{Maternity Session-Amanda}

Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph Amanda and Donnie for Amanda's maternity session.  I've know Donnie and Amanda for years now, and when she announced she was pregnant I was very excited.  A lot of my friends are pregnant now.  We all joke and say it's something in the water.  Amanda is now 8 months and looking forward to seeing her little boy.

We had the session in Battery Park, one of my favorite places to shoot.  And let me tell you,  Amanda and Donnie knocked their pictures out of the ballpark (funny thing for saying that since they are both HUGE Mets fans).  Every single picture was just filled with cuteness.  It was a cute overload!  And huge props to Donnie for being just as cute!

 

This last picture I love for a number of reasons.  One, I love tattoos.  Two, being a mom now, my priorities have changes, and a big thing for me is having my child love and accept everyone, which is why his tattoo is so epic.

Again, a big thank you to Donnie and Amanda, you two were great! I can't wait to meet your little one!

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Dining out

Tonight was a good night.  Wesley, Charlotte and myself headed out to one of my favorite places to eat and had dinner.  Well technically Charlotte didn't eat anything since she is five weeks old, but you catch my drift.  I love dining out, I always have.  It doesn't have to be somewhere fancy or super expensive, just plop me down somewhere to eat and have good conversation, I am good.

 

We talked of our past, and our present, and our future.  Still amazed that we have a new baby.  How much we love each other, the fun we have.  We looked through pictures on my cell phone from the past two years.  Excited on the strides I am making in photography and the upcoming wedding season.  We talked about my excitement for the next wedding I am shooting and of the family and portrait sessions that I have scheduled.  And it hit me, if it was not for Wes and his love and support, I am almost positive that none of this would be happening.  I would have probably taken a different route in life.  It's amazing how things change.  There are times when I wonder, what if?  But I don't wonder too much, I love where my life is at right now.

And a very rare picture of my husband, the elusive Wesley.  Making his, "why are you taking a picture of me yet again?" face.

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Getting back into the swing of things!

As of yesterday my daughter is 4 weeks old.  I can't believe how slow and fast it has gone by.  I already feel like she is growing up so fast!  She smiles and coos, can almost roll over, watches tv, loves listening to music, and actually tries to have conversations by way of sticking out her tongue.  My baby is growing up so fast!  There are times when I still can't believe that I am a mother.  It is still so very amazing to me.  Here is a shot of my gorgeous girl just being so sweet and innocent!  She loves being in her swing!

I promise you I am not only photographing my daughter! I do indeed have sessions scheduled with families and kids other than my own, and I cannot wait.  This Sunday starts the ball rolling with a family of six, including their dog!(yay for dogs!!!)  The funny thing is, the client is the aunt of one of my past wedding clients and is the best friend to one of my past engagement session clients.  As I have said before, word of mouth to a photographer is INVALUABLE!  Especially when you live in a tiny state like Delaware.  So a big thanks again to all of my clients(now friends) who spread the word and send more awesome people to me!!!

It feels good to be getting back into the swing of things.  And I am so thankful that I have the type of job that allows me to be with my family almost all of the time.  I get all misty when I leave her with my mother for a few hours, I have no idea how I would handle it if I had to leave her everyday for 8 hours or more.  But do not get me wrong, this is a lot of work! A lot of hard, tiring, sometimes stressful work.  Behind the fun and beautiful images that is a team (mainly me, myself, and I) working behind the scenes on everything!  Which reminds of a quote that I ran across on another photographers page:

“Photography to the amateur is recreation, to the professional it is work, and hard work too, no matter how pleasurable it my be” - E. Weston

 

And on that note I shall have to end this post here as I have a hungry baby. Pin It

Almost time for fall...

Yay!  It's almost time for fall.  Although the weather feels like we just went straight from summer to almost winter.  What's up with the weather?  Thankfully, it will be warming back up to the 70's for the week, and that is quite alright with me.  I love the fall...and the spring, and the first part of summer.  As long as it is not winter, I am a happy camper.  Fall means breaking out the cute boots and sweaters, and eating caramel apples, and Halloween, and the leaves changing color, and just gorgeousness all around.  I don't know about you, but it feels weird for me to eat a pumpkin pie in any other season than fall.

And fall also means great pictures for my little bean, and my clients of course.  I am going to tell you this, and I am being brutally honest here...I am so thankful that all of the newborns and children that I have photographed before have been so awesome!  I, for some reason am the baby whispering when it comes to other children, but when it comes to mine, she does want she wants.  I can't even pose her in her sleep to do the cute photos of her curled up.  It's almost like she knows what I am trying to do and is determined to be defiant.  Now, when she is awake, she is all full of smiles and *attempted* giggles, which come out more like squeals actually.

I know that I cannot wait till the leaves start changing color, one of the best things about fall is the colors!  They are just so pretty!  I remember when I was in elementary school, we always did art projects that involved picking leaves, gluing them on paper and painting around them or something.

Either way, fall is almost here. Are you as excited as I am? Pin It

Stoves and Cameras, What do they have in common?

A couple of days ago I found a quote and I posted it on my facebook page.  As I was looking over my page today, I came across the quote and felt that I should share and elaborate on how I feel about it.  Don't worry, I am not going to get all philosophical on you!

"A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said ‘I love your pictures - they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.’ He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: ‘That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove." - Sam Haskins

In simple terms, being a great photographer does not boil down to the equipment you have.  Sure, having the latest gear is great, and you always need gear that is capable of doing it's job.  But it doesn't matter if you have the most expensive camera on the block, the camera itself is not what makes the picture great.  Just like the dinner and stove analogy above, so much more goes into it.  You have the cook, who knows which ingredients to use to make the dish perfect.  The cook also knows how long to cook the items to make sure they are not under or overcooked.  The cook also knows how to present the dish so it looks more appetizing to you.  The same thing goes with photography.  The photographer knows how to use lighting to create the most dramatic effect.  We know how to pose our clients to bring out their best.  We know how to use what we have available to create amazing pictures.  Our cameras, just like the stove for a cook, is an extension of who we are and the talent that we possess. Pin It

{Childrens Mini Session-Emily}

So I am totally not out of tune when it comes to photographing children.  I am still the baby whisper.  Today, I was able to catch a few quick photographs of our friends daughter Emily.  Little Miss Emily insisted that she do the photos on her swing set, so who am I to argue?  Here are some of the images!

I almost forgot how to get in tune with the kids that I photograph so that they can have a good time.  But after the bugs stopped attacking me, I was back in stride.  I am looking forward to the fall sessions, but I am in no rush. After all, I have an amazing little newborn to take care of!

Have a great day!

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End of Summer Update!

I can't believe it is September already.  This summer has been crazy and hectic to say the least.  Weddings, sessions, new babies, re-branding and working on my business, there have been a lot of things going on.  But I love every minute of it.  Still, a nice surprise getaway to Hawaii wouldn't hurt either!

As for me, I am doing pretty good for just having a baby.  I've been out walking and such as I hate being in the house too long.  I am currently setting up fall family sessions, working on a special photography project, gearing up for fall weddings and such, and just being me.  I am sad to say that I have yet to go to the renaissance faire yet, but it runs until October, so I know I will be going at least once this year...I hope.

In the meantime, I have some pictures to show you!  Now although the baby looks happy in these photos, it took about an hour and  half to get her to be happy and content enough to actually be photographed.  That of course is in between the spit up fits she had.  Every time I put her down, she spit up!  Although i've done infant sessions before, I only had them for about an hour or so, now I get to see and experience all the behind the scenes stuff!

I can't believe she is 12 days old already!

I like to call the one above the "Rockstar Face", it looks like she is playing the air guitar and rocking out.  All those nights playing Guitar Hero on the Wii while pregnant must have rubbed off.  The next one is one of my favorites (well they all are really!), because my husband Wes is holding her, and I just love everything about the photo.

I have a surprise to show you all in about two weeks or so.  But I will be keeping my lips tightly sealed until then.  I am surprised I held out this long to be honest!  But I want to make sure that things are 100% before I reveal what it is!

In the meantime, enjoy this weather!  Summer went by pretty fast, and before you know it, winter will be here.  So have a safe and happy Labor Day!

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