You may recognize these two boys considering this is my 3rd year photographing them and documenting their childhood in Barefoot fashion! It’s always great to see them and so nice to feel so comfortable with the family that we can enjoy the session and let it happen. These two guys are truly a scream. So full of energy, not unlike my own boys.

We did things a bit differently this year. Mom wanted to try something kind of fun- to create a gallery wall to decorate her staircase leading to her lower level. So we made sundaes! The boys were more than happy to oblige by eating them up before lunch!

Even the family dog got in on the action.

I’d like to tell you that the spoon was not reused by the child after the above photograph was snapped, but… well, what can we say? Kids are too quick!

Thanks!! It was fun!

davidsonville maryland md family child photography

I’ve been photographing the girls since they were just six months old. I was so happy to see them selected to be in the book, not from just their 6mo session, but also from their sunset session the following year at Bethany Beach, Delaware. Mom replied when I told her the news with “We’re famous!” I’m glad she was as excited as me. Yes, her girls are indeed pretty famous- and well-represented in the book!

Here is her first darling twin as seen in The Big Book of Babies:

And here she is now (not quite sure she really liked the whole studio concept):

And her other sweet girl THEN:

And NOW:

And the sisters together, who respectively like Kitty Cats and Bunny Rabbits:

Here is mom’s reply to my questions:

What is your favorite weekend activity to do with the family? Alternatively, where do you like to take the kids to burn (their) energy? We almost always go to the zoo on the weekends. We visit our local playgrounds and parks and let the girls and let the girls run around. In the summer, our favorite thing to do is go to the beach.

The most requested toy in my house right now is… Kitty cat and Bunny rabbit.

One thing I hope to never forget… how sweet and innocent the girls are at this age.

If there were 25 hours in the day, I would spend the extra hour… sleeping (why, oh why don’t kids realize how lucky they are to be forced to nap!)

Which do you prefer, black and white or color (photographs of course!)? color

The most important thing a parent can do for a child is… to expose them to different experiences and then help them achieve their goals and dreams. Give them opportunities.

How do you pass the time on long trips? DVD’s and stickers

What I am looking forward to most in 2008 is… a fun summer!

Or shall I say handsome?I love when moms let me photograph them as well. Isn’t this so tender and sweet?

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?