New Look!

I just wanted to say thank you SO much to Marina over at Penny Lane Designs who did the new layout for the blog. She did an incredible job and I'm so excited about the new layout with larger pictures! I hope you all love it as much as I do!!

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FAQ

What is natural light photography?
Basically natural light photography means that I use the natural light available to me when taking the majority of my photos (I do have a Canon Speedlite flash that I have used for reception photos).

Do you take indoor photos? Where do you take them?

I do take indoor photos (see Ronan's session for an example) of children and/or families. I do not currently have a studio but as long as your house has large windows with decent light, I can come to your home and take photos there. I can use your house as a background (as I did with the Christmas tree photos of Ronan) and I also have a mobile studio that I can set up in the room with the best light (although this only really works for children, not adults or pets).

Can we take outdoor photos in the snow?

Definitely! Scheduling can be a little tricky because you don't want to be outside if it's too cold, but we can make it work if you want some photos in the snow.

When do you take photos?

Currently I am only scheduling sessions for the weekends. If weekends don't work for you, please email me and we might be able to work something out. Click here to see my availability.

For a newborn session, are the photos only of the baby or can parents/siblings be in some shots as well?

Newborn sessions are primarily of the newborn, but parents/siblings can definitely be included in some photos. (Note: Newborn photos are also taken in your home, and the lengthy session time allows for breaks for changing/feeding/etc.)

Can we bring our dog along to our family session?

You know your pet and whether or not they will sit still for some photos, but generally I say absolutely! I typically bring my husband Josh as my assistant and he helps me get the dog's attention during the session, as well as walking the dog around while I'm taking photos of just the family. I also bring treats and some squeaky toys (which definitely helps with getting the puppies to look at the camera).

What should we wear?

See this post for some ideas. I would suggest avoiding white, logos (Old Navy, Gap, etc printed on your shirt), or anything too tight or too oversized. The main thing is that you (or your children) feel like themselves and are comfortable!

I don't see any information about wedding pricing, do you photograph weddings?

I recently photographed my first wedding in October and have another scheduled for November 13th. You can view wedding posts HERE. Please email me for more information.

Do you travel?

Yes! All of my pricing is based within a 30 mile radius of the Iowa City area. I have family in the Humboldt/Fort Dodge area so it is very easy for me to travel there for a weekend. Please contact me for more information.

Do you take senior pictures?

No, I do not take senior pictures (mainly due to the fact that I do not have a studio at this time).

If you have a question that hasn't been answered here, please email me at madiganphotography@gmail.com and I will gladly answer it to the best of my ability! :)

Giving Aid


I know that photos are the focus of my business and this blog but I had to take a moment to discuss the horrible earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday and what everyone can do to help.

As I'm sure all of you know by now (and have seen on the news and countless blogs), Haiti was hit by a massive earthquake on Tuesday and they fear 500,000 may be dead, and countless more injured. I just wanted to take a moment to list some organizations (courtesy of Good Morning America's website) that are now accepting donations and ask for all of you to donate if you can (even a dollar or two will help!).

The Red Cross is also offering an option where you can donate $10 by texting 'Haiti' to 90999 (I believe the $10 will be added to your phone bill)

Einstein + Molly Mutt

Sorry for the lack of actual photo shoots, but with the freezing temps and the recent holidays, I don't think many people are thinking about photos at the moment (but just an FYI, I can do indoor photos, just email me for more info!). I did take some photos this weekend though and wanted to share this photo that I took of Einstein on his Molly Mutt bed.

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If you've never heard of Molly Mutt beds, they're actually duvet covers for dog beds and come in a few different prints. I like them because you can put in old blankets, towels, clothes, pillows...whatever you aren't using anymore (and the dogs like them because they smell like you!). Einstein doesn't sleep on his at night (as I'm sure you assumed, he's so spoiled he gets to sleep in our bed) but he does perch on it often during the day while doing his neighborhood watch thing.

New Year's Eve 2009

Josh and I always try and do something different each year for New Year's Eve. Last year we had dinner with friends, the previous year we got dressed up and went out to a nice dinner downtown. This year we decided to be recession friendly and just make dinner at home, spending the evening with our favorite furry friend!

Einstein, ready to party...

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Since I'm usually the one behind the camera, Josh took a few of me and my little buddy.

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The last night of enjoying our tree (we always take it down on New Year's Day). If you look closely, you can see me in one of the ornaments!

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For dinner I made flank steak, potatoes, and we also had salad topped with cranberries, feta cheese, and nuts. Dessert was espresso chocolate mousse with marscapone whipped cream. It was very yummy (if I do say so myself!)!

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What are your New Year's traditions?

Christmas 2009

I didn't take a ton of photos over the holidays this year but I did want to share a few from Christmas Eve at my parent's house. Since the weather was kind of crazy (alternating between rain/snow/freezing rain) we weren't able to do what we normally do on Christmas Eve (get together with all of our extended family). We ended up having kind of a quiet night, but it was nice that all of my siblings made it home despite the crappy weather.

After dinner my little brother Sam busted out the Curious George game (and I got some wonderful blackmail photos of two of my sisters wearing a panda and a pig mask).

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There are no grandkids yet, but there are 3 grandpuppies (my parents are SO proud, haha). My sister Abby's dog Rudy was surprisingly calm, and of course I had to capture Einstein's Santa's Little Helper shirt. Sam wanted in on the action too, as you can see...

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After the guys got sick of dominating Sam's "Whack-a-mole" game (I so wish I had photos of that!), they decided to play a few hands of poker.


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Apparently my brother in law (in the foreground of the photo below) was the big winner of the night, although I'm not sure exactly how much he walked away with in the end (probably not a lot).


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After the excitement of game night, Sam had a little quiet time with my sister and my dad...


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101 in 1001


I'm not sure where this originated, but I've seen it recently on two photography blogs (Jessica Claire and Melissa Jill, both of whom are amazing at what they do!!). In any case, with it being the new year and all, I thought I would give it a try!

It was actually a lot more difficult than I thought to come up with 101 things, but if you're curious you can click HERE to view my list. Is there anything on there you could help me accomplish? What would be on your list of goals?

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year!

I just wanted to take a moment to mention that to kick off the new year, bookings through April 14th, 2010 will receive a 50% discount on my session fee (there is no restriction as to what month the photo session takes place, it just must be booked before April 14th to receive the discounted rate). You can view my entire price list by clicking here, and the discounted prices (before sales tax) are already noted in red. I also offer a referral program, so if you have any questions about that or anything else, please feel free to email me at madiganphotography@gmail.com.

And because every post is better with a picture...

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