Mini session with two sweet munchkins...

I recently posted an outdoor family session with these two cuties, Miss A and Mr. N and their parents. They also came in last week for my Holiday Card Mini Session to get some of the children together in the studio.

Miss A is 2 1/2, very independent and full of spunk!! She took some convincing (translate: bribing with Smarties and Halloween fruit snacks!) to stop hiding behind the chair and pose for pictures with her brother, but eventually we succeeded and got some good ones!

While she wasn't too excited about taking pics together, she was more than willing to model for me while baby brother needed a bottle...

And Mr. N was sweet beyond words... I could have sat here and held him all day (he was such a good boy AND he still has that new baby smell)!!

I was happy to have another opportunity to work with these two, and hope to see them back again someday! They're just too cute!!

What happens when you're in the park at closing time?

They sic the law on you!!! Lesson #1... When the "hours" sign posted at this particular park says 5 pm, they mean 5 pm!! This was the first time I had done a session here so close to closing during the park's winter hours, and we weren't sure what would happen at 5pm.

We had been shooting for over an hour, and the kids had about had it with me and my camera, when we heard a siren coming towards us and stop at the top of the (VERY STEEP) hill... and then a voice coming over a loudspeaker telling us all to return to our vehicles!!



I was rather mortified, but luckily I have known the client for a few years, so she and her family just laughed as we sprinted (OK, speed walked) up the hill (note to self: excercise would be helpful)... Then the officer "escorted" all our vehicles out of the park with his lights on, no less!!!



Not to worry...we did get some good shots in before being so rudely chased away!! I love this one of T and C... T is a good friend of my daughter's, and I know I can always count on these two to be laughing and smiling!

This was their cousin, Miss P... isn't she a cutie! She was trying to add some fiber to her diet by eating as many leaves as possible :)

Here's a shot of all the cousins together... look at Miss P laughing... I love it!

And the last shot of the day... a bit of an outtake!! You can see that little Mr. K had had enough, and the other boys are all looking away trying to figure out what that siren was all about... You can't get a clearer sign that it's time to end the photo session!!

Hope you enjoy your sneak peek... I'll have the full session to come soon!

What a sweet shy smile...

This little cutie is a friend of ours... her oldest sister is in the same grade as my daughter, and her middle sister is in the same class as my son. Little Miss M is the youngest, and she loves to follow them all around... and my kids and I just think she's the sweetest thing ever!

I took the fall photos at her preschool and she was sick that day, so we did a quick mini-session at my home studio instead. I'm so glad I was able to get her to relax a little, because she is just adorable!

I just love this photo... I think it's one of my new faves!

Kindergarten is a fun age...

I like working with kids that are in kindergarten... they usually have such fun stories to tell and give me some of the best smiles! Of course, I get my fair share of shy looks and goofy faces mixed in, but that's all part of the fun!

I did this session with Miss E, M and M last week at one of my favorite outdoor locations. We weren't sure if we would see any hunters now that pheasant season has started, but thankfully it was all clear! The weather was beautiful, I loved the brown and red colors they chose... all in all it was a really good session!

Here are a few of the ones I liked the best...

And one last one of E by herself... she wasn't so sure about standing by the tree, but I'm so glad she did, because this is so sweet!

Thanks so much for coming down to Wilmington, and it was so nice to meet all of you! I hope you enjoy your quick peek!

A family session in studio...

Well, this was my first chance to use my new smoke grey seamless paper (LOVE IT!!) and it was for a special family... my mother-, father-, and sister-in-law! They haven't had photos taken in many, many years, and asked me to do the honors. Luckily, they were willing to brave the chaos that is my garage studio in the midst of painting and other remodeling,

Here is one of my sister-in-law, who made me laugh with her crazy expressions and poses - she was quite the model :) We did get some nice ones though, including this one...

My kids were happy to see such a nice photo of "Nana and Papa"...

And one of the three of them together...

Thanks for coming to my studio (and the kids' soccer games!) and I hope you're happy with your photos!!!

Cloudy day... sweet family!

Well, the weather wasn't on our side for this session last Friday... it was very cloudy, chilly, and it actually started sprinkling before we were done. But we were bound and determined to get this family session done!

Little"Miss A" fell asleep on the way there and the poor sweetie really wasn't sure she wanted much to do with me, but she finally came around (treats in the camera bag work wonders)!

And baby "N" was all curious and happy... a little cutie :) He did have a little habit of spitting up... in large volumes... Outfit #1 was done before he even got out of the car LOL! But one thing I've learned, both as a mother and a photographer of babies, is that you've got to be prepared for anything to happen and just roll with it :)

Here is one with N and his daddy...

And then a family photo... there was a whole flock of geese on the lake near us, and Miss A was very intent on talking to them and trying to convince them to come closer to us... very cute :)

And one more... I felt bad b/c the ground was damp so everyone was wet when we were done, but they were all such good sports! This is about the time it started sprinkling too...

Enjoy your preview - this was one of those sessions that was short but sweet!

Energy... pure energy...

I had a session with Miss N last Friday - she's soon to turn 4 and full of energy! I don't need to join a gym... I just need to have more photo sessions with kids in the 2-4 age range :)

She was lots of fun, and we got some great smiles! The leaves are starting to change, and I loved capturing the fall leaves, green grass, and her brown shirt... a perfect fall photo!

She enjoyed splashing in the water... luckily it was an unseasonably warm day in October! I felt so bad about the mosquitoes though... she got one nasty bite right between her eyes, poor thing. Luckily, it didn't seem to bother her a whole lot... Miss N was much more excited to hear that I have a secret stash of treats for good kids in my camera bag!!

I had a great time with the whole family... I hope you enjoyed your little preview!

Three brothers = one wild 'n' crazy photo session!

So Sunday I had a session that was rescheduled from the previous week - Mom really wanted me to photograph her three boys at the waterfall location, but after all the rain it was more of a raging rapids! This week was much better, so we set out to get some great photos!!

First, we have Mr. A - the oldest of the three, who was bound and determined to be on his very best behavior for this session in order to earn a Brownie Sundae at DQ afterwards (and he did) :)

Next, Mr. M, who was 7 and usually gave me a closed-mouth smile, not wanting to show off his missing tooth... but I did sneak a few from him!

And finally, Mr. N, who was 4 and just full of giggles and crazy faces most of the time!

They seem so innocent alone, don't they?! But put the three together, and it was a whole new ballgame!! They had me laughing so hard - between little N and his crazy faces, some strange noises coming from one or more of them (we never did get anyone to admit to it!), and their general confusion about how/where I wanted them to go (you want me to sit HOW?? I have to TOUCH him?? I have to act like I LIKE my brothers??)...

I did end up with a rather large number of shots that were some variation or another of this... (this was N insisting on putting his arm around M, who promptly removed it... about 8 times. And poor A was either shooing away one of the million mosquitoes that were feasting on us or else just shaking his head in disgust)...

But we really did manage to get some great shots... including my absolute fave, which alone is worth all the mosquito bites and wet clothes these boys went through...

Isn't that great?! I just adore it :) K, I truly had a great time working with you and your boys, and I hope you enjoy this little preview! I promise there are other great photos to come!

He's the older brother... but no pink stripes in his hair!

A couple weeks back I did a session of N's younger sister, with the pink stripes in her hair. We also got a couple shots of the kids together, but ran out of time before we could get any of N alone. So we did a quick mini-session last week with just him...

And he told me he "didn't know how to smile"... I think this proves him wrong!!

And this is a look that his mom and I frequently see from him... kind of that "yeah, sure, right" look when we tell him something that he's not quite ready to believe!

We got some nice shots out of this quick little session, I hope you enjoy your preview:)

One more sneak peek from last week...

Here's another sneak peek from last week's session by the waterfall... I think this is so cute!!

OK, now back to proofing...