Another family session and another new house!

Congratulations to the Everetts for finding their dream home and to Charlotte for being in the world for 6 whole months!

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was slogging my way through the heat of June to take her infant photos and now here I am all bundled up for Christmas photos. 

To say Charlotte has changed a lot in six months would be an understatement. Charlotte underwent her fair share of struggles as she adjusted to this big world and she has come out on top of them. She is a bubbly, happy, delightful little girl now who, on this particular day, was eager to give me smile after smile. She was also quite eager to show me her tongue, which made for some absolutely adorable shots. 

I'm sure her parents are looking forward to showing those off when she's an easily embarrassed teenager!

Sorry, Char.

Although the Everetts just moved in, they had the house as festive as can be for the upcoming holiday. We made sure to get lots of pictures by their gorgeous Christmas tree and roaring fireplace. Although I loved the pictures of the whole family, there is just something about that cute tongue that I just can't get over, so I that's the one I chose for this post. 

So happy to continue capturing all the smiles that sweet little lady provides!

I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to be asked to take the Olson's holiday photos this year.

I may be slightly biased, but Evelyn is one cool baby. She is one of the most inquisitive little things I've ever encountered which is why I knew hanging by the tree with all those ornaments within reach would be the perfect setting for this shoot!

We did get some photos of the whole family, but Evelyn stole the show. Dressed in an adorable sock monkey onesie, she went right to work exploring every single ornament she could get her hands on. You could see her happiness (and surprise) that we weren't stopping her.

Just this once, baby girl.

I used a high ISO on my camera to really get the feel of the glow of the Christmas tree and I am so glad I went with that option. Not only did the tree glow, but so did Evelyn's eyes. There are tons of adorable photos from this shoot, but the one below is one of my favorites. There is just a ton of magical happiness in that face and I have to admit, I squealed a little when I came across it in the group.

I hope to continue capturing photos of this whole family in the years to come. Merry Christmas to the Olsons!

As someone who grew up in Catonsville, I have a deep appreciation for the gorgeous little town just down the hill from us, Ellicott City. Not only does it offer a great number of shops and restaurants that are just too much fun to explore, but it is a fantastic place to take photos.

There are so many spaces and textures, it is all I can do not to go hog wild with my camera every time I'm there.

I've done an engagement shoot before, but this time I was taking some Christmas themed photos for Claudia and her little man Jacob. It was a chilly, but bright day and we got right to it. Jacob was recovering from an ear infection and a cold, so I have to give him credit for being such a champ about the whole thing. 

Although I absolutely adore taking photos in Ellicott City, what really stood out to me about this shoot was the magic of the holiday season. Although Jacob wasn't feeling his best, any mention or sight of something Christmas related brought a huge smile to his face. It was clear that he absolutely loved Santa and the elves and anything that sounded like a jingle bell. It made me realize that although Christmas was magical as a child, it's just as wonderful to watch that childhood magic as an adult. 

I wish a very merry Christmas to these two and wish them a wonderful New Year in 2014!

There is something special about photography as a Christmas gift. Especially when it is a surprise given to you by your children (and their children!)

Lauren contacted me asking if I would take photos of her siblings and nieces and nephews as a surprise Christmas gift for the grandparents.  We met up at Centennial Park in Howard County and got right to work capturing some smiles.

If you've never been to the park, it's a fantastic space filled with fields, trees, and a pretty rockin' playground. Of course, we would never use the playground as a bribe! (Ok, I'm lying, playgrounds make great bribes for kids during photoshoots).

Whenever I'm shooting a family with small children, I try to get the important, posed photos first while they are still cheery, or, in other words, before they realize what is happening. We snapped up photos of the entire family and then moved on to some candid shots of everyone hanging out and playing around. It was crazy, but so much fun!

I hope the grandparents enjoy their gift!

I cannot believe it has already been a whole year since little Noah came into this world. A year ago, I was turning up the heat in the Braswell apartment and preparing to take his infant photos. Today, we headed out into the chilly weather and I watched little Noah waddle his way across the front porch of their new home.

As always, being with the Braswells was wonderful. Noah's personality is really coming through and he had lots of smiles to share with me. (I swear he broke out in a smile just after I snapped the shot in this post!) He loved playing in the leaves and didn't even notice when he got all wet. I think he could have stayed out there all day if I we had let him.

This has been an exciting year for this little family and the excitement continues. This spring, they will be welcoming Boy #2!

I am so excited to meet their new addition, and, of course, snap lots of pictures of him! Noah was my very first infant session ever, and I have to say, I have learned a lot in this one year. He has no idea what's coming!

I wish the Braswells the best as they finish out their last few months as a family of three (plus their Jack Boy of course!) and settle into their gorgeous new house.

If this family looks familiar to you, that's because they are! 

This was my second time photographing the LoPresti family. I had the pleasure of taking their family photos last year around the same time. It's amazing how much can change in a year!

The biggest change would have be little Miss. Megan. Last year, it was quite obvious she had other plans for her day and was not interested in participating in a photo shoot. This year, she channeled all of that fantastic energy into being a photo shoot super star! David also stepped it up - he showed his fun, goofy personality and even contributed by suggesting locations and poses. All in all, it made for a very fun shoot. 

This year we stayed close to their house and explored the stretch of woods in their backyard.  It's clear just how much they like spending time together. I felt like I was just along for a normal family hike. There were lots of smiles and laughs to go around. 

After our trek in the woods, I even got to take a few shots of David and Megan on their bikes. Pretty impressive! 

I can't wait to watch this family grow and hope to work with them again next year!

Now that I've been in business for a while, I'm starting to notice something that just makes my heart fill up with happiness - recommendations.

I'm well aware that not every single client of mine is going to say wonderful things about me. I know I put 100% effort into every photoshoot and event, but I also know that there will always be one or two people who I just don't do it for.

That is why recommendations are so wonderful.

They are proof that there are clients who loved your work enough to tell someone. Proof that all of my effort works more often than it doesn't work. I of course love getting new business, but more importantly, I love knowing I made someone happy.

The Patel family were recommended to me by the Asarawala family who I took pictures of this summer. 

The Patels have a beautiful daughter and a little baby boy and they wanted to grab some photos of them interacting. As usual, we snuck in the portraits at the very beginning and then moved on to playtime. 

The shoot was actually quite short. We got in so many fantastic photos because they were all just so happy to hang out together. We didn't even have to leave their house!

I really loved when they dressed up in formal Indian dress at the end of the shoot. I've always loved the colors and fabrics of this culture and I was excited to capture it on camera again. I think they all looked stunning!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the most expressive baby I've ever met!

It's true what they say - no two babies are alike. My infant photoshoots have been sound proof of this.

Our little star was asleep when we first started but after the first few frames, he was wide awake the entire time. For Aidan, this turned out to be a good thing. 

I have never seen, let alone taken pictures of, a baby who is so expressive. He had such a slew of facial expressions I really couldn't narrow them down in post processing. I wanted his Mommy and Daddy to get every single one. They were just so representative of the kind of baby he is! 

On top of this, I swear that I had a teeny tiny model on my hands. Whenever he would start to fuss, I would take a photo and the flash would calm him down. At just two weeks, he had no problem following the lens around. I got quite a few photos of him looking directly into the camera.  I'm pretty sure he was made for this.

I've had such a great time going through his photos so far. Almost every single one makes me smile. 

Can't wait to see him and his personality grow!

Seeing family after a long separation is so very exciting.

Helen contacted me because she and her parents were coming to Maryland to visit her sister, who had moved away from Michigan a few years ago. They don't get to see each other that often, so they wanted some photos to remember it by.

I met them in Crofton to take some photos at a favorite playground and park. After sneaking in the big family portraits before the kiddos knew what was happening, we spent time playing and hiking. 

My favorite part about this shoot had to be the cousins interacting. There is an innate connection shared when you come from the same family. The boys had such a great time exploring and playing together. We got a great photo at the end of them sharing a conversation over a juice box. I can see that same photo happening in 15 years over a beer! They clearly share a connection despite the distance.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was obvious the whole gang was happy to be together again. I hope they get the chance to do it again soon! 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. 

I love weddings.

It's been a while since I've done a wedding on my own, but Jen and Brandon reminded me why I love it so much.

What a fun couple. What a fun day.

I started off the day taking pictures of both the bride and groom getting ready at their separate residences. The bride's residence was literally only a few minutes from the ceremony site, so we were able to spend a lot of time getting pictures beforehand. This is always nice because after the ceremony, everyone is just in the mood to party and it saves a lot of time to have some photos already done!

Their ceremony venue was beautiful. I was asked not to use my flash while the ceremony was in progress and I had absolutely no problem with that. The natural light was plentiful! 

If I thought I liked it there, I was not even prepared for how adorable their reception venue would be. They held it at The Inn at Brookeville Farms and it felt like something out of a storybook. Add that to a bridal party more than ready to follow my directions and keep things moving, well, I could not have been happier.

It's clear Jen and Brandon are surrounded by people who love and care for them. So many friends and family joined them on their day, and to hear what was said about this couple would have brought tears to anyone's eyes (this photographer included).

I had a feeling the party would be a fun one, and I was not disappointed. I could barely take pictures fast enough with how much fun was being had on that dance floor. It was one of those days where I almost wished I could have been a guest. Then I look through the photos and remember why I do what I do, and how lucky I am to be able to capture that kind of happiness in a photo.

I think my very favorite part of this particular wedding, is how they looked at each other. Every once in a while I would see them pause and just look at each other for a few moments. I was taken aback by how much love was contained in just that look. What an incredible thing to have with another person. 

I know Mr. and Mrs. Servary will have a wonderful life together. I hope I run into them again in the future.