Clayton Hansen Photography

New Website/Blog

2011-01-09T23:38:00.004-07:00

It has been a good few years, and this is likely going to be the last post here on Blogger. It has been a long time in the making (although it probably shouldn't have been), but I am finally moving into a new blogsite (blog + website). Previously I had both, but because it took too much to coordinate updates on the website as well as here on the blog, I have decided to go with a consolidated approach. Please udpate any links that you may have, and come over and visit on the new site. It can be found at http://www.claytonhansenphotography.com/ (now you have 8 less letters to type when visiting...you're welcome!

Family Portraits

2010-11-23T22:46:00.003-07:00

Here is another shoot Clay did recently. We love this family and it is always fun to get together with them. Their little girl is an absolute angel and did so great in the freezing cold!

Family Portraits

2010-11-11T21:36:00.003-07:00

Look at this family of gorgeous people! Clay did this shoot tonight and I wanted to get a quick sneak peek up tonight before we leave for vacation. Hope you like them guys!

Another Cute Family

2010-11-01T15:35:00.003-06:00

Here is another preview of a family shoot Clay did a few weeks ago. Sorry the preview has taken so long! I don't think these kids could be more adorable!

Family Pictures

2010-10-30T12:23:00.003-06:00

This is such an adorable family. This little one was such a happy little thing and had the best toothy grin! Hope you guys like your preview. For those families out there still waiting, I promise yours is coming soon! Thanks for being patient!

Faith

2010-10-25T11:35:00.003-06:00

This little sweetheart is Faith. She started out her little life with some health problems, but after surgery, time in the NICU, and lots of love...she is the sweetest and healthiest baby around. We started the night doing some pictures of Faith and then did a few family shots. I just love this cute family!

Family Pictures

2010-10-21T20:33:00.004-06:00

It is definitely the season for Family Pictures. This family has waited so patiently for their preview. What an adorable family, and what adorable clothes!

And a few more...

2010-10-05T16:14:00.003-06:00

Here are some more cute pictures from the other night. I just loved everything about this session!

Does it get any better...

2010-10-04T00:05:00.009-06:00

...than family pictures in the Fall! This is my gorgeous sister and her darling family! Just these for now, but tons more to come from this shoot.

A few more...

2010-09-23T23:43:00.003-06:00

Because I love you guys! I was up late editing last night and I wanted to blog a few more pictures since we didn't get up any of the family last time.

In the Good 'ol Summertime

2010-09-19T23:50:00.004-06:00

A little while back, I had the chance to go up to Albion Basin with my cute wife, daughter, and my parents. We decided to head up and take a picnic with us, enjoy the beautiful flowers, and take advantage of the setting to get some 18 month pictures of my cute Millie. Check out the pictures below...I couldn't be more proud as a father, and I am totally in love with my family! I am so blessed to have such wonderful girls in my life. Does it get any better than this?

Sunshine and Happiness

2010-09-17T16:43:00.010-06:00

This is Clay's gorgeous sister! She is just one of those people who makes you happy just being around her. When I saw this location, I knew it was perfect for her pictures. I can't wait to meet baby Addie, with a mom like this- I can't even imagine how beautiful she will be!

Family Portraits

2010-09-10T23:06:00.009-06:00

I grew up in the same neighborhood as these two, so it was exciting when they booked a sitting with Clay. It was so much fun seeing them again! These kids loved the camera, and as you can see the camera loved them! Enjoy your little preview guys!

Family Portraits

2010-08-12T21:46:00.003-06:00

Here are a few shots from a family shoot that we did last weekend. These little girls were adorable, and really good sports the whole time.

Paying it Forward

2010-08-08T19:59:00.010-06:00

Today, I have been thinking about how fortunate I have been in my life. I look around at my beautiful wife and sweet little girl and realize that this is pretty much as good as it gets! We have definitely had our share of ups and downs, and I am grateful to all those who have supported us during those "down" times.

I have decided to "Pay it Forward" and offer a free family photo shoot to a deserving family. This will include a disc of high-resolution images and a free 8x10.

If you know of a family who you would like to nominate for this, please send me an email at clay.foto@gmail.com with a short paragraph or two telling me why you have chosen to nominate the family. You can even nominate your own family if you want.

Please make sure your email includes the following information:

1. Your name
2. Name of the family you are nominating
3. A short description of why you are nominating the family
4. Email or phone number of the family you are nominating

Please send me your nomination by August 15th. I will look over all the emails and contact the winner on August 16th.

*The photo shoot will take place near Salt Lake City, Utah in September of 2010.

Family Portraits

2010-08-08T15:54:00.007-06:00

Here is a preview of a family shoot that Clay did last week. I have known this family for as long as I can remember and there is such a special place in my heart for them! I couldn't believe how natural these boys were in front of the camera and what good sports they were the whole time. These pictures are from the first half of the shoot, so stay tuned for the rest to come later.

Fun Family Portraits

2010-08-03T22:02:00.013-06:00

This family is so gorgeous! This little girl was such a little sweetheart. What a doll! Every picture from that night is just gorgeous it has taken a little longer to go through them and get some posted. Hope you like your preview!

Thank Heaven for little BOYS!

2010-07-31T23:15:00.004-06:00

These little guys were so adorable. They are some of the best behaved kids I have ever seen on a photo shoot. Clay really lucked out that night- Darling little boys AND the rain held out until after the photo shoot!

Mother's Day

2010-07-16T14:55:00.013-06:00

Clay gave me a photo shoot for just me and Millie for Mother's day. Seriously, what a great husband I have. I will love these pictures forever!

Family Pictures - Little Cottonwood Canyon

2010-06-29T22:55:00.008-06:00

The other day I was able to make it up Little Cottonwood Canyon with this great family. We got up a little earlier than I would have liked, but the lighting worked out great, and we loved the spot that we found.

Spring Family Pictures

2010-05-21T19:51:00.012-06:00

We had so much fun the other night with this family. It was just gorgeous outside and there couldn't have been a cuter family!

Cousins

2010-04-27T23:14:00.007-06:00

This shoot was all about fun! This was a cousin shoot that had everyone on the go the entire time. No pauses for posing here... Luckily these kids are darling in any position and Clay is quick with his camera! Hope you like your sneak peek.

In the Orchard

2010-04-15T21:00:00.006-06:00

Here are a few from an Orchard shoot Clay did tonight. I am loving these! Can you believe how Gorgeous these two are!?

Drum Roll Please....

2010-04-08T00:01:00.016-06:00

Here is a sneak peek from the photo shoot with the Beautiful Baby Contest Winner, Vincent! Vincent was diagnosed with Neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy (NALD) when he was just a few months old. He and his parents have been through a lot and are the bravest people we know. We can't think of anyone more deserving! He really is a gorgeous little guy, can you believe that little smile!

Worth the Wait

2010-03-29T14:29:00.007-06:00

I wanted to wait until after the Baby Contest was over before I posted these. Clay did this family photo shoot the day before their missionary left on his mission! They were such a great family to work with and so natural in front of the camera (which is not always the case with a family of boys)! Best Wishes to this family and their great missionary!

and the WINNER is....

2010-03-29T10:40:00.008-06:00

We are excited to announce the WINNER of the Beautiful Baby Contest is VINCENT!!!

Vincent won with a whopping 461 votes! What a Cutie!

Thanks to everyone for participating! I can't believe all the adorable little babies we had enter. It was a very close competition and Clay and I are just relieved we didn't have to choose between all those sweet little babies.

Stay tuned within the next few weeks to see pictures from Vincent's photo shoot!

Beautiful Baby Contest - Contestants

2010-03-18T19:53:00.011-06:00

Here are the contestants for the Beautiful Baby Contest! Please enter your vote on the poll to the right. You can cast your votes until 10:00 PM on March 28, 2010. Remember that the baby with the most votes will win a FREE mini-shoot. The winner will be announced March 29, 2010. Good luck to everyone!

Beautiful Baby Contest

2010-03-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce Clay's first ever Beautiful Baby Contest! The winner will receive a free mini-photo shoot for their child and a disc with 10-12 images- Oh and of course- all the Bragging Rights that come with being the winner!

How it works- Send us a picture of your little one to Clays email (clay.foto@gmail.com) by Thursday March 18, 2010. Please include your name, an email or phone number where we can contact you, a picture of your child, and the first name and age of your child. We will post all the pictures on our blog on March 19, 2010 and the Voting will begin! The baby with the most votes by 10:00 PM MST on Sunday March 28, 2010 will be the winner!

Rules- For this contest we are only accepting pictures of babies 3 years and under. Picture entries can be any picture you want (snapshots or more formal portraits, whatever you like). The Free Photo Shoot will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah or a nearby surrounding area. Votes can be from anyone so make sure all your friends and family vote for your Beautiful Baby! The winner will be announced on Monday March 29th.

If you have any questions, let us know by posting a comment or emailing Clay at clay.foto@gmail.com.

Just Precious!

2010-02-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures from Clay's One Year Old photo shoot with our little girl. The pictures make her look so sweet and quiet- very different from her usual crazy and busy personality. We love her and I love these pictures!

10 Months!

2009-12-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

When I bought this hat, I knew we would have to get some cute pictures of her in it. These pictures were supposed to be taken back when we did family pictures, but we just ran out of time. We did a super fast photo shoot last weekend (about 5 minutes) and I was happy that Clay got so many cute ones in such a short amount of time. This is our baby girl at 10 Months!

Early Christmas Present

2009-12-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry that this preview has taken a few days... Good news is we are almost done with your pictures and should have them to you by tomorrow! Hopefully that gives you enough time to get that Christmas card sent out! It was so fun to meet you and I still smile thinking about that cute little girl of yours!

Gorgeous Mommy to Be

2009-12-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

This cute couple reminded me so much of Clay and I when I was pregnant. Well... except I never looked this amazing when I was pregnant! They are going to have one gorgeous little boy! Congratulations and we hope you like your little preview.

Too Cute

2009-11-29T18:10:00.001-07:00

Can you believe how adorable these kids are?!? Seriously loving these! What a fun family! Hope you guys like your preview!

I can't decide between Color and Black and White- Both are just so precious!

Senior Sneak Peek

2009-11-25T22:58:00.001-07:00

Clay had to reschedule this photo shoot several times because of the weather... I'd say it was worth the wait! I wanted to get your sneak peek up before the holiday weekend- Hope you like it! Have a blast with the rest of your Senior Year!

My Family

2009-11-09T14:11:00.001-07:00

We finally got around to doing pictures of our little family. Clay did such a great job being the photographer and being in the pictures at the same time. It was tricky, but he managed it and I am so relieved we got some good ones. Now to pick the one for the Christmas card...

Darling Custom Skirts

2009-11-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

We have a family friend who makes these adorable skirts. Her mom owns a fabric store so you pretty much have your choice of the cutest fabrics around. She makes Christmas ones that are to die for! If you are interested, let us know or visit Material Girls Quilt Shop in South Jordan, Utah.

Cute Cute Family!

2009-11-02T21:55:00.001-07:00

Ok so we are really behind in the blogging world, but I had to post this little family. We love, love, love this family- mostly because they are just the most darling family ever, but also cause they are our family! Their little girl was such a great little picture taker- seriously one of the sweetest little one year olds ever- Thanks you guys!

Autumn is in the Air

2009-08-27T18:54:00.000-06:00

Autumn in Utah is the most beautiful time of year- and in my opinion every family needs a picture during the fall season! Clay is doing family sittings (6 people or less) right now for only $100.00, which includes a CD with all of the edits (usually about 20-30 pictures). If you are interested, email him at clay.foto@gmail.com.

6 Months

2009-08-24T11:09:00.000-06:00

I can't believe our little Millie is already 6 months! Here are some pictures from her 6 month photo shoot.

Seniors

2009-08-24T10:52:00.001-06:00

This is Clay's cousin, Taylor. Clay was really excited about doing this shoot because Taylor is such a fun kid. From the looks of these pictures I think that Taylor is set for a great Senior year!

Don't Smile Addy!!!

2009-08-24T10:40:00.000-06:00

This was such a cute family. We have known Matt since High School and we loved meeting his adorable family! To get Addy to stop and pose for pictures her parents would tell her "Don't Smile Addy"- and then she would get the cutest little smile that just lights up a room- Gotta love 2 year olds!

Cute Couple

2009-08-24T10:32:00.000-06:00

Clay had such a great time doing engagements for this couple. Congratulations and Best Wishes Stratton and Laura!

My Little Family

2009-08-22T08:40:00.000-06:00

With things getting more and more busy, the blog has been really ignored. My wife, Jen, has volunteered to keep the blog updated so from now on, pictures will probably be posted by her. Here are some pictures of my little family that I took back in June. Aren't my girls beautiful?!?

New Portraits

2009-03-22T17:28:00.000-06:00

I went downtown the other day for a photo shoot with these two beautiful girls. They were such troopers during the entire process through the wardrobe changes, cold wind, etc. I think it was all worth it and we got some great pictures!

Camille Mae Hansen

2009-01-31T21:23:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the newest love of my life. This is my daughter Camille Mae Hansen. In these pictures she is a week old, and surprisingly enough, she didn't seem to mind the flash too much when taking the pictures. Enjoy.

I'm Still Here

2009-01-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been quite a while since I have last posted, and for anyone that is reading this blog, no, I have not disappeared entirely. I am still taking pictures, and doing some shoots on the side, and have recently started to go back through my old work and touch it up and add in some new artistic elements.

Recently I started to get into HDR photography, and for my landscapes and nature pics, it actually is quite interesting. I haven't yet tried it on portraits or human subjects, but that is for a later post. Anyway, I have posted a few pictures here (some taken recently, and some older) that I have manipulated a bit to give the picture new life. You will have to let me know what you think.

Bengalley Head - Avalon, Australia

Downtown Sydney, Australia

Draper Utah Temple

Bengalley Head - Avalon, Australia

Dave & Rachel

2008-10-20T20:16:00.000-06:00

These are a few shots from my most recent sitting with Dave and Rachel. The photos were taken at Memory Grove in downtown SLC.

New Pictures

2008-07-19T23:24:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a while since my last post, and I have heard repeatedly over the last few days that I needed to put up some new pictures of weddings, engagements, bridals etc. So, here are a few that I have for now. Hopefully I can get better at this and make my posts a little more regular and keep some new pictures on here so that any viewers will have something new to look at.

2008-04-20T20:18:00.000-06:00

Well, I am now back home from Australia and I must say that it is nice to be home. I really enjoyed the trip and am very glad that I was able to go with my wife, but there is just something about home that makes you feel good. I was going through a few pictures and noticed this one in my collection of Bondi Beach. It is just south of Sydney and is one of the most famous in Australia. I am not sure how I captured it just right, but it seems to be a painting...but I can assure you that I took it with my camera. I did a few adjustments to the lighting so that the trees in the foreground weren't just a silhouette, and removed a surfer out of one of the waves, but other than that it is just as I took it.

Sydney at Night

2008-04-13T07:05:00.000-06:00

Man I love photography. I was able to go back into Sydney again tonight to get a few more pictures. This time I was on land, so I was able to get out the tripod and cable release and really get some good exposures of Sydney at night. They turned out really well, and it was kind of nice having overcast skies as it lit up the horizon a little bit...it made for a good effect. These turned out better than the last post at night. I hope you enjoy.

Australia

2008-04-11T23:47:00.000-06:00

As some of you may know, my wife and I are now in Australia for a little vacation. Here are some pics that I have taken since we arrived.

2008-03-29T13:07:00.000-06:00

I am in the process of going through the final pictures that will be displayed on my website. However, because of the time that it takes to create a new site (from scratch) and the time that would be spent updating it, I am likely going to go with a template. On the right side of the screen there is a poll that I have set up with three choices that I have narrowed it down to (each site is completely editable for text, pictures, colors,etc). Please take a minute to copy the link and view the template in your own browser and make a selection. I want to get something that I like, but also something that you (the end user) isn't going to navigate away from. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

Recent Engagements

2008-03-25T16:41:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics of an engagement sitting that I did the other day. I think that the pics turned out pretty well...the only complaint was that it was a little windy during the shoot, but otherwise all went well.

2007-10-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

These are a few pics that I took on my most recent trip to Lake Powell. Luckily there was a little bad weather during the trip to get the one of the lightning.

2007-10-11T17:56:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone,

I never thought that I would ever join the blogging nation, but here I am. This is actually most likely going to be a temporary piece until I can get my site up and running (it is a lot more work than I had imagined).

These photos are two of my favorites from my most recent shoot in Arizona. The set was done at a place called Villa Siena (http://www.villasiena.cc/) in Chandler, and is an excellent place to do wedding, engagments, and bridal photos - I love the architecture.