BIG NEWS!!

I guess the cat can come out of the bag…time to spill the beans…I've been wanting to share BIG NEWS for Marcia Todd Photography!   Here's a hint.

You guessed it, my very own STUDIO SPACE!!  A place to take pictures all year round despite the weather and time of year, and yes, I'm still doing on-location sessions.  Construction is starting in next couple of weeks.  I can hardly describe how blessed I feel, God is my awesome provider and I'm constantly thanking Him for all of this.  It's a wonderful dream come true.

So stay tuned - I'll be posting progress and information about an Open House just before the summer break.  EEEK!!  

PS- if you don't follow me on Instagram, you might wanna start.  The majority of the progress pics will most likely be on there.  You can find me by searching for "mtoddphoto" 

Ret {a belated birthday post}

My boy, Ret, deserved a little attention on the blog today.  We celebrated his 10th birthday back in December.  Double digits…it's a big deal.  I noticed he was extra cute yesterday for church.  I love blue on him, it really makes his eyes pop.  (his dad and I have brown eyes, the blue eyes still have us puzzled)  Before he changed into his basketball pants and tshirt, I asked him to walk outside with me for a few shots and to my surprise, he didn't huff-n-puff and hang his head, he was up for it!  Let's do this.

When I think of Ret, several things come to mind. I'll share.

• Great sense of humor.  When Ret gets going, he's so corny, so goofy, SO funny.  You can't resist laughing.
• Athletic.  He dribbles the ball, he can throw a spiral, but really loves his game of baseball.  His position is catcher. 
• Smart.  Although, he doesn't LOVE school, his academics do not suffer.  Report cards came out Friday and he had all A's.  Ret has been known to have a B on his report card - I don't sweat it.
• Heart of gold.  Ret is my most-sensitive child.  He will tear up if you raise your voice at him.  He gives in to his older sister more than she deserves.  And if I am crying, he's crying.
• Nail biter & Knuckle popper.  I hate to admit it, but he has a bad habit of biting his nails.  It's a pet peeve of mine and I'm constantly reminding him to get his fingers out of his mouth.  Gross.  Ret also has a nervous habit of popping his knuckles.  He does it ALL THE TIME. (see below - I didn't ask him to pop his knuckles, he does it involuntarily)

• The gene pool runs deep.  Ret has moles.  Sorry son, you get that from my side of the family.  Thing is, I rarely pay attention to his and I refuse to edit them away.  I love the way God has placed them on his lips and around his mouth. 
• Sleep addict.  He can sleep until 12 noon if I let him.  Always been that way - I don't get it.
• Curious.  or as I like to call it, NOSEY.  I keep telling him if he continues the bad habit of staring at people, he's gonna start hearing "whatcha staring at?" a. lot.  And I really think he thrives on telling me what someone else is doing i.e. "she's on her phone and you told her to put her phone away", "she's eating candy and you're cooking dinner"

I could go on and on about his habits and personality.  I'm sure some of you parents can relate ;-)  I love that little man more than I can possibly explain.  So humbled by God's gift of him to me.

 His $12 after-Christmas purchase made a great prop!  Gonna use this idea again.

 PS  - 11 minutes was all I needed (and all he wanted to be in front of the camera)  I'll take it.  I love the images and looking forward to the opportunity again when it gets warmer and he has a little more color in his cute little face.  
All the images from this spontaneous mini-session are posted on my website.  You can click HERE to see them.

Always be my baby

I've learned that my kids do pretty darn good with mini sessions as long as I keep it short, sweet & fun.  That means no longer than 30 minutes (20 minutes is really pushing it), no raising my voice or getting frustrated, and having really cool music playing on the iPhone.  This criteria is especially beneficial for Ret.  I knew the last thing he wanted to do was pose for my camera.   Morgan had done such a great job that I was antsy to get recent ones of him so that I could update some frames and work on a project that I saw on Pinterest. ;-)  The new year does it to me every time.  When the tree comes down and decorations are stored away again, I want to revamp my tables and walls.

I'm so proud of him.  He followed all my impromptus and gave me some images that I will cherish.  I know 9 year olds are not babies, but he's my baby.  

I found this hat at Marshall's.  His jersey number in baseball is #6 so it was perfect!

Ret is real quick to give me a fake smile, but he's very good at serious shots.  I love it.

 His blue eyes come from his dad's mom and his mom's dad.  Although one of his features I love the most is the freckle on his top lip.

 *My thoughts on boy sessions:  Layers. I love the layering look for boys as well as different hats.

She WANTED to do it.

She didn't have to ask me twice, didn't even have to twist my arm.  She approached me about doing a photo shoot - "like...a real one".  I tried not to sound too excited and replied with a nonchalant "sure, I'll do it".  How could I say no?  

She's our little girl.   

 I've mentioned to her on occasion that she's so beautiful on the inside that it spills out on the outside.  

She's been invited to her first semi-formal middle school dance.  We both love what she has chosen to wear  ;-)

 I absolutely adore the next picture.  It's a perfect reflection of her. It's also proof of how much fun she was having (sighhh)

 The next image is a typical expression of Morgan.  It's the "I'm Curious, but not so sure I want to know" look.

Now, if my little boy would be so willing to do this.  (I just literally laughed out loud)

The Reids

Once again, it gives me the greatest joy to be able to capture moments for my [twin] sister and her gorgeous family.  Just looking at these photos makes me smile.  I'm smiling now.

I think the greatest photographs show real emotion.  Laughing, joking and being silly and not worrying about the camera/photographer smiling back at you.  *no cutie pie, freckle-faced little boys were harmed during this session* Still smiling.

My sweet & sassy niece, Lyndi.  This little ladybug is gonna make my sister's hair turn grey wayyyyy before mine does. ;-)  I may be a little prejudice, but I think she's incredibly beautiful.

And without any direction at all, they bust out this little shot and it's undeniably perfect.  My smile has now transformed into a perma-grin with a little bit of fluid in the eyes. ;-)

 That freckle-faced nephew has the most loving nature.  If you need a hug, just ask him.

 Okay now they are just showing off.  They canNOT take a bad picture.

  

It's Me, Marcia!

I love looking at behind the scene shots that photographers post on facebook or their blog.  Sometimes it confirms how I pictured in my mind they would be during a session OR it confirms that I am normal in my quirky ways of shooting.  Never been able to do that before 

UNTIL NOW.

Many thanks to my dearest friend, Tiff, who is a photographer in the making.  She invested in a Nikon and she's been tagging along with me for my sessions.  I've been showing her the ropes of photography.  I gave her a crash course on ISO, shutter speed, exposure and aperture & told her "don't you dare turn that dial to Auto, it's Manual or Bust!"   I'm not sure if it's my awesome teaching skills or just her God-given talent, but she is doing great.  Oh and Tiff, there will be a quiz next week ;-)

Here's the cool part...I now have behind-the-scene photos.  YAY!!
These photos are courtesy of my student, Tiffany.  SOTC (straight out the camera)...(Tiffany's camera)    We haven't even touched on editing yet.  In time...

Welcome to my world.  

Note:  Flexibility is a good quality to have if you are a photographer.

Along with behind-the-scene shots comes the good, the bad and yes.....the ugly.

She got to experience a newborn session.

This is me - explaining window light and prime lenses.  Cue her test shot...

And a beach session...

I admit it, I like my mentoring sessions.  I'm not opposed to sharing at all.  I'm actually flattered that she has asked me to help her in pursuing something she loves to do.  In fact, I am getting really spoiled having her with me during my sessions. I sure hope she's a slow learner.

Moving Forward

My husband had a huge stereo when we got married.  You know, the one that sat in the big black cabinet, it had the glass door that you would push to open and close.  (I always liked that clicking noise it would make when it attached to the magnet)  It was the size of a bookcase.  Well, that stereo had a disc changer that would hold about 300+ CDs.  Music of all genres including holiday albums.  

The days of listening to music CDs is long gone.  An iPod and a docking station has taken the place of those 300+ CDs that is tucked away in a cabinet in our garage.

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I've decided to update the way I deliver digital negatives.  In the past I have transferred/burned digital negatives on a CD for my clients.  I'm excited to share with you the newest trend to receiving digital images via Marcia Todd Photography.  USB flash drives, a custom branded USB flash drive.   Here's a peek at what Marcia Todd Photography clients get when digital negatives are purchased...

Cute huh?  They are so cool - they fit in the palm of your hand.  Just a simple twist exposes & conceals the USB connector so you don't have a lid to keep up with.  They also have a little key ring that allows you to put on a set of keys.  You could wear it like a pendant on a necklace.....that's what I've been doing.  **crickets**

I love them and I have a feeling that my clients will too!! 

They call her Mighty Moe...

They call her Mighty Moe... or Moe... or Moe Moe at the gym, but to mostly everyone else, it's just Morgan.  


She wrapped up her 4th season of competing back in March.  She competed as a Level 6 gymnast and was blessed to walked away as a State Champion - she earned 1st on beam, 2nd on vault & floor, 3rd on bars and 1st place for her All Around score on all 4 events.  She works hard.  She trains 16 hours a week and loves every sweaty, exhausting, ripped hand, pulled muscles, chalked up body, falling off the beam, traveling on weekends, stinky wristband, protein eating, another bottle of water and earning another gold medal minute of it.  Saying that we're proud of her just doesn't seem to justify how we feel, but it will have to do.


I wanted to update her gymnastic photos again.  It baffles me how she can make her body do some things without any difficulty or strain...seriously, it's CRAZY.  

And if you're interested in seeing her in action at her state meet, I posted this video on YouTube.