Best Faces - I Heart Faces

The photo theme at I Heart Faces this week is best faces for May. I usually enter pictures of my daughter, but this month it was a picture of a friend's daughter that really caught my interest.

I was shooting her in a field of daisies when she turned to me with this look:

She is only three years old, and we had such a fun shoot! I just love the dramatic look I was able to achieve in post processing. I hope you enjoy it as well.

There are more best faces at I Heart Faces:

The "B" Family {Omaha Family}

Adorable attitudes. That's how I would describe the brother and sister in this family. They were so much fun to work with, and the little girl was up for just about anything! She even let me carry her through waist-high weeds to reach a patch of daisies. Mom is a former co-worker of mine, and if you live in Nebraska, you probably recognize her. I had a fun afternoon with the "B" family, and I hope they had just as much fun too.

Get ready for photo overload because this is one photogenic family!!

The "W" Brothers {Omaha Children}

Talk about laughter! These two brothers had me in stitches for this entire shoot! What a great way to break myself in with my very first "official" photo session. I had so much fun, and I hope the "W" family enjoys these photos as much as I enjoyed shooting them.



The youngest brother not only kept me very entertained...

... he was also excited to show off this trick:


The boys even convinced mom to jump in for a few shots.

Thank you "W" family. I had a blast!

Five Favorites Friday

I am always looking for inspirations to keep my creative vibe going - whether it's a photographer's blog, a cute prop, a neat lighting technique or just an adorable outfit for a little one. So I thought, hey, why not share some of the things I find each week right here?

So each Friday, you'll find five of them. Here we go!

1. Little girl dresses in bright summer colors, like these from Palm Tree Princess. How happy do these colors make you?


2. Pinterest. Have you checked out this site yet? It's really starting to get a buzz going about it. You can "pin" pictures of things you find around the internet to your board, share your boards with others and check out peoples' boards. Talk about a frenzy of inspiration. Love it! You do have to receive an invite to join though, and I'd be happy to help you out. Just comment here or email me at jaimeoterophotography@hotmail.com.

3. Flower headbands! I know some might consider these a "trend" right now, and if so, well I am caught up in it. They are just so sweet and dainty and girlie. Banner Boutique has quite a few right now that I'm eyeing.


4. Jodi Otte Photography. I stumbled across her site through some comments left on someone else's Facebook page. Wow, I don't know if I ever plan to do newborn shoots, but if I do,here you go! Her work is just beautiful. Otte's other photos are amazing as well. And how awesome is her studio?


5. Nikkor 70-200mm VR II lens. You might ask how I can be inspired by a lens I don't even own? Trust me, in so many ways, this lens inspires me. Hopefully it will be doing it on the end of my camera one day!


Maybe one day my creative vibes will inspire someone else. You never know!

First One is in the Books!

It is official! My first non-family member photo shoot is done. I spent a delightful evening with a former co-worker of mine and her two sons. Those boys kept me laughing more than I was taking pictures - so much fun!

I hope to have some pictures of the shoot up soon - off to edit I go...