Tommy & Ella {Twins}..and Sara!

Sara and her twins! Ohmy, they couldn't be any cuter - all three of them! Sara was one of my best friend's from high school. I am super sad that we haven't kept in closer contact over the past 10 years, but was INCREDIBLY excited when she asked me to photograph he adorable babes! Sara's husband couldn't make the trip home from Texas for the session, so Mommy got to make some keepsake photos of just her and the kids.

Tommy and Ella are probably the most adorable twins in the entire world! It cracks me up how little Tommy looks just like his daddy and Ella looks just like her Mommy!

They have their own personalities as well. Tommy is all boy. Doesn't care if he gets a little dirt on him. He is so laid back and easy going. He got a little distracted from time to time, but could flash the most handsome smile in an instant!

Ella is little miss diva-extraordinaire. She didn't like being dirty, and the smallest little issue turned into a huge drama scene. She is full of emotion! She has the biggest dimples and the most beautiful smile! 

We snuck grandpa in for a photo - love it!

 The grand finale of the session was some silhouette shots. So glad we did them - they are priceless!

 Oh, and Ella was EXTREMELY happy when she got her sucker!

They were so much fun! The love that Sara has for these kids and the love that they give back to her is incredible. I looooooved photographing them and can't wait until they come back to Ohio next!

Frenzy!

This photo is my ultimate representation of "frenzy"

Here's why...

I was driving home from dinner with my kids at 7:30 pm. The sky was GORGEOUS; I couldn't waste it. I called my sister and asked her to meet me at this location in TEN minutes. She agreed.

I swept thru my house in a "frenzy" to grab all of my equipment and, of course, my wedding dress.

When we got to the location, we pretty much threw the dress on her (never mind the awful lacing of the corset that I did) and raced to the top of the reservoir.

Once we got up there, the sun was pretty low meaning we didn't have much time. We were battling mosquitoes. I had to keep chasing my 2 year old and 3 year old because they were throwing rocks in the water and I didn't want them getting too close.

I got a few shots and then we lost the sun.

From the time I made the phone call until the time I got home after the shoot, it had been about 35 minutes. Talk about "frenzy"!

And, to you, everything looks quite the opposite of frenzy. More like peaceful. Ahhhh.

Thank you Fstop Frenzy!

Fstop Frenzy

Ivy {one week old}

Ivy was only one week old when I got the priveledge of photographing her. She knew I was leaving the state for a week around her due date, so she decided to come a little bit early just so I could meet and photograph her before I left! You may remember Ivy's first photo session (in her momma's belly), here: Nick & Megan's Maternity Session

She is soooo incredibly adorable. She is perfect. At only a little over 6 pounds, she was perfectly ripe for her photo shoot!

I am going to start this blog post with my absolute favorite photo from the session. It's amazing! When I post photos to my fan page (Levenhagen Photography) I loooooooove getting comments. The comments for this particular photo were off the chart!

It was a long evening. I spent about 4 hours with Miss Ivy. She wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with pictures. However, we were able to work around her needs and get some great shots! Don't let her closed eyes fool you...I think I caught her in a few blinks. She didn't sleep a wink the entire time I was there - she had to be soooo tired!

Ivy was perfectly content while she was being held, so we took advantage of that and I captured some sweet moments of her with her Mommy and Daddy.

And, finally, the basket picture. Ivy sure didn't seem to mind that we squished her into this little crocheted basket. In fact she laid there happily for quite a while. She let us know she was done with it when she widdled on the basket (and the blanket)!

 I am so excited to watch Ivy grow up over the next year. She comes from a wonderful family who I feel so lucky to know (and have known for a very long time).

Kaylee and Gabriella (and their Mom and Dad too!)

Gabriella is a busy 3 year old and Kaylee is a fun-loving little one year old. They gave me a workout, that's for sure...but the end results were ABSOLUTE worth it!



I was able to capture a few of the girls together and then a few of the entire family, but the majority of the session ended up being individual photos of each girl.

 Little Kaylee was nervous (as can be expected of a one year old)...but she managed to flash quite a few smiles that my quick-clicking finger on the shutter managed to capture! And from these photos you would never know that she was upset...

Gabriella, on the other hand, was full of spunk! She was way too busy to look at the camera, but I feel that these natural moments are truly special!

 We finished up the session by letting the girls change into their swimsuits. I am sooo glad we did - these photos are not only priceless, but were super fun to capture!

John & Jean {A Farmer and his Wife}

Married for 32 years?! These two acted like newlyweds! John was "misbehaving" most of the time, but Jean was eating it up. Seriously though, they were both sooo excited about this session which made me over the top excited to photograph them!

They are the storybook couple for "The Farmer and His Wife". Through and through that's what they are. The recreation of "American Gothic" tells such a story unique to them. It is them.

Jean mentioned that her and John's adult daughters love their dad's hands. So of course we wanted to get some images of his hands - what better way to showcase them than but incorporating them into his fields and showing off who he is!

I also thought this image of John holding Jean's shoulder was so stinkin' sweet!

Sunset and silhouette images...LOVE them!

This storyboard makes me happy:

John and Jean told me that when they got married, 32 years ago, that they never got a picture of their rings. I was so happy to be able to do that for them! Note: It was like 9:30 pm and not enough light to do this outside. Thanks to Jean for holding a flashlight to the rings to get me sufficient light!!)

This couple was amazing and I look forward to a lasting photography relationship with them!

Hudson {ONE year old}

Hudson (along with his big brother Brennan and his Mommy and Daddy) has been a friend of the family since before he was even born! This little man is ALWAYS smiling. Every time I look at this kid he gets a big grin on his face from ear to ear...so you can bet I was stoked to get to photograph him.

The session was a breeze. Hudson was nailing his poses and expressions on the first try! Good job little dude!

We asked big brother Brennan (soon to be 4) to get some pictures with his brother. He happily obliged (was it because he was bribed to get to play on the playground if he did good pictures?!) LOL - gotta love bribes!

I did notice Hudson's belly sticking out while I was photographing. And I did tug his shirt down numerous times. My guess is that Brennan pulled it up just a teeny bit right before I took the photo and I didn't even notice. Of course this would end up being the one with the best expressions! You know what though? I LOVE it like this and am totally loving the chub sticking out. Besides, it won't be there forever...cherish the memory!

Brennan was a total ham. Cheesin it up PERFECTLY.

Love his little smile!!

Momma Lindsay said she didn't dress up for pictures and was just a tiny bit hesitant to get in one with the boys. I am so glad she did - I love this sweet photo and I know her boys are going to cherish it!

Nick & Megan {Expecting a baby GIRL}

Fun. Hilarious. Sweet. Memorable.

These are only a few words that come to mind when I want to describe what it was like to photograph these two! They were honestly made for each other - they feed off of each other's warmth and laughter. The baby girl that they are about to bring into this world is DESTINED to have an amazing personality.

I must admit I love photographing two people who are so in love with each other. It was so incredible to me to watch how they just got each other going, filled each other with happiness, which is completely evident in their photos.

By the end of the first hour, Megan was getting very tired...who wouldn't at 37 weeks pregnant?! She was such a trooper, though, and we even hiked up a near 50 steps to fit in some sunset and silhouette photos. So glad we did...

I feel truly blessed that this gorgeous family has chosen me as their photography for the baby's first year of life. I know I will always have something beautiful to look forward to!