Elfina Photo Art

Maternity portraits

2012-03-01T04:40:00.000-08:00

As you might know I have been building my new website, blog and portfolio with the help of designer Pedro Reis. The new splash page is already up at www.elinamanninen.com and everything else is on the way too. This is the first time I'm building a physical portfolio as well so it's been as much of a mental exercise as taking time to choose the photos. And I'm getting there even if sometimes the job feels huge :). The Porfolio folder is coming soon from Germany (and I'm thanking Merja Yeung from Studio Asadin for advice! ).

These were from a maternity fitness session I did the other week, we also did these beautiful portraits. All the best for the little one who is now about one week old :).

Kohta 18 -movie coming out!

2012-02-24T01:22:00.002-08:00

This is coming out soon - on the 9th of March :). A movie called 'Kohta 18' by Maarit Lalli. I was hanging out at the movie shoot several times and taking behind the scene shots when Rauno Ronkainen was shooting (also interesting to see because he was using the same camera as I use). Amazing to see how they work together. I will share more photos when the movie comes out, but you can already see a little bit more here. The faces you can see in this poster were shot by me.

Go see the movie and you might even see me for a few seconds - hint: pay close attention always when you see a wolf :). This is my second appearance in a finnish movie, first one was in 'Veturimiehet heiluttaa' with Samuli Edelman, you might see an 18-year-old me maybe for one minute :). So my movies star career is taken off like wild fire would you say :).

Turning one :)

2012-02-21T02:48:00.000-08:00

One-year-olds are so cute :). When I arrived he was already peaking through the window with a smile on his face :).

It's getting lighter and with the amount of snow we have now it nicely reflects some light indoors as well. I took out my 50mm f1.4 and shot wide open, with a little help of a flash. I think I've said this before but with children I just love the little bit of a dreamy look it gives.

Fun with my Enja :)

2012-02-16T05:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we spend Fridays like this. Usually not because my little missy rather does something else than models for me :). We found these cute lollipops in the cutest sweet shop, Karkkikauppa Sweetheart in Helsinki.

White world

2012-02-15T03:10:00.001-08:00

One of our morning walks to the office :). It's so beautiful outside, we even got more snow last night :).

Today I finally got all my stock images onto dvd's and tomorrow they will be off to Japan :). Also my broken hard drive will be off to Germany. And I will have the rest of the week for editing -- had the cutest little boy to photograph on Sunday so I will get something out soon :).

My new website will be out soon and all feedback welcome (since we are testing that everything works)! There is a teaser page now at www.elinamanninen.com and that's where the full site will appear a little later. And I appreciate all the comments we have received so far! And thanking my designer Pedro Reis for everything he's done for me :).

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T02:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! The perfect day to edit pink stuff. I almost thought I lost these images because my little external drive decided to stop working yesterday (so yesterday: panic, semi-panic, sweating, backing up files.....), but didn't loose them and here they are :). Just keywording to do and they are off to my stock galleries :).

www.elinamanninen.com splash page

2012-02-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

I have a new splash page for my new website - the full website is coming later, this is just a teaser and need to be tested on different browsers. So all feedback welcome :). This is at www.elinamanninen.com. Let me know what you think and if it shows ok!

Loru design spring

2012-02-08T05:41:00.000-08:00

It was one of the coldest days so far this winter, -20 or something with a cold wind. The perfect day to photograph in Kaisaniemi botanic gardens where it's hot and humid (very humid actually, almost like raining) and no shoes or winter clothes are needed.

These images are for Loru design - beautiful clothing and accessories for kids and women.

Walking to work...

2012-02-08T05:04:00.000-08:00

It's easier to sit at the office when you first walk there in beautiful crisp winter weather :). It takes a little bit longer to walk with my sister because we come up with so many other important things on the way... like these :). These are from yesterday and this morning we were carrying a snowboard around, more about that later :).

Winter :)

2012-02-06T00:31:00.000-08:00

This morning :). Walk to the office with my sister Johanna. A beautiful white world, not cold at all. And who wants to walk on the footpaths :). Was much more fun to crawl in the snow. This is what I love in Finnish winters :).

Today's project is to edit photos from the Tarramonsteri shoot, can't wait to open them up on my computer. And soon I might have a splash page of my new website online - be patient :). And my hand drawn version of my physical portfolio is waiting for me on my desk, so want to get my hands into that as well :).

Kids Factory

2012-02-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

These are images that I did for Kids Factory for their new website :). Can you spot my sister :).

The new site already online, www.kidsfactory.fi - check out the whole timelapse video there :).

Editing & coffee.

2012-01-26T03:54:00.000-08:00

It's snowing outside, I'm editing, drinking coffee and doing washing. Glamorous? :). It's nice to have the quiet house to myself. Soon I will get my camera stuff ready for tomorrow for a shoot for tarramonsteri.fi which will be online in the near future :). And next week I'm photographing for Loru design again - will be nice to see what beautiful stuff Susanna has made for spring :).

These photos are still from Portugal, I'm slowly getting through them and getting them up for sale.

It's Australia Day today - I have two aussies here (and one kiwi: me) at home so we'll be having a small celebration here, maybe have one aussie beer :).

Studying stock :)

2012-01-17T03:24:00.000-08:00

One of my goals in Portugal was to learn with Erik Reis. These images are from one of the shoots I did in his studio. Hmmmm what to do with a girl when you are photographing people stock. I had no idea. So with my beautiful hand drawn plan (I actually have a photo of that, I'll post it later :) ) I tried to get 'stocky' images. Hihi now that I look at them I actually like them but I can tell you that I was sweating (and so was probably the model as well. And Erik who I through out of his own studio).

But -- relief -- Erik said that actually I don't have to change myself to be a stock photographer. That's just one avenue of selling my work.

Back in Finland :)

2012-01-16T03:41:00.000-08:00

Back in Finland :). The wintery white -8 degree Helsinki :). But I still have these sunny photos to share from Portugal. I will miss that beautiful light and nice people! This is my Enja again, enjoying the sun and running through the pear trees in Amoreira.

Enja in Amoreira

2012-01-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

These are from Amoreira, from the beautiful little village north of Lisbon where we have stayed for the past 6 weeks. And going home tomorrow... we just had the last visit to the beach with beautiful sunset. I'm going to miss that. Of course it's always nice to go home as well but I've really enjoyed my stay here and maybe we will be back later :).

This is my Enja. I paid her in lollies so she was very willing to model for me :).

With Erik Reis - Running photos

2012-01-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

And the final result...

Yesterday I had a pleasure to be at a shoot with Erik Reis from Iko Studio. With three studio lights taken to the nearby forest he photographed running photos with Jyri. Again - was great to see him work and to see the final result. Wouldn't have believed how hard it is to actually get photos of a runner who is actually not really running :). But Jyri is a pro runner so a perfect model for that :).

Trip to Algarve to celebrate the New Year 2012

2012-01-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

Lots of photos, sorry for that :). But just had to share them. These are from our trip to Algarve to celebrate the New Year. 2012 will be good :). 2011 I was rethinking everything I do and trying out new things, 2012 I will hopefully use everything I've learned and still be me :).

Our 6 weeks here is almost over and I will be back in Finland at the end of the week. I've really enjoyed the sunny days here in Portugal and really appreciated our 'foster family' having us here. Love you all :). Right now I'm still working and everyone else is probably sleeping...

I have more photos to edit so I will get them out slowly. Today I was 'assisting' Erik Reis when he was photographing outdoors so will get some behind the scenes -shots out from that shoot soon.

Silo Brainstorm in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal

2012-01-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

Interesting night photographing at the Silo Brainstorm at Iko studio in Caldas da Rainha. More photos at Flickr here.

Meeting all of you who came was really nice :).

And today -- it was surf. See my facebook :)

Learning people stock I Photographer Elina Manninen

2011-12-29T04:21:00.000-08:00

I love to photograph people - but my stock collection is mainly small stuff photographed on a table with a 100mm lens. I like that too :) but I also wanted to know what to do with people. I have had two people come into my life that are both top stock photographers and it has been so great learning what they do - Kati Molin in Finland who is so talented with 'the small stuff on the table' and Erik Reis in Portugal who is so good with people. Thank you both :). I know myself I'm more of an 'artist' than a stock photographer, but one of my goals this coming year is to grow my stock portfolio to a size that keeps ticking in the background when I concentrate on my other projects :).

Also after just using Bridge and Camera Raw to edit my raw files I'm now using Lightroom (finally :)). I really like it and now after talking with my designer Pedro Reis and Erik my workflow and filing are a lot better as well. The amount of large image files going through my computer is going to be a big mess if my filing system is even a bigger mess so it feels like I've cleaned my house after 'cleaning' the way I work.

With Photoshop I've always been the 'natural girl' :). I've done basic adjustments to colour and lightness and contrast in Bridge (and now Lightroom) and saved as tiff's or jpeg's and maybe cleaned the image a bit in Photoshop. I always do what I feel that invidual image needs, I very rarely use preset actions made by someone else. I usually like my images warm and colourful :). For studio work I asked for Erik's advice for cleaning up the white background images and here are a few tips a learned from him:

This is the original, basic adjustments done and saved as jpg (usually for stock I always save as tiff's and only the final image will be a jpg file).

To clean the white background if needed this is what I learned -- create a new levels layer and take the middle slider almost all the way to the right. Then with a dodge tool (about 60%) start painting the background (remember to unclick 'protect tones').

When I've painted the whole background I clicked the levels layer to be not visible and then flatten the layers. An easy and quick way to make sure that the white isolated background is actually white and isolated.

With tidying the face I'm also very 'natural' and don't want to go overboard and make the model look too plastic. I might clean up spots with patch tool or clone stamp. Erik showed me quick way to fix darker areas under the eyes - with clone stamp tool (set at about 60%) first click on a clear tidy area under the eyes and then swipe on the darker areas. I've done too much clicking when fixing these areas - just a few swipes and it already looks good. With these images I did nothing else for the skin (sometimes I might smooth a little bit).

... And I have a new blog on the way :). This one I started in Australia, on the Sunshine coast so will be nice to get a new nice blog :). I will keep you updated :).

These images are already selling at Shutterstock, visit my gallery here.

Day before Christmas eve

2011-12-23T16:17:00.000-08:00

In Peniche again. After a little bit of cleaning for Christmas we headed out to Peniche - to have lunch and also to get Pedro in the water :). The sun came out just when we packed the car and left. The beach was windy but not too cold. Loved it.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Christmas in Portugal for us :).

Amoreira winter sun

2011-12-21T02:48:00.000-08:00

Even if it's cold in the evenings I love the sun. Past couple of days have been really warm, sun warming our cheeks. Winter light comes low and hits beautifully the pear trees and the grass. I haven't photographed enough and soon it's going to make me crazy :). After no light in Finland this is beautiful.

In Peniche

2011-12-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in Peniche - after looking after sick kids for days we all went to Peniche and to the beach :). First we had a fish lunch in town, then something sweet :) and then to the beach. In the first 10 minutes I got Enja's clothes all wet. Then it started raining - so we had to call Pedro to come out of the water and take us home :). The beach was beautiful though with the dark rain clouds. Photography point of view surf photography can't really be done with a 24-70 lens :)... Well we thought Pedro could maybe identify himself amongst all the little black dots in the water :).

At Iko Studio I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-12-06T03:58:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I spent at Iko Studio watching Erik Reis work -- like I said yesterday he's one of the best stock photographers and has his studio in Caldas da Rainha. It was great to see him work :). My stock is mostly small still life but learning to shoot people stock is good for me. And organising my files and learning new editing skills. So happy :).

The building were the studio is is amazing as well - I'll try to get some pics so you'll see what it's like :).
Today I'm learning Lightroom 'at home' and later this week I'll have a day with Erik to go through all that. So I'll keep you posted :).

Portugal I Photographer Helsinki

2011-12-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

Enjoying my time in Portugal :). We are in Amoreira - north from Lisbon. It's beautiful here! Here's a few photos from our trip to Lisbon (via Caldas da Rainha). It's almost magical to see the sun after the darkness of November in Finland.

I will be posting more tomorrow - photos of Erik Reis from Iko Studio - he's one of the top stock photographers so it's really exciting to see how he works. But more of that tomorrow :).

Itäkeskus Christmas opening 2 I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-12-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas opening at Itäkeskus shopping centre - a few photos to share :).

I'm Portugal at the moment - and it's beautiful! I love the sun :). We have started work with Pedro Reis to get my new website etc. done and tomorrow I will be with Erik Reis at his studio. Today we had a fun trip to Lissabon and I had my camera with me so will share some pics later. Now I think I'm too tired to write anything that makes any kind of sense so I should just put my alarm on so that I'll wake up in the morning when Erik comes to get me :).

Light testing again :) I Valokuvaaja Elina Manninen

2011-11-29T04:59:00.000-08:00

Waiting for our model again - what else is there to do than photograph Merja :). Totally empty Merikaapelihalli in Kaapelitehdas and afternoon (very quickly disappearing) light.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Portugal for 6 weeks! So no work in Finland during that time, I'm taking bookings starting from January the 16th. Hopefully we have some snow then as well :). In Portugal I will be working with designer Pedro Reis to get all my new stuff ready. I will also be with Erik Reis in his studio. So I think I have to pack now. I will be updating my blog from there as well so don't go away :).

Itäkeskus Christmas opening I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-11-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was photographing at the Itäkeskus shopping centre Christmas opening - I can share a few more later but here's one image of Martti Saarinen that was used at Iltalehti. No snow yet but didn't matter - a really good day and I even got to see Santa Claus :).

Pregnancy I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-11-24T05:20:00.000-08:00

This week has been busy and I can't believe I'm already going to Portugal next week! Time goes so quickly :). We have been shooting snowboarders this week but somewhere in the middle of that there's always time for light testing and maternity :).

In Portugal we will be working hard to get out my new site and blog and portfolio. And I will also be working with Erik Reis in his studio (and learning a lot). So can't wait to go. And also we will be seeing the sun - at the darkest time of winter here in Finland without any snow you kind of start to miss it. But I also have our ice skates ready to go, already waiting for us to come back :).

My beautiful sister I Photographer Helsinki

2011-11-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

My sister on MTV3 site :). Photo by me. This was taken right after I came back from Australia... almost 3 years ago! It was cold but I thought all the snow and cold and everything was so amazing after the 40 degree heat in Australia. This is one of my stock images, and is available in my stock galleries (eg. in Colourbox).

'Ruusunmarja' memorial card I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-11-17T00:44:00.000-08:00

Marika Lehti (www.marikalehti.fi) makes the most beautiful memorial cards for funerals. The one with frozen rose berries (Ruusunmarja) was photographed by me. That image can be found in my stock libraries, eg. from Kuvapankki.org.

Silo 3x11 I Photographer Helsinki

2011-11-14T03:38:00.000-08:00

Silo 3x11 is over and it went so well (very proud of Jyri and Pedro). Amazing people all over the world were interviewed live during a 24hr period. I slept for 3 hours but Jyri and Pedro just kept on talking to people almost without a break. Here's a few photos, more at www.flickr.com/photos/silois. They will get videos out soon as well so I will let you know later where they can be found. They will be sent to One Day on Earth and it will be a part of the movie that they make out of all the videos and photos recorded on 11.11.11.

Read more about Silo 3x11 on their website here as well as on Facebook and twitter.

Christmas is coming :) I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-11-14T01:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming :). It was nice to meet these boys again this year! What we needed was a Christmas card photo and portraits of a one-year-old. The shoes are mummy's first shoes when she took her first steps and this little one will probably take his first ones very very soon :).

I'm getting excited myself about Christmas - since I'm going to see the Portuguese one this year :). We have been pretty bad with celebrating 'Finnish' Christmasses - about 8 years in New Zealand and Australia all together and it never felt like Christmas to me. Hot summer weather and bbq for Christmas dinner. Last year I think we were in London on the way to Malta. This year in Portugal :).

I still have free session times for November and December to the middle of January I'm away. Back to work again from the 15th of January.

Silo 3x11 is live :) I Photographer Helsinki

2011-11-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

For 24 hours I will be with Pedro Reis & Jyri Manninen (well, I might go and have a little sleep at some point) at the 3x11 event - have a look at www.silo.is/coming and www.facebook.com/silo.is. They are live at www.livestream.com/3x11. In the morning we will be changing to Hub Helsinki and will be there till 22.00 - and then till midnight at another location (we will tell you where later).

I will be uploading photos to www.flickr.com/photos/silois during the event.

Pretty interesting stuff coming, interesting people! Stay tuned!

Behind the scenes :) I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-11-08T04:02:00.000-08:00

I promised you behind the scene shots with 'the extra child' :). Here they are. The girls are actually trying to see what they can see on my lens when I click the shutter. Elves and sandman were some of the guesses.

Beautiful November I Photographer Helsinki

2011-11-06T23:57:00.000-08:00

We were just thinking when walking to the location that last year on the 15th of November it snowed and that was it - winter. -27 degrees at the end of November. Well this year it's a bit different - at least this far. Warm and sunny and plants flowering :). Might change quickly though so waiting for that :).

With this family I had my little helper with me so I was a bit curious to see how it goes (I can share a few of her later) and would this family have an extra child in all their family photos. But if went fine :). Beautiful day, beautiful family.

Slush11 I Photographer Helsinki

2011-11-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

A completely new world to me -- but an interesting 2 days at Kaapelitehdas at Slush Helsinki with Pedro & Jyri. Probably didn't understand half of what anyone was saying but still enjoyed it :). And good food and wine (Portuguese :) ). Here's a few photos from there.

And don't forget 3x11 - happens next week! The website is www.silo.is/coming and www.facebook.com/silo.is.

Just turned one I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

Just turned one :). After the outdoor session that I shared earlier we came inside to get a portrait of this little one. It is getting a bit cool outside so outdoors we go if the weather permits it. Otherwise inside. Either one is ok by me :).

I spent yesterday learning to navigate Tumblr where we'll put up my new blog. So still using this old blog but in the near future I will change to my new one called Blue Bellybutton (can be found on facebook at facebook.com/bluebellybutton. So you can already like it and the facebook group I have will disappear and not be used anymore. So a big thank you to my designer Pedro Reis (from Silo) who is not just making a new website for me but more teaching me how the whole process should work. And slowly I have learned new stuff and changed the way I do things for the better. So stuff is happening behind the scenes and as soon as the new blog/website is ready I will let you know :).

Have a good autumn afternoon :) xxx

Silo 3x11, Our Day On Earth I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of the One Day on Earth project? Where people around the world document the day of 11.11.11 (last year it was 10.10.10) and then all the material will be made into one film?

On that day, for 24 hours as well, my designer Pedro Reis and my husband Jyri Manninen are organising an event (and documenting it and sending it to One Day on Earth) -- check out www.silo.is/coming/ and www.facebook.com/silo.is and read more about it! It will be live online but also at Hub Helsinki in person. I will also be there photographing (maybe not quite for 24 hours straight :) ) so I will share more about then!

Kiss books - Leather! I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-25T02:46:00.000-07:00

Aren't they beautiful and simple :). After a long search I finally found my favourite this year - KISS books. In one of my previous posts I already had a few shots of the linen cover version (here) and this is a black leather cover book in 20x20cm.

The reason I like these books and chose them was the simplicity - leather or linen, a beautiful set of colours to choose from, well packaged, quick delivery from the US, the best quality, photographic print (no low quality digital print here!). Leather cover books have sturdy hard pages and linen cover book has softer pages but same quality photographic print. And they all get delivered in these cute covers :).

A pleasure to hand to the client :).

Cute cardigans and autumn leaves I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have so many images you want to share? Overshare like me :) ? It was just really hard to pick any less because I really wanted to show you all of them.

I arrived looking at the sky again -- no rain. Dark clouds though but that doesn't matter. So off to the park we go :). And then it took the normal 5 minutes for the kids to get used to me and after that it was a blast :). Mummy had found the perfect outfits and I loved the colours. I couldn't wait to get to edit these so here they are - enjoy :).

The birthday boy I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-13T00:59:00.000-07:00

When finished photographing the family in my previous post it was time to photograph the birthday boy on his very first birthday party :). After photographing the wedding of mum & dad earlier it was really nice to go back and meet this little brown eyed boy. First we did portraits outside in the beautiful autumn light and then I stayed at the party. Thank you for asking me to come :) xxx

Before the party I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was checking the clouds in the sky -- rain? No rain? I was on my way to photograph a birthday party (more of that in my next post...) and before the party started we were going to do portraits of this family first. I got a little bit lost (which I do every time in this area of town no matter how hard I check the map) but it didn't rain :). I think autumn is my favourite time of year - all the beautiful colours and beautiful light.

Anyway - these kids were so much fun :). It was nice to meet you :).

Indoor season I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-06T02:48:00.000-07:00

Soon I'm out of the office (walking in the rain back home) but still wanted to share these! I promised you more of these boys and here they are :). It's that season again -- the indoor season is starting in Finland :). I love to photograph outdoors, so that's my first choice. But (like everyone knows) the weather can get pretty bad here. And then we photograph inside :).

For Monday I'm hoping beautiful weather though, since we are photographing beautiful 'children in the forest' photos :). So fingers crossed.

Sisters I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-06T01:11:00.000-07:00

These are from another session I had in Jyväskylä. We were so lucky with the weather! Sunny and warm and lots of autumn leaves :). I loved the light indoors, beautiful big windows, light walls, so lots of natural light to work with. There were a few tears just when I arrived, but they were soon forgotten and I got to see the balloon t-shirts, princess dresses, favourite soft toys and a secret hiding place in the bedroom :). And not forgetting the playhouse - the coolest one I've ever seen :).

Jyväskylä! I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-05T02:23:00.000-07:00

I love these boys :). More to come later but here is the first part. I spent the weekend in Jyväskylä - partly working and partly socializing. It was so nice to visit after all these years and see friends! It feels like I was living there like last week and actually it was ... .... ... xx years ago when I started at the uni :). We did have a little drive through the city and the university and even had a little nostalgic walk at the Kortepohja student village.

Anyway - aren't these boys cute :). It was a pleasure to spend the weekend with you :)

Suvilahti Part 2 I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Suvilahti part 2 like I promised :). Suvilahti graffiti wall & beautiful afternoon light. I really loved how these turned out (and we had lots of fun in the process :) ). The boys told me that the rings on the ground were from a car shoot that was done there a couple of days earlier. Also learned a lot about graffiti painting :).

Suvilahti I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-10-03T01:32:00.000-07:00

How long have I lived in Helsinki...and never knew this place existed :). But thankfully I get to photograph young people and see places like this - Suvilahti graffiti wall near Kalasatama. And what a cool idea that you can go here and paint your own graffiti -- as long as someone else doesn't paint on top of yours too quickly...

I think this was a perfect place to do this session and the weather couldn't have been more perfect after lots and lots of rainy days. Had a lovely time, thank you :). I have one more post coming from this session soon -- with 2 models :).

Christmas stock part 2 I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

Today's project - editing sort of Christmas photos. I still haven't opened my bag of Christmas baubles - I think I'm trying to avoid that and think of everything else to photograph :). On Monday it was time for mulled wine, gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate. And photograph using my favourite light at the moment -- natural light. My table against the window, with the see-through curtain in front of it, photographing almost in backlight. Love it. I will get my flashes out soon for the baubles but first I have to edit these I think :). Maybe next week :).

Saturday mother-daughter time :) I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

After our muffin baking yesterday we needed to get some photos of Enja reading for Eveliina at Kids Factory. We did that. Heh, but after we got that done we went just a little bit crazy :).

September fun I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

It's always so nice to see this family :). Last time we were having a wii dancing party ( and now I mean mothers, not children so much). This time it was time to photograph and jump on the trampoline :).

One of my best friends since high school -- me & my camera already then and trips to Helsinki and Southern Europe... fun times :). And now she has this beautiful family. See you soon again! xxx

Christmas stock and Portugal! I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

Christmas is coming - you know how I know that? Because it means I'm already late at photographing Christmas baubles for stock :). Should have started in July. But I've started with something - candles :).

Also I have exciting plans for December and January - I'm going to Portugal for 6 weeks (for work - and also fun), so I will be away from 30th of November till 14th of January. After that back to work here in Helsinki. I will tell you more later and I will update my blog from there as well. So keep reading :). Hopefully I will come back a lot wiser and better photographer.

But for now - book your session times in good time with that in mind - I'm now booking October and November (and still 2 session times left for September!).

Loru design featured gallery I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

Loru design this year's photos featured on my website www.elinamanninen.com (www.elfinaphotoart.com). Click Featured: Loru design at the bottom. And have a look at Loru's beautiful collection at www.loru.fi! Last year's photos still there but new ones coming soon :).

Cool sunny morning I Perhekuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-12T03:43:00.000-07:00

The first cooler morning of this autumn (which turned into a super hot day...) I met this beautiful family. So sweet how the boys took care of their little sister :). We had fun and then we had to say goodbyes, but hopefully I'll meet you again at some point :).

10 years :) I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-06T05:35:00.000-07:00

Birthday party - my little nephew is already 10 :). Love you K :)

The youngest of the cousins I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-06T04:10:00.000-07:00

The youngest one of the cousins, one of my brother's beautiful children. One and so cute :)

The world of no worries I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-09-06T01:51:00.000-07:00

Magical August light.

The world of no worries.

End of summer I Lapsikuvaaja Helsinki

2011-08-31T23:28:00.000-07:00

Memories of the finnish summer. Warm sun, sea, bare feet, children laughing and playing. Hope you remember these when not here :). And these kids are so cute :).

Shooting for Loru design I Valokuvaaja Helsinki

2011-08-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Loru design 2011 last Saturday in Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki. I love working with Susanna, I envy her sense of style :). Look at these clothes, so beautiful and colourful. More on their website www.loru.fi. Perfect models and perfect weather :).