I had been searching online over a year ago for closet organizers when I came across a closet reading nook. It was a closet that had been turned into a cozy area for a child to hide away and read.

I fell in love with the idea. 

The closet that my middle two children share was driving me crazy. It was underused, and yet, it was always a mess. The idea of having a cute place to read sounded like a much better use of space. Plus, I knew the kids would use it for more than just reading.

It’s an inside joke at our house that I come up with the ideas and Chris has to figure out how to make them happen. It’s his own fault that I have complete faith in him- he always manages to pull through for me. He’ll tell you the playhouse he built the kids in the backyard was really for me. (And maybe it was– I’m waiting for the kids to be done with it so I can turn it into an adorable potting shed.) In the end, he always admits that they were great ideas.

For over a year, I asked Chris to redo the closet. He thought the idea was a little crazy at first. “Would the kids really use it, would they still have closet space, would it look out of place?” I assured him it would be cute and the kids would really use it. 

Finally, he gave in and went to work. And he came up with the perfect reading nook for the kids’ room.

I wanted to keep part of the closet for it’s traditional function of hanging clothes and storage. In the other part, I wanted a space big enough that a child could comfortable settle in to read. I also wanted it big enough that the space could double for playing. The design that Chris came up with was big enough to fit a parent and a child or two. Plus it included the book shelf, which was perfect for a place to set a cup of coffee when I’m reading to the kids.

The kids love it. My 12 year old is jealous and would love her own reading nook. I’d love to make her one, but alas, her closet is too small. She said she’d settle for a chair that hangs from the ceiling. I’ll get Chris on that….

*Chris has detailed images of the Reading Nook in progress. If there is interest, I can have him detail it out.

We sometimes joke that we would like to invite strangers to dinner, just to get our children to behave through the whole meal.

It amazes people to find out that my kids don’t always cooperate for photographs. It’s true, they don’t. It’s because they know us.

We don’t scare them.

As clients will attest, I have plenty of patience with children, waiting for them to be ready for photographs.

But photographers’ children are different. They *know* the tricks. Don’t let this image fool you. As we tried to get our soon-to-be 5 year old and soon-to-be 3 year old to stand still, while looking at the camera, they worked just as hard to wiggle and squirm away from us. When we asked for a smile, we got a grimace, when we asked for a pose, we got action.

We are scheduling a reshoot.

And this time, I’m bringing bribes.

Or a stranger.

I absolutely love to have clients that come back year after year. Working with a family, seeing their children grow, is so fun for me because they feel like more than clients. They feel like friends. Katie and Brett are a perfect example. I have been photographing Sam since he was a baby. Plus, I love that we can get together and chat like old friends.

These photographs will show you that Sam is going to be a little heart-breaker! And check out Sam’s shoes! Katie did an awesome job coordinating her family. The black, gray, and red were perfect together, with the red adding just the right amount of accent.  And again, check out those red shoes!

 

Kera and Dan’s big day is quickly approaching! For their engagement session in August, we headed to downtown Madison.

For most of their session, the weather was great. There was one small bump, though. I have to admit, I have never had to find shelter and wait out a freak rain storm in the middle of a session before. However, that is what happened to us that day. Kera and Dan were wonderful about the “delay” and the rain stopped just in time for some sunset images by the lake, complete with a rainbow in the background! I think that means good luck with their marriage.

Here are some images from their engagement session.

Yes, you can pull off having the family wear pink for your portrait session. Okay, Dad doesn’t have to (he can wear something in an earth tone to coordinate with the khaki shorts), but pink is definitely a color that even teenage boys are wearing this season.

Sarah and RJ had a beautiful day for their wedding. All the little extra touches made it memorable, like the family pin Sarah wore on her dress and the union chairs on their cake. Bucky Badger from UW Madison made an appearance and really livened up the dance floor with his dance moves!