Morgan Henderson Photography | Fun family photography in Durham, NC

Two events on July 31st to help animals in the triangle

2010-07-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Come by for music, wine, food & painted funiture (along with other fun items being auctioned off.)

Independent Animal Rescue is also collecting donations for Bailey the dog. You can see more information, along with some photos I took of Bailey at this page.

On the same night, second chance is also having a silent auction.

I will have sessions in both of these auctions. I also made some adorable dog & cat notecards for the auctions. Stop by, have some fun, & shop for fun items while helping the animals!

Let freedom swing ~ 4th of July pictures

2010-07-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

FUN Photo Tips - Taking better pictures of children using any camera

2010-07-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

I can be a real challenge to take a great photo of a child. I put together a few simple tips to help parents capture great images.

1. Try a new perspective
The average photo of a child is taken from the parents eye-level pointing down. A different angle can create a more interesting photograph. Kneel or sit so you can photograph your child at their eye-level. Then try more extreme perspectives. Lay in the grass and shoot up. Stand on a stool & shoot down. Mix it up and have fun!

2. Look for good light
Good light is essential for a great portrait. Try taking photos of your child during the “golden hour”, which is the first and last hour of sunlight, when the light is soft and flattering. Cloudy days also provide soft, flattering light.

In the middle of the day, when the sun is directly overhead, you have to work harder to avoid harsh shadows on the face. During this time of day, look for open shade to block the bright sun.

When indoors, try turning off your flash and letting in natural light. Face your subject toward a window to light up their eyes and cast soft light across their face.

3. Capture real smiles
Skip saying cheese & photograph a real smile. Photograph your child playing and you will have many opportunities to capture a truly joyful moment. It can be hard to capture the perfect moment while it happens. Pre-focusing can help speed up the reaction time. Press the shutter button half way to focus on your subject. Once you are ready to take the picture, your camera will click much faster.

Family pictures in Hawaii

2010-06-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine a more beautiful backdrop for family pictures.

I love this one :)
Don't worry, it's not loaded. And it's just a stick.

So relaxing...

I love how the world looks underwater. I'll post some underwater snorkeling pictures later.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

In loving memory of my father who passed away March 1, 2010.

I love you dad!

Ever wonder what your dog does all day when you are at work?

2010-06-13T08:56:00.001-07:00

My dog explores all the options for sleeping positions.

We set up a webcam & a Ustream channel to keep and eye on her during the day. I didn't realize how adorably sleepy she'd be.

Photography meetup in downtown Apex

2010-06-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I met up with some other family photographers for some shooting & dinner. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

I'm 4 and a half!

watch your step

and think safety

Roxy is a Star!

2010-06-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

That's my Roxy featured on the website of Family Friendly Pet Care

Sarah, the owner of Family Friendly Pet Care, is a fellow Independent Animal Rescue volunteer. FFPC provides dog walking, pet sitting, and other pet care services.

Meet Roxy ~ My New Dog

2010-06-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

From when I first met Roxy. Back then she was known as Amber.

In the visitation room getting to know her & her little floppy ear.

Saying goodbye right after adopting her. At Durham APS, you have to wait a few days to take your dog home. It was a long 3 days, but it gave us time to get everything set up for her.

She's ours now!

The car ride home. She was so good the whole trip.

Exploring her new yard & sniffing her new tree.

I think she likes the place.

Happy dog :)

Even happier dog

She loves belly rubs

Roxy doesn't fetch. She summons the ball to her with magical powers.

Last weekend we introduced her to her BFF Lexi.

Roxy was timid at first, but it didn't take her long to start playing.

Don't worry, it was all playful.

She is worn out after all that play

and so happy

Hey you, wanna play? Yeah, how 'bout you?

wild dogs!

After her meeting with Lexi went great, the next friend she needed to meet was Samantha.

I have a ball!

I can give it to my dog!

Here Lexi

Baby loves the bongos

Roxy is now kid tested & mother approved.

my favorite

You'll be seeing much more of Roxy on my site. I just love this little red dog!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T19:38:00.001-07:00

And my mom...

Family Photos at Fearrington Village

2010-05-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

This morning, I had a family session at Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, NC.

Hello!

Here is a sweet face. Now get ready for...

a silly face!

Baby sister in one hand, leaf collection in the other

Are you noticing the commitment to this leaf collection? I suspect a future botanist.

awww...a sleeping baby

She if you can spot the 3 year old in this picture. She is being pretty sneaky.

Bye!

Family Fun

2010-05-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

Alexandria, VA playgroup photoshoot

2010-05-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

While in Virginia last week, I met up with a group of parents & their children for a fun playgroup session. Here is some of the fun...

I can fly!

She's excited her friend has arrived & is trying to set her free from the glass door.

I love silly faces

and serious faces

These two have been a couple since they were babies :)

So cute!

A tree just the right size

I love the excitement

Hey you, I see you are following me

Samantha's First Birthday

2010-04-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

I got together with Samantha + family last weekend for her one-year old portraits.I'll start with my favorite from the session

See how fast a mother can move to keep her baby from eatting playground mulch?

Love this silly face

She was really interested in her dad playing tennis

Still watching the tennis match

Now on to the birthday party the following weekend...

Something I made with pictures of her from day 1-365. Oh, and some tissue paper. She loves tissue paper.

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

4 dogs and 1 cat

2010-03-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Kalle & Bern | Dogs of Durham, NC

2010-03-23T10:06:00.001-07:00

A day in the life of Paige

2010-03-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

Enjoying some sweet potatoes

playing outside on a beautiful day

playing inside after it got too hot outside

watching yo gabba gabba

Going for a stroll

so sleepy

But, then her dad came home from work...

and she got so excited…

and then sleepy again.

time for a bath

My favorite

She was hamming it up for the camera

So cute in her PJs from her Aunt Christine

Time for bed to dream about Elbo (Elmo)

Have a Heart 2010 photos

2010-02-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

Photos from the Independent Animal Rescue Have a Heart wine tasting & silent auction are posted here.

Wine tasting & silent auction to support Independent Animal Rescue of Durham

2010-01-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

If you want to attend a fun event & support animal rescue in our area, mark your calendar for:

Sunday, February 21st, 2010
4 pm - 8 pm
Rigsbee Hall, 208 Rigsbee Avenue, Durham

Independent Animal Rescue invites animal and wine lovers to enjoy phenomenal wines, fantastic food, and funky music while perusing and bidding on truly unique silent auction items. This year's tasting event will explore notable artisan wines of the south of France including wines from the Rhone, Provence, Languedoc, the Southwest, and Roussillon. Additional wines from around the globe will be available by the glass.

100% of Have a Heart profits will aid in the rescue and care of homeless, abandoned, and abused animals

Ticket Information
Tax-deductible tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased through Friday, January 29th in person at the Cat Hospital or online through Paypal

Visit this site for more information

I'm donating a session along with a 16"x20" canvas gallery wrap. Come bid on this or any of the other items in the silent auction. Canvas wraps are a beautiful way to display a favorite image. I personally have plans to cover my walls with them.

I also want to share a collage I made for my display at the event. It was so much fun putting together some favorite images for the display.

I'll also be working at the event taking pictures of the venue & attendees. Click on the "IAR Events" link at the top of this page to see pictures from the event (after February 13th.) Hope to see you there!

What are the odds?

2009-12-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

I couldn't help noticing that the majority of the children I photographed during my trip to Texas have blue eyes. Maybe I noticed this because I'm a genetisist or maybe it's due to how much time I spend looking at eyes while editing pictures.

I'm sure one of my fellow nerds will calculate it for me, but what are the odds of 75% of these children having blue eyes, when brown is dominant?

Fig 1. Lower right-hand corner, the 25% with brown eyes

In college, a party trick of mine was to calculate a couple's chance of having a child with blue eyes if they had offspring with their current partner. Yep, I'd draw out punnett squares at parties on napkins. Recently, I learned that everything I thought I knew about eye color genetics was really oversimplified, so I don't know if the odds I calculated are close to the true odds. If they are, I have a 1/6th chance of not "contaminating my husband's gene pool with my brown eyes." Those are his words. He comes from a blue-eyed family. I like to remind him that my eye color will dominate over his. Yeah, that's what two married scientists joke about.

A day with Sara - the last day of my Texas trip

2009-12-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

This trip made up for missing my 10-year class reunion last summer. Allyson is another friend I've known since high school. We met on the Victoria High swim team. She was my "big sis" my freshman year.

We started the shoot at a park. You'll see in the next few pictures that Sara found a nook she didn't want to leave.

Happy right here

Sara's idea of swinging

Finding a stick for her dog

Her new favorite game is having her mom push her around in a car.

Family story time

Getting excited the birds in the book

Horsey!

Let's go!

My favorite...a silhouette before nap time

Story time before nap time

Cousins at the park - even more Texas fun

2009-12-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving, I met up with two friends I haven't seen in 8+ years. One of the best parts of doing photoshoots across Texas during my Thanksgiving trip home was seeing old friends & meeting their kids.

watching for the ducks

my favorite duck is the one with the fluff top

Mount Victoria (I think this might be the biggest hill in Victoria, TX)

I love this one. I like to imagine he is thinking, "Big brother keeps hogging my picture."

Why do you keep following me?

Now for some playground fun

Look at that expression :)

Tube slides generate a lot of static

Paige at the beach - more fun from my Texas trip

2009-12-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving, I drove down to Corpus Christi for a beach shoot with Paige, Amy & Paul. I was born in Corpus & so was Whataburger, so it's always fun to visit Corpus not just for the memories, but also for thick white gravy & fancy ketchup. It's funny what you miss when you move to another state. After family & friends of course, Whataburger's #8 meal is next. OK enough about food (I'm making myself hungy)...here is Paige.

She was pretty excited to find this little pumpkin

She never managed to figure out where the other little girl was. I think she wanted to take her pumpkin from her so she'd have two.

Paige loves the beach. If Amy wasn't holding her hand, she probably would have jumped in. She is leaning towards the water in most pictures.

Super excited that her dad gave her a sea shell. I don't think she even remembers the pumpkin from an hour ago.

let's go!

Her mom said there wasn't a chance of getting her to wear the hat, but she still wanted to try.

Take that silly hat!

Her new thing is pointing & saying, "What's that?" It's really a rhetorical question. Usually she is just making sure you know she likes something. Other times she wants you to give it to her.

Paige's little smile while looking at the kite is so cute :)

The sun is setting. Time to go home (and pick up Whataburger).

A sneak peak at what is coming up...

2009-12-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

Here are a few from my Texas trip. There are many more coming by next week.

Ainsley at the park - the first of many posts to come from my fun trip to Texas

2009-12-03T21:24:00.001-08:00

I met up with a high school friend, Chelsea, during my Thanksgiving trip home. I've known Chelsea since my sophomore year of high school. We met in speech class & competed in record pantomime competitions doing a performance to The Homecoming Queens Got a Gun. Don't worry Chelsea, the link to You Tube isn't the video of us performing. I do still have a VHS tape of us practicing around here somewhere. OK, on to pictures...

This is one of my favorites. I was warned that Ainsley is never still, but she does slow down long enough for a few portraits.

Here she is in her typical active state

S-N-A-C-K break

Love this silly one :)

I think this is my #1 favorite from the day.

Another still moment watching a helicopter fly by. I might need to start commisioning a fly over for each shoot. It really gets a childs attention.