Melinda Bryant Photography

I love this!

2012-02-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Don't hate me for loving this picture. It's not because my nephew, who is usually grinning from ear to ear, was having a sad moment, but because of the sweet way his mom and brother are comforting him. I just love it!

White balance and RAW format

2012-02-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

I don't mean to get too informational here, but once again, I just can't help myself. Move along if you're not interested, you won't hurt my feelings. It's just that, I was finally going through my Christmas pics tonight and I felt inspired. Sometimes really crummy pictures can be inspirational too :)

So, have you heard of white balance? Nearly all digital cameras have white balance settings programmed into them. It's a way to compensate for different temperatures of light. For example, standard tungsten bulbs tend to make things look yellow (warm light). Photos taken in the shade tend to be very cool -- with a bluish cast. You can also get color cast from backdrops or dominant colors near the subject. It can ruin an otherwise perfect shot.

Here is a great example of why white balance matters -- these are straight out of camera (SOOC), no editing whatsoever:

On Christmas Eve, after the kids were in bed, I pulled out the camera and tripod to get some pics of this year's ornaments (this is the one my middle child chose). I dialed in all of the settings manually, but left the white balance on auto. Clearly it was a bad idea. Fortunately I was just shooting still life so I had as many re-dos as I wanted. I set a manual white balance and, voila! Big difference!

If your camera can do a custom white balance, it's definitely worth learning. I'm a Canon girl, so I know the option is there for everything from the Rebel series on up. I use a white balance card (which is actually gray). I just snap a picture of it, then go to the camera's menu and choose "Manual white balance" and then choose the card picture. It takes all of five seconds.

Should you, for one reason or another, not adjust your white balance (or even if you do!), I can't recommend more strongly that you shoot in RAW. The files are big, but they're so beautiful. You can do all manner of tweaking without damaging the image in any way -- which brings me back to my Christmas photos.

I used the manual white balance on Christmas Eve, but I was a little lazy the next morning. I didn't want to be fiddling with camera settings amid the chaos of unwrapping presents, so I put the camera in full auto. I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway. This is why I was only just now going through the pictures:

Dozens of photos of happy orange children opening gifts. I just didn't want to deal with the editing. But, at least I knew they were salvageable. If I'd shot these in JPG they would have been such a pain to fix. But in RAW you can adjust the white balance after the fact AND you can do it to all of the pictures at the same time. RAW is AWESOME!

What I have in the end isn't a perfect white balance, but it's close enough to keep me from tears.

The End.

How to make eyes sparkle

2012-01-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

I am no Photoshop expert -- far from it. But I have picked up a few tricks that I love and I'm in the mood to share one. We'll call it an early Valentine gift to anyone who wants it. It's a really fast and easy way to make eyes sparkle and enhance their detail. When used correctly, people looking at your picture should think, "Wow. That person has lovely eyes." Rather than, "Wow. Those are some seriously Photoshopped eyes."

I don't have Elements, but I think this will work there too. So here we go:

I chose this photo of my baby because his eyes are so prominent -- plus I just love that little chipmunk! This is the unsharpened, un-messed-with version. There's a nice catch-light, but not a lot of detail. We can do better.

With your picture open, select the Lasso tool:

Click the "Add to selection" icon and set the feather to 5 px:

Draw a circle around each eye with the lasso (it doesn't have to be perfect, but do your best):

Hit "Ctrl" "J" on your keyboard or choose "Layer via copy" from your layers menu -- you're making a new layer here:

Now do this:

Set the radius to 5 pixels and hit OK:

Ta da! Now you have a really creepy picture. It's probably not the look you're going for though, so try changing the blending mode to "Overlay":

Now you have super sparkly eyes. I didn't adjust the opacity here, but I would normally turn it way down -- to a point that looks sparkly but doesn't jump out at you like this:

Here's a before and after:

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Baby and his sister

2012-01-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm finally ready to post a few more from my Christmas baby. And while he was all kinds of adorable, his big sister really stole the show. What a doll!

Big yawn:

A special Christmas delivery

2012-01-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

Santa had something special in mind for this little guy's mom and dad this year. Can you imagine a sweeter gift?

Mom and daughter

2011-12-29T23:04:00.001-07:00

I love a location shoot. It's a little challenging this time of year in our cold climate, but when people are willing to brave a little chill I'm all over it. I had such a good time with this mother/daughter team. They are good friends and it shows.

Busy December

2011-12-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I posted some photos of a very handsome newborn, then the next day we took the kids to Disneyland for a week. Then there was the whole Christmas season and all of the Christmasing it requires, and time got away from me. So here I am, finally ready to post a few more photos from that sitting. I just couldn't miss posting some of this family -- after all, the little guy isn't a one-man show, he is part of a really fun ensemble.

Now I have to have another baby

2011-12-02T15:17:00.001-07:00

Just look at this baby:

He's so serene. He's perfect. I loved spending my morning with him.

Once he went to sleep, we could move him around every which way and he didn't even stir. Don't you love that pucker?!

The only drawback to a morning like this, is that it makes me want another one of my own. {Sigh} I might have to borrow him.

We had such fun with big sister and mom and dad. I don't have time to post more now, but I will when I have a minute.

Thank you, fun and beautiful family, for coming over. I loved it.

Christmas is coming!

2011-11-27T16:51:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving and it just now occurred to me that I forgot to take a picture of my turkey. Rest assured, it looked like a cooked turkey, but if you need a visual, it looked a little bit like this:

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-dinner-kidlet-style.html

It's a loose interpretation.

Anyway, now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to do some shopping.

I have a confession to make: I am shocked by the level of talent and creativity I have seen on Etsy. It shouldn't surprise me, I mean, everything we buy was made by someone, right? But for some reason I find myself continually amazed. So, just for fun, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite shops with you here (I featured my friend's darling shops, Nadia's Place and Polka Dots and Posies, in another post. Scroll down, it's not far).

To start with, I came across Tenderblue the other day and found myself suddenly wanting to have another baby -- a girl baby. These are some of the most beautiful baby clothes I've ever seen. So I imagined up a girl baby and dressed her in these (she's going to look so lovely on our Christmas cards):

Then there's Super Sock Monkeys. This shop just makes me smile. My boys would love these:

If I were decorating another nursery, for my imaginary girl baby, who is wearing clothes from Tenderblue (who also sells gorgeous boy clothes, but my imaginary baby was a girl, so...), I would look for prints at Sugarfresh:

She has such a cute selection.

My imaginary girl baby would go crazy over these shoes from Ivory and Moss:

I can't sew a straight seam and this woman makes shoes! I found Ivory and Moss on facebook a couple of years ago and have since dressed many imaginary girl babies in her shoes. Hers is one of those stores where I find myself trying to think of real little girls to buy shoes for.

And finally, when my imaginary baby, and my real babies, are down for the night, I like to read a good book. These bookmarks from My Bookmark just kill me. I can think of several people I'd like to give one to:

So seriously, go check out Etsy if you haven't already. I have so much fun browsing there. And don't forget to look me up while you're there! I've got a few little Christmas things, and you can check out more of my favorite shops and products.

And, this Friday I'll be taking pictures of a brand new baby boy and his beautiful and hilarious three year-old sister. She says things you would never expect from a kid her age. She's way too smart. Be sure to come back for a peek!

Exploring new places: my journey into the land of Etsy

2011-10-16T17:18:00.001-06:00

Big title, no? But it pretty much sums up where I am right now. My new Etsy shop feels a little foreign, and maybe a little scary, but I'm really excited about it (click on that dinosaur over there in the sidebar if you want to check it out).

I started toying with the idea of selling prints after I created these for my son's room:

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He and his friends completely flipped out when they saw the 16x24" prints I ordered -- and not from fear :)

They are so different from anything I've ever done. My entire portfolio is made up of beautiful babies, kids, and families. I'm proud of it, but this was something new and exciting. And I thought maybe it was something that other people might want.

So I went for it. Etsy makes it so easy to set up shop, how could I not try it? And guess what! There is already a cute kid somewhere in Australia who has these hanging in his bedroom. It's so exciting!

There's just one problem: a store needs more than one set of prints to be interesting. As gorgeous as all of my babies and kids and families are, I can't exactly sell them on Etsy. So I've been working on expanding my portfolio. I added these four photos this week, with plans for many more:

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This is the LDS Jordan River Temple at sunrise:

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And this one is the LDS Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I took it just this morning. That little dot to the right of the temple is Jupiter. It took me a bit of sleuthing to figure that out. I thought maybe it was Venus. How stupid ;)

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This has been such a great excuse to get out and take pictures. I love it! I want to get some fall leaves in the mountains but I'm not sure where to go. Any ideas?

Thank you for your support in this new adventure. I've definitely felt the love of my friends and family.

And I'm still very interested in taking pictures of your gorgeous babies, kids, and families!

Baby Connor

2011-10-01T15:35:00.000-06:00

Here's a handsome little guy. When I look at these pictures, I really want to pick him up and snuggle him. He was so calm for our sitting, even though we kept moving him around while he was trying to take a nap. What a good sport :)

This one just makes me smile:

An amazing experience

2011-09-17T23:08:00.000-06:00

It's hard to express how I felt when my brother-in-law and his wife asked me to photograph the birth of their son. I was so honored to witness their first moments together. I took their photographs through teary eyes. They have generously allowed me to share some of their photos here.

Thank you again guys, for everything.

The Twins

2011-09-07T15:09:00.000-06:00

I promised more of beautiful Nadia, but I didn't mention her twin sisters! Here is the last post from this marathon photo shoot in which we did first birthday pics of the twins, third birthday pics of Nadia, and product shots for Nadia's Place and Polka Dots and Posies. It was A LOT of pictures!

These girls have another beautiful sister too, so we had her hop in for a few cake pictures. She was also a very good assistant during the shoot. She did a lot of running around and also colored some backgrounds for some of the toys. Thanks Katie!

A few more from Nadia's Place

2011-08-16T22:28:00.003-06:00

Meet Nadia:

Is she gorgeous or what?! She's modeling a hat and apron from Polka Dots and Posies. Nadia's mom and I go waaaaay back. She, Nadia's mom, has an Etsy shop called Nadia's Place, where she sells her hand-made toys:

Aren't they cute?! I'll post more of our beautiful Nadia later, I just couldn't resist posting some of the toys.

When pigs fly

2011-08-10T22:04:00.001-06:00

I was in heaven over this photo shoot for Nadia's Place. The toys, the clothes, the kids, all of it was just beyond cute. There are so many photos to go through, but for now, doesn't everyone need a flying pig?

Polka Dots and Posies

2011-08-06T00:00:00.002-06:00

I've been slow to get these up. This summer has been CRAZY. But here I am at the computer, waaaay past my bedtime, so why not post them now? I took these product photos for Polka Dots and Posies -- aren't these clothes adorable? She makes everything. She even made the gorgeous little model you see here:

If looks could kill

2011-07-16T17:23:00.000-06:00

I thought this photo was too funny to not post. This was part of a product photo shoot I did this morning. Her mom makes the most adorable dresses and bloomers! You'll find her link in my sidebar (Polka Dots and Posies).

A touch of whimsy

2011-06-28T17:08:00.004-06:00

I thought this photo was perfect for the "touch of whimsy" theme on I Heart Faces this week. The setting was an un-birthday party for my baby -- I flaked on his one year so thought I'd make up for it at eighteen months (who says there aren't do-overs?). The whole idea was to set up a photo shoot that a one year-old could enjoy so I filled the table with cupcakes, cookies, and a cake. I think the little chipmunk grin on his face means it was a success.

www.iheartfaces.com

Blessing gown mini session

2011-05-21T22:09:00.001-06:00

Baby girl will be blessed in the same dress her mommy wore. She was too little for it when we did her newborn pics, so they had me over for a mini session last week. The goal was to re-create a photo of her mom when she wore the dress, but on the day of the shoot the photo was nowhere to be found. So I hope we got it!

Isn't she a beautiful baby?

Yay!

2011-04-15T13:15:00.005-06:00

A few months ago I had the opportunity to take newborn photos of my sister's darling twins. They did really great individually but we had a little trouble getting them in a shot together. We got it eventually, but it took some doing. This was one failed attempt:

Don't they look ticked? We all thought it was funny so I snapped a picture. It turned out to be one of my sister's favorites from the shoot.

Well, this week at thepioneerwoman.com, she is doing a "brothers" themed photography contest. I couldn't resist entering this photo. And GUESS WHAT!!! It has been chosen for group 3! I was so excited to see it on there this morning!

She usually chooses about 6 groups, then narrows it down to finalists, and then to a winner. So wish me luck! And go check out the other pictures -- there are some really good ones. My personal favorite is the boys covered in mud. Maybe I'll have to do a mud sitting this summer :)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/

A Very Merry Un-birthday

2011-04-07T13:44:00.006-06:00

So here's the story: Around the time of this baby's first birthday, I dreamed up this photo shoot. I was so excited about it. I purchased everything. I baked, I decorated. And then I got busy. All of the treats went into the freezer, for what I thought would be a week or so.

Then Baby got a cold; then I got a cold; then this; then that, etc., etc. Life happened. And, as so often happens, my own kid's photo shoot took a back seat to everything else that needed to be done. So here we are six months later celebrating a very merry un-birthday. No one seemed to mind having a party just for fun :)

Sweet baby K

2011-04-01T23:47:00.001-06:00

It's going on midnight and I'm loving these pictures as I edit them. I've got to get to bed but I wanted to post a few more before I shut everything down. This is such a great family :)

Happy Spring!

2011-03-26T19:15:00.003-06:00

I had this beautiful baby girl over for pictures today. I was so excited to try this prop just for spring :)

I Heart Faces: Best Face in February

2011-03-07T20:52:00.002-07:00

My last entry was from this same photo shoot. After reading Lisa Tichané's guest post, "Blueprint of a Successful Paint Session" on the MCP blog, I set up a paint session of my own. I absolutely loved it!

Paint!

2011-03-01T07:27:00.005-07:00

So I had some of my favorite kids over for pictures on Saturday. I first took pictures of this little gal when she was just sitting up. It has been so much fun to see them grow.

We started off with some pics of the kids in their darling outfits:

And then we did something a little crazy. I LOVE that their mom was willing to let them paint themselves! This was the most fun I've ever had at a shoot.

I couldn't resist taking one more picture after everyone had gotten cleaned up :)

Paint!

2011-02-28T17:16:00.008-07:00

Inspired by Lisa Tichané's guest post, "Blueprint of a Successful Paint Session" on the MCP blog, I set up a paint session of my own. We had a blast!

My little blue man for I Heart Faces -- anything but a face challenge.

A few more of the twins

2011-02-06T17:15:00.004-07:00

Meet Baby A:

and Baby B:

They're not identical so I should have been able to tell them apart, but I had a little trouble. But now that I've had more practice I can tell you, Baby A is on the right and Baby B is on the left -- pretty sure anyway:

And this is undoubtedly Baby B... I think:

But I think only their mother could figure this one out:

Snuggly twin boys

2011-01-22T18:26:00.004-07:00

I got to photograph these sweet brothers in the comfort of their home. They were so wonderfully sleepy. Maybe it helped that they were snuggled up on a blanket their mama made.

Little rocker

2011-01-21T11:48:00.006-07:00

I had a little "just for fun" photo shoot with my boys. They LOVE their Paper Jamz.

The life of a rock star is sometimes hard. He thought his hair was hilarious but decided he'd rather not have his picture taken:

There were some smiles too, but I just didn't like them as much -- is that bad? I love his rocker angst.

He was more into it when big brother joined in and they could jam, can you blame him?

And totally unrelated to this post, I am really liking my new photo signature. Those little footprints belong to my firstborn -- significantly reduced in size of course :) They're from a scan of the prints they took on the day he was born. I just love to see those little feet.

De-nieces and de-nephews

2010-12-15T17:34:00.002-07:00

I had a crowded studio recently as all of these little cousins gathered for a sitting. We had a great time, and as you can see, we took a lot of pictures.

What you see here is a composite of six different pictures. All but two children in this photo have been swapped out of other pictures of the same pose. With a group this big and this young, sometimes that's what it takes. And there was no convincing my baby to put down his camera :)

Maternity pics in the freezing cold

2010-11-15T14:20:00.004-07:00

My baby sister is ready to have some babies of her own -- two, to be exact. So on Saturday I had the opportunity to take some maternity pictures for her. It was SO cold! We also had a very talented friend along to share in the fun -- Brooke of Brooke Ashley Photography. Once upon a time I was Brooke's babysitter :)

I couldn't be more excited for this girl:

It was really fun to get out there with Brooke:

Thanks ladies!

Featured on ohdeedoh

2010-11-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

I recently posted some photos of my nursery to my flickr photostream. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I received an e-mail from Jackie Boucher, a writer for www.ApartmentTherapy.com , asking if she could do a feature on it for their website! If you're not familiar with ApartmentTherapy, and their children's site, ohdeedoh, you really should check it out. It is really flattering that they would choose to show my nursery. Anyway, the feature went up this morning!:

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/nursery-tours/williams-slumber-boat-nurserynursery-tour-131710

And I had so much fun taking pictures of my nursery, I'll be doing baby's 1 year photo shoot in there shortly. I love that years from now, when that room has been transformed into something else, I will always have these pictures to remind me of the sweet feelings that room brings me.

Family photos

2010-10-14T12:16:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the delay in getting these up -- we were on a little vacation last week. But here are some more of this beautiful family.

Look at those eyes!

Bright and early

2010-10-02T14:38:00.003-06:00

This family has one amazing mom to have them all looking this good at seven in the morning. This is just a preview, with more to come next week. Thank you for a fun morning :)

Little Gymnast

2010-08-27T22:52:00.002-06:00

Today I had to opportunity to take pictures of this bubbly little gymnast. I never took gymnastics as a kid so this was my first time in a fully equipped gym and I have to tell you, it looked like fun! If I weren't a klutz and a coward I'm sure I would have been a fabulous gymnast :)

Love these babies!

2010-08-13T19:53:00.000-06:00

Given that this sitting included TWO babies, we took A LOT of pictures. So it's hard for me not to post a bunch. Sorry if this is picture overload for you, but I can't help myself.

Here are some more of mom's hats:

And here is the talented lady herself:

And here is big sister:

My first twins

2010-08-07T22:27:00.000-06:00

Today my good friend brought her twins over for pictures. I was so excited for the opportunity! They are the sweetest babies. I'm always amazed by how tiny newborns are -- especially when I compare them to my own little chunko, who until today seemed pretty little to me.

It's late and I'm ready to go to bed, but I couldn't call it a night without putting up at least one picture. These lucky babies have a talented momma. She made these little hats just for them. If you want to see what else she can do, hop on over to her Etsy shop, Nadia's Place -- the link is in my sidebar.

I WAS CHOSEN!!

2010-07-23T13:55:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited! I entered a picture in the Pioneer Woman photography contest and it was chosen for group 1!!! http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2010/07/your-water-photos-group-1/#comments

The boys

2010-07-21T19:11:00.000-06:00

Sometimes the perfect group shot is just not in the cards. We tried. We bribed, we told jokes, we acted silly, but it just was not to be. We had three issues to overcome: 1. My oldest has forgotten how to smile naturally. He kind of makes a scary face instead. 2. My middle child was in a world of his own and was not inclined to take direction -- even when the only direction was, "look at me." 3. My youngest was supposed to be in bed so he was a little on the cranky side.

I knew we didn't get "the shot," but I was hoping for something passable. When I saw this one I laughed. It is not a perfect shot of three smiling children. But it is a perfect shot of my children on this day. It will forever make me smile and remember them just as they were -- warts and all. And I will absolutely be putting it on my mantle.

"We're dangerous kids. Dangerous kids where skeleton shoes." -- says the middle child as he shows me how tough he is.

Mountain wildflowers

2010-07-06T16:19:00.000-06:00

I have a favorite meadow that should be perfect for pictures this month. Here it is this time last year:

I haven't been up there yet this year, but considering what a wet season it's been I'm going to make a leap and say it is overrun with wildflowers. I plan to get my own family up there for some portraits ASAP.

Here's my little guy walking out to join his dad and take in the view:

He looked so tiny out there by himself, I had to take a pic. ...Anyway, if you're interested in joining me for portraits in this Eden, give me a call.

Twins!

2010-06-08T22:08:00.000-06:00

This was my first maternity shoot. This belly belongs to a friend of mine. We had a great time swapping war stories -- as any woman who has been pregnant before will do -- but she automatically wins because she is having two babies at once and mine were all singletons. I'm ok with that.

Baby Hadley and her family

2010-05-28T22:40:00.000-06:00

Hello Beautiful

2010-05-26T22:04:00.000-06:00

Sweet girl

2010-04-18T22:47:00.001-06:00

So, a few weeks ago I posted just one picture of this adorable little girl and then I never got around to posting more. Even though I'm a little late, I just couldn't let a smile like this go to waste:

My favorite boys

2010-03-26T15:15:00.000-06:00

Call it casual Friday. Today I was ready for a different kind of photo shoot. The jammy kind. I'm a sucker for cute pajamas.

Not everyone was as excited about the jammy day photo shoot as I was.

But the little guy found some solace in eating a blanket. And the big guys had something to look forward to...

I promised them they could jump on the bed.

Maternal instinct

2010-03-23T19:06:00.001-06:00

Here's a peek at Saturday's shoot. This is a little gal who knows what she wants. Pictures had to take a back seat to caring for her baby. From one mommy to another, I getcha. When your baby needs you, nothing else matters.

Sorry it took so long!

2010-02-25T20:45:00.001-07:00

I had hoped to have these up sooner but it's been a crazy week. These kids have been over a few times now and I just love them. When they left, this cute little guy gave me a hug goodbye. It was so sweet.

Yes, I know his eyes are closed but I love that picture, it's the sweetest hug.

Who doesn't enjoy conversation hearts?

I've never seen a child do this to a cake. It was so funny:

Cake carnage.

Yup, there's cake down there too.

Busy baby, come back soon!

Busy one year-old -- preview

2010-02-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

I love doing first birthday pictures. The babies are always playful and fun and full of energy. This beautiful girl was no exception. I was so happy to have you guys over again! And I really loved her little outfit :) I'll get a few more pics up later, but I wanted to give you at least one for now.

Sentimental me

2010-02-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I am over-the-top sentimental. Pure mush. My kids did it to me. I used to be all hard and flinty. You'd never catch me crying in a movie. Never. I actually worried sometimes that maybe I was unfeeling because when everyone else was working on their second and third box of kleenex I was barely working up to a sniffle. Now I'm a big bawl-baby. It's good though. I can feel good about myself when my face is covered in mascara, my skin is red and blotchy, and my nose is a hose because at least I don't have to worry about being unfeeling.

For the longest time I have had this idea in the back of my mind and I am just too in love with it to let it go. You see, I am a huge fan, HUGE fan, of the American painter Mary Cassatt. Ever since I was a little girl her paintings of mothers with their young children have transfixed me. My attachment to her has grown progressively stronger as I raise my own children -- because now I'm sentimental.

There is such a quietness to her paintings. They grip my sentimental mother heart in a way that nothing else can. I think I love them because they express so beautifully how I feel about my own children. I try so hard to memorize every detail of every sweet, heavenly moment with them, but more than anything it's the feeling that I'm trying to hold onto; that connectedness with my child. That's what she captured.

So maybe you've guessed it by now, but the idea that won't leave me, that I won't let go of, is that I want to take pictures like that. Moments. Quiet, loving, sentimental moments between mother and child (or father and child, I don't discriminate). I want to capture that connectedness that I try so hard to hold onto. So I guess this is my quest. If there is a holy grail of quiet, peaceful moments to be captured on film I must find it! I can't wait :)

More of our cute birthday boy

2010-01-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have to post a few more of this darling baby. First, I was just in love with these little feet:

And his big hat was too cute:

I loved this family -- so nice:

And most of all, I love watching a baby make a big mess with cake. This was the beginning, by the end of the shoot he was wearing it:

Preview

2010-01-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Had the best first birthday shoot today! What a cute baby. I just got started going through all of the pics, but couldn't resist posting at least one for mom and dad to see. Thanks again for coming by! More later.

Lifestyle photography

2010-01-06T15:33:00.001-07:00

I love that I can take my camera anywhere to record those precious every-day moments that disappear too quickly into the past; like the quiet of a baby's nursery.

Beautiful sisters

2009-12-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

This little doll is one I know well. She is like a little sister to my boys. We absolutely love her. She brought her big sisters over for a photo shoot the other day and the three of them were such a pleasure. Thank you girls :)

Can I keep them?

2009-12-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

I love that I get to meet so many adorable kids, and these three are absolutely adorable. I loved taking their pictures. Thank you for coming down cute family. Here are a few of my favorites from your shoot:

I wish I could look this good in a picture! You are gorgeous.

Just in time for Christmas

2009-12-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

These were taken for grandparent Christmas gifts, but I'm assured I won't spoil the surprise by posting them. I'm so glad because how can I resist sharing a smile like this one?

These kids were so darling:

More from Saturday

2009-11-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'm still editing but have a few more pics to post from our shoot on Saturday. I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

Sneak peek

2009-11-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Is this a little Brooke Shields or what? This child is beautiful. I'm just getting started on the editing from this sitting but I'm in love with this picture and had to post it now. More to come later.

Wow!

2009-11-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

What a crazy, fun photo shoot! My little studio was bursting at the seams yesterday with eight of the cutest cousins you've ever seen. This family has reason to be proud, their kids are just beautiful. So family, here is a sneak peak at your photo shoot -- expect a CD next week.

This family had two darling newborn babies. One of the dads came so we were able to do a mini newborn shoot as well.

More newborn pics

2009-11-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post these for a few days now, just haven't had the time. So here are a few more of this cute baby boy. I can't believe how many pics he smiled for. He must have the sweetest dreams :)

Happy newborn preview

2009-11-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

This little guy was all smiles. I couldn't resist posting the first two pictures I've edited because he looks so sweet. I wish I knew what he was dreaming about :)

It's October!!

2009-10-03T17:37:00.000-06:00

The weather is cool, the leaves are crisp, and the pumpkin patches are open for business. This has to be one of the best in the valley, it's in South Jordan, just south of The District. They have about a dozen tractors for the kids to play on and a mini corn maze, not to mention more pumpkins than I have ever seen in one place before. If you know of a better one, let me know!

More pics from Tuesday

2009-09-23T22:42:00.000-06:00

Working on the editing and I am loving these kids. I just had to post a few more -- this time I've got some of big brother too.

This is one of the little shoes I mentioned before.

10% of this sitting fee was donated to www.marynshope.blogspot.com

A preview

2009-09-22T14:38:00.000-06:00

I had the best time this morning taking pics of two adorable kids. They were so good! Mom had gone all out on baby's outfit -- starting with the most hysterical shoes I've ever seen. Seriously, the girl had on zebra stripe baby high heels. They were too dang cute. I've only just started to go through the pics, but I had to put a preview up for Mom. Isn't this the cutest baby!

Saturday adventures

2009-09-08T19:07:00.000-06:00

There was a feature on KSL a while ago about roadside eats where they featured the Road Island Diner. It's an actual vintage diner that was trucked across the country and restored right here in Utah. Ever since I saw the feature, I have been dying to check it out for myself and take some pictures there. I finally got my chance on Saturday. I took my sister and a couple of her kids -- we'd been meaning to take pics of them and we both thought the diner would be fun. We stopped for a picnic on our way there and then enjoyed shakes at the diner. Walking through the door was like going back in time. The restoration was extremely detailed. I would definitely recommend a visit (but don't expect your meal to be speedy).

I could have edited off the chocolate ring around my nephew's mouth, but it just felt so right to leave it there :)

A few more from the newborn session

2009-08-22T18:46:00.000-06:00

Ok, I'm ready to post a few more. This little guy and his family were such fun to work with -- seriously nice people. Thanks for stopping by :)

10% of this sitting fee was donated to www.marynshope.blogspot.com

Darling newborn

2009-08-21T10:16:00.000-06:00

I got to spend yesterday evening photographing this sweet baby boy and his family. He was curious and wide-eyed the whole time. He reminded me a lot of my boys :) So here is a sneak peek with more to come later:

Welcome to Melinda Bryant Photography

2009-08-04T22:12:00.000-06:00

While I'm in the process of building a website complete with galleries to display my work, I hope you will have fun browsing here. These represent a handful of my favorite pictures for the last few months. I would love to hear what you think, so please feel free to leave your comments.