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This family is related to another that you have seen on my blog.  The two little girls are cousins and are only 2 months apart!  I don’t have any cousins that are my age so I can only imagine how much fun it will be to have someone to grow with.  In addition, this family was referred to me by the other family.  It means the world to me when people think enough of my work, and want to share me with friends and family.

We did start the shoot in a fairly traditional setting, the family by the fireplace.  I tried to get everyone in a more comfortable and relaxed state and this was the best way to start.

After a full series inside we moved outside.  The shoot had actually been postponed by 3 days as the end of May and beginning of June were very tricky for outdoor shooting.  Outside my vision was of a much more relaxed and natural group.  I let the kids run around, throw balls, use the slide and swings… I let them be kids in their natural state.  A much more lifestyle approach to the family portrait.

We will ALWAYS remember how old these kids were when we did this session.  Its a trick I learned from another photographer.  Just ask the kids how many they are and you get a certain number of fingers.  My hat is off to mom for figuring out a way to get a 1 year old to hold up 1 finger.  It was BRILLIANT and I will use it again and again… shhhhhhhh its my secret!

I had such a good time with this family, I do hope we get to play together again at another milestone!

I say little because of the main participant, she just turned 1!  She doesn’t walk or talk just yet, but boy oh boy does she express herself.  She crawled right up to the camera for her close up several times.  We played with a ball, blocks, her butterfly rocking chair… anything that would get her to smile and laugh.  When your working with kids, especially babies, just throw your own sense of self out the window and get down on their level.  Its the only way to be successful.  The only tough part is getting back up!

This next shot is one of my favorites.  Totally a happy accident, but to me it just establishes a time in this family’s life that is so fleeting.  Before we know it I’ll be doing this little girl’s senior session!  But they will always be able to remember when she had these tiny little feet…

This was the first time I had met Norah and her family. They are in a play group with the other little guy you see all over the pages of my blog. Norah is also 6 months old and her mom and dad wanted some family shots for holiday cards, and they had not yet had any professional pictures done of Norah. So we were killing 2 birds with one stone, or so the saying goes…

They live on a beautiful tree lined street in Park Slope Brooklyn. The kind of house you saw in the opening credits of “The Cosby Show.”

After we dodged the rain drops we came inside for the real magic… Ok we put a very cute snowflake onesie on Norah and a hat. She didn’t really care for the hat.

Norah is as smiley and happy as they come! While she will probably harbor a deep hidden resentment towards me for the hat thing, I’m ok with it… She was too cute!

This project started way back in April of 2008, when Booker wasn’t even quite finished being cooked yet. Now look at him, 6 months later and he can sit up, crawl, he’s super baby! And he is such a smiley happy baby on top of it!

You would think Booker and I are old friends at this point, but maybe he is confused by the camera in front of my face?

Being very close to Halloween we decided to incorporate the them into his session. And well, his momma likes neekeid baby!

Just before we finished up, we did some clowning around…

And as a special treat, Grandma and Grandpa were visiting all the way from Germany!

Now we start planning the 9 month shoot, I am hoping for snow

Many of you have seen my Face Book updates about #ImagesForACure a grass roots movement started by Kristen Weaver. This simple little project is designed to bring awareness to a disease and to bring people together.

On October 11th, 2009 over 80 photographers in 31 states and 2 countries are participating in this event. Its very simple, contact me to setup a time to shoot, then go to Schedule a Session, they are taking care of the financial aspect of the day, its very cool. My session fee for the day is $125 for a 45 minute portrait session, after you donate forward the confirmation email to me, and away we go!  All products purchased from Images For A Cure sessions are 20% off.

Whether you want an engagement session….

Or a family portrait…

It is entirely up to you!

One special thing I am doing as part of this project is pet sessions. Because of shooting location restraints it will be limited to dogs this time. But I believe each and ever member of your family is worth of being photographed… so bring out, fido, max or daisy!

Lastly for you seniors out there, if you haven’t done your senior portrait this is an excellent opportunity! The fall deadlines for many schools are fast approaching!

As another photographer said the other day, “if i have the greatest job in the world, why do I spend 75% of my time hunched over a computer?” well its because the other 25% of the time is SO MUCH FUN! I don’t have kids, not that time for my family yet… but i got a glimpse of what its like to have a 2 year old the other day.

This little guy is so inquisitive, with that hint of mischief in his eye…
His Nana bought him this outfit, his dad remarked he’s ready for his first day of school!

His mom got this little tux on freecycle.org for a wedding this past summer, they ended up not needing it. So we decided that heck this was the perfect opportunity to use it, its not going to fit much longer…

This is one of my favorites, I feel like this expression sums up the entire shoot. This kid has a bright, bright future…