If I could choose one word to sum up April, it would be… refreshing.

Refreshingly good-weather days allowed my husband and I to take several after-supper walks, and also get a bit of yard work done. (Soon we will not have a rock pile in our driveway – hooray!!)

Not only was the weather a breath of fresh air (literally), but so was getting to spend a relaxing amount of time with family (without my camera). “Without your camera?!” Yes, without my camera. You see, my 3-year-old nephew would rather take pictures with the ‘big camera’ instead of acting like his cute self in front of the camera. I’d rather watch him be his cute self. :-)

Anywho… here are my favorite things from the refreshing month of April!! :-)

1. Location Scouting –  My husband and I took a few evenings to drive + hike around various locations in the Black Hills in search of some breathtaking new backdrops for engagement sessions. Sure, repetition is great for my workflow and bookkeeping, but when it comes to keeping my creative eye sharp, I sometimes need a fresh perspective or a new challenge. A brisk walk to this location (and others) was just what I needed. :-)

2 & 3. I was able to spend a couple days with my brother and his family and that meant spoiling & loving on my nephews. :-) As I mentioned earlier, it’s difficult to get photos of them being themselves because after they hear the shutter click, they want to see the photo and then take more photos. So these were about all I was able to get of my nephews – putting their Lego set + puzzle together.

4. My cousin and his wife had a baby, and they asked me to come take pictures!! How could I say anything but, “I’ll be there as soon as I can!!” I couldn’t. And I was. Little Everly was just 12 days new when I photographed her and her loving parents at their home in Bismarck. Sometimes I’ll browse through their gallery and just ooh and ahh at how tiny and adorable she is. :-)

5. We spent the last weekend in April with my husband’s sister in Minnesota going to thrift stores and spending some quality time together. Again, my camera stayed tucked away. But check out this gold-rimmed milk glass dish set I scored!! $6.50 for 6 dinner plates, 6 lunch plates, 4 cups + saucers, and a sugar bowl and creamer set. The apricots are just what I’ve been savoring since we got home – hooray for warm weather fruits!! :-D

What have you been loving lately? Shorter sleeves? Open windows?

I have a big soft spot in my heart for couples who are up for to trying out new locations with me. Even if that means we have to hike a little ways, or even stop to watch some wildlife on the way. ;-)

I also love photographing couples who laugh together so easily. Take Steve + Lindsey, for example. I loosely set them up into this pose at the beginning of their session, and within seconds, this is what happened:

Very early on in the session, I found out this was a couple I could easily joke around with, so when I was picking out a sneak peek to post on my Instagram account, I chose that first giggly photo and captioned it “These two came all the way to the Black Hills to get their engagement photos taken tonight, and all they got was this photo in front of a white wall.” :-) But don’t worry, I took them out to the forest to get some great scenery images, too – just you wait!! :-)

**side note: Instagram the first place where I share photos from sessions now, so follow along (@studiolb) to be the first to see such beautifulness!

Before Steve + Lindsey traveled out to the Black Hills for their session, I had asked Lindsey if she had any requests of where to go. She requested forest and sunset. Hopefully this is what she had in mind. :-)

Steve + Lindsey – I can’t thank you enough for being so willing and excited to try out these new locations with me! Thanks for hiking with me, for teaching me about paw prints, for taking a couple ‘just one more’ photos, and for all the thumbs-ups. ;-) I am so looking forward to your wedding in July!!

I have been so excited for it to finally be warm enough for engagement sessions out here in the Black Hills!! I have been scouting for new forest locations in preparation for upcoming sessions, and Kris + Gretchen were just as excited as I was to try out a couple new spots near Sturgis!

Kris + Gretchen – Thank you, for climbing over+under fallen trees, and getting your shoes a little dirty just to get to a great photo spot. :-) Your love is so kind and sweet. The two of you make *beautiful* photos and I can’t wait to create some more for you at your wedding!! :-)

Welcome to my first wedding of 2014 – it’s a good one. :-)

Brad and Jordin are the most calm, thoughtful, fun, good-hearted people I have had the pleasure of photographing. When I walked into Jordin’s suite as she was having the finishing touches of her makeup applied, I asked how she was doing and she said, “I’m so calm!!!” Maybe not with that many exclamation points, but she seemed surprised that everything was going so smoothly and that she was enjoying the day so far.

Later in the day, after they had welcomed all their guests to their reception, I asked Jordin again how she was and she said, “I’m having so much fun!!!” I was so proud, because that’s *exactly* how couples should feel about their wedding day! Relax, have fun, and enjoy being surrounded by the people who love you! :-)

p.s. If you’re getting married in Sioux Falls and need a hair + makeup artist – get Angelique from Platinum Imagination – she is seriously the best!!

I looove the part of getting ready when a bride puts her earrings on – so calm and beautiful. And can we take a moment to ogle Jordin? Dayum, girl!!

Brad + Jordin’s first look was so sweet – in between hugs and kisses they kept taking a step back from each other and admiring how good they looked! I think they were both very pleased.

Look at these two, being all married and such!! :-)

In between the mother/son and father/daughter dance, Jordin slipped into this little surprise number so she could more easily ‘boogy down’ – have I mentioned how FUN these guys are?!

Brad + Jordin – Thank you so much for being the most wonderful couple!! Thanks for going along with my silly photo ideas (p.s. you totally rocked the Justin + Jessica pose!) and for being so incredibly in love that it shines. You make me love my ‘job’ even more!

Sunshine, surprises and sappy sitcoms – here are my favorite things from March!!

1. Lance’s birthday – earlier this month, I surprised my husband with a super-fancy laptop bag for his birthday. It’s hard to order things for him online since he gets email notifications from UPS and FedEx sent directly to his email, so I had to be very very sneaky. It worked. :-)

2. Lemonade and Lenses cover contest honorable mention – L&L is a beautiful magazine for photographers with excellent articles. Twice now I have submitted images for their cover contest, and both times I have received an honorable mention, which is so very exciting since every other image considered for the cover is *so* lovely! It is an honor to be mentioned among so many other wonderful photographers.

3. SUNSHINE!!!! – Winter has mostly tapered off here in the Hills. We do still get a snow shower here and there, but nothing that sticks around for very long. Hooray for extra hours in the day and temperatures warm enough for outside photos!! :-)

4. studio lb Instagram account – I’ve had a personal account for a while (@laurabcatron), but I wanted someplace to sneak peek my pretty photos from engagement sessions and weddings. For the past week, I’ve been filling up the account with photos from the past and I’m now caught up through 2010. If you’re on Instagram, follow @studiolb to watch the past three years appear, as well as first looks at my upcoming weddings and sessions! If you’re not on Instagram, you can still check out the images by going to instagram.com/studiolb.

5. craft + bake day with Halley – My friend needed some help putting a quilt together, and since I have limited knowledge passed down from my mother, as well as a sewing machine, Halley came over and we spent the day tying, sewing, calling my mom for help along the way, and baking cupcakes! The cupcakes we made were Lavender with Vanilla Bean Frosting – although I was hesitant to put real bits of lavender in the actual cupcakes, so we steeped the lavender in the milk, and then couldn’t even taste it in the cupcakes. Maybe next time I’ll leave some in. I’m just so afraid they’ll taste like soap!!

6. Hart of Dixie – Do any of you watch this show? I know it’s super corny, but I think Rachel Bilson is simply adorable – I wish I had her hair, her style, and her ability to walk across town in heels. I’m also waiting for Zade to happen again, but we’ll see what the writers decide. ;-)