{The smell of soap}

I am a person who loves smells.  Smells are so intense and bring back so many memories.  Now that I am pregnant, and have the super nose, some smells are amazing, others...not so amazing. But there are still smells that bring back great memories. One of them is soap. Yes, it may sound weird, but I love the smell of soap. My favorite soap is Dial Gold. I love it because it reminds me of my grandmother. Much of my youth was spent with my grandparents. They lived a few minutes away, but I stayed with them almost every weekend, and pretty much every summer. Whenever they went south for vacation, I was there right along with them.   My grandma, almost always used Dial Gold. It may be a weird thing to remember, but even to this day, the smell of that makes me think of the Saturday mornings when I would wake up to the smell of her cooking pancakes, then jump in the shower, then run down stairs to eat. Usually the meal was grits, eggs, and bacon, and I must say...I love bacon.

That was almost twenty years ago...wow.

I now have a new favorite smell, not to say that I have forgotten the smell of Dial Gold, but this smell is a new chapter of my life. It may be even weirder than the Dial Gold, but I love it none the less. It is the smell of Old Spice. Not the Old Spice that your grandfather used, the one that came in that white glass like bottle, with the metal cap, nope! I'm talking about the new brand.  I love it because my husband wears it. And when I smell it, I am reminded of all the nights i've spent in his arms, laughing, watching documentaries, and that smell is his smell.  I can literally smell him like a mile away!  It may seem extremely odd, but it's one of those love things!

I also love the smell of babies! They smell so sweet! And clean and fresh.  When my baby is born (4.5 months to go!), I am sure I am going to love her smell also.

As I said, smell can create and bring a lot of wonderful memories.  I may be getting a bit sappy, but you can't blame me, I am a pregnant woman! I love the smell of laundry fresh out of the dryer, the smell of all the food cooking on Thanksgiving, and the smell of my dog when she would come back from the groomers (I even asked what sort of shampoo they used because she smelled so good!).  What are your favorite smells, and what memories are associated with them? Pin It

{Engagement Session-Jessica and Scott}

In case you haven't noticed, the past week has been raining like crazy. But thankfully today, the rain stopped and I was able to shoot Jessica and Scott's engagement session. Although the sun wasn't out, and it was quite cloudy, the weather was still fairly nice, and we had a great time. We headed to Franklin Square in Philadelphia for their shoot, and for a small location, it does have a lot to offer. First, I passed it like 30483083 times, because I was expecting a huge park with a huge sign. Then, I had to circle it 304930493 times to find a place to park. But it's Philadelphia, what can you expect? Thankfully, being a Sunday, traffic was super light, so it was not an issue.

Franklin Square has a carousel (yay!), milkshake and burger stand (TASTY KAKE MILKSHAKE!!!) and a mini golf course. It is quite a happening little spot. Oh my god, I said "happening" I feel old now! Well without further ado, here are some previews!











I am so in love with the carousel shot. Funny, when I was younger I was terrified of carousels. I always thought I would fall off. I was also terrified,well actually still am of roller coasters. And remember that ride with the suspended swings that spun around, yeah...terrified!  But I would like to think I have grown out of that.

Till next time folks! Pin It

{Sunny days!}

Sunny days have finally started showing, of course mixed in with some rainy days. I am sure you are tired of me talking about the weather, but I am huge on weather. Basically, if I don't have nice weather, then I can't do sessions outside! I need to be outside.  Now I can guarantee you that once the summer officially hits, and it gets into the 80's and 90's I will be complaining that is too hot.  The perfect weather for me is sunny, with temperatures in the lower 70's. If I can find a location that is like that all year round, I will be a happy panda.

So what have I been up to?  Same thing as usual, editing photos, setting up schedules, complaining about the weather, surfing the internet and all that good stuff.  My husband and I took a trip to the park this past Thursday, and just walked around.  I love walking around with him, it has been one of our constant activities since we have been dating, and that was almost 7 years ago.  We like to pick a location and just walk.  And whatever we find interesting, I typically photograph.  Here are a few from our latest "expedition":

With that last shot, I actually laid in the grass with my camera.  I'm a pretty hands on/physical photographer. I love the look on peoples faces when I am rolling around on the floor to get the images that I want.

I also wanted to say congratulations to Shimul & Shiv!  I did their maternity session a few weeks ago, and they had their baby boy, so congrats to them!  I have been on a baby kick lately.  Since being pregnant, babies take on a whole new world to me.  It's weird, I can't explain it, but things have already changed! And that actually amazes me.  I think this baby is going to be super creative because I now have all these ideas to set up concept shoots and I am embarking on new creative projects.  One of them being painting.  I can't paint to save my life, but I painted a piece and I loved it, and so did some of my friends.  I'll share it with you, but keep in mind that I am no Picaso or Van Gogh:

Now, you may be asking, what is that?  Well this is my ode to all the pregnant geeky/nerdy/offbeat mothers out there.  The little pink thing is baby Cthulu, and SHE is pink and is wearing a crown.  I have no idea where the whole concept came from, but it's a part of me.

I have also updated my website...again.  I am going to say that being creative means never being satisfied. Which can essentially be a good thing.  I am always changing and always changing for the better. Which is why my website is on a change.  It is the first thing that people see, it is essentially my handshake. My spokesperson.  It is what represents me to my clients, their friends, and their families.  So of course I want to put my best foot forward.

For now, I am going to head to bed. I have an engagement shoot set in Philadelphia tomorrow, well today actually since it is 1:31 am.  Tata for now! Pin It

{Pregnancy Series-Week 21: Me!}

Being that I am pregnant, and I photograph pregnant women and babies all the time, I wanted a fun way to track this journey of my pregnancy and to share it with you.  After all, my photography is my life, and by proxy you are sucked into it. With that being said, I am going to do a weekly picture update featuring my expanding belly and myself, and sometimes including my husband and props and all sorts of fun stuff.  I think this would be a cool way to update folks and later on, the baby (when she can read) can look back and see how awesomely geeky her parents are!  So with that, I present you with the first in the series, week 21. Yay! We are 1 week past the halfway mark!!!



Now keep in mind, almost ALL of these pictures are taken randomly by me, so they will not be all flashy. Pretty much when I am having a good moment during that week and not feeling like a whale, I will break out the camera. But I definitely hope to incorporate more awesomeness in the future.

I would love to offer this to clients in the near future. A weekly or monthly portrait session package with witty sayings and captions. What do you think? Pin It

{Creativity for Engagement Sessions}

Hello my lovelies!  Did you enjoy your day today? It reached 82 degrees here in Delaware (or at least that is what my car told me) and I was in absolute heaven! There was a light breeze which made today perfect! I spent the day with my grandparents, mom and sisters, even though I should have taken advantage of my newfound energy and hopped up on the Spring cleaning. But I figure, Spring just started, the cleaning can wait!

Now that it is finally warming up, more engagement sessions and such are being schedule. I am super excited, as I love engagement shoots as much as I love weddings.  The engagement shoots give me a chance with the couple before the wedding to know their personalities, what they like, and for them to get to know me also.  Now although the engagement session is significantly shorter than your actual wedding, it still is a very important session. And I love nothing more when I have a great couple that puts time and consideration into making an epic session. Whether it has a theme or awesome location, it's always great to see that love come out on camera with a story being told.  With that being said, I want to share a list of some of my favorite wedding/engagement sites for you to get some inspiration for your session.  For me personally, I don't think anything is over the top. So if you want to go with a picnic theme, something with balloons, or something from your favorite movie...like, let's say, "The Notebook" then go for it! Creative couples rock!  I have also been featured on some of these websites also!  Here they are

http://emmalinebride.com

http://glamourandgraceblog.com/

http://www.utterlyengaged.com

http://sparkleandhay.com

http://www.thebrokeassbride.com

http://weddingchicks.com

Definitely check them out and get all the inspiration you need. Also, WeddingChicks has an awesome section where you can customize FREE wedding items, such as monograms,invitations, save the dates and more. I absolutely love and adore them

So let's get back to your engagement session.  As I've said before, it is important. This is you and your fiancé showing how much you love each other and the story of your love!  Definitely pick a location that has meaning to you or a location where you can carry out a theme.  Parks, wineries, restaurants, cafe's, ice cream shops, farms, open fields with flowers, etc are always good places to start. But keep in mind that if it is a private residence, ask the owner/manager for permission. We definitely do not want to run from cops while shooting!  If you have a theme go for it. I personally love themes that come from movies. How about, "Dirty Dancing". Him in all black, her in all white, and bam! Instant awesome session. And the best part is, you can dance! What else?  "Titanic", "The Notebook", basically any awesome vintage movie (I love vintage by the way), heck, incorporate zombies if you want.

Next up is props, even if you are not going with a theme, props are always fun. The most important prop being the engagement ring. But since your session tells a story, props that reflect your relationship should always be on hand.  Do you like dogs? Bring a dog! Borrow a dog if you have to.  If you are doing a picnic, then bring a blanket, food, cookies, wine glasses, anything you can think of to make your session pop.

With these being the photos of you two before you are married, you want them to be memorable! Remember, we are telling the story of your love and relationship. I say we because I just take the images, YOU are the main characters!

Till next time!

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{B is for Baby}

Not that I am going baby crazy or anything, but being pregnant does make me appreciate maternity/newborn/child photos even more. Every little squishy cheeked baby that I come in contact with makes me love what I do even more.  I have to control my urge to squee when I see them. Yes, I used squee as a word. Thankfully my awesome clients know how much I love babies and kids and don't look at me like I have a tentacle growing out of my forehead.  I recently did a mini-session with the super cute and adorably Serenity Rose. I actually did her moms maternity session back in the fall, and when Serenity was born I did her newborn photos, and now she is a squishy faced, bright eyed four month old who is teething!  Let me just say that rolling around on the floor to photograph babies is not as easy as it used to be. But with her cute little face, it was totally worth it.





Now tell me that is not an adorable little baby!

So I am looking forward to the weather warming up. This week into next it is supposed to be in the 50's, but most days are supposed to be cloudy or rainy, and this does not please me.  I am about to go outside and do an anti-rain dance to bring back sunny weather. My husband keeps telling me that once it does get warm, I will be angry because it is too hot, and then wish that it was cooler.  He may be right, but I have so much more options to do fun things when it is sunny and warm!

But that is about it, I just had to share this adorable little baby with you! Now off to watch some random tv and enjoy the rest of my evening. Pin It

{Updates!}

It's Monday, a new start to the workweek. I spent 7 hours on Sunday working on updates for my site and such, and wanted to show you.  I updated my start page, and I am totally in love with it!  I have kept my promise to not start a new site, but updating and adding to the site is something I can totally do! So head on over to www.MarisaTaylorPhotography.com, and let me know what you think!

Also do not forget, I have the Spring (although the weather definitely does not feel like it!) Contest going on!  The way the contest works is simple, once we reach 500 fans over at my Facebook Page, the contest officially starts with prizes going out daily for one week. So that means...7 prizes and 7 lucky winners.  Right now, the page is sitting at 465 fans. Only 35 more are needed to get to 500 and get the prizes rolling. So share the link with everyone that you know!

And that is about it for now! I have new backdrops and props coming in which I am very excited about! Adorable babies to photograph, and weddings coming up! Pin It