mandy carroll

Vinyard+cute baby in a pink dress= LOVE

June 29, 2009 – 9:15 am

I have to start this post by saying that I am just about caught up with all the backlogged work from my back injury last week- again I am so sorry to those of you that have had to wait a few extra days for sneak peeks and galleries (the family below included- sorry for the delay!). But I am back on track now and don’t expect any more delays, so long as I steer clear of the 15lb dumbbells.

This sessions was so amazing- thanks to my clients suggestion we had our session at a vinyard in Crozet, one of their favorite family spots. I have always wanted to have a session in a vinyard, but had yet to do it, so I was very excited. And as soon as I pulled into this beautiful place, my heart went a flutter! It was breathtaking! Then I met cute little A. and saw her pink dress(nothing goes better with a green background than pink!) and I just knew this session was going to be great. And boy was I right! Miss A. brought her A game- she was so content that we got the entire shoot done in about 40 minutes, which was a new record for me! And we caught so many fantastic shots and expressions from her. I will have my work cut out for me picking through the proofs! Here are just a few…

Enjoy the peek!

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Worth The Wait

June 24, 2009 – 5:11 pm

I have to apologize again to this family- they have had to wait a few extra days for this sneak peek which was supposed to debut on the blog on Monday. Unfortunately I threw my back out lifting weights(sound impressive? I assure you it wasn’t- it happened when I tried to pick up a 15lb dumbell with one hand) so I was stuck lying flat on my back for two days watching movies. Had you told me last week that I would be able to sit around for a few days and do nothing but watch TV I would’ve thought that sounded pretty nice! But it was not so nice. I will never again take for granted the ability to move around and be productive and be pain free. It took only about halfway through the first BBC movie before I really felt my tail bone going numb and was bored out of my mind. And I love BBC movies! Fortunately I am doing much better now. And to anyone that has 7 hours of spare time, I highly reccomend Bleak House starring Gillian Anderson- two thumbs up from me!

I really had a great time at this session! They had the most incredible property and the sky was very overcast so we could shoot anywhere and have nice diffused light. And of course, little miss O. was so adorable! Look at those blue eyes, round cheeks and blonde curls- she looks just like a perfect little doll! And I was so glad I brought my red chair because it was the one thing that interested her enough to sit still- boy was she a mover! But I just love this age because you can capture so many unique expressions and quirky poses, like this first shot (one of my faves!)

Enjoy the peek! And thank you again for being patient- I hope it was worth the wait! I sure think so!

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Beat the Heat

June 9, 2009 – 4:05 pm

I have a tendency to complain about the weather. Unless it is sunny, and exactly 75 degrees, I am uncomfortable- and I make it known. And since there are only about 5 days out of the year that are sunny and 75 degrees, I complain a lot. I know it is a major flaw, and of course I feel bad that I do it, but I just can’t seem to stop myself. I remember going backpacking in Southern Utah with my husband before we were married and to this day I remember vividly how hot and uncomfortable I was- and how hard it was for me to keep my whining to myself (I didn’t want to let that cat out of the bag too soon!) Luckily my husband now just teases me and laughs at this quirk of mine, but part of me wonders if it sometimes annoys him. Well these past few rainy weeks you can imagine how many complaints have flown from my mouth- “I wish it was warmer so we could go swimming!” “Isn’t June supposed to be warm and sunny?” “I am sick of this rain!” Who would’ve known that my punishment for being a whiner was just around the corner…

Super hot and muggy yesterday, after getting back from this session, I immediately noticed that our house was awefully hot. I could hear the AC running but when I put my hand up to the vent it was not cool at all. Oh boy. In the summer between 3 and 7 pm our house, which is shaded the rest of the day, gets baked by the sun. So to have the no AC during these baking hours it torture- we got all the way up to 84 degrees in our house last night. My skin was so sticky it felt like it was covered in syrup. And I quickly realized how ridiculous I have been for complaining about the weather all the time when I have luxuries like AC and heat(in the winter) to give me relief. I was humbled a little bit.

Fortunately today our blessed AC has been fixed and I am now comfortable again, but I have a renewed determination to stop complaining about the weather. I know this summer is going to be hot and humid and uncomfortable, but I am going to try very hard NOT to complain. I am sure this one day without AC is not going to completely cure me of my lifetime habit, but hopefully I will be a little better.

Now, enjoy the sneak peek of this thick haired, pouty lipped little beauty! I am off to sit by my cold vents and sing more praises…

QUICK FYI: I will be out of town for a little VACA. this Thurs-Sunday and will answer all emails and phone calls when I get back.

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Baby Art

June 5, 2009 – 4:08 pm

This post is loooong overdue- these were actually taken about three weeks ago for some of our good friends(who many of you know!) who just had their second baby girl. But this was such a fun session for me! I had really been wanting to try a few new artistic newborn poses inspired by the wonderful Anne Geddes (my idol!), but I didn’t want to experiment with my clients since I had no idea what I was doing and I generally try to avoid looking incompetent in front of them:P So it was nice to have a chance to practice on a friend! I am always a little nervous to try daring poses with newborns- even though I know they are generally not bothered by bending and folding (for heavens sake they live in a confined womb for 9 months!) sometimes I feel a bit criminal for constantly bending and prodding them. Especially when they cry. But this young and tiny lady was the ultimate champion of bendability and sleepiness. Seriously, she deserves a 1st prize ribbon! She was A-MAZING! I have never been able to bend a newborn completely in half in a daddy’s arms (though I have tried many times!) And while I would think that dangling from a cheese cloth would be very uncomfortable, she seemed as content as could be. I think it was partly because she was so small and a little bit early (small and early = VERY SLEEPY!) But I had so much fun photographing her.

My favorite- look at those chubby cheeks!

And who can resist a baby in Daddy’s hands? Love the little fingers poking out-

These next shots were taken in my backyard (which to the eye is very unmanicured and wild looking, but looks great in photographs!) with my 70-2002.8 lens at about 135-200mm. Words can not express how I LOVE this lens- yummy color and clarity and that background blur is DIVINE!

And big Sis- another photogenic little girl! So sweet!

Congrats again, you guys and thanks for being my guinea pigs(and for being so patient!) Enjoy the peek!

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Breezy

June 1, 2009 – 12:10 pm

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous for this session. The thought of a six year old, a three year old and a newborn all in one shoot made my feet a little cold. I am a worrier by nature- I usually get a little nervous before all of my sessions- but I think the reason for the extra nerves this time was because I have two kids of my own that are close to the ages of these older two, and the thought of adding a third to my own mix is somewhat terrifying to me. I feel like I have finally figured out how to juggle two- but throw in a third and I am certain I would drop every single ball. I know that photographing three kids and parenting three kids are not even remotely the same thing, but I have been thinking a lot about adding number 3 to my family lately so I think I transferred this fear over to my job. (I know there is a psychology term for that and I cannot think of it- and it’s driving me crazy!) Anyways, I am rambling. So I was nervous for this session, but when I got there and met these three I knew my fear was totally unnecessary. They all loved the camera and were very quick to warm up to me. Big brother and sister were such great little helpers and they were so sweet with their baby brother!

And just look at baby brother- isn’t he an angel? He had the longest eyelashes I have ever seen on a newborn- so adorable! And he was so small and sleepy- I could’ve photographed him all day!

Enjoy the peek! And be sure to check back on Wednesday for another ADORABLE baby(sorry it has taken me so long, Nate and Hill!) Now I am off to Google psychology terms…

I found my psychology term: Displacement. Wohoo!

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Going Green

May 26, 2009 – 11:01 pm

It is pretty late and I am very tired so I will try to keep this post short for fear that my sentences may start slurring and making very little sense. But I just wanted to get this sneak peek up for this sweet familly I photographed last weekend. You may recognize these two as the boys-on-the-bike-in-the-field shot that I posted here on the blog last year (still among one of my favorite shots of all time.) So you already know that these two are pretty photogenic- and let me tell you, they did a great job once again. Look at all those genuine smiles! Genuine smiles are pretty hard to come by- especially for older kids. But what can I say- I am just a fun person to be around:) No, actually Mr. C, the oldest, was pretty uninterested when we started our session. He spent the first 30 minutes avoiding me like the plague. I started to get a bit nervous, but then I thought to myself: “What would Jace do?” You see, Jace is my son who happens to be the same age as Mr. C so I have daily practice in dealing with a 5 year old boy, and fortunately I had a few well practiced tricks up my sleve. So I pulled out the old “let’s make everything we do into a game” trick. This tactic has been working for years with my son and as predicted, Mr. C ate it up too! As soon as I changed my dialogue from “Let’s go take pictures in the garden” to “Let’s see if we can find the hidden gate to the secret garden”, he really got into it. And our session was all about secred gates and gardens and castles and passageways from that point on!

This first shot I fell in love with- and is the reason for the post title since you were probably wondering after reading the previous paragraph that had nothing to do with the color green or the environment. But just look at all that green- his shirt, his eyes, the grass- LOVE it! And green is really in right now:)

Enjoy the peek! More coming up soon!

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Happy(belated) Mother’s Day!

May 11, 2009 – 2:37 pm

I should have posted this yesterday, but I decided instead to celebrate my own Mother’s day by being lazy and spending an afternoon reading Persuasion, taking a nice long nap and asking my husband to fetch me cookies and water. I hope all you mother’s out there had a wonderful day! And I hope that you took advantage of the holiday by enjoying some lazy time as well.

I really thought my husband was going to forget about Mother’s day this year because he hadn’t said a single word about it to me, and usually I pick up on some clues the week before that tell me he is up to something or at least that he knows there is a very important day coming up. Am I the only woman that wonder’s when her significant other will forget a major day, like a birthday or anniversary or Mother’s day? Is that horrible of me? Anyways, I was kind of bracing myself for a forgotten Mother’s day and thinking of all the ways I would make him make it up to me, like making him cook dinner and do dishes all week long. But all my scheming was in vain. Apparently the boys had a secret planning meeting the night before about how and when to bring me my gifts because at 6:00 on the button my son (who is obsessed with his alarm clock and somewhat of an insomniac) came in to say Happy Mothers Day, bearing gifts and cards. It was so sweet! So I am sorry I doubted you, honey!

And Mother’s day is a perfect time for a newborn sneak peek! Isn’t she beautiful? I had so much fun with her and her big brother and sister (who are twins!). Although big bro and sis were not too interested in taking photos with their new baby sister (what two year old wants to sit still next to a basket? How lame!), we were able to sneak a few cute ones with them in the frame. It’s a mother’s day MIRACLE!!!!

Enjoy the peek!

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Spring Special

May 8, 2009 – 8:56 pm

With Mother’s day and Father’s day just around the corner, I am running a little Spring Special! For every $500 you spend with Mandy Carroll Photography, you will receive a complimentary 5X7 accordion album. This beautiful leather hand-crafted album will be filled with your choice of 8 4×6 images. A perfect gift for grandparents, spouses, or yourself:) Offer valid through June 30, 2009, so get those print orders in!

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Sweetness

May 7, 2009 – 10:37 am

This spring has been the season of newborns, which has been so fun for me! Seeing all these new babies has made me a little tempted for a new baby of my own. That is until I come home to my two boys fighting over a Hot Wheel or contesting who can blow their recorder the loudest (man, I hate those things!). Then I am not so sure:) Sometimes I wish our kids could keep that newborn baby sweetness forever. Don’t get me wrong- I love my boys and they are so much fun at their older ages! But I miss those tiny newborn features, the cuddling and that wonderful baby smell.

But sweet Mr. I. gave me a nice little newborn fix- he was such a chill little guy! He spent a good part of his session awake, but he was as content as could be. He didn’t even mind my constant poking and prodding and folding of his arms and legs. He was just happy to take it all in. I love the eye contact he gave me too:) And his big brother (who you may recognize as the thumb sucker from the top of my blog:)) was such a trooper. Does anyone know how hard it is to get a shot of a sleeping newborn and a busy 2 year old together INDOORS on a cold dark day? Well, let me tell you, it is no easy task but big brother handled it very well. With every request to give his new baby brother a kiss he was happy to oblige (I just had to be sure my trigger finger was ready because those kisses were FAST!) I was a little worried with the dark lighting that it would be hard to get a good shot of Mr. J’s beautiful blue eyes, but we got some great ones. Aren’t his eyes beautiful?

Enjoy the peek! And a quick FYI, I will be posting a Spring Special on the blog tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

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In Bloom

April 14, 2009 – 10:49 am

My shoot last weekend was with a sweet family from the D.C. area. Since mom was in Charlottesville for the weekend and she loved flowers, we both decided that UVA would be the best place for photographs. Well I have photographed many children at UVA before and while it is always beautiful there, I have never quite hit it at it’s spring peak. Until this session- we could not have picked a more perfect weekend for flowers! It seemed that absolutely everything was in bloom- it was really breathtaking! And Miss E. was such a joy to photograph! It took her a few minutes to warm up to me, but luckily I have a 5 year old myself and I had some tricks up my sleeve to get her undivided attention:) Just look at her sweet smile in the second shot- isn’t she beautiful? It was a little chilly at our session, but Miss E. was such a trooper, even in her little sun dresses. Luckily she had her mom on hand to help warm her up- and the promise of hot chocolate after her session- I am sure that helped:)

Enjoy the peek!