Donna Chapla – Page 2

25Jun 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Dinosaur Roar

This might have been the most fun session I've ever done! This little guy was slow to warm up to the idea of me taking his picture but his mom suggested he do his dinosaur roar for me. In response, I did my best dinosaur roar for him. I guess I overdid it because he looked a little scared. I toned it down and did my best dinosaur walk complete with my tail (arm) trailing behind me knocking over whatever got in my way. He LOVED it. As soon my dinosaur "tail" almost knocked over daddy, little man was laughing so hard he was almost crying. His huge laugh made me laugh over and over. And the beauty of it was that he never got tired of the dinosaur. It…

21Jun 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Four Cuties

Children, Family

This gorgeous crew of 4 cuties met me out at ND for an afternoon photo shoot. It was hot, school had just gotten out and most of the kids weren't all that excited about photos. Thankfully they all indulged me and gave up a few killer smiles that made for some great pics. Mom and dad have their hands full, 4 young children with activities and the normal stuff that makes a parent of 2 go crazy! They were both so relaxed and calm, I think I learned a thing or two by just watching how they interacted with their children. Each of these 4 kids has a different personality and it only took a few minutes for their individuality to come through. I loved these kids! I had a…

19Jun 2013 by Donna Chapla 2 Comments

United

Uncategorized

I don't normally photograph events, especially not weddings. As a beginner, the thought of messing up someone's once-in-a-lifetime wedding photos is too much for me to handle. But this bride happens so be my cousin and she convinced me I was capable since this was a simple ceremony on the beach with a few friends and family. I was very reluctant (I worried for days about messing up the photos) but looking back I am happy I was able to capture some great moments from her wedding day and the experience was invaluable. The beach was beautiful but the cold winds that day were not, we were freezing! To the point that the bride and groom didn't even want to take any photos after the quick ceremony. But because of…

13Jun 2013 by Donna Chapla 3 Comments

Party of 5

Babies, Children

This gorgeous baby made his entrance a few weeks early to complete his family of 5. As always happens when I photograph babies, he decided he wasn't interested in photos. We had a rough hour of fussiness and crying but after a second feeding and a warm cocoon, he was out and didn't care how many pictures I snapped. Also as usual, I didn't want to put the baby down. I can never seem to get enough of the newborns, I'm fascinated with how their tiny bodies still prefer to be tightly compacted as they were in the womb. Newborns are simply amazing. I loved this little guy! Although his mom was super tired (she now has 3 children after all) she smiled the whole time she held him, and…

10May 2013 by Donna Chapla 1 Comment

Play | Photo Challenge

Children, Photo Challenge

We should have been doing homework but sometimes the weather is just too nice to worry about fractions and adjectives. We dug out the swim suits and the sprinkler, found the hose that had been put away months ago, and jumped and splashed until the yard had inches of standing water. Then we turned off the water and jumped in the yard puddles. What a fun afternoon, I will cherish this memory for many years. This is my entry for the I Heart Faces Photo Challenge, this month's theme is "Play." Click the link below to see the other great entries.

29Apr 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Spring has Sprung

Children, Family

I had a great day at Notre Dame with this beautiful family. The weather was FINALLY nice and we had a great time walking around campus and taking in the budding trees, flowers and wildlife. The start of our session was focused around one lonely duck in the reflection pool in front of Touch Down Jesus. This 2 year old little guy was completely fixated on the mallard taking a swim and he was determined to get the duck to swim to him, it was really cute. This family was really fun and all three kids made me smile with their unique personalities. The ND sweater on the little guy actually belonged to his daddy and is over 30 years old! So happy we were able to photograph him at ND wearing…

03Apr 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Max

Uncategorized

My daughter was with family today so my little Max suggested that we take some photos. What?! This kid does everything he can to avoid photos! Of course I grabbed the camera in seconds. His only conditions were that he got to wear his Nike sweatshirt and that we take the photos on the part of our property that he loves. Naturally there is no shade, no color... not much of anything this time of year, but we made it work. His patience lasted about 15 minutes and I'm happy with these adorable photos that I got of my handsome young man.

02Mar 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Save the Date

Uncategorized

This couple called me looking simply for a photo for their save the date card. I think we ended up with several photos from which to choose. I was thinking about their session the night before we met and wanted to do something to incorporate the date into the photos. I pulled out some scrap fabric, some twine from the garage and an hour later I had this fun pennant banner. I didn't want them to feel obligated to use it but I will say I think it looks cute. They are a wonderful couple and I had a great time with them. The funny thing is that they warned be ahead of time that they "aren't photogenic." Seriously?! I think they're both gorgeous and they look great in photos! They picked…

17Feb 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Adorable

Children, Family

Isn't this family adorable?! I loved their perfectly coordinated outfits! The planning mom put into their clothing really shows and made the photos that much better. Of course, the cute kids didn't hurt either. The kids were so much fun, they were laughing and running around with smiles on their faces the whole time. Little Miss was happy to pose and grin for the camera and then quick to run off and climb a tree. The perfect mix of girly and tomboy. Nothing cuter than a beautiful little girl with a smudge of dirt on her face and a tear in her dress, I'd be willing to bet that's the state her mom finds her in most days. Little Man gave me the best smiles, he seems like such a…

11Feb 2013 by Donna Chapla No Comments

Home for the Holidays

Uncategorized

This was the most fun family! We took the photos two days before Christmas when the family was in town for a very limited amount of time. One family was here from out west and another son was here from Germany. They hadn't been all together for quite some time and you could truly tell how happy they were to be together again. They all smiled, laughed and joked around the whole time, clearly a family who likes to have fun and spend time with each other. I felt very honored to take their photos, especially since I know it will be some time before they are all together again. The kids each had their own personalities and I enjoyed my time with them. At one point we ditched the adults and…