Thank You 2012

Wow, it is almost the end of 2012 and we feel so blessed to have been able to meet so many new faces this year and reconnect with a TON of returning clients!  Thank you guys for making 2012 a stellar year!!!  This is just a TINY glimpse of the busy year we have had!  Babies, toddlers, families, engagements, a dog, lots of balloons, and TONS of fun!!!!

There is mass loads of craziness, fun and excitement in store for 2013!  It is going to be an even bigger and better year than before with lots of new stuff!!!!  Can't wait for you guys to join us in our photographic journey!

Thank you 2012!  You guys have been AH-MA-ZING!!!!!

Session Highlight | D Family Photoshoot

Little ones and photoshoots.  As mom and a grandma, ourselves, we KNOW that this can be difficult.  Hoping that your little angels don't suddenly turn into "real kids" when they get in front camera.  Our own kids (grandkids) like to pull those silly shenanigans on us!  Cheesy smiles, hair pulling, craziness!   But moms and dads, take a deep breath, because truly, we got this!  The best part of the photoshoot, is to hear the feedback from those moms and dads.  The ones that tell us that they looked at the photos with tears in their eyes because we captured their children's personality.  The ones that tell us how it wasn't stressful but a really fun experience.  And the kids that want to give us hugs and high fives at the end because we were laughing and playing like good friends! 

We love capturing your kids REAL smiles.  Those genuine looks and twinkles that are reserved for REAL joy and happiness!  The D Family came to us to capture some family photos and we loved capturing photos of their FIVE beautiful kiddos!  Yes, five.  You read that right!  They were a delight to work with and we had such a fun time playing with balloons, making silly faces and trying to stay warm (BRR!)

Enjoy this little peak at their shoot!!! 

Be Who You Are.

My (Nicole's) kiddos like to flash the cheesiest smiles for the camera.  Yeah.  I love that.  But in all honesty, I LOVE this photo and loved my silly boy's toothy grin.  *notice the grass all over his shirt....impromptu photoshoots apparently require lots of rolling in the grass and cheesy smiling....*

Share and WIN* | Facebook Share Contest

Urban Wings is excited to SHARE a fun and EASY contest with you!!!  We want ONE OF YOU to receive a FREE PHOTO SESSION* ($150 value)!  What do you need to do?


1.  LIKE US ON FACEBOOK....if you haven't already!
2.  SHARE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE or ANY of our POSTS on your timeline (THE MORE TIMES YOU SHARE, the MORE TIMES YOU ARE ENTERED TO WIN!)
3.  POST A COMMENT ON OUR URBAN WINGS FACEBOOK PAGE TO LET US KNOW YOU SHARED OUR PAGE!!!!

It's as easy as that.  Sharing = One chance to win!!!!
Share our page by clicking on the "star/gear symbol" in the upper right corner under the banner.  There should be an option on there that says SHARE...

Contest will run from now until February 28th, 2013 at midnight!  We will announce the winner on our blog and facebook page the first week of March!!!!

*the fine print---FREE photo session must be scheduled during the 2013 calendar year.  The photo session is limited to 6 people and one location.  The photo session must take place in Des Moines or the surrounding area.  We are able to accommodate more people or some other locations for a minimal fee. 

Baby J | Des Moines Newborn Photography

This sweet little miss made her big debut only a few short days ago!  She is just PERFECT!  Seriously, she was relaxed and SUCH an easy little peanut to work with!  And LITTLE is for sure.  She is the most delicate and petite little girl!  Congrats J Family to a BEAUTIFUL addition to your family!  More pics from this session coming soon!!!!

SOOOO over this!

Seriously, this kid is sooooo stinkin' adorable!  And 99.9% of the photoshoot he was plastered with the biggest, happiest grin ever!  But we caught this shot...and I just love his bored little expression....as if saying...."I am SOOOOO over this!"

Doesn't he look like he needs a good ole hug???

Sports photography | Seniors, teams

We LOVE our athletes that we have had as clients lately!  Volleyball, soccer, swimming...you name it!  We have tons of ideas to really make your sports shots stand out!!!  Check out a recent soccer shot we did for Emily!!!

Emily | Class of 2013

Two years ago on the hottest day of the summer (or close to it!) We shot Senior pics of a very cooperative young man who managed to barely break a sweat the WHOLE SESSION!  We were drenched.  Mascara running.  Hair dripping.  SCARY. 

And then 2 years later, we had a VERY WARM night and his little sister came for her Senior session.  She didn't break a sweat either.  It's kind of amazing.  It must be a family trait.  Cuz yet again the UWA girls were pretty drippy by the end of this session!  LOVELY!

Emily was such a doll!  She is an awesome soccer player, so we started her session out on the soccer field.  And ended with some more natural shots.  She was a MODEL in front of the camera!  She looked just stunning! 

We loved the golden glow of the sun and as it went down for the evening it gave us a delicious light to shoot in!

Thanks for trusting us Emily with capturing this milestone!  Congrats and good luck next fall!!!

Alex | Class of 2013

We have been so blessed this fall with some AMAZING Seniors!  This young man just exuded respect and a love for the LORD!   We had such a great time taking photos with him!   We were able to do the photos in his own "backyard" which happens to be a huge Christian Camp!  They had amazing architecture and wonderful places to sneak into to take some shots (even a paintball field!)

Thank you Alex and family for allowing us to capture this wonderful milestone for you!!! 

Just Dream

This little princess is always such a delight to work with at photo sessions and this time was no exception.  She danced, twirled and gave us the most delightful smiles!  More pics from this session coming soon!

Hot Dog | Photo of the Day 06.28.12

Sooooo, totally cheesy blog title...I know.  But have you stepped outside these last few days in Iowa???  Holy buckets...its HOT people!  My (Nicole's) van temperature gauge read 102 F!  Ummmmm, I don't like it!  Seriously, I contemplated moving to Antarctica today.  I hate the heat that much!   Stay cool people...stay cool!!!

Do you scrapbook?

I (Nicole) like to scrapbook all my personal photos!  Okay, maybe not all, but I try to scrapbook a lot of them!  Along with Urban Wings, I work as a graphic designer for a scrapbooking company called Digital Scrapbook Place, Inc.  HELLO DSP PEEPS!!!   Thought I would share a few recent scrapbook layouts that are going into my albums....

The Skinned-Knee Princess

So my (Nicole's) Little Pea turned TWO recently.  I have seen SO many photos of pretty little princesses all decked out in pearls and fancy dresses, so we did a small photoshoot to recreate this idea.  Problem is?  My Little Pea is the POLAR OPPOSITE of a pretty princess.  Do you see the skinned knee?  She is my LOUDEST, most RAMBUNCTIOUS, most STUBBORN little one!  Seriously, if you ever come over to my house, you will need to supply your own ear-plugs.  The girl has lungs on her like you can't believe....move over Mariah Carey!!! 

None the less, two year photoshoots are not complete with out all decked princess-y goodness.  But I also grabbed some shots of her more "natural" state, totally wild and crazy, I will post those pics soon for you all to see!!!

Have a JOY FILLED FABULOUS DAY!!!!!  MMMMWwwaaahhhhh!!!!

The Best Parts of Summer

 Do you have summer favorites?  Favorite activities?  Favorite foods?  MMMMMMmmmmm watermelon!  One of my (Nicole's) favorite activities that became a tradition last year (can something become a tradition after one year???) was Family Camp!

 We had SUCH a blast spending a weekend as a family swimming in a lake, climbing a rock wall, playing carpet ball, paintball, egg drops (think Macguiver like skills meets raw eggs....hmmmm), riding on a giant inflatable banana on the lake (there might have been a split lip involved and a panicked mother but we won't talk about that) and so much more.

   We went up to Twin Lakes Bible Camp (no we are NOT getting paid to advertise for them, they just ROCK so much, you should check them out!)  This year the WHOLE Urban Wings troop is going (Deb and Nicole and families!)  We are SOOOOO excited!  What's your favorite summer tradition????

Photo of the Day 05.24.12 | Grace

Grace....Faith...and Love

 

Photo of the Day 05.07.12 | Bring Your Own Sunshine

We LOVE light!  And this crisp fall evening light was GORGEOUS!!!  Love the yellow tint it casts and warmth you can feel!!!!

Little Birthdays | Des Moines Children's Photography

Nicole's Little Pea turned 2 this week!  CRAZY how time flies!!!  Miss Payton was delighted to get lots of crayons, baby dolls, and toys.  Mommy was delighted that she got lots of new clothes (little two-year old tomboys need LOTS of clothes!!!)  Happy Birthday Little Pea!!!!

Photo of the Day 05.02.12 | A Child's Imagination

This is one of the pictures from one of our recent photoshoots!  Who would have thought that we could shoot outside in the winter in Iowa!!!  What an awesome season we had!!!

Photo Of The Day 04.28.12 | Mesmerizing

Photo of the Day 04.26.12 | Let Them Eat Cake

Photo Of The Day 04.23.12 | Start Every Day with A Smile

Photo Of The Day 4.21.12 | Enchanting

Photo Of The Day 04.20.12 | Magical Love

Photo of the Day 4/19/12: Mischievious Grins

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WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY DYLAN!!!

The baby is HERE!!! My baby boy was born on March 13th! We are thrilled to have Dylan here and healthy!!! Praise the Lord!!! We will be posting some pics over the next few weeks and photo sessions will start back up mid-April, so be sure to contact us SOON as spring and fall fill up QUICK! Hope you are enjoying the unseasonably warm weather!!!

Des Moines Wedding: Kevin & Julie

The day was completely magical. Family and friends gathered to celebrate the wedding of Kevin and Julie. Both were calm and collected and they looked fantastic!

Beautifully decorated with fall decor (something dear to Julie's heart) with an ice cream bar during the reception (totally brilliant idea!) The details were just amazing! Bright reds against the stark white of the dress was just stunning!


It was so beautiful outside (even a tad warm!) We were able to go cruising out to Waterworks Park for some awesome shots!




Congratulations you two on a blessed life together!!!!