Gotcha Day / Wareham Children's Photographer

On Wednesday, May 8th of this year Sunny and her Mom, Carol came to the studio for their ordering appointment.  We were all excited to see the images from Sunny's first communion portraits done 2 weeks earlier.  I mentioned to Sunny how she must be so happy to be missing school that day and Carol said "yea, today is Gotcha Day!"  Hmmm...Gotcha Day? I asked..."Yes, it's the day that I brought Sunny home from China...her Gotcha Day and we celebrate doing something fun every year, like we would on her birthday" said her proud Mom.  I love the story and adore this sweet girl who has grown up so much since we first met. 

 We first met for beach portraits in 2006 when Sunny was just a tiny little girl.  Carol's family wanted a family portrait of Sunny with her older girl cousins, women ranging in age from teenagers to early twenties.  It was a beautiful, breezy, early morning session and we captured some precious images that day even though sweet, adorable Sunny was not feeling her best.

Now fast forward to present day and Sunny is 8 years old, healthy, happy, still sweet and adorable and so willing to pose for her First Communion portraits.

She was so much fun, loved to twirl in her pretty dress and had a surprise for me (and everyone else who saw her in church) on the bottom of her cute, white shoes!

This image above was definitely a favorite of her Mom's as well as her grandmother. (mine too - I just love her expression and the beauty in her eyes!)

I had chatted with Carol earlier about clothing and mentioned to bring another outfit that we could have fun with.  So she brought the cutest white pants and adorable blue top, a casual, beachy feel but so timeless.  I loved it!  These are some of the favorites from the portrait session and by this time Sunny was warmed up and we were having great conversation about her best friends.

She was so comfortable in front of the camera, almost feels like a Gap Kids ad!

We all loved this last portrait, especially how she so naturally curled her toes onto her other foot.  What is it about feet, babies feet, little girls or little boys feet that make you just want to keep them little forever?...(insert big sigh) - love kids feet!

Thank you Carol and Sunny for brightening up my day on your Gotcha Day - special for me too this year as you spent the morning with me.  It was such a pleasure to photograph you and to see how even more adorable you are as an 8 year old girl.  I am truly honored to be a part of this 'one and only moment' in your family history with these portraits of you as a sweet girl making your First Communion...thank you again!

Ohhh Sweet Baby - Wareham Baby Photographer

It is always a pleasure to have little ones in my studio!  Especially little ones as good as sweet baby Carllee.  She was such a happy girl with big beautiful eyes and an adorable giggle.  Part of the trick to photographing wee ones at their best is timing and patience - the portrait session really goes by their schedule as nap time should be a definite consideration as to when the session is scheduled.

But we did not have to worry about that as Carllee came in bright eyed and eager to have her 4 month old portraits taken. 

Here, she was curious as to what was outside and I love the expression of her mouth!

Baby feet - there's something about a portrait of tiny feet, they are the cutest and so kissable.  The best thing is she posed them so beautifully all by herself! I think images of baby feet allow you to remember your own children and just how quickly they grow up. Those tiny little fingers and toes won't be so little for long!

Pretty baby in a pink tutu and headband makes my heart melt!  

I asked Mom to dress in dark clothes just in case she needed to be a "prop" in the image - this portrait was one of the last ones and I just love the expression on Mom's face along with her gentle hand keeping Carllee from spilling backwards. 

It was a fun morning in the studio and I am always grateful to be given the opportunity of capturing another one and only moment in time in a family's history!  Thank you Carllee for being a perfect 4 month old baby girl - your portraits are so darn adorable!!!

A Little Girl Named Mila

Recently, I had the pleasure of photographing this 18 month old little sweetie, Mila. Her grandmother called and wanted some portraits since Mila and her folks would be moving to another state in July. (boohoo!) She wanted to capture her at this delightful age so she could "see" her every day. We had such a fun session. Mila wore a couple of outfits but most of what I'm showing here were of her in just a little tutu...because that was the favorite!


She is so cute in red with her bow to match and even her red shoes. With all little ones I try and keep things moving 'cause they are busy. So we moved in chairs and stairs and this new antique sofa I recently purchased-I just love the look of it. One little trick is to give them something to hold so then they won't think about trying to move...they concentrate about what's in their hand.

Mom and Dad were great helpers. Mom was the catcher, put-her-back-in-place person, fix hair, tutu, bow and all around Mila point person. After a bit, we needed Dad's help as well to get a few more expressions from his baby girl. Here she is blowing kisses to her Daddy...awwww.

Mila decided to stand at the chest and perhaps see what was inside. I love her chubby little legs and the way the tulle spills all over.

And then she has to get inside the chest and try and climb out. This is one of my favorites! The look on her face is so adorable.


Teddy bear wanted in on the portrait experience too - even if she did have a bit of a tight grip on him!

Lastly, I did something a little different with this image - check out the before and after. I loved the negative space and wanted to create an artsy piece so I decided to play with it a bit. I have so many photoshop items to work magic on images so here I added some flourishes and some text. I really like how the finished image turned out - it's a great way to make your images more unique.

Well, the portraits were delivered this past Easter weekend. Everyone was thrilled, especially Mila's grandmother and that made me happy!

A Granddad and his Grandson - Sneak Peek

It all started with an old portrait of this baby, a cute little boy dressed in what looks like a slip from his christening outfit taken oh so long ago. How adorable!

I received a call from his daughter, Alayne whom I met at the Bella Treasures Consignment Event in April 2009. She was pregnant with her third baby at that time and took my card wanting portraits in the future. Well, she recently called to schedule that baby's one year portrait session (yay!) and told me about this portrait she had of her Dad when he was a little baby. She's been told that her little boy looks like her father and had an idea - take a portrait of Matthew that's similar to her Dad's. "Sure, I'll try - send me a picture of the portrait." "Am I crazy for wanting to do this?" she asked. "Heck NO, I said - let's do it!" What a fun session we had with this cute, active little one year old, Matthew. I just love how this turned out - so similar to his grandfather's portrait. What a wonderful keepsake this will be.

I had a rug that was similar in texture and color (go figure) with my favorite brown toned background so I knew we would be able to make this work. Matthew didn't really like his left leg bent (he liked his right one bent-it was the cutest thing) as we tried many times to get him to do the same pose as his granddad. But, all is I needed was one!

We continued to play and photograph his cute personality. In this one above, he loved the texture of the rug and I loved the way he was looking down as well as the position of his tiny toes. Isn't this the cutest outfit?

Mom brought a couple of outfits and changed him after I knew I had what I needed. Here he is with a soldier in his hand that had particular meaning to the family. I adore his big happy light-up-the-room smile. He was such a happy baby!

Matthew also had the best eyelashes and I couldn't resist capturing this quiet moment with his eyes down - such a sweet face - his cute nose, lips, ears, hairline. Oh, I love everything about babies!

I told Mom she might be in a few images too so wear some dark pants. As much as it helps to keep little ones off the ground so they don't travel they get a bit tired of that. So, it helps to have Mom's trusty hands holding their precious baby still for a minute so I can take one of my favorite images...of toes, tiny little baby feet that grow up way too fast.

Alayne, thanks so much for your help with this session and your trust in me to create this special moment in time for your family's history. I can't wait for you to see the rest of the session!

An Extraordinary Workshop in PA

Last week I had the pleasure of joining 10 other women in Wayne PA for an extraordinary workshop with photographer extraordinaire, Joyce Smith. Joyce photographs her clients with available light only, mostly in their homes or in her newly acquired studio. I follow Joyce's blog and love her work so when she decided to have a workshop I wanted in!

The following photographs were all taken in her new, bright white studio. She even included a bed in her shooting area - a pretty white bed with great textured pillows - it was a great space to have fun in.

We all had lots of fun and there was so much to learn. Joyce was very willing to share and it was so appreciated!

This adorable little girl had the best personality. She smiled forever and entertained us by just flopping face down on the bed. It was the cutest thing.



This little sister and her big brother were fun to photograph too. I loved his wild hair. He was always in motion while his baby sister barely moved at all except to flash those beautiful eyes of hers.



And there's always something so precious about a baby's toes. I don't know what it is, the smallness of them, the fact that you can kiss those feet and play "this little piggy". Whatever it is I am in love with those feet and always want to show them - no socks allowed.

These were my favorites of our time together. This 5 month old little darlin' was so adorable with beautiful eyes and the cutest of cheeks and oh ya, did I mention her toes? :-)


All the images were taken at the studio, available light. We did travel to a home location but the 2 kids were a bit nervous with 11 people staring at them so only Joyce really photographed them. They're on her blog if you want to see her view of things. It's always so wonderful to see how other photographers work and at every seminar & workshop that I attend I always learn something new.

Thanks to Joyce and all the other women who were all so willing to share too. It was really great to be in your company. (Sidenote: if you ever have the chance to visit Wayne PA, definitely go! It is a charming little town with boutique type shops and tree lined streets. Stay at the Wayne Hotel and maybe, just maybe you'll run into Bruce Springsteen...not saying I did but just maybe!)


So, if anyone is interested in having portraits done in your home with just available light and in a casual, playful manner feel free to give me a call.

Happy Happy Happy....

(It has been so long since my last post and the longer I go without writing the harder it is to get back into the swing of blogging regularly. So, here I start wishing all a happy new year and all things wonderful even if it is a tad late!)

So I thought it fitting for my first post of the year to be of my most favorite subject, Baby Beckett as it is his birthday today - Happy First Birthday, Sweet Beckett Boy! It's really hard to believe that a year has already gone by. He has brought me, his Nana, and his Papa T, along with his mom & dad, so much joy. A baby's giggle brightens even the darkest of days and there's nothing better than a snuggle with this sweet darling boy.

I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. We got up early that Friday morning as his Momma-to-be had called us the night before to say she was heading to the hospital. Oh no, what should we do, we asked. So we slept for a bit and then hit the road for the 2 hour drive. We arrived at 9a.m. with plenty of time to await the baby's arrival. Of course, I had to be there when he was born, not only with camera in hand but to be with my sweet daughter during this amazing experience. And, it was truly an amazing one and only moment filled with so much emotion and love for this new little baby who graced us with his presence that afternoon at 1:05pm.

Oh what a year it's been. He's been photographed plenty (although I still need to do his one year portraits with a cake!) And he's the sweetest boy a Nana could ask for. He indulges me with my finger on his lips making the babababa sound over and over and over again. He has four teeth and stands and walks all over the place holding on to the table, to the sofa, to whatever he can reach. His laughter fills a room and you just want to squeeze him to pieces. These are just a few of the precious moments with our baby b. The year ahead will be filled with so many more firsts and we are looking forward to them.
Beckett, darling boy, you are a welcome addition to our family and it has been a wonderful first year watching you grow. We love you a million, zillion times around the moon and can't wait to celebrate today with you! Happy Birthday! Love, Nana and Papa T

A Little Grace

arrived at the studio a couple of weeks ago along with her beautiful parents. I had the pleasure of photographing Rose and Jeff's wedding almost five years ago! Although it's hard to believe 5 years have gone by, I remember it being a gorgeous wedding (one of the last ones I did) and they were a fabulous couple to photograph and work with.

So, now they came to visit with their new bundle of joy, baby Grace, named after Jeff's Mom. Oh my goodness, I thought they were great to photograph at their wedding, well this baby girl was even more fun! She smiled and laughed and played the whole time we were together - about 2 hours. She looked so pretty in her dress. Her eyes light up the room when she smiles - Isn't she so cute!!


We did quite a few in her dress but my favorite way to photograph little ones is either no clothes at all or in just a diaper cover. I love this one of Mom, Dad and baby Grace - the way they are all holding on to each other, happy, a new family filled with love and Grace.


We put Grace on the floor for a bit and all she wanted to do was crawl toward me and pick the stickers of the background. (of course you can't see them because I photoshopped them out!) She was amazing. Look at that face and her gorgeous big brown eyes.

Babies can only be on the floor for so long then you need to put them up high because they just want to move and move and move. So, we put her right where she belongs, on the pedestal for all to see those chubby little legs and smoochable toes. I love those little lips of hers too!

Just a little sneak peek for you, Rose & Jeff! There's more for you to see on Saturday, don't want to spoil the show. Thanks for such a great session. Looking forward to seeing you!

A Home Session

Recently, ok a couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of working again with a wonderful client who usually comes to the studio, but this time (since there were 5 kids) thought it would be easier to work at her home. Great, a new place to photograph! There was beautiful window light in her home so we had all we needed to create these lovely images. She wanted portraits of her 3 children and their 2 cousins who were visiting from out of town. I've been working with her since she was pregnant with her first child, (beautiful maternity portraits) and then when Kyle was 5 months old (now 4!) and again with her twin boys when they were about 7 months old.

When I arrived she told me the girls had been up late, real late, singing songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider so we weren't sure how the session was going to go. However, it was a fun session as you can see by the expression on Kyle's face - don't you just love her smile, so genuine and playful. She was a big help!


There was alot of activity and noise at this session with 5 kids, 2 moms and a photographer all trying to get the job done! Chris and Shayne didn't know quite what to do with me as I put one on a chair and the other in the toy chest. Look at these eyes, so big and curious - such a cute face.


This sweet face is happy to be in the box!

After a bit, we took a little break to play with some blocks and share, hmmm...maybe not. I love the innocence of children playing, the way they sit and throw blocks randomly.

And then there are the feet! Little tiny toes just waiting to be smooched (or tickled) no that's cruel!! No socks, no shoes, just little piggy toes, free - I love children's feet.

Well, the gang's all here and we were able to capture this one and only moment of all 5 together. When the kids are all grown, they'll look back and be so thankful to their Mom's for having made the time to capture such a precious moment.

Before I left I also made sure to capture the two sisters together. They had already changed their clothes (I love the pattern shirt against the solid sweater) and all you can see is those gorgeous eyes and sisterly sweetness!

This was a wonderful session - thanks to the Moms for making it all worthwhile.