I have fallen behind with my Then and Now posts due to illness followed by the San Francisco trip. But I am getting back on track and have so many more adorable babies (now toddlers and preschoolers) to share- so stay tuned on Fridays!

This family opted to book a family session instead of taking me up on my studio minis. It had been nearly 3 years since our first session together and their son has grown up so much! Plus, he has a new baby sister who is equally adorable. I really enjoyed seeing all of them again!

I should point out, they did a fabulous job of coordinating outfits and looked very springy for our session together. It’s no easy task to dress for a portrait session so I appreciate the effort that went into this!

Here’s the big guy then as he appears in the Big Book of Babies:

And now:

I have to tell you his special talent- because it really is unique! He’s a car buff and can point out the make and models of different cars by sight. He seemed to have about 99% accuracy doing so and his parents tell me that he can identify many cars after dark by their headlights!

And because I don’t want to leave out anyone else… here’s his little sis with Daddy. She was pretty sure she knew what she wanted- to be holding on to either mom or dad at all times. But no worries, I did manage to capture a few of her alone too!

And the whole family together:

Here’s a little fella and his family who I met recently in downtown Annapolis for a session.

Though you may not see it here, he played “hard to get” with us at his session and I think Dad got a better workout than me in trying to get him to smile! I suspect there were just a lot of new things going on that were far more interesting than some lady and her camera (and Mom and Dad- after all, he sees them every day!)…

Now, if I had been riding a motorcycle or driving a bus, I am pretty sure I could have had his attention with little effort! Boy- yep, he’s definitely a boy!

But we did manage to get some adorable shots and I do love getting some interaction shots with the parents. So often, as parents, we manage to capture hundreds of images of our children, only to realize that we aren’t represented in their life in pictures. So I am always happy to include mom and dad!

So here they are…

I think that it sounded something like- “click CLICK click…” or at least that is how it sounded with 4 photographers on the town!

Get a few photographers together, and you know what is going to happen right?

Coming soon, to a theatre near you, “Photographers gone mad!”:

Going clockwise from me, taking the picture, is Pam Biasotti at 1 o’clock, Terrilyn O’Neil at 5 o’clock and Theresa Stanton at 7 o’clock.

I’ve openly admitted that landscapes aren’t my thing. No doubt I could have done worse, but believe me when I say I will not be looking to sell this as a stock photo!

And this is what happens when you have several wise cracker photographers around when you’re trying to shoot a bridge. We all agree, they look very Charlie’s Angels-ish.

But I got them back. I got a picture of Pam, taking a picture of Terrilyn and Theresa. I believe Pam shared the resulting shot on her blog.

We took a drive down the crookedest street in San Francisco. It’s hard to see here, but it curves back and forth. Lucky shot since I hung the camera out the window to get it!

Remember Full House with the Olson twins? They always showed these victorian houses at the start of the show. Apparently they are called the “Painted ladies”.

My only request was to ride the cable car. However, my only GOAL of this whole riding the cable car business was to get a photograph on it. We quickly ditched the 45 min ++ line to find a parked cable car, in queue for cable car rides. I know, I ruined the intrigue by telling you that it wasn’t actually moving. But play along and pretend with me, will ya? Theresa grabbed my camera for a few quick snaps before we got caught!

And finally the ladies, sitting pretty.

We had such a fun day out and it was great to get to finally meet Theresa in person and hang out with Pam and Terrilyn again!

Until we meet again…

I’m back!!

The trip out to San Francisco was good- though tiring! I lived in San Diego for 7 years from 1992-1999 and did the cross country trek often. However, I found it much tougher to adjust to the time change this time- aging? Nah, say it isn’t so!

The first night of the mixer, I truly tried to stay awake, but by the end, I was ready to curl up and sleep in a corner!

The workshop was quite good- informative and there were some definite lightbulb moments. Long, long day though and again, after 14.5 hours of workshop around 3a.m. EST, I was DONE.

Here are a few images from the day:

Mr. Zack Arias, or zarius, or usedfilm… he goes by many names.

And some of the techniques in action:

Shot in the afternoon…

And then a setup/results shot:

I definitely got a lot out of it. I’m sure it helps that I’ve been to several lighting workshops and have a good working knowledge, but definitely fun to learn some new tricks… that work great on stationary subjects… toddlers, not so much!

I am headed out to California to attend the One Light Workshop with a couple of my photographer friends from around the country. My friend Pam Biasotti has agreed to put us up (or put up with us, I’m not sure which?!)

Anyways, I am very excited to get out and learn some new techniques and refresh some old ones. I am hoping to come back refreshed, revitalized and ready for summer!

I will be out of town, and away from phones and emails, through the weekend and will be returning to work on Monday, May 12- hopefully to meet my newest newborn client who was due last weekend!

I met this family at the National Arboretum just inside Washington DC for a morning of chasing frogs (and catching them!), smelling buttercups, and playing in the camoflauged tree.

Here are just a few from our session together…

Mr. Serious with those stunning eyes:

The big guy in the tree :

Giving mom a flower

Daddy’s little buddy

Froggy time

 I met these darling children over at Kinder Park Farm for a photo session.  We had an absolutely glorious day for it too!

Sometimes my favorite images are those where the children are engaged in their activities, and not paying much attention to me at all.  This is one such image:

This little cutie gave me a run for my money.  A serious guy by nature, I feel pretty privileged to have gotten this sweet smile.

Ah, those blue eyes, perfect skin, and darling expression.

Love the curls blowing in the wind, barefeet on the fence, in the tutu.  Just beautiful.

Can you feel the love?

I always recommend photographing newborns in their first two weeks of life, but each time I get a little one who is closer to a week old, I realize just how much more ideal that age is. Even days later, newborns are so much more alert.

This little guy had a sip of milk then fell into a deep sleep. I see a LOT of newborns, and I have never seen one fall asleep so fast and so hard. Of course, this was right after he relieved himself all over Dad- but Dad was a great sport and even said it was “cool”! So once he was asleep, we reattempted to get some shots with Dad. I think both Mom and Dad will be pleased!

And from before he fell asleep… Love the open eye newborn shots as well!

Isn’t he just so sweet?

Anyone with little boys can completely appreciate, I am sure, this brand of brotherly love. Sometimes these outtakes end up on the cutting room floor, but not when the victim recipient of love has such fun expressions- as opposed to looks of horror or pain. I am going to make a guess that she can probably dish it out as well as she can take it! I just love these- pure joy!

I got quite a few really nice, sweet shots of brother and sister together, but I’m saving those for mom and dad in their gallery.

Here are a few of the kids’ individual shots. Big sister wasn’t so amused that we went to the “park” and yet there was not a swing or slide in sight! But they did a fantastic job for me!

It was wonderful to finally meet you!

A little bit shy, I recall her not knowing quite what to make of me at our session.  We got a few shots of her in her christening gown as well as some more candid shots in her room.  I absolutely loved her bright orange walls in her bedroom (my favorite color!).  And I completely adored her hair.  So I wasn’t surprised when the publisher chose two of her images for publication.

Here they are as seen in The Big Book of Babies

And here she is now- about to become a big sister!

Mom shared her answers to our questions as well…

What is your child’s favorite book?  She doesn’t really have a favorite!  She likes Winnie the Pooh, Stone Soup, 3 Little Pigs and The Gingerbread Man.

Where do you like to shop for women’s clothing (you know, the kind that neither screams teenager or “Mom”)?  For work, Ann Taylor and Talbots are favorites.  For casual, I love Eddie Bauer, Land’s End and LL Bean.

If I won $10,000, I would…  wish away with my husband to Ireland, New Zealand, or just charter a sailboat with the kids for a month!

Photographs are important to me because… they document the snapshots of our everchanging lives, allow us to see where we have been and the journey to where we are… and to not forget everything along the way!

Do you have any special plans for this summer?  We are  having our third baby! Summer will be spent getting to know her.

The best escape from parenting is… I take refuge in my weekly exercise class and chorus rehearsal.  I also love going to the salon for haircuts and the rare pedicure!

My favorite healthy snack to feed the kids is… fresh fruit, cheese sticks, or yogurt popsicles.

My favorite local park is… a small local neighborhood/county park that we ride our bikes to.  We call it the “seedpod” park, because there are lots of gum trees and we throw the seedpods into the stream.

Do you have a local business or charity you’d like to share?  A local charity we support through our church is the Laurel Advocacy Referral Service (LARS)- lots of programs to help the homeless and hungry, right in our town.

It was wonderful seeing you all again!  Best of luck with labor and delivery and welcoming the newest addition to your family!