A Rare View From the Other Side

I see the world through the lens of my camera, even when it is not in my hands. As I walk through life, I see things not as how they are but how they would look through my view finder. In my mind, I instantly convert the world into a series of photographs. I simply belong behind a camera.

The more comfortable I become looking at the world from behind my camera lens, the less likely I become to step out in front of it. It's not that I don't like being photographed, its just that I much prefer the view from behind the camera.

Over the weekend, Kevin and I were out with some friends. I wanted to take some photos while we were out, so I brought along my camera. The following photo is a completely candid shot, captured by my husband. I had no idea that he was taking it, or I'm quite certain I would have protested.

I thought perhaps it would be a nice change of pace if I showed my face on {the blog}, so here I am!...

I was torn between the image in color or black & white, so I posted both with the hope that my readers could help me decide. So, which do you like better? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Need a Laugh?

Last night after shooting the second part of a photo session, I took a handful of quick photos of my husband, Kevin, and our dogs, Zoe and Lexi.

When you photograph dogs, you never know what you are going to get!  This afternoon during a quick peek at the images, I found these two silly photos.  Both of them made me laugh out loud, and I decided I'd toss up a quick blog post to share the fun with my readers.

I hope Zoe & Lexi's silly faces bring a smile to yours on this fine Monday afternoon!

Zoe, licking her lips in anticipation of the treat that she knows is coming her way for being good...

Lexi, cheesing it up for the camera.  To me she looks like she's smiling with her eyes closed...

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Veronica + Marc + Baelie + Ethan's Sneak Peek

Back at the tail end of winter I held a contest, and Veronica was the winner. We've been trying for the past month and a half to make her photo session a reality, but we kept getting rained out. I lost count of how many times we had to reschedule due to inclement weather, but this session certainly holds the record!

We finally managed to sneak her session in between the rain clouds early Sunday morning. Veronica told me that she was a big fan of nature backgrounds and that was what she wanted for her photo session.  She let me talk her into shooting on the IPFW campus, and I was so thrilled that she did! That place is full of awesome places to shoot photos, and on a Sunday morning we had the entire campus to ourselves.  We got some fun shots, and I didn't even scratch the surface of all the wonderful places to shoot!

We started out doing a handful of photos of the entire family and then some of the boys by themselves.  This little cutie is Ethan.  He did so well at posing for his photos.  I told him maybe he'd have a future as a model some day, but he didn't seem too interested.  Instead he was quick to tell me all about how much he loves math.  A kid who loves math!  Now there's a kid after my own heart, indeed!...

Next up was Baelie, who also told me that he is a fan of math just like his brother.  Baelie didn't want to give us a good natural smile during parts of the photo session, so we kept having to threaten to do all sorts of silly things to make him laugh!...

You can't have a photo session involving two boys without some silliness involved, now can you?...

I told the boys to turn around and look at mom and dad kissing, and I didn't even get an "Ewww. Gross!!" out of them. They must have been on their best behavior for the photo session! :) ...

Meet Marc and Veronica, the proud parents...

Isn't that just the sweetest photo of the two of them? Usually my favorite photo from each session is one that most people would consider "artsy" or "creative" but not this time. The second I saw this sweet photo of this couple, it went soaring to the top of my fav list for the session.

This is another photo from the session that I really like! By this point, everyone was getting a little tired and worn out from posing for so long but the boys did so great.  They really hung in there and we got a few really good photos even as we were nearing the end...

Marc had to head off to work, so Veronica and the boys and I headed across campus to take a few fun photos at the top of one of the parking garages...

OK. OK. Here is my artsy-fartsy fav from the session...

(There had to be at least one, right?)

Thank you for letting me take your family's photos, Veronica. It was a pleasure FINALLY meeting you in person and spending my Sunday morning with your family. I hope you enjoy your pictures!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Brittany's Sneak Peek

After getting rained out on Saturday evening, Brittany and her Aunt Lisa braved the 90+ degree heat today for Brittany's photo session.

Brittany is a very sweet 10 1/2 year old child, who was a joy to photograph. Brittany thought it was funny to try to hide her face from me as I was trying to take her photos. She kept Lisa and I on our toes trying to get her to look at the camera!

Brittany is defying all of her doctors and staying strong and healthy past their expectations.  Go Britt!!  In celebration, Lisa arranged a photo session.  Completely awesome, right?!

It was so obvious how much Lisa just adores Brittany....

Um... Hello gorgeous blue eyes!!!...

We meet at a local park that is handicap accessible, and Brittany was able to swing a little while we were there. She was a little too tall for the swings so she couldn't go too high without her feet hitting, but she seemed to have fun anyway...

Just relaxing in the shade...

Isn't this just the sweetest photo? It just might be my fav...

Thank you, Lisa, for allowing me to photograph Brittany! It was a pleasure meeting both of you and spending the evening taking your photos.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Are We Twins?

I try not to bore my fans and clients with too many personal posts on my blog, but I hope you will humor me for a few moments while I share this one!

McKenna (who I photographed just recently, look below to see more photos of her) is the daughter of my good friend Tammy.  I first met McKenna when she was about 2 1/2, and I've always thought that she could pass for my child. As I've watched her grow up over the years, I've always seen a resemblance between her and myself at the same age.

Several years ago, I was in Tammy's wedding and so was McKenna.  Apparently several of the wedding guests saw the resemblance as well, because Tammy kept getting questions about why my daughter was in her wedding.

Below is a photo of the three of us.  On the left is Tammy, McKenna is in the middle, and a photo of me at age 12 (a year older than McKenna is now) on the right...

So, what do you think? Could McKenna and I pass for twins?

OK. So, maybe not twins, but definitely sisters!

We have different noses, and I was so skinny as a kid that I couldn't gain weight even if I tried (man do I wish I still had that problem!) so my face is ridiculously thin, but other than that I see a lot of similarities.

BTW, don't you just love my hair and flipped collar in my photo.  Oh yes, the good ole 80s!

PS.  See what happens when I go two weeks without shooting a photo session because they keep getting rained out? I start digging through old photos from decades ago! This weather seriously needs to start co-operating soon.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Can You Tell They Are Sisters??

When I take hundreds of photographs of someone, I can't help but catch their little mannerisms on film. For example, my husband is a blinker. If I take 500 photos of him, it is a given that he will have his eyes closed in at least 100 of them. Some people have little nervous habits that they do like licking their lips, or fussing with their hair. Some people make certain faces or do certain hand gestures over and over again. It's really not a big deal, and everyone has them. However, by the time I've spent several hours photographing someone and then editing their photos, I come to know these faces and mannerisms pretty well.

Last summer, I photographed McKenna's older sister, Jessyka. Jess has a face that she makes over and over again, and I caught it on film a lot while taking her photos. On Sunday when I was taking McKenna's photos she kept making the same face, and I kept telling her to stop making "the Jess face". I only caught McKenna doing it a few times in the photos, but I just couldn't resist putting a photo of the two of them together with their similar faces...

You can't tell that they are related or anything can you?

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

McKenna's Sneak Peek

Allow me to introduce you to McKenna! She is the daughter of one of my good friends, and I have known her since she was 2 1/2. She turned 11 a few days ago (which I CANNOT believe), and in honor of her birthday we just had to have a photo session!

McKenna actually looks a lot like I did as a child, and could easily pass for my daughter. Whenever I see her, it kind of feels like looking into a mirror that reflects the past to me. It's a little odd, and a lot cool all at the same time.

We started out McKenna's photo session near my house so I could take some photos using this building. I've been driving by it for weeks, just dying to use it in some photos and I finally got my chance this evening!...

I had no idea what the building actually used to be, but smarty pants McKenna, told me that it was probably an old guard shack at one time, and I think she's absolutely right.

Gorgeous eyes run in this family, and McKenna didn't get left out. Just look at those baby blues!...

Doesn't McKenna look so grown up in this picture?...

Mom, watch out! You've got a future heart breaker on your hands. The boys are going to be knocking down your door soon (if they aren't all ready)!...

I totally heart both of these two photos, and I just couldn't pick between them so I had to post them both...

Love, Love, LOVE this one...

Isn't she just so pretty?...

Some photos just scream to be in black and white, and this is definitely one of them!...

McKenna was so much fun to photograph! After my weekend of photographing toddlers and dogs it was a lot of fun working with her. Instead of working really hard to get her to smile and have fun for the camera, she was nothing but smiles, giggles, and laughs!...

I actually had a hard time trying to get a serious face from her, but I did manage to get a few, just barely! You can see her about to break out in another huge grin just seconds after this one was taken...

McKenna, thank you for allowing me to take your photographs and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope that you enjoy being 11, and that it is your best year yet.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer currently located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michele will be relocating to Phoenix, Arizona during the summer of 2011. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.