susan hayward photography

Family Photo Session: Mary and Mike

What do you get when you take a mom and a dad, four teenagers, a dog, and a field on a crisp autumn evening? Fun family pictures, of course.

Thanks to the Hatch family for a really good time. You are a beautiful family!

Family Photo Session: Jamey and Nicole

 

Family Photo Session: Craig and Jessica

  

Family Photo Session

Last night I drove up to the local ski resort to shoot some pictures of this lovely family. 

These are the family founders.

And these are two of their children with their families.

 

And here are the grandchildren (so far, anyway!)

 

As the mother of three boys, this woman deserves a picture all to herself. 

Near the end of our session they all made a run for it! 

Newborn Session: Baker Baby

What a cute baby! And what a beautiful mother! 

 

 

 

 A friend came to play too!

Missionary Man: Connor Rawle

Spent a lovely evening photographing this dapper young man. Good luck in New Zealand Connor!

 

Welcome to the Wedding

 

High School Graduate: Madelyne Sudol

Had a lovely time photographing Madelyne Sudol yesterday. What a great model! You have a great future ahead of you, Madelyne. Thanks for a fun marathon photo session!

Battaglia Family Pictures

I had a wonderful time (and a good workout too!) photographing this family last night. We hiked up to this pretty spot, and after the family resuscitated me (not in as good shape as I thought), we took some fun pics.

Engagement Session

Beautiful Boy in Beautiful Light

I know it's Wow I Love Food Wednesday, and this is not food. (Fear not, with any luck I will post a Nutella cookie recipe later today.) But I do love this post subject. He's my second son. When he came home sick the other day from spinning on the tire swing at school, I made him some chicken noodle soup (with a can opener!) and some saltines. When he appeared to be feeling better, I asked him to be my test subject at a studio space I'm thinking of renting. Paul turned off the Sponge Bob video he was watching and said, "Let's go!" It's not often he's actually excited to have his picture taken, so I grabbed my car keys and we took off.

I've been drooling over this studio space near my house for months now. It's actually an unfinished medical office building with big north-facing, full-length windows. The floors are still cement and the walls and high ceiling are nothing more than insulation. It's a shell. No, that's not right. It's the framework for a shell, not like something you'd crack open and say, "Hey, a tasty nut." 

So the walls look like they're lined in foil, which I actually like. The light is calm, if that makes any sense. It's even. It made me cry. Ok, not really, but I did start to get a little teary at how gorgeous my test subject looked in it. Seeing as how this kiddo is mine, I'm a bit biased. But I can't get this idea of using it as a studio out of my mind. You just can't beat great natural light in a big open space with natural reflectors everywhere.  

Girl's Best Friend: Puppy Love

Saturday my niece-in-law Kennedy confronted me with the accusation that I hate dogs. Apparently she had read my posts about my Wonder Cat Sadie in which I extolled the many virtues of felines and the vices of canines. 

While I am a cat woman through and through, there are a few dogs I actually like. This cute Pomeranian named Powder is one of them. Last week she came to get her picture taken wearing a beautiful necklace hand made by her owner Melissa Granato. So Kennedy, this is for you. I do like dogs like Powder who exhibit cat qualities of gentility and intelligence.

Makeover Mama

My friend Annie called while I was making heart pancakes last week. She sounded like she was out of breath. "You can say no if you want to," she said first, which always puts me on guard. I imagined she was going to ask me to do something awful like clean a bathroom. Or make dinner. Or vacuum. Or weed a garden. Or change a tire. Or mop the kitchen floor--or worse--mop the bathroom floors. 

But no. Annie didn't want any of those things. "I just got a makeover!" she said. My guard immediately went down and I loosened my grip on my spatula. I eyed my pancakes, which were turning from a golden yellow to brown. Time to flip. 

"That's cool," I told Annie as I flipped a pancake. The pancake turned with a splat, spilling batter out of the heart cookie cutter I was using. The pancake looked more like a blob than a heart. I resisted the urge to curse.

"So I don't think I'll ever get my makeup like this again, or my hair, and I was wondering if you'd take my picture," Annie bubbled on. I understood. It's like when I used to get my hair done in high school and the stylist could always get my bangs teased way higher than I ever could, even when I used the good Paul Mitchell hairspray. I always wanted to go somewhere to be seen after my appointment. But I never did.

So I took Annie's picture. In about fifteen minutes. As the sun was going down and the wind picked up.  

This is what she looked like. 

Isn't she gorgeous? She had on this swingy skirt that looked highly twirl-able, so we had some fun with that.

AND she accessorized with these:

   

And these cool boots:

   

When she got home, her son didn't notice anything different, even after he was told that she just got this huge head-to-toe makeover. I mean, we're talking about a whole new outfit, completely different hair color and hairstyle, and he didn't notice! 

Contrast this to her daughter, who backed away from her and asked something like, "Who are you?" 

I think we all should get a makeover like this every once in a while. There's nothing like a new outfit and a new do to make you feel like a new woman. Or at least that's what I'm told!

12 Years

Ok, so this is not a client photograph.  It's my kiddo's photograph.  I can't believe he's already twelve.  He looks downright dapper in his new Sunday suit.  The girls will start calling soon, I suppose.  Can't decide which one I'd like on the wall.  What do you think?  I need help!  

 

               

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