Father and son

Mike and his son Kane. 

i shared a couple of these photos in a previous post showing hanging out some time with friends, but i needed to show more of sweet Kane's face! I worked with Mike and that chapel, and so we got some coffee spent some time at Tivoli village and snapped a few photos! 

Mike is a photographer so he knows how to pose too.. which is AWESOME! here's a few of these handsome guys! 

 so you might ask, what do i do for fun aside from running my photography business? well, that would be more photography but with friends. 

how could it not be with great friends like these!? Mike, thank you so much for meeting up with me and spending some time hanging out and making kane laugh at the fake snow i brought. and him eating my graham crackers but still not liking me. He's such a little stud! 

Family Christmas printed book

i had such a wonderful time with the Sanchez family! i'll soon be blogging all about their family Christmas photos at their home soon!- but here's a great sneak peek to see a few! 

Kimberly decided she wanted a book for her mom and dad and i think it turned out great! They love lots of black and white, and chose a few of their favorites. 

These book are different from the albums i showed you a couple weeks back, if you want to compare what they look like HERE is a link to the album. 

it was so much fun photographing them! we started by taking each couple or smaller family groups and ended with the big group! the first page are mom and dad. gorgeous couple. 

Kimberly and her husband Eddie (below on the right side of the spread) are the ones that set the Christmas photos up for their beautiful family. 

These books are so great for coffee tables, and ordering every year for a great keepsake of your family! absolutely loved creating this book and seeing how excited Kimberly was when she got it! 

When Kimberly received all of her photos and book, she sent the sweetest email and absolutely made me cry, in target.  It's those little touches like her encouragement that really inspire me for more! so thank all of you for welcoming me in your home and letting me spend a little time with your fun family! 

Christmas week with family!

i hope you all had a wonderful Merry Christmas with family! This year around my home, Christmas was a little different. My husband wasn't here but my sister came to visit and we had a blast going to one of her friend's home. the whole day was great, and i felt such a part of their beautiful family. though i think my favorite was when we got home we had a dance party in the living room. i mean.. why not? if you follow me on instagram (which you should, especially if you want to see my puppies more!), you've probably seen a few of the silly photos we took during the day. 

we also went up to mt. Charleston for an afternoon of snow. so here's a few photos (instagram too!) of our Christmas so far together.

below is Christmas eve and day! met a new little best friend at Christmas who loved taking photos with me. little fro-yo for dessert. puppies Christmas chew sticks, and some crazy pics while snacking all Christmas day. 

before they started shivering (they're not used to 30 degree weather) in the snow at mt. charleston. still good sports and one lady said murphy was "such a beautiful little model." which i'm hoping someday when i have kids... i get that many compliments. 

if you want to see all the craziness, follow me on Facebook and Instagram. i just wanted to share a little bit of Christmas time around the Magnuson home this year. 

most of the traditions weren't quite the same without Brandon. Although i did listen to Amy Grant while decorating the tree. feel free to share some of your favorite holiday moments! i hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Audrina's first Christmas!- Aliante Discovery park

Sweet baby girl Audrina!

i was so excited to see Audrina again! the last time i got to see this chubby cheek adorable girl was in June! If you don't remember.. here some photos from then, click HERE. And of course before she was born, i photographed Jordan and Kenna, and boy was Kenna a gorgeous woman with her bump! you can check those out again HERE! 

This time we all met at Aliante and dodged the sprinklers which is always an adventure. they turned out so cute! One of my favorites is this first one with those big eyes and cheeks showing! not to mention her minnie mouse first Christmas

Audrina wasn't nearly as entertained as we were. but.. it's still cute

she was giving me quite the facial expressions.. and then looked like she kissed her minnie mouse. she's just beautiful! especially with that santa hat ;)  

Audrina did so good even with us moving spots when sprinklers were moving all around, and she let us know near the end she was a sleepy girl, practically falling asleep in the box. 

i always love catching up with Kenna and jordan and seeing their beautiful daughter growing so big! though.. i didn't squeeze those cheeks enough. next time! 

five things.

i admit it.

i've been extra motivated lately! Last week i happened upon a blog that i now can say.. i've become obsessed with! Alex Beadon. gorgeous, upbeat girl who used to photograph weddings, now she focuses on helping other photographers, not to mention a weekly video on all things business. and super great site. check it out. stalk. become obsessed. she has some useful tips and beautiful work- click on the photo below to go right to her site! 

i know i've bragged about Florabella collection before.. where i purchase Photoshop actions! but thought i'd share again in case you missed it! yes this is even for all you non-photographers too! always good to know what  products we're using. anyway, what i love about these collections.. (still saving up for some!) is how flexible they can be with mixing and matching. aside from actions, i of course have my own way of editing every photo too and mostly those steps are ones learned from other fabulous photographers! 

so it's important for your photographer to create some beautiful photographs using their great eye, equipment, lightroom and Photoshop skills. so why do so many offer photos and push to sell through their pro-printing companies? here's a great example to see! i know sometimes last minute, you just want the photo in hand. but more and more businesses are making it easier for the photographs to land right on your doorstep, packaged and at its' best color! i admit while in college, i still used wal-mart. but after searching for a wonderful lab, prices really aren't much more! something to always think about and completely accurate! i did an experiment printing the same image and so many times colors were way off. ick! so really.. we want the work at its best! especially if displaying in the home :) 

since i'm sharing some products i use, thought i'd share where some inspiration is from! so many of us have blogs we follow, or sites we look at to check on updates. as a wedding photographer, most of the blogs i follow are dealing with weddings or..photography! shocking. :) but one of the first blogs i fell in love with was cupcakes and cashmere. a fashion and recipe blog that just is all girl! It's something that gives me a different perspective and great ideas! A lot of the wedding blogs are becoming more similar only seeing rustic weddings so this blog is refreshing with new content along with some vintage feel! 

and my fifth thing.. getting coffee, catching up, and snapping a few photos.. what else?! I worked with Mike at the chapel and his little stud is Kane. although.. he wasn't sure about me, the entire time. my nickname- shannamonster. thanks mike. so this last is encouragement for you shooters! go hang out, get off the computer and create something meaningful and beautiful. 

another PLUG- there are still a few available spots for the las vegas boudoir event! seriously perfect for valentines day! click HERE for details. 

i can't believe Christmas is almost here! i'm so excited! My sister is coming to visit. thought i'd share that! i hope you're having a great day, and don't be afraid to comment below and share some of your favorites blogs, websites or places you go for inspiration! happy Wednesday!