This entry has me thinking about all the generous, talented, kind women I am lucky enough to call my friends. Beautiful, all.

I didn’t know what to title this post until I found myself humming a song written and performed by one of those friends, Emily Lord. It seemed perfect. You can learn more about this talented woman here.

Last week I was invited to take some portraits of my friend Debra’s family. I love them all, but I must say Debra has a particularly warm spot in my heart. We have been friends for close to twenty years now. Debra is the kind of person you want in your corner, and she has been there for me more than once. It was exciting for me to capture portraits of my beautiful friend.

Just to be perfectly clear, Debra and I are not old. But our friendship has that warm richness that the years bring. I am very grateful for it. What a lovely family she has.

Who are the beautiful old friends in your life? There is so much to celebrate in the Spring. I think family and friendship should be part of that. I’d love to help you capture it in a portrait.

I do! This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing 3-month-old Oliver and his family (including a Basset Hound named Tank).

I am still busy going through the many images from the shoot, but I can’t resist posting this triplet. The baby was peacefully asleep when I arrived, so I was able to practice a little stealth photography. What a beautiful little guy!

This portrait session was a baby shower gift to the expectant mom. Isn’t that a great idea? Spring has so many gift-giving opportunities: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation, and of course births and birthdays. What do you get someone who has all the “stuff” they need? A portrait is a thoughtful and lasting gift. I offer Gift Certificates.

It was so much fun to celebrate a brand new family. Portrait photography is happy work. I love what I do!

Sandy Endo is my friend, neighbor, and — I’m proud to say — personal trainer. I have been working with Sandy for over two years now, using Pilates and strength training techniques to improve my flexibility, balance, and endurance. I started because I knew I should. If you had told me two years ago that I would come to look forward to these sessions, I would have thought you were crazy. Exercise has never been my favorite thing. But now I feel better, walk taller, and am motivated to continue. All of that is thanks to Sandy — what she knows and who she is.

Sandy is in the process of updating her website and last weekend we got together to take some head shots. That kind of photography can be particularly stressful for the subject. They are definitely the center of attention and it is almost impossible for them not to feel self-conscious. It was up to me to engage with Sandy to help her relax and be herself. My goal was to create portraits that showed her warm spirit, sense of fun, and (of course) her beauty.

Sessions are so much more pleasant (and productive) when nobody feels rushed. We took our time, trying out several locations. It felt great to be outside after all the rain we have had recently.

Sandy is a talented, thoughtful, encouraging trainer. Visit her website (and watch for some new photos!)

Do you need some portraits for your website or Facebook profile? I offer digital downloads. Of course, prints will always be important. As I said before, much happiness can come from a framed portrait that you can see every day and pass along to future generations.

I hope Sandy frames this one. It’s my favorite!

Every year Albany High School gives juniors the opportunity to sample careers they think might be interesting by spending a few hours with someone who does that job. A dedicated committee of parent volunteers works hard to place students with mentors in their chosen fields. I was honored to be selected to spend time with three young people who wanted to learn more about photography.

I wanted to make our time together as engaging for the kids as possible. I decided to walk them through the decisions a photographer might have to make at a typical on-location photo shoot. You might find that information useful too. This post will contain more photographs than usual because we had a really good time.

I did two important things to prepare. First, I emailed the students to let them know that I would be taking pictures of them. Nobody wants to be surprised by a photo shoot. I asked them to wear clothes they liked and felt comfortable in, and to have their hair and makeup the way they like it. I was well aware that our starting time of 9:00 in the morning was way too early for any teenager to be expected to actively — much less pleasantly — participate. I thought the photo shoot would be merely an exercise. But these kids really came through.

Perhaps that was in part because of the second thing I did to prepare. After some introductory chitchat, I took them in the kitchen and offered them brownies.

It’s good to build a friendly relationship with your photographic subjects. Let them know you are on their side. In this case, the brownies were unexpected and they did the trick. While the students relaxed, I began snapping and talking through what I was doing. For instance, if you are shooting indoors in natural light, place yourself between a window and your subject. In this case, the morning light gave interesting dimension to Taylor’s face. And converting the picture to black and white eliminated distractions in the background.

Thankfully it wasn’t raining or too terribly cold, so we moved outside. The deck was shaded by the house so Giselle didn’t have to squint, and there was some lovely morning light behind her. Very flattering. The two most important elements of a pleasing portrait (after the subject, of course) are lighting and background. If you give some thought to these elements the next time you photograph your loved ones, you’ll be miles ahead of most snapshots.

One of the least productive directions you can give is to insist that your subject smile. Forget about “Say Cheese!” That usually results in a forced, unnatural expression. If your subject has permission not to smile, and you continue to engage with him or her, eventually you might get a genuine smile that reaches the eyes. Christina has such warm eyes.

Next we took a brief field trip to Terrace Park. If you really want your subjects to forget about the camera and just be themselves, arrange for a goofy dog to show up doing his goofy dog thing. Poof! You’re invisible! Seriously, a prolonged photo shoot can get tedious. It’s great to have something to break the tension. Sometimes it’s just a matter of stopping for a while and waiting for that unguarded moment.

Some other favorites from the day:

Thank you Christina, Taylor, and Giselle! Good luck to you in whatever your future holds.

I start today with an old snapshot that isn’t very good, but it takes me right back to a moment when, by focusing on the wrong thing, I almost missed the point.

About ten years ago my family rented a big house at Pajaro Dunes for a long weekend. Sisters, husbands, kids . . . all of us. We were taking a pleasant walk on the beach when suddenly several dolphins began leaping out of the water not far off shore. We were all beside ourselves with excitement. Of course I had my camera, so I began snapping away, frantically trying to catch them mid-leap. Those were film days, but I didn’t need to see the prints to know that I was shooting frame after frame of empty ocean, just missing the dolphins each time. I gave up, turned around, and noticed what Uncle Doug was doing. He wasn’t focusing on the dolphins. He knew the real story was the wonder and joy on the faces of the five young cousins. I followed his lead and snapped this shot.

It’s out of focus and I’m standing in the wrong place, but I kept the photo because – of the dozens of frames I shot in those minutes – it tells the story.

Last December I was asked to photograph the Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony when five local scouts from the same troop earned this rank.

Of course it was important to capture them together, and to record the action on stage.

But the photos I like best are the ones I took when I turned around and focused on the families in the audience.

The love and pride on these faces speaks volumes about the day.

So, don’t forget to turn around. There just might be a story there.

Tip: Turning around can be especially effective at sunset. Next time you are at the beach, instead of taking yet another shot of the lowering sun (yes, I know it’s beautiful), take a look back at what that golden light is doing to buildings on the shore or sand dunes or the faces of your loved ones. Those images might say “sunset” too, maybe even with more meaning.

If you have a special event coming up and you’d like to be sure someone is there to capture both the action and the reactions, let me know. I’d love to help.

Do you have a photo where the expression on the subject’s face brings you back to the moment? Use the comments to tell us the story!