The D Family + Grandma!

Grandmas give the best hugs!

I love getting together with clients who are friends even if we don't get to see each other very often.  I met Jess a few years ago at a MOPS meeting (Mothers of Preschoolers).  She moved across the country and basically got to Pittsburgh and was immediately hit with a huge snow storm.  Talk about being welcomed to the neighborhood...

And still she was able to smile and laugh through it all.

Since meeting her, I've been blessed to photograph her family a few times and I always have so much fun with them.  For this get together, we got to include grandma who was visiting from California and it was a fun session, even in the midst of a rain shower.  True to her spirit, Jess didn't get frustrated by the weather, she smiled and went with it and we got some sweet pictures of her girls dancing in the rain.

Birthday Boys!

The summer is almost done and I'm frantically trying to play catch-up with the blog.  So many sessions that haven't had their moment in the sun so here's the first.

Two sweet little brothers.  The older Mr. S, turning 3 and the younger, Mr. J, turning 1 in back to back birthdays.  Boy do they keep their mama busy.  For this session, I busted out my secret weapon- Sadie.  Yep, my little girl came along to work as my "assistant."  Her job was to blow bubbles and use any means necessary to get smiles from these two boys.  She worked hard and as you can see, I did get a few smiles.

Keep watching the blog.  My little assistant might be making future appearances.  She's now changed her future plans from wanting to be a ballerina/cowgirl to being a photographer, like Mommy.  :-)

Back to School Minis!

the dreaded words for kids and happy words for moms and dads everywhere...

Back to School!

Yes it's time.  The end of summer is fast approaching.  Swimming suits have vanished from the stores to be replaced by uniforms and school supplies.

And it's extra big in this house with my baby heading off to kindergarten.  I'm already anxious about the chaos of getting 2 children out the door and up to the bus stop on time that first day and they each have their own issues that make them very difficult to get going in the morning. Add to that the pressure of getting that 1st day of school photo...

So I started thinking.. What if we had a practice run for the first day of school?  It could help my monkeys with conquering those first day jitters and give me the opportunity to get that first day of school shot without the first day of school stress.

So, get your little ones ready for school.  Dress them in their first day finest, hand them their brand new bookbags, an apple for teacher and we'll snap away some great "first day of school images" without the stress of having to actually getting to school on time.

So what exactly am I offering?

A Back-to-School Mini Session at your house for $100.
30 minutes of shooting and a gallery of back to school images to choose from
a $25 print credit

and a little bit less stress for mom and dad on the actual first day of school :-)

This mini session is $100  (+tax) and is for all kids in your family who are headed off to school- preschool, elementary, middle or high.  This mini session offer will be going on from now through September 30.  Message me to schedule your date.  Payment is due at booking.

and yes, that's a book on my boy's head.  Gotta have reading material on the first day of school :-)

Stepping in Front of the Camera...

I conquered my ultimate fear...

Yes, I booked a photographer to take pictures of my family, with me in them!  This was huge for several reasons.

1. I like to be in control and do things myself (yep, still pretty much a toddler at heart).  I had notions of getting a remote shutter release and I've scoured Amazon reviews trying to find the best but I never found one that seemed to be perfect.  And I wasn't sure that I could trust another photographer to capture the image of my family that I knew I wanted to capture in my head.

2. I (like many of us out there) live on a budget.  I hear you all who say that professional photography is expensive.  I can understand the appeal of running into the department store studio but I've been there.  It isn't really that much cheaper.  And I've seen the options that are out there.  I follow lots of photographers and there are some really amazing people, capturing and creating amazing images.  I couldn't even consider going into a dept. store studio setting for the frantic 15-30 minutes.  I've learned that these images are an investment that I really really want to make.

3.  I absolutely hate having my picture taken.  I am not the person who can naturally look beautiful in front of the camera.  It takes work.  I've taken self portraits to practice and it doesn't seem to help.  I try different expressions and look weird or awkward.  I can't even pull off funny and goofy in a cute way.  There are a handful of images that I've felt good about- my senior pics and my wedding pics.

But despite these hurdles, I really wanted an updated family picture to hang in our new(ish) house and so when the amazing Jen McKen announced an opportunity for mini-sessions, I jumped.  Seriously, I think I almost immediately sent a message after reading her post.  This was perfect for us.  A relaxed family session out at a park.  That is us. 

So I've been following Jen on FB for awhile (maybe just a little harmless stalking).  I found out about her when she took a stand last year against bullying. I read that blog post and saw that she was from near where I grew up, had great values, and was an amazing photographer... of course, I wanted to be her friend :-)

And outside the internet world, she's just as great a person!

We met up at Keystone State Park (a little park near my mom's house).  We brought a blanket, some books and a game of Chinese Checkers.  Then Jen just let us do our thing and she clicked away.  The kids had so much fun and I was having so much fun with them that I didn't have time to feel awkward or self conscious.

And Jen captured some great images.

Go here and see them!

Thanks Jen!