Perfect Lips

Seriously, I love this little man's lips! I was really wishing I had a macro lens to capture them at full frame. This first photo may be my favorite. As I'm sure I've mentioned in the past, I love when families incorporate something meaningful or sentimental in the images, and this photo contains two pieces - the blanket knitted by a grandmother, and the rattle that belonged to daddy. I love how he curled it up by his face!

Brrrr...

I think it was a chilly 75 degrees the day we shot this! I really do love the cozy look and feel of hats, boots and scarves, I just wish I had more opportunities to shoot this look. MAYBE this year we'll actually get some cold weather! I'm not asking for much, but something cooler than 55 would be nice. Anyway, pregnant mom was a trooper - you know she was burning up in that scarf at 8 months pregnant - and big sister-to-be J rocked her fabulous hat and boots. Can't wait to meet little brother!

Murphy's Law

It states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Case in point:

October 2008 - Session scheduled with this family. Days before, one girl gets sick, we go for it anyway. Day of, although we capture some great interaction, the weather proves too windy to get family portraits without hair in eyes and mouth. Had to do a partial re-shoot.
October 16, 2009 - Session scheduled for the beach. Half way there black clouds roll in and it pours. We reschedule for Nov 6th.
November 6 - Both girls are sick, weather isn't great, reschedule for the 8th.
November 8 - Hurricane Ida is making her way up the gulf, but shouldn't affect our weather. On my way to the beach, I get a call that the family will be a little late due to a wardrobe malfunction. I arrive, it's a little windy. A few minutes later, they arrive, it's ridiculously gusty.

Luckily, the girls listened well and I was quick with the shutter, enabling us to capture some moments between the gusts of Miss Ida. Can't wait to see what happens next year! ;)

Look familiar?

Back in March, I posted a session with this little one, and announced that her lollipop photo made the cover of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine. Well, she's back - urban style, with a new lollipop and a funky polka-dot set. I thought her first lolli photo was the best one ever, but these are my new faves. I'm just hoping mom will sell me the set when she's done with it!!

You Should Be Dancing, Yeah...

...dancing, yeah. That BeeGee's song plays in my head every time I look at these first photos. Then I start bopping my head and shimmying my shoulders, and I want to get up and dance with him! He makes it look so fun. Those expressions are ridiculously cute!

Girls, Curls, Girls

Despite justified complaints about our merciless Florida heat, the reward is the ability to photograph on the beach...in swimsuits...in October! It was actually a little too warm, but I should probably save that grievance for July! ;) This beautiful family moved here from Colorado, and this fall weather was a bit different from what they’re used to. But as the session ended with a patented west Florida sunset, we were all happy.

This shoot not only produced some great images of a gorgeous family interacting, but it was also the catalyst for the cutest thing I’ve heard all year. The older sister took a few steps on the beach, and announced, "There are crumbs in my shoes!"

Priceless.

Blonde Hair and Black Eyes (Peas, that is)

I first photographed this little guy as a newborn in January, 2008, and I can't believe how he's changed! He went from a dark, thick head of hair to a complete towhead! Obviously, he didn't remember me from when he was just two weeks old, so I had to win him over by singing and dancing a Black Eyed Peas song ("I Gotta Feeling"). I love this job...always an adventure!

Family Day

Probably the biggest reason I photograph families is because it is so important to document time with those you love. This is a very active family with working parents, one girl in college, one in middle school, and a very mobile one-year old. But even with their crazy schedules, they manage to keep one day each week for a family day. I think we should all make this a goal in 2010.






I did NOT add any lashes to this little girl. Amazing, aren't they??

"Winter" Session

So I guess it's not really a winter session when you are two degrees away from sweating, but it was fun to pretend anyway! I keep imagining a session where everyone has cozy cable knit sweaters and rosy cheeks. This is the closest I'll get this year. It is always a treat to see this family, and we usually walk away with a funny story. This year was no exception. I can't tell the story here, but trust me, it was funny.

All Dressed Up

I told C (mom) what my concept was for the set-up, and she took it to a whole new level with the wardrobe! She wanted the "disheveled" look--untucked, unbuttoned and untied--that fit with the madness of their lives. "Brilliant," I thought. But after carrying the couch out to the field, getting covered in hitchhikers, and having some sand-spur mishaps resulting in tears, I began to wonder if this was a bad idea. Then...I took the first photograph, and thought "Yeah, it's brilliant."