Archive for the ‘Pregnancy’ Category

You must remember my beautiful customers from Hämeenlinna. They must have been really satisfied with their images, because they booked me for another shoot. ;) This time the whole extended family was going to be in the spot light. Everyone, Janne and his sister with family and their parents. We photographed near Lohja at their parents’s house and it was a fantastic spot, right in the middle of nowhere. Despite many warnings I didn’t get lost. And I don’t use GPS! Just old fashioned map. I found Lohja. Then the smaller town. Then the road. The the mail box with number 79. The only problem appeared when I drove into the yard. There was a lady, smoking, clearly confused with having a photographer driving up to her front door.

“Are you Janne’s mother?” I asked.

“Yes, yes, that’s me,” came the answer.

“Do you know I am going to photograph you today?”

long confused look

Me: “Janne is joining us soon, right?

I could feel her confusion growing. So she called her husband. I asked again if they were Janne’s parents. Yes, yes… without a doubt.

“Janne Mycustomer’s parents?”

And then the light shone and we discovered that no, not Janne’s Mycustomer but Janne’s Somethingelse indeed. Mycustomers live just up the road. They have their mailbox here, but that’s all …

Luckily I had enough time. Mycustomers were waiting for me. We visited a nearby swamp that had a very particular, very subtle smell. It was really dangerous in certain spots and Janne’s father of course had to go right there to pick up some rare plant for Janne’s mother. We were happy when he got back, safe and sound. The we took off the rubber boots and took some images around their garden. At the little pond, at savusauna, in a small apple tree orchard… We had much fun and then Janne and his family arrived and we had more fun and then we got tired and the light was gone and there was excellent pizza and then I had to say good-bye, but got a bag full of fresh lettuce pressed in my hands before I was able to disappear in my car. I didn’t object and made a delicious salad later.

These are just few. A quick sneak peek. The problem with you guys is that there are just too many good ones. I can’t choose!


Cheers to all Jannes and their mothers … I am curious, how many Jannes do you know? And is that the most common Finnish male name? Because it sure does look like it!

A gigantic photography event. A huge auditorium. A delicate man. A vision. Jesh de Rox and his Experiential Photography.

I am a member of a few photography forums, dedicated to portrait photography and children portraiture. Jesh’s lecture has been discussed there more than once and people raved about it. I am the type who doesn’t go to see a movie if everyone raves about it. I am the type who doesn’t believe in mass happiness. (Yet I am a potterologist and avatarlogist. Go figure!) I missed the lecture anyway. One evening, after having a rather difficult day with my little angels (sometimes it happens even in the best of families), I was editing photos and thought to myself that I will give it a try. I listened to the recording of the lecture and it

CHANGED. MY. LIFE.

My life as a photographer. My life as a person. As a human being.

I knew instantly that I wanted to become a part of this movement. BELOVED movement. And one day a package arrived. The BELOVED field guide. Which changed my life still more. Ok, I know you want to know now what this photography voodoo is about. :) Bear with me a little longer.

Imagine that you decide to have your photos taken. Any given occasion will do. You got engaged. Married. Secretly married. Your wife is pregnant. You have a newborn baby. You have a family. You celebrate your wedding’s 50th anniversary. Any occasion will do. Even one as simple as: “it’s a beautiful day”. So what is it that you want to have captured?

Poses.

OR

Feelings. Laughter. Deep gazes into each other’s eyes. Hugs. And … do we dare … kisses.

I bet it’s the second one. And it damn well should be! BELOVED photography will empower just that. Through a number of small tasks (for a lack of a better word), you will experience real feelings in front of the camera. You will BE LOVED. And if you let me, I will capture the feelings in a timeless manner. Resulting in a true celebration of your relationship.

Oh common. Say it out loud! This is unheard of in Finland. This will never work with the Finnish nature. Finnish culture. Finnish personalities.

Really? Try me! Book your Beloved session now. (It’s also a perfect gift.)

Oh and not that it’s the most important thing. But I am officially qualified for the Experiential Photography. You can also find me listed as a photographer of the Beloved movement. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Your Beloved photographer,  Niki

PSHHH: The first three Beloved sessions will receive a special gift from me. :)

I needed to do something for myself. With the never-ending winter and my mood prone to copy the thermometer I needed to prove to myself that I still am alive. All I needed was a great model, a great location and my trusty Nikon.

A great model… I have never hired a professional, because I like to work with ordinary people and every person brings something different to the shoot. I greatly respect professional models, it’s just that I prefer to find the model in every person I meet :) Some people like to be in front of the camera, some don’t, and that constitutes a challenge for me – to take, under any circumstances, photos that I am proud of. And so I asked my husband’s colleague, who has a due date with her first baby in three weeks. She is smart, sexy and stunning. And she warned me: “If you are not afraid to take photos of me, I think I can stand somewhere for a while.” Poor dear didn’t know what she was signing up for. ;)

A great location … That was easy peasy. I have been eyeing this one place in the woods every time we went to visit our god-son. And I was dying for the weather to get a bit better, because frankly, who fancies to stand knee-deep (or deeper) in a cold water when the outside temperature barely reaches 5 degrees Celsius. Luckily Mother Nature took pity on me and that very evening it got warmer (and stayed that way! YAY!). And although we photographed on several locations, the pond was my favorite.

So I threw my trusty Nikon into the bag and off we went. I promised myself that this time I will push myself out of the box, I will try something new. I am not sure I succeeded 100%, but I like the outcome. Yep, blowing my own trumpets and not blushing a bit :) And so we walked in rubber boots in high waters and got our boots stuck in the mud at the bottom of the swamp and we struggled and my pregnant model was such a trooper to go through all that. But it was a beautiful spot with all the tranquility you could ever wish for and it happened. We clicked and the camera clicked and I hope you will enjoy the result. I paid for it standing up to my bottom in cold water, my rubber boots useless and full. :)

We kept postponing this maternity session until the last minute, truly. Once the older siblings were sick, another time there was a quick trip scheduled in the last minute. But we managed, was it 5 days before the baby was born? :) Already now this lovely and beautiful mamma treasures a little boy in her arms. After two girls, I wonder whether the feelings are any different. Perhaps not. Perhaps it’s like she said on the phone: “Every baby is the most beautiful baby in the world for its mum. Sorry for going on and on about how perfect he is.”

No need to be sorry! If he is half as perfect as your belly was while cradling him inside, he truly is the most precious little boy. :) I can’t wait to photograph him next week. Hope you will enjoy your sneak peek!

Have I been blessed lately – I again had a fantastic opportunity to photograph and document pregnancy of one BEAUTIFUL lady.  It was a grey and cold Sunday morning, but luckily not windy, because she lives so close to sea it would be unbearable to photograph outdoors if it was windy. And she was so natural, posing beautifully and glamorously and creating the missing wind indoors when waving her meter-long eyelashes… Ok, I admit, I am in love with my client :) I can’t wait to go back and photograph the newborn baby.

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I rarely use these words, but this young lady is absolutely stunning. She falls into her own category – breathtaking in reality, breathtaking on any media. And on top of her physical beauty, she has the nicest and sweetest personality. I am so happy that she is a family :) My cousin was too lucky to marry a woman like that. You would never guess it’s her second pregnancy and five months along already.

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I had the greatest pleasure to photograph this beautiful mamma and her family. In spite of the indisposition of both parents (both have leg pain – one from the 38th week and the other from a Harley Davidson gently falling on his knee), the whole family was great and going for any idea I had … and showering me with many of their own. It’s very difficult to decide, which images to include in your sneak peek. There are so many great ones. Thank you for the opportunity to document such an important moment of your life. It was fun and we must do it again when the little one is born. Hold it for after my holidays, lady! :)

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And this, darling, is an “o”…

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