My Session with Kate: Every reason why in-home sessions can be AWESOME!

Kate's birthday is in January, and for a parent like Caroline, this isn't the easiest time of year to try for fabulous and NATURAL photos of her gorgeous little girls.  But, like many parents, including myself and my January birthday-boy, there are a couple of options to getting in those "commemorative" photos.

The most common options are:

-Wait until warmer weather:  I have done this one, although I often feel like at the early ages, they change SOOO quickly!  by the time spring comes around, my little guy is several months older and now I can't go back in time and get that official "coming of age" portrait.

-Pop into a Photographer's studio:  This is a great, safe option.  There will be no crazy weather and lighting will be exact and predictable.  BUT... how much personality do you get out of those images?  For me, photographing young children is about capturing a little piece of them and taking a safe and "portrait-perfect-picture" doesn't do that for me.  I like to tell a story and that is just my personal photography style. I want the photos to share just a little bit of how they would be shy and hide behind mom's leg, then how they were curious of the bug they found on the flower and then how they would light up at the way that bug would fly off.  I want to be able to play and run around with the kids I photograph in order to get those genuine smiles that as parents, we want to always hold onto. 

And that brings me to another option...

-In home, Lifestyle sessions:  YAY!  These have become something for me to look forward to in the winter months when I can't be in my usual outdoor settings.  I get to have photo time with the little ones and their families in a place that they know, love, and are comfortable in.  An added bonus is that this environment carries a TON of sentimental meaning for the entire family.  Sure, I have to tote some extra lighting equipment with me, but I get to follow the kiddos around as they show me and play with their favorite toys.  They might take a seat in their favorite reading spot or maybe go for a jump on Mommy and Daddy's bed.  Family Pets can often find their way into the phots and I love that.  

My session with Kate, the first for 2014, was an absolute Joy.  I showed up to find Kate and her sister Claire in matching ADORABLE ensembles.  I got my lighting set up and we just let Kate go.  She played with her toys a bit then we got her to sit in a nicely lit seat and MAGIC!  From her balloon to the soft light to her sweet smile... I love that image to pieces.  Then we got a couple more beautifully lit shots of her staring out into the snow-filled backyard.  I love these as they show another side of Kate.  Not the laughing and playing one, but the Calm Kate filled with wonderment. 

We did some photos on the stairs in the entry with both girls and I can't tell you how much I loved images of little ones peeking through or around objects. So when both girls started peeking through the spindles of the Stair rails... LOVE!  When kate wanted her sippy cup, again, I found this to be another beautiful moment as she took some well-earned sips from her cup while Mommy held her and gave her a pep-talk to get her through the rest of our time.  If sippy cups didn't work... skittles did! 

 

Next Kate showed us her room and her favorite reading spot where she took a little rest with a book.  Again, I loved this moment and the resulting shots.  Caroline told me that this is a daily thing for Kate and because of that, these were a couple of my favorites. 

Next, we let the girls head to mommy and daddy's room for a couple of bounce on the bed shots.  Kate was still in reading-mode though and so we got yet another of her reading .

By this time, our little 2 year old super-star was pooped... but her gorgeous big sister hopped up into a chair and rocked a cute smile and pose and lord knows we had to get that photo!  (ps... any of you who have followed me probably recognize this beauty.  She's graced my Facebook Cover photo several times and many of my mini-session announcements.  She's so photogenic and so much fun!!).

This session only confirmed for me that the best locations for children's photos aren't always what you expect.  Sure, I love shooting at parks, fields, Farms, and colorful downtown Lebanon as much as the next person, but sometimes the best place to do your child's session is right in the comfort of their own home.

*For more information on sessions, please contact me!

 

Best of 2013 Weddings

I need to throw a HUGE shout-out to all of the amazing couples that I was so lucky to work with this year!  Each event was full of love and laughter and so much joy that my face hurt after a long day of smiling so much while snapping those beautiful moments!

Building a relationship with my Brides and Grooms is so much fun for me.  In several of this year's weddings, I already knew a member of the happy couple.  The little brother of a best friend, a long time friend of the family, an old friend I grew up in dance class with.  And for several of the weddings, I met the bride and Groom to be at our "Pre-wedding Pow-wow"... or even on the day of the event! it didn't matter how long I had known these couples though, had it been 15 years or 15 minutes, I cried at each wedding as if I had known them ALL for years! (not ashamed to say, Yes.  I am that photographer.  I have emotions and guests will find a tear of joy running down the cheek that is pressed against the black box with the flash attached to it). I can proudly say that I started 2014 with new friendships on account of the fun we all had together as I chased them for an entire day as their personal paparazzi.  So thankful for you all!

And now... Some of my favorites from 2013!

It's a New Year... So here are some Newborns!

I am going to come clean about something right now for 2014:  I am a TERRIBLE Blogger (as one can plainly see from my lack of posts!).  If you follow my page on Facebook, you know very well I have shot MANY MANY more sessions that what are posted here.  And so, I'm starting fresh for the year and truly hoping I allow myself more time to share my favorites on here!

2013 was a big year for finding what I'm most comfortable shooting and what I am most pleased with as an end result.  I think one of the areas where I truly "found myself" as far as style this year was Newborn sessions.  I won't lie, when I first started out, these sessions were probably the most daunting.  Sure, I have two kids of my own, so babies aren't foreign to me, HOWEVER... finding interesting ways to shoot a little human who doesn't do much except look SUPER adorable and squishy can be a challenge.  I reviewed many other newborn photographers images for inspiration and after attempting those perfectly-posed-portrait shots... I realized that look WASN'T for me.  Sure, I feel it's important for every family to get some classic, clean "put it up in the frame" shots of their new little one, but I found that wasn't what was special about my opportunities with these new families.  That frame-perfect shot doesn't tell a story, and that's what I LOVE to do in photography.  I want  my clients to be able to put their images into a book, a book with no words, and let it speak for itself.  For Newborn sessions, I began approaching the sessions completely differently.  I go into each new baby's home now with the goal of creating a full snap shot of their life in these first few days so that in 20-30 years, they can go and pull out that book from this session and see their room, their tiny feet with the dry, peeling, newborn skin.  The umbilical cord stub, still fresh.  the first yawns, their older siblings excited little grins as they get to snuggle the new baby. The first documented smiles and how petite they were in Daddy's hands and laying against Mommy. I wanted to make sure all of those little details of the room that were so special and meaningful to mom and dad are documented too.  That First room tells so much and it gets by-passed by so many photographers!

I stopped showing up with a million blankets and backdrops to my sessions this year.  Sure, I have stuff on hand, should we need it, but I wanted the backgrounds and blankets and everything in the image to breathe life into the portfolio of images, to help set the scene.  My generic items are okay for some shots, but they mean nothing to the family.  And these images, should be packed full to the brim with meaning and sentiment.

And so, I went through my photos and here are some of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES of 2013!  Enjoy!!!