Owl Always Love Her...

We had a nice visit with my sister, her husband, and my beautiful 11 month old niece the past few days. My sister has taken up a new obsessive hobby of crocheting, and my youngest child has just reaped the benefits of her new passion.

My littlest has always loved owls. Her bedroom is entirely filled with the big-eyed creatures, and her love for the birds hasn't dwindled as she's getting older. So my sister created (in a span of two days, mind you) a sweet little owl-faced hat. When she put it on, I had the automatic response of pulling out the camera.

It made me think of how touching adding a simple prop such as a handmade item like a hat or a dress can be; it makes an image so special and memorable. One day she might outgrow this hat, but she can glimpse back at herself and think about how special it was that a beloved aunt made something so unique for her.

Exchanging Vows Bayside

So my last post was about bridal portraits. I was "saved by the bell" when my friend told me another family member had hired a professional to take her daughter's wedding photos. But as soon as I got off the hook for that one, an additional opportunity presented itself: another friend asked us to take pictures at her wedding... and this was the real deal. The actual vow exchange. THE moment. Sure, I was nervous. But I had my talented friend with me, so I knew (rather, I hoped) between the two of us we could capture some good ones.

This was a casual (and quick) ceremony along the shore of Back Bay. Just the immediate family attended, and to be honest I felt a bit like an intruder on a very personal and intimate moment. But I have to admit I really, really enjoyed every minute of it. It's so moving to see two people so clearly in love commit to each other. The bride was simply radiating with happiness, and when someone has that pure and honest glow about them, it really makes it easy to capture.

As far as I know, she didn't have formal bridal portraits done. So here are a couple of my attempts to catch her by herself.

 This was immediately following the ceremony. She looks positively beautiful in this shot.

The family.

Mother and daughter.

Mother and son.

Family overlooking the bay.

My friend also took some gorgeous shots, and I hope the bride was happy with it all!

The Goddess Bride

Earlier this spring my co-worker asked me if I might be willing to take pictures at her daughter's wedding. YIKES! But of course I said yes... she is a good friend and her daughter's a beauty. As the time drew near I started asking questions about what type of photos they would like. Some people like very traditional/classic images, some people like a more modern twist... the avoidance of the "posed" and more of an "eavesdropping on a moment" type of approach. We discussed it off and on, and then come to find out another family member hired a professional photographer for the wedding. I was not at all offended. I asked if she was going to have bridal portraits done. She looked at me quizzically. What did I mean bridal portraits?

Is this only a southern thing? Where the bride has individual portraits taken prior to the wedding and displays them at the reception? I had a flashback to my bridal portrait scene... standing in a studio with a  gray, faded curtain as my background, holding some fake flowers in my hand, while the photographer literally positioned me like a mannequin in the traditional bridal stances. 

If I had a "do-over"... what would I do? I'd want to stand in a garden of flowers. Real ones.

So we decided to take my friend's daughter to the botanical gardens and let the scene play out.

She changed into her dress and I couldn't believe it. She looked like a petite Roman goddess... and it was perfect for our setting.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

It was a fun adventure. As a side note: always check with botanical gardens to see if they will charge you for taking bridal portraits on their premises. We found out the hard way that professional or not, they charge you. I put up a bit of a stink, but at the end of the day, the gardens got their money.

To view the entire collection, click here.

A Different Kind of Senior Portrait

Earlier this summer my neighbor asked if I would be willing to take senior portraits of her friend's daughter. I just stared back at her with wide eyes. Are you kidding me? The idea alone scared me to death. The portraits I had taken up to that point had all been of people I knew, and there was always a sense of ease about it... no pressure. But this was altogether different. A huge, important moment in this girl's life and it had to be done right.

I had to convince myself to step up to the plate and give it a go. As long as mama knew my background, then let's go for it and see what we come up with. So I asked her what type of setting she thought her daughter would want to be in. This isn't studio photography, so I wanted the background to be what this girl likes. Her mom said she loves the forest and the trees. Simple enough. We chose to meet at a local park on a sunny (but ridiculously hot) morning. I brought my talented sister for back up.

Wow, was I stunned when this young lady stepped out of her car. She was adorable! I realized right away that it would be quite difficult NOT to take a good picture of her.

So here a few of my favorite shots. Loved the simple white dress she chose, which contrasted beautifully with her long, dark hair.

To view the entire collection, click here.

The Secret Garden

Last Easter my sister, her husband, and their new baby girl came for a visit and we decided to drive down to the quaint town of Manteo in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My sister shares my love of photography, and we decided that it might be a nice idea to catch some shots of our beautiful girls in their Easter "finery." It's so rare these days that my girls put on a nice dress and a bow in their hair. Soon enough they will refuse to do it, so I have to take my opportunities while I can.

Gardens, especially in the spring, are such perfect places to shoot pictures of darling young girls in pretty dresses. We enjoyed our visit to the Elizabethan Gardens with the azaleas, roses, and tulips in full bloom. While I typically prefer black and white for most portraits, many of these shots had to be color of course. I am typically not a fan of the "classic pose portrait", but there's something to be said about it.

 Is there anything more touching than young parents and their beautiful baby? My sister and her husband are completely in love with their little girl, and it shows in almost every shot. This was my favorite of them...

And this photo reminds me yet again of how the unexpected moment often turns into the "money shot." We placed baby girl in a bed of tulips, hoping to catch her sitting pretty. But she promptly fell over and just stared at her cute little toes. One day when I get a hold of photoshop I will remove that gazebo thing in the background, but I love this picture.

 The next photo is a personal favorite, but not without faults. My two girls, three years apart, are peering into a fountain. I love the way the picture compares and contrasts them. They're both wearing the same outfit and hairstyle to highlight their "kinship." But one is much smaller and needs to boost herself up to see over the edge. I like that.

 The problem with the shot (and what I learned) is that shoes make a difference. I brought fancy shoes that were identical. But the girls thought they were uncomfortable and replaced them with their scrappy summer shoes so they could run about the garden in between shots. I never asked them to peer into the fountain. It was true discovery on their part and I caught it. No time to think or change shoes. But as I look back at the image I realize it's one of the first things your eye goes to. The difference in their shoes. It bothers me, but I still like the shot anyway.

And finally, my favorite of the day. We're still at the fountain and my littlest peers into the water. There are flower petals floating about. There is something timeless about this shot. It could have been a century ago, so I gave it a sepia tone to "antique" it. It just worked.

Gardens are such a fun and beautiful place for portraits...

In and Around the Lake

For Labor Day our family met at Smith Mountain Lake in southwestern Virginia. Most of the shots that I took were candid "point and shoot" type images... just your typical pictures you'd take on a family vacation. Nothing super artistic... just glimpses at our fun activities on the lake.

But it's always special to see a group of young cousins get together. Time flies and special memories are created day by day. That's why these pictures will be important one day, as a trigger in their minds about carefree summer days swimming in a lake.

While no one likes the "super posed" shot, I had to force all the kiddies together on the dock. Perhaps a tradition will be born and we can repeat this next year.

The cousins together on the dock.

My little two year old niece was a bit shy around me and didn't appreciate my following her around with a camera. I tried. But this image was as close to a smile as I got from her, and for some reason, I really liked the shot. Her expression says to me: "I'm thinking about smiling, but won't give you the full deal. I'm smarter than that."

 I loved this image of these two brothers smiling at their dad as he jumped into the lake. They soon followed him in.

 My favorite shot (from an artistic point of view) was my daughter jumping in the water first thing in the morning. She was just a silhouette, but this was a simple joy... to leap through the air and plunge into the cool water below. They must have done this a million times over three days.

The favorite activity of the weekend.

Hope everyone had a chance this holiday weekend to create great memories with family and friends.

First Project... Life's a Beach

Drove down to the beach last night with a fabulous family to try to capture some nice shots. It really was a beautiful afternoon giving way to evening. The lighting was perfect and a good setting.

I haven't had much of an opportunity to photograph these four kids together... and I have to say it was more of a challenge than I anticipated. The ages between the kiddos spans five to sixteen. It was kind of an interesting dilemma to try to get the older kids (who feel awkward posing in sentimentally sweet stances) to mesh with a very busy five year old who thought my shutterbugging was an infinite nuisance.

I realize the set of challenges those portrait studio people face as they stand there squeezing their rubber duckies, trying to make the kids look their way for a split second.

I didn't have a rubber duckie.

So I just did what I could and played around.

I found the best tactic to utilize with the busy little man is to just let him do his thing. He wanted to jump off the sand dunes. He wanted to run in the ocean. He did not want to look into a camera lens. I just followed him around and tried to catch those moments of lovin' the beach.

And he loves his big brother. Of the scenes that I tried to photograph within that hour, for some reason these were the easiest... the two boys playing in the surf...

And this was my favorite shot of the set:

I loved it because I asked the older brother if he could lift little brother up in the air... and the little one screamed "NO!" and he meant it. So it seemed like a lost cause, but they went ahead and tried... and note the look on the little one's face. Despite his protests, he loved it. And that's why I love it too.

Wow. These kids are growing up. Hate to be nostalgic here, but I've known these kids for 14 years, and remember this "little" one coming over to my house dressed in a superman cape, cowboy boots and a diaper.

He's practically a man now. When did this happen?

And these beautiful sisters... time may be marching on but when I look at their expressions in this photo I see the same little girls I've always known.

I took 102 shots in an hour, including the entire family and am only posting a small sampling here. I think with every "session" I do, I need to take note of what I learned. Yesterday I just walked out of there with no specific plan, just thought I'd "feel it" and see what happens. That's probably okay if you're working with one person, but not six. Have a plan, have some shots in mind. Some days the creative juices will be flowing, and some days it just won't be there.

I need to just keep snapping away, especially the moments between the poses. My favorites from this set were the unplanned ones. The PLAN was to have all the kids hold hands and jump off a sand dune. While the jump shot was cute, I loved the BEFORE shot... the one when they're laughing at how ridiculous they feel holding hands:

And of course with the little ones... it isn't worth it to push. They want to do what they want to do. I'd rather catch them running away from the camera and laughing than looking at the camera scowling. It's all good.

Teenagers... I'll never figure them out as long as I live, so just roll with it. Actually, these kids were awesome. Very few eye rolls. Guess they know me by now and accept my weirdness.

So my first session since "Picture the Cure"s inception is in the books. I liked the challenge of it. If nothing else, I hope the family will enjoy some of the shots. I saw a lot of smiles, even if they were as a result of feeling silly. I take what I can!