So, I always let people know that if your kid likes to dress up then we should try to capture that during the session.

This little guy loved Superman. First he did a bit of flying with his toy.

And then he got fully suited up. But–he was thirsty. Thank goodness I followed him inside because I got one of my favorite pictures. It is such hard work being a super hero.

And this color version is also pretty cute.

He has an adorable little sister and we got some great family shots, but I’ll share those later.

I am slowly downloading all of the images from my North Carolina sessions and I am going to start posting them in no particular order. The blog is going to be moving quickly so be sure to check back often.

Kids and dogs are super fun to photograph. I like this little restful moment.

And it is always a good thing to be flexible for sessions–especially when you are working with young children–this goes for both the photographer and the families being photographed. At this session the baby was very attached to her pacifier and wasn’t very happy without it. Despite an adorable dress I suggested we bring out some water for the baby to play with. This produced a really cute sister series (might save these for a bit) and then at the end some super cute shots with dad while getting dried off. These must make you smile!

I was in NC doing some really awesome sessions with families that I have been photographing since I started my business–almost 5 years ago. I really love getting to go back and see how much these kids have grown year after year.

But–I haven’t even downloaded those pictures yet–and I have a back log of cool stuff to show–

Tonight I’ll share a few images of couples that I photographed in AZ.

This one is of Lindsey and Charles the day after their wedding. It was photographed in almost complete darkness and I love the feel of it.

And here is one of my brother-in-law with his wife of almost 2 years. He is visiting us at the moment so don’t be surprised you NY folks if you see him in Wegmans. I’m sure you would recognize him from this image.

And here is one of my father-in-law and his wife looking pretty in love.

I’ll be posting a lot to the blog in the next couple of days so be sure to keep checking it out!

So, I always try to get a picture of siblings together even thought it can be very difficult. For instance during Sunday’s session every time the baby left mom or dad’s arms she started crying.

Example:

So after a few tries I decide to hang out with the big brothers for a bit, learn about Star Wars, and then after the baby falls asleep–I try again. The brothers were so cute with their little sister, always wanting to hold her and give her little kisses.

And what do you know, when she woke up she wasn’t crying anymore. Whew.

And then we could move on to other things like Star Wars battles.

Or climbing trees.

Or dressing up in a TuTu.

Or in dad’s ties being silly.

Such a cutie.

Thanks so much for having me out to photograph your beautiful family.

This was a very special wedding for me to photograph. I have known the bride since she was 11 years old and she happens to be my step-sister-in-law.  Now normally, I wouldn’t advice photographers to photograph their own family weddings, but for Lindsey I was thrilled to do this for her.

She had a beautiful wedding and was a very calm bride despite some challenges. The biggest challenge was the rain. Somehow in the desert on April 11th it decided to rain most of the day. I was probably more disappointed than Lindsey and Charles because I couldn’t take many pictures around the beautiful grounds and the wedding had to get pushed back so that bridal party photos were done pretty much in the dark.

I have to start this wedding share by showing this picture of Lindsey and her 100 year old Grandpa. 100 years old—I love it! They are just so cute together and it is obvious that they have a special bond. I’m pretty sure he is on the Internet as well so I hope someone sends him this link!

Another special part of this wedding is that both of my daughters were a part of it. Echo was a Junior Bridesmaid. At this point in the day it had gotten really dark and the rain was coming down.

Lindsey was also very sweet to my Sadie who was her flower girl.

I love these portraits of Lindsey.

And since it was raining pretty good at this point I did these portraits in the bathrooom of the getting ready room.

Charles didn’t look too bad himself.

I hope he doesn’t hate me now for putting this up—but he actually asked me to take this picture! I’m not sure what the joke is, but I was happy to give him the shot he wanted.

I think he looks a bit better here:

Of course while the girls were getting ready the guys were relaxing during the small bit of the day when it wasn’t raining.

And right before the wedding I spent about three minutes worrying about how wet my gear was getting while I took this picture of the groomsmen staying dry. They look concerned right?

Meanwhile the girls were praying for the rain to stop.

And the resort kept these guys drying the seats even while it continued to rain.

And, yes the rain did stop! It was a beautiful ceremony.

Thank you Lindsey and Charles for allowing me to photograph your wedding. Thank you to all of your wedding party for being so much fun.

I wish you both the best in life forever.

Here is a little slideshow from your day–Enjoy. Of course my main issue with these slideshows is editing. I always include too many images and then the images have to go by quickly, but it is so hard to narrow it down.

Click on— Charles and Linsey get married.

Let me tell you I can’t wait to show off the images from this wedding, but you will have to wait just a bit longer.

O my Goodness can you believe how wonderful these two look together. And spend some time with this image. I love all of the expressions on the bridesmaids and I of course love that I caught the mother of the bride smiling back at her daughter. You might not be able to catch all of that at this small size, but large…

It was lovely.

Here she is celebrating with her friends.

First—I normally never take large cousin sessions. I can be talked into them if I have already done a regular family session with some of the kids, or in this case I am photographing the wedding of these kids Uncle.

You see large cousin sessions can be difficult because there is always one kid who is sleepy, and trying to get everyone smiling at the same moment–Yikes!

I actually sort of like this one! I wish we could have gotten everyone into the yard, but it was a bit chilly for the kids yesterday.

Sometimes the sleepy baby makes a great slice of life image.

My favorite part was getting some individual portraits of the kids. These have to be some of the cutest kids ever.

Just look at all of the cute kids that are going to get a new Aunt soon.

I have avoided talking about this organization much on my blog because it is a very difficult thing to get a handle on, but I think it is important that people know about it. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) is a foundation that provides photography services to families who are suffering the unimaginable. I am having a hard time using my own words to describe the organization so I will use the words from their website.

Pregnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.

But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.

This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.

I am currently the volunteer coordinator of this program for Syracuse and have had to witness the grief that many of us can never image. When I first signed up to be a volunteer I honestly didn’t know if I could do it. What I have learned after doing these sessions is that while it certainly isn’t an easy task, it is much easier for me than for the families, and it is the least I can do. The families I have worked with have shown me so much strength and I am always amazed that they even have the energy to thank me, but they always do.

So, while I hope none of you ever have to use this organization I did want you to know that it exists. The families that have found me and needed my services often heard about it from a friend of family member. If you would like to learn more the website for NILMDTS is: http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/

I’m going to take a few blog posts over the next week or so to highlight some organizations that I am a member of. I recently decided to join the WPJA (Wedding PhotoJournalist Association). I stumbled upon this site awhile ago. It has really great articles for both photographers and couples planning weddings. If you are a wedding couple of mine I might have forwarded a link or two to you at some point. Once I decided that I wanted to join I had to get accepted.

Now that I am in I will get to enter prints in contests (fun!), and my information is listed on their website. I’m happy to let clients know right from the start the type of photography that I enjoy most, and the style that I most include. I encourage you to check out the site.

And now onto some of my photojournalistic images from some weddings.

This has to be one of my favorite images from the year. I love the moment right before the bride walks down the aisle. Normally, Stephanie gets to capture these moments because I am up front getting the processional, but this was a solo wedding I did. LOVE, love, LOVE it.

I love the getting ready time that I get with the bride. It gets everyone used to me, but I also love how everyone is crowded together, the emotion, the moments.

Ceremony shots can be difficult. I have to play by the rules of the ceremony site as well as the lighting that the site has. I also try to be very careful not to draw attention to myself, and I have limited areas that I can stand. YET, the ceremony is the time when the bride and groom are the least aware of my presence and can produce some great shots.

I love all the emotion in this one as well as how the light is highlighting the bride.

Then there are just these sweet moments that happen at every wedding.

And of course the crazy reception shots.

I still take some regular, look at me portraits, and I do sometimes have fun in photoshop with an image or two, but sometimes those natural moments are when you are your truest self .

Next I’ll show some of the images that I have a little fun with in Photoshop.