Here are some more from the Fall Mini Sessions. It was such a fun day. I’m excited about the spring mini sessions. I need it to rain so the wildflowers will be just as spectacular as last year.



















Welcome! I’m Julie, and I have the best job on the planet. I love my clients, and I can’t help but share pretty pictures from my sessions with them. I’m also fairly obsessed with photographing my own 4 little ones, and my wonderful husband so you will most likely see them on here too.
Be sure to check out the categories above to find exactly what you’re interested in, and click on “expand” to see the entire post. After that cruise on over to the contact section to let me know what you think or schedule a session. I can’t wait to hear from you.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Here are some more from the Fall Mini Sessions. It was such a fun day. I’m excited about the spring mini sessions. I need it to rain so the wildflowers will be just as spectacular as last year.



















Here are a few photos from my Fall mini sessions. Yes, I’m way behind in posting sessions on my blog, but I didn’t want to skip these ones. They make me happy.
Keep checking back if you’re interested in my spring mini sessions coming in a couple of months.

















Thank you everyone who commented and helped me choose. It looks like daddy’s and their children really pull on the heartstrings.
I’ll be mailing a 16×20″ enlargement of this image very soon:

I’ll be mailing a 11×14″ of this image:

I’ll be sending out an 8×10 of this one:

I used to post monthly photos of this little guy. That was back when he pretty much stayed in one spot and wasn’t much too busy for the likes of me and my camera. That was also back in the days when he didn’t ignore me when I screamed his name only 2 feet away from his ears. He’s at that difficult age in more ways than one. He is 2 and a half now, and here I am just getting around to posting the 2 year old photos I took of him on his birthday.
He’s a little spit fire this kid. I have to watch him closely all the time because he can get into trouble in the blink of an eye. He climbs to get anything he wants no matter how dangerous. I think I say, “You’re going to crack your head!” at least a dozen times a day. Then there are his tantrums. I’ve already said that if throwing tantrums was an Olympic sport he would be a gold medalist. His competitors would not have a chance. When he isn’t climbing or screaming he’s saying something that cracks us all up. He loves being the center of attention in our family of 6. He truly does believe the world revolves around him. As is typical of most youngest children he’s spoiled, but we can’t help it.
When I’m upset he says in his high pitched little 2 year old voice, “Don worwy mommy. Evry ting gonna be OK.” He grabs my face with his 2 hands on each side of my face and gives me a kiss. When I tell him I love him he answers back with an “I wuv you more.” Of course I tell him I love him more, and his response is, “I wuv you mostest mostest mostest mostest!” That, my fellow readers is why I signed up for motherhood. It’s payment for all the poopy diapers, long sleepless nights, and the countless other tortures we endure for our little ones.
Here are a few tips for photographing your toddler:
1. First and foremost do not ever try to force them to smile for the camera. The results are never what you’re looking for. That scared forced smile is not the smile that makes your heart melt in everyday life. You’ll always look at the photo and remember it was forced.

2. Try to set up a situation where they get to do something they want to do. This makes them happy, and their facial expressions will be pleasant and what you are used to seeing in real life. In this situation Noah was exploring a trail and looking for bugs and leaves. He was happy as a clam. You might even want to try to let them do something they don’t usually get to do, like jumping on the bed or sitting on the table.

3. Try to get eye contact in a natural way. Don’t yell at your child and say, “Look at me and smile!” or “Say cheese!” Talk to him. Ask him questions. Sing him his favorite song. Tell him a joke. Do a dance. Make a funny noise. Try everything you can to get their attention.

4. Get down on their level. 2 year olds are much shorter than you are. Bend down and meet them eye to eye. Get up close, and remember to capture the details you love most of all about your child. Maybe it’s his chubby little hands, or funny little walk, or their long eye lashes.

5. Use a chair or a basket or something to get him to stay in one spot for longer than a few seconds. The blue chair came with us to the field for this very reason. You’ll notice every picture with him on it he is getting off of it. Sometimes it doesn’t work. If I had a big basket to put him in it would have taken longer for him to get out. I could have made a game out of it too to keep him their longer. For example, challenge him to sit still until you count to 5.

6. Don’t shy away from the photos where he/she doesn’t have a big smile. The above left photo reminds me of how Noah looks at me all day long when I’m telling him something. That’s the expression I see most. I don’t want to forget it.

7. Pull back and capture their environment. Don’t be afraid to have some of their favorite toys in the background. If you’re at home don’t clean up for every photo. It is fun to look back at old photographs and see the toys you played with at the time.

8. Toddlers are unpredictable. You never know what will make them laugh. Relax and have fun with them. Enjoy the little person that they are. Embrace their goofy side. Try to capture them being who they are, not just a smile for the camera.

9. Bribery does not work at this age. They have no concept of doing something now for a treat later. They hear about a treat and they want it NOW. Maybe some of you have more advanced children than I do (especially the girls), but my 2 year old does not understand delayed gratification.

10. MOVE! You will have to get up, move in front of, behind, to the side, and everywhere you can to get the photos of your toddler. They have a never ending supply of energy, and they will not sit still for longer than a second or two. This is normal.

2011 was a great year for Julie Campbell Photography. I met so many new people, and saw familiar faces from past years. In the past week or so I went through all of my sessions from 2011. I pulled out my favorites to update my website with. I thought about each and every client, the funny things that happened at their session, the changes in their lives, the reasons they wanted portraits this year, and how honored I feel to be a small part of their lives.
I wish I could give them all large gifts of my gratitude, but it’s just not possible. I see these photos and think how nice it would be to gift at least one or two of them with an enlargement. So here’s my idea. I want YOU to vote and let me know which one you think I should give to one of my clients. Which one is your favorite? It doesn’t matter why it’s your favorite. It could be you like the facial expressions, mood of the photo, the lighting, or the choice of clothing.
You can vote by commenting on this post only between now and January 31st at 8:00 pm Pacific Time. Be sure to mention the photo number above your choice in your comment. Please do NOT vote more than once. IP addresses will be tracked, so please keep the voting clean.
PRIZES
1. The photo with the most votes will be gifted to the client as a 16×20″ enlargement mounted on styrene and ready for framing.
2. The photo with the second highest number of votes will be gifted as an 11×14″ enlargement mounted on styrene.
3. The photo with the 3rd highest votes will be gifted as an 8×10″ gift print.
Thank you for helping me decide and get voting!
#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

#25

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

#39

#40

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45

#46

#47

#48

#49

#50

#51

#52

#53

#54

#55

#56

#57

#58

#59

#60

#61

#62

#63

#64

Way back in October I met with Brittney and her family for a maternity session. The three of them were so sweet and cuddly just like I love my clients to be. Their beautiful smiles and the gorgeous light fills me with happiness. Stay tuned for little Abigail’s newborn photos. She is gorgeous!














I’m the mom of 4 kids. Our house is only quiet when they are all asleep. They never stop moving, running, jumping, talking, yelling, screaming or making messes. I decided our Christmas card should show what they are really like this year. We not only let them have pillow fights, mess up the bed, and jump on the bed we told them they had to. Our daughter broke her arm the day before (evidence of our crazy life) so we were careful around her, but otherwise it was a free-for-all. Here they are just being themselves — loud, crazy, goofy, and perfectly imperfect. I love them to pieces.
I truly do hope your Christmas and Hanukkah are the best ever. Try to take a break from all the craziness to play and have fun with your loved ones. It’s worth it!














It’s no secret I LOVE Christmas cards. Usually getting the mail just means getting unwanted bills and unwanted advertisements. It’s no fun at all, but come December I’m excited to go see the beautiful cards that arrive every day. I love seeing all those photos people have taken great care to get printed and mailed out. They make me happy. I used to tape them to my back door, but I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. Everyone who comes over notices it right away and stops to look at each card.
I like being able to easily display the cards with clothespins, but now I am out of room to add the new ones and my branches are definitely heavily weighed down. I need sturdier branches next time. I also just have to add getting Christmas cards from my clients makes me SO happy. It is so fun to see how you use the images from your sessions.

I saw this idea on Pinterest as well. I love looking back at old Christmas cards. I keep the photo cards for this very reason. This year I punched holes in all my old cards and put these rings through them and now they are a nice little book for us to look back at our loved ones through the years. It took me only about 10 minutes to make, and it will be so easy to add to each year, or make a new one.

Little Henry makes me happy. Isn’t he adorable? I will never tire of looking at those wise eyes staring back at me. I often wonder what little babies are thinking about. I imagine them to be so much wiser than we give them credit for. They are truly a blessing.


The little details are always my favorite thing to capture in a newborn session. The squishy lips change so quickly.

Henry was so lucky to be born into such a loving family. They are wonderful! You probably recognize them from this maternity session.

We can’t forget the ones who were there before baby.


I should have shared this long before now that it’s so close to Christmas. Henry was a Halloween baby.


Those gorgeous eyes again…




Big sister came in for a quick kiss.

I LOVE that little Henry smiled for his family picture. Congratulations! I your first Christmas all together is marvelous.

Every year we HAVE to go cut down a live tree for our Christmas tree. The kids demand it. Last year I was so busy with photo sessions I suggested we just pick one up at Costco. Their reaction was quick and violent, and completely unexpected. They cried, screamed, and acted as if I was taking away their favorite toy. They insisted our tradition of cutting down our tree cannot be changed… for any reason. I’m pretty sure that if I had gone ahead with my Costco tree idea they would have required therapy, and I would be blamed for destroying their childhood.
This year when the subject of a Christmas tree came up they started out by letting me know that we are NOT getting a tree at Costco, Home Depot, or anywhere else but the tree farm. We made our trek out to the tree lot in the only 2 hour block of free time on a busy Saturday. It was incredibly windy and cold, but the kids were in heaven running around searching for the perfect tree. The tradition lives on one more year, and probably until the youngest moves out.







