Dennis Roop, PhD, is a nice guy. He laughs easily, and the capacity of his heart is huge. These are the things I learned about a scientist I’ve admired and respected since the first time I met him while working at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is the director  of the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology at the CU medical school.

I’d always experienced Dr. Roop as a scientist and a leader. We had many serious conversations about heavy science topics when I was the communications director at the CU Cancer Center, and I always appreciated his patience in teaching me about deep science. We almost always talked about melanoma and skin cancer–cancer is a focus of his work. But he also does research in a less-known field: a skin condition called ichthyosis (ick-thy-Oh-sis).

Ichthyosis is an incurable disease that causes the skin to scale, peel and shed. It’s caused by a defective gene, sometimes passed down by parents. About 16,000 babies are born with the disorder, and they will live with the condition for their whole lives. Most people with ichthyosis become disfigured–and experience social and psychological problems. And, the disease can also cause dehydration, infections, blistering and overheating, according to the Foundation for Ichthyosis and Related Skin Types website.

FIRST is an international organization that aims to “educate, inspire and connect those touched by ichthyosis and related disorders through emotional support, information, advocacy and research funding for better treatments and eventual cures.” Dr. Roop sits on its board of medical and scientific advisers.

FIRST funds research

When a disease affects only 16,000 new people a year, there isn’t a lot in it for drug companies to develop treatments or look for a cure, let alone set up the necessary systems for discovery and testing. That’s where academic scientists like Dr. Roop come in. Without the pressure to please stockholders, university researchers have more leeway to pursue knowledge about rare diseases like ichthyosis. They apply for federal and private funding–like grants from FIRST, which started its research funding program in 2006. Dr. Roop and his colleague Jiang Chang, MD, were the foundation’s first grant recipients in 2006. And Dr. Roop received a second grant in 2009 to continue his work.

On June 21, 2012, its director, Jean Pickford, board of directors and Dr. Roop’s colleagues and admirers honored him for his contributions to understanding how the disease works at a genetic level and for using that information to work toward treatments. Half roast, half tribute, about 100 guests attended the fundraising dinner at the Denver Country Club. A silent and live auction raised more than $25,000 for FIRST, including a little donation from Dr. Roop during the live auction, when he got into a bidding war over a throwback signed and framed John Elway jersey. After dinner board members, parents of of patients and colleagues took the podium to tell stories and thank Dr. Roop for his work.

I always feel good at charity events. Having spent most of my life doing communications for nonprofits, I’ve attended quite a few, and I confess that my eyes rarely stay dry. I love photographing events for a great cause. The celebration of Dr. Roop on June 21 was one of the best.

Where to view and download all photos from the event

If you attended the June 21 event. you can download photographs on my website. Printable images are $10 and web-sized images are $2, and I will donate 50% of sales to FIRST.

Visit my FIRST event photography page to download your favorite images.

Now it’s second year, Elder Justice provides free or low-cost legal services to Denver senior citizens who otherwise could not afford a lawyer. To date, they’ve helped more than 50 people with more complex legal issues, including wills, powers of attorney and advance health directives. They’ve also assisted with landlord/tenant, contract and benefits disputes. Sharon is the only staff member. Attorneys from across the city volunteer their time and talents to help people in need.

She’s learned quickly that when you’re running a 501(c)3 nonprofit, you wear many hats, including fundraising. On Feb. 9, Elder Justice held its first Sweet Justice Dessert Tasting and Silent Auction at Transitions Gallery in LoDo. About 50 people attended, raising $3,000 through a silent auction with goods donated from about a dozen Denver businesses. The attendees tasted sweets from a half-dozen Denver bakeries, and enjoyed beer, wine and distilled spirits from local vendors. I love events like this: friendly people who aren’t camera shy, yummy food from generous vendors who donated their time, talent and goods, and a beautiful art gallery to boot. I was so happy to be there, to learn about the fantastic cause, and to help out by donating my time and talent too. Want to help? Make a donation to Elder Justice here.

Thanks to these vendors for their support:

Monthly Give Back

Giving back is part of my business philosophy. So each month, I will select a charity event to photograph at no cost. If you have an event and need a photographer, please send me an email at lynn@lynnclarkphotography.com with the date, location, times and your organization’s website. You must be a 501(c)3 to participate.

Download photos, keep giving!

Did you attend the Sweet Justice event? Visit my gallery page and download a full-resolution or web-resolution image. I’ll donate 25% of all sales to Elder Justice.

If you’re not familiar with a smash-cake session, here it is in a nutshell: We get baby naked down to his diaper, plop a small birthday cake in front of him, and let him go to town. Why diaper shots? Because things get messy and sticky. A half-naked baby is easily cleaned up with my ever-present stash of baby wipes.

Waylon’s is the first smash-cake session I’ve done in my studio, and since I had complete control over my set, I decided some colorful balloons were in order. Waylon made a beeline for them as soon as he knew it was OK to step on my white paper backdrop {aka floor napkin}.

We had to coax him to try the cake. Some kiddos dig right in and get frosting in their toes. Others are more cautious. No matter–this is all about your child’s personality, not about following a formula.

We had a few detours and distractions, as happens with 1 year olds. I’m patient and don’t worry about it. There’s always a good shot even when they’re not “doing what they’re supposed to.” Eventually, with mom’s help we interested Waylon in the cake and not the balloons! Well, sort of. There’s always the photographer to feed {we like cake too} and the candle. That 1st birthday candle is hard to resist.

Even when they’re clean they’re still dirty afterward. But the lips and eyelashes!

Stay tuned for a gallery of Waylon from birth to 1 year. My Seed to Sprout package includes four sessions: newborn, about 3 months, about 8 months and 1 year. And, for fun, you can add on a pregnancy photo session for you! At the end of your package, you receive an album with the best photos across the year. Please call me at 720-238-2113 or email lynn@lynnclarkphotography for more information.

And then, they hire me to take Jack’s photos. along with some of their family. I love stories with a happy ending.

Jack is a pumpkin, chubby-cheeked, blue-eyed. He was the perfect portrait subject–nary a tear was shed during the making of these photos at Denver’s Commons Park. We’d lost the leaves a few days before in a snow storm that marked the end of fall and the beginning of Indian Summer. We were happy to have softly clouded skies and lots of leaves on the ground for Jack to play in {and try to eat}. I am so happy to have made this new family’s first formal portraits! And I hope to take many more photographs of Jack as he grows up!

Help Jack’s family get a free 11×14.

Tell me which is your favorite photo in the comments. If 10 of Lia’s family’s friends and family members leave a comment,  they’ll win a free 11×14 of their favorite image!

CC was about to turn 9 months old, and although her mom had had 3 month photos done, the session hadn’t gone well. The timeframe wasn’t good for Miss CC, and she was a bit–ahem–crabby for the photos. Poor girl. And poor momma. Every momma wants beautiful photos of her baby during the growing up stages. I believe in working baby photography sessions into baby’s best times of day, bringing a whole lot of patience to the session and being willing to take a break when necessary and even to just let go of a creative concept if baby just is not having it. {Miss CC said NO to the fairy wings I bought to go with her tutu. Oh, well!}

I was happy to give Karen and CC a much better experience, being sure to schedule our session for right after naptime so baby would be happy and refreshed. We worked for just under an hour, moving from outfit to outfit as quickly as we can. Miss CC’s grandparents have great taste–they provided much of her adorable wardrobe. She was a good sport for all of the over-the-head changes that Saturday morning.

The thing about babies is they go through so many moods in a hour. One moment they’ll laugh and smile and the next they’ll cry. It’s all good. I love tears, and smiles, and everything in between because I like to remember my own daughter’s many emotions and expressions. I don’t believe children should be smiling in every photo.

I had such a wonderful time taking Miss CC’s photograph. I wish her and her family the best of luck as they move out of Colorado for her daddy’s job. You sure are a sweetie! {Except for when you bite your momma’s nose!]

HELP KAREN AND CC WIN A FREE 11X14!

Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite photo is, and if the post receives 10 comments, Miss CC and her family win a free 11×14 of their favorite image.

Right before they moved to Wisconsin, I met up with Laurel and Saoirse and dad Alan at their Denver home to take her 1-year photos. Since my studio was not yet ready, we set up for her smash cake session in the back yard, with an old white sheet as a background. I picked up a pretty cake at the grocery store. What do you get when you add a pretty little girl to the mix? A big mess! When we were  done with the cake, Laurel gave her a birdbath in the kitchen sink, and then she did some gardening while we ate breakfast. To quote her momma, “It was a lovely time.” For her birthday, I shipped a large canvas of the messiest image below. It was the first picture they hung in there new home. Because with pictures this cute, you can’t keep them on the computer. They need to be displayed!

If your baby is turning one, let’s do a smash cake session! So much fun. And at my studio, I clean up the mess! Click the contact link at the top to get started. Lynn

Right on time, little Lia was born, and I had the pleasure of making her newborn portraits in my new studio–Lia is my first in-studio baby! Melissa brought Ben and Brian along with the hopes of getting a good family photo. Ben watched DVDs and horsed around with his dad while I got some sweet shots of Lia, and then we put the family in front of my backdrop for a few quick shots. In the end, I took Ben out to splash in puddles in his Thomas the Train rainboots while mom and dad got Lia ready for our chilly October day, and I got lucky with a pretty photo of the family taking a walk down my street with the fall colors behind them.

Help Lia’s family get a free 11×14.

Tell me which is your favorite photo in the comments. If 10 of Lia’s family’s friends and family members leave a comment,  they’ll win a free 11×14 of their favorite image!

My daughter Lauren turned 10 this year. She has always been–and probably always will be –my favorite subject. First, she’s gorgeous. Strangers stop her on the street to compliment her strawberry blonde hair. Second, she’s a seasoned model, having posed for me at least once a month for the past decade. Today, she’s at that eye-rolling age, growing a little more self-conscious every day and less willing to be my model.

A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to scout Riverfront Park on the west side of downtown Denver for my Oct. 29 family sessions, and I had to beg her–and bribe her–to go with me and be my model. The park was gorgeous that day, the leaves just turning gold and red, the fall sun hot on our shoulders. Lauren made a quest of finding an intact shell in the South Platte, and I played with my latest camera, a Nikon D90 DSLR. When I pleaded incessantly with her, she’d grace me with a glance at the camera. Or, maybe a pose or a hair toss.

Notice the growing irritation? Did I mention she’s 10? I think I may be in trouble.

On the way home, I did take her for ice cream at Little Man in the Highlands. She got cookies and cream. I got apple pie and chocolate orange. Yum. We found some gorgeous spots for my family shoot, and I got some fun photos of my kiddo being exactly who she is at this moment in time. Sweet, sassy, silly, a bit cantankerous. And beautiful. Like I said, I think I’m in trouble.

I love to take pictures of kids of all ages, just how they are, right now. I’d love to take pictures of yours! My kiddo photography sessions for children age 1+ are done on location. Let me help you capture this time in your child’s life.

These collections, which give you at minimum 10 small prints, allow you to essentially prepay for a bundle of products before your session at a substantial discount–up to 40% off retail prices. What’s more, when you buy a collection, your online gallery is available for 14 days instead of 7. You receive a discount code for up to 30% off that you can share with friends and family during your online gallery viewing period.

My Collections

Like options? You got ‘em

If you’re not sure a collection is what you want, you have options.

• You can buy product credit before we start taking pictures–minimum $400–and you get 10% in bonus product credit.  Buy $1,000, get $1,100 in purchasing power.
• You can trade in small prints from your collection toward other products at a value of $20 a pop. Say you like the Big Collection, but you only need 10 8x10s to share with grandparents and put on your desk at work. Order 10, trade in 5 for $100 in credit and buy a 16×20 wall print to hang in your hallway instead.

If you’re on the fence, you can always wait until your gallery reveal to order products. You’ll just pay retail price.

Collections vs. A la Carte

Want an apples-to-apples comparison? Here you go.

*Buy product credit toward your post-session purchase before we start taking pictures, and you get a 10% bonus product credit. $400 minimum applies.

Want to see the full product catalog?

Email me for access to my full product price list: lynn@lynnclarkphotography.com.

Located in a private area at the front of my home, my space will be used for boudoir, newborns, babies and maternity/pregnancy sessions. I’ll still do headshots, family pictures and other individual and couples portraits on location.

Grand Opening Boudoir Party!

The first step: hold a Boudoir Party for 5 lucky clients! You can read all about the boudoir party on my Bare Boudoir Studio site. The basic deets:

I have 3 sessions still available {830 am , 1015 am and 330 pm} for boudoir mini-sessions that include:

• chocolate and champagne
• professional makeup application
• 45 minutes of professional photography + hand-editing of your 15+ proofs
• 1 look + white sheet session/implied nude
• 2 web-resolution images + 1 5×7

The Space

What was once a seldom-used formal living/dining space is currently being renovated into a sumptuous studio with a boutique hotel feel. {photos will come!} I’ll have at least 7 sets in the 400-square-foot, sunny space, including:

The Client Lounge

A Hollywood Glam-styled sitting area with a silver velvet couch, zebra rug and classic black-and-white accessories. This room will have a vibrant violet wall. The Client Lounge will provide two sets: the couch and a huge silver-framed mirror. It will also be the place we meet for consultations, ordering and viewing sessions, and the makeup area.

The Bedroom

Suitable for boudoir, maternity and newborn sessions, the bedroom offers a soft, romantic setting with white ruffled bedding, lace curtains, and a shabby-chic feel. It is flanked on both sides by windows for my favorite natural light photography, silhouettes and games of peek-a-boo. I’m adding a dark wood dresser that will be a wonderful stand for babies in baskets and other props.

The Peacock Wall

A modern Crate and Barrel chaise lounge sits in front of a peacock blue stenciled wall. A pink floral armless chair sits nearby waiting for you. It’s a gorgeous setting for all portraits.

The Window Seat

Sun. White sheer curtains. Bliss. This will be the perfect set for newborns, babies, and all adults.

The Wood Floor

The space is covered with dark hardwood, providing a great backdrop for all skin tones and tons of props. In the right light, the floor gives a slight reflection, adding to the sumptuous feel of the photograph.

The Backdrops

No photo studio is complete without traditional black and gray backdrops. Combine them with a variety and lighting for classic portraits.

The Grand Entrance

Last–well, first–is the grand entrance, an 8-foot wall of black and red velvet curtains. Everyone will be ready to make their premiere in front of these luscious draperies, which also provide privacy for your session.