My Christmas Pretties

Our Family Pictures

I did actually have plans to take "real" family pictures this fall and even had some sassy bright colored hip outfits picked out and hung safely in the closet. It just never happened.

So I started feeling the crunch about 2 weeks ago. Lucky for me, it snowed (rare for Raleigh) and I was out taking pictures anyways, husband got home from surfing just in time (yes, he went surfing on a day that it snowed) and all four of us were together so I busted out the new tripod and we took 2 rounds on automatic (10 picts each round that clicks off super fast). That's about all we had patience for with the little ones.

Ever taken pictures in the snow, with a tripod, in high heel boots? I don't recommend it. The first round of pictures turned out like this:

Then we scooted back, but the camera kept trying to auto-focus on the falling snowflakes in front of the lens, resulting in sort of dark somewhat blurry pictures.

And I call myself a photographer? People pay me to take their picts? I should probably refund everybody after this display of bad photo skills, haha. I guess my disclaimer is they would have been a LOT better if I could have been behind the camera :)

Anyways, it was slim pickings between the blurriness and the moving children. But we made do. My saving grace was choosing a beautiful pearl paper with a shimmer spray, so it brought a little glisten to an otherwise drab photocard. Here's how it turned out (remember to imagine the shimmer ok?):

Even though the pictures aren't your normal smile and say cheese, they turned out like us--lots of love, lots of realness and lots of simpleness. And we had lots of fun. It was a blast showing the girls their first snow and how to make snowballs and snowmen.

Now everyday after nap, I have to explain over and over again why it hasn't snowed, that it doesn't snow everyday, and I have no power to make it snow. Little minds are full of questions.

Merry Christmas to all my followers!

Bokeh Babe

I have been taking it easy and enjoying my darlings. Here is a fun picture we took during a playdate. With the Christmas tree lights on, don't forget to take advantage of a great photo opportunity by playing with your aperture to get a fun bokeh (blurred background) effect! I'm definitely going to practice this technique and use it more in the future. It adds some magic and sparkle to a blah background, don't you think?



I purposely have eased on the "real" photoshoots for this month so I can enjoy the Christmas season with my little ones--they sure have been loving the nativity sets all around.



It's fun to spy on them while they are off in imagination land.



Merry Christmas to all my fans and blog stalkers! And most of all, a big thanks to all my real clients who took a chance on an amateur and made my first few months a super fun learning experience for me! Hopefully, you'll come back for more photoshoots in 2011 :)

Stay tuned: I will be posting some January/February specials and mini sessions soon. They will probably be geared to babies & kids.

Santa Barbara Wedding

The day we arrived in California, my in-laws were hosting a wedding at their beautiful home.





It was a small intimate ceremony and a short casual reception afterwards.





I had been wondering if I would like wedding photography, so it was fun to give it a whirl in a really low-key environment.



I hadn't ever met the bride and groom before this; they were super sweet and as you can see amazingly gorgeous. Lucky for me all I had to do was push the button on the camera and every shot turned out picture-perfect.



I wish I had stolen them away for longer and had more time to try out different couple shots and be creative, but I also wanted them to just enjoy their special evening.







I have heard of a trend of taking your wedding pictures a few days before or after the actual ceremony--just so that on your day you can relax and have fun. Not sure if people do that here in the South, but I can see why: there's so much socializing, eating, dancing and everything...who wants to sit around posing for the camera?!?





Everything tasted as good as it looked too.








It was fun to go behind the scenes and see the pre-wedding bride jitters :)







All in all, I loved doing this! It was right up my alley. Pretty frills. Pretty people. Pretty awesome.



So yes, I think I will keep my ears open for more weddings and you do the same, k?

Click for even more pictures and details!

PS: And here's why I do what I do. I was up in the front during the ceremony and I could hear a certain little cooing and squawking that only my ears are tuned for. I turn around to see my little lovie who had just woken up from her nap, trying to get my attention peeking at me through the bushes. Love this captured moment. It makes me reflect like so:

He's hot, and he's mine.

She's adorable, and I made her.



xoxo

Another G Family | Holiday

One of the sweetest families ever!









Click for more.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope all my fans had a happy Thanksgiving! Here's a little treasure of an outfit that's been passed around my family for who knows how long. My little pilgrim baby loved her first sweet potatoes and jello.

The G Family | Holiday

I'm so behind in posting--busy, busy. This time of year always sneaks up on me.

We just returned from our vacation, so hopefully I can get caught up!







This is my neighbor. We keep each other sane while trying to figure out this whole motherhood thing together. There's just something about having a friend that lives so close and that is in the same stage of life. On those afternoons when you need a place to go, but don't want to make the effort to go anywhere, a neighbor in the same predicament comes quite in handy.





And here's my favorite candid shot. Gotta love parenthood!

Wedding | Coming Soon

Give the Gift of Memories

Here's a sample gift certificate. Some gals went in on a group gift for their sister; I can't wait to meet the little bundle this spring.

I think newborn pictures are the BEST baby shower gift ever. It sounds cliche, but it truly is the gift that keeps on giving. The new mom will look at her little baby's pictures over and over and over and over again!



Email me if you would like more info on gift certificates. You can either do a flat dollar amount, or I can create a custom package that includes digital files & prints.

The H Family Session

Another great family session. We took these pictures out in quaint Fearington Village.







In case you can't tell, there is a lot of love in this family.










And for sure there is a lot of love for their newest addition--baby Graham. Everybody wanted to hold and cuddle him.











Earlier this year, this family attended a wedding here at this location. So when they came upon the spot where the wedding took place, the girls immediately wanted to "play wedding".





So I guess this might count as my first wedding to photograph, teehee.













More pictures here.