy Monday evening everyone! xoxo, Angie and baby Kr_____
(only 16 more days and you guys will finally learn the name of our new little guy to be)
FAMILY BEACH SESSION - NAPLES, FLORIDA FAMILY BEACH PHOTOGRAPHER
I know I said that I was going to try and keep my photography blogging separate from my personal blogging but sometimes it is just too tough. Sometimes you have sessions that you just "have" to share because the families or clients were so great to work with. This family beach session that I did in Bonita Springs a couple of weeks ago is no different. They were a great looking family with an adorable little boy that was such a hoot to watch on the beach. He loved the sand and the water as do all other kiddo's his age. These are just a handful of my favorites from the session...
I loved these images so much that I decided to order some sample canvases of them as well as update my business cards with a couple of them.
As you can tell, it was just another beautiful night here in sunny southwest Florida when we did the shoot. The beach was stunning as always and made for a gorgeous back drop.
By the time I was done with the shoot, I truly looked like I had just had an accident in my pants. I had been sitting in the water and sand - right at the break in the shoreline - in order to capture these adorable smiles from this cute little boy. I wouldn't have had it any other way. He made my job so fun that night.
Mom and Dad worked well together when it came to getting these shots. What a team!
When I was going back thru my images from this particular session, Brent saw the above shot of the Dad with his little boy running toward the birds and said..."That is such a cool shot!" And again last night, Brent reiterated how much he loved that one in particular.
And this shot below...I just fell in love with it. I don't know why but I have. I adore the way he is hanging on to his Mommy & she is there to protect him from falling into the waves. Something about it just really symbolizes the love, loyalty, and protection between a mother and her son.
And the sunset in the image below...WOW! Paradise everyday!
There is something so captivating about family sessions on the beach. Some of my own personal favorite family photos were taken here in SWFL on Sanibel Island at the beach.
If you are traveling to this area and would like to schedule a session with me for family beach photos, feel free to email me directly at Angie@AngieSeamanPhotography.com
If you are local and would like either a beach session or a shoot done on location elsewhere around town, look me up. I'd be honored to work with you and your family. I travel to Ft. Myers, Cape Coral, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Sanibel Island, & Naples of course. If you are outside of those areas listed, shoot me an email and let me know where you do reside. Sessions outside those locations are an option for an additional traveling fee.
A huge thanks to the "R" family for allowing me the opportunity to capture some of their family memories on the beach. I had a ball working with them!
CREATIVE SHOOT - NAPLES FLORIDA FASHION MODEL PHOTOGRAPHER
Nothing fuels the creative juices like shooting with fellow photography friends.
One of my favorite things to do is get out and shoot with my photography buds here in Naples. It keeps the inspiration going and keeps your creativity fresh. Yesterday was no different.
Four of us got out and shot together - pulling in a 1920's theme for the day. Melinda's brother in law loaned us his 1929 Nash vintage vehicle as a RAD photography prop for the afternoon. It made for a great backdrop and had people walking up off the street to get a closer look at it. It definitely drew some serious attention. Well that, the 4 big alien bee lights we had set up around the car and and of course the beautiful model we had as well.
I love the fashion girls who know how to move without being told what to do. They are naturals at this modeling thing and they move with ease, grace, and pure confidence when on a shoot. Mariana behaved in this same way yesterday. She was UH-MAY-ZZZINNNGGG!
The two male photographers we had with us in our group kept calling her a contortionist. She could pose and get into positions that didn't seem humanly possible yet still make them look like she was meant to be that way. Crazy cool!
Mariana ROCKED that 1920's theme but toward the end, her hair came down and she ROCKED it yet again...
Her coat matched the car perfectly. It was a must use. (even though we have gorgeous palm trees overhead in the background. LOL!
Loved the gritty 1920's processing of this one. It was the perfect "action" for what I wanted to convey in the photo. It nailed that era in a dramatic way.
A big thanks to fellow photography peeps Melinda, Matt, and Alvaro for helping to make this such a rockin' shoot. I can't wait for the next one. A few of us have actually pulled a group together that will meet once a month for creative shoots like this as well as to help further our learning of photography together. With so many master minds in the photography world here in Naples, I'm just thanking God I landed amongst all of them. They are a huge support system to me and many of them have become great friends of mine since moving here. Our first meeting together is this Thursday evening and I'm hosting. Figured I'd better volunteer to host first before Baby Seaman arrives in the next 23 days. Speaking of baby Seaman, his crib arrived on Friday and is now beautifully put together. Brent tackled that job on Saturday and did a fine job of it if I do say so myself. I've ordered some custom bedding and was assured it would arrive before he does. Therefore, I'm on pins and needles waiting to get it in the mail within the next 3 weeks. I can't wait to see what it looks like once we get it all in the crib. We have the mattress in place and the new angel care baby monitor ready to go. My hospital bag is packed - aside from make up and things I use here at home everyday - which will go in at the last second. His diaper bag is packed and ready to go as well. The car seat and stroller arrived last week too. We haven't put the car seat in the car just yet because like the crib, Kenidi thinks it is hers and that she needs to climb into it all the time. We knew that was coming though. LOL! Laaawwwwdddd help us! When this baby does arrive, we are all in for a really nutty few weeks until she gets used to him being around for good.
Five. Just five more days. Cinque, Cinco, Cinci, Cinq. Five. As one of my fellow photographer peeps put it...I'm so bored while waiting this out that I'm now learning how to count down the days in foreign languages. LOL! 
