Captivating Imagery: Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer and Professional Photography Services

This last post of 2011 is near and dear to my heart. While visiting with my family in Hershey, Pa., my sister and her husband sat for a maternity session in a guest room at my parents’ home. Well, now it’s a guest room/baby room because as you will see, my mom has everything ready to go for her first grandchild. I normally do maternity sessions in the studio, so this was a good opportunity to find new ways to show what a special time this is for expecting parents.

Betsy and Steve are going to be great parents. It’s easy to see that they are going to make sure their little baby has everything she needs (and more!)

They picked out a name for their baby girl and it’s top-secret! I guess we’ll have to wait until February.

This one below is one of my favorites. Here’s where you can see the crib all ready for the baby.

Bets and Steve, thanks for the opportunity to photograph your maternity session. I can’t wait to meet your baby girl. I love her already and have been praying for her! God bless you!

It’s just about that time to meet up with family and old friends and celebrate the Christmas season. But before I go, here’s a post from a senior portrait session in October. I met Sam through his brother, whose wedding I photographed in Pittsburgh this past summer. He’s a great guy and we had a fun time during his session with a little help from his friends. First we started with a traditional portrait for the yearbook photo.

This messy look with the hair was expertly achieved by his younger brother Raymond, who stood by making sure it was all in place.

I think this is one of my favorites of Sam. He looks so comfortable and casual leaning against the wall.

Ok, time for another look.

These images of him on the green chair are close contenders for my favorite shot. Love seeing his arms on the back of the chair. Watch out, ladies!

And here, he’s just too cool for school.

We stepped outside the studio to walk along the train tracks and trees that run along the Monongahela River.

What a great guy! Thanks, Sam, for a great session! Many blessings to you in all your future endeavors!

Senior portraits by Captivating Imagery can be done in the studio or on-location. The creative fee is $500 for a 2-hour session with a $350 credit toward prints and other photo products. Contact me at info@captivatingimagery.com if you’d like to talk more about scheduling a session.

I love photographing high school seniors. There are no two seniors alike and it’s fun to see what happens when the focus is all on them. For some, it takes a little while to ease into the session before they let their personality shine through, and others are seem to soak up every minute of their time in the spotlight. My approach to senior portraits is unique in Pittsburgh. I’m not big on props or maintaining a large selection of backdrops. I like to keep it simple and focus on making the students comfortable so that their portraits really reveal their character. I enjoy getting to know the students over the course of their session and I don’t like tight time constraints. A 30-minute session would never work with my approach. In some cases, it takes that much time to really get comfortable in front of the camera. It’s more about the experience. Senior portraits are an important milestone in a student’s life and it should be an enjoyable experience.

Here’s a slide show of some of the students I’ve had the pleasure of photographing over the past year. They’re all so different and that is a beautiful thing.

Amy comes from a large family and sings on the praise team at church.

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Today is the first day of spring and I can not hide my enthusiasm about this.  Each time I hear mention of this on the news, I do a little dance.  And here are some photos to commemorate this long-awaited day.

This is the first photo I took at Mellon Park yesterday afternoon and it was a gift from God, I’m sure. I love photographing nature and often get caught in a trance, waiting for just the right moment when the bumblebee hovers over the flowers. This moment was within seconds of finding this hillside of blooms. I couldn’t believe that the bee stayed just long enough for me to compose, focus and adjust the exposure. Sweet!

This is the newly renovated walled garden at Mellon Park. I went there yesterday to scout the location for an upcoming engagement session for a bride and groom who are getting married this summer. It looks as though the garden renovation is complete and a dedication is planned for the spring – not sure of a date, though.

This is a beautiful park for on-location photography. It’s one of my favorites because I have a sweet spot for formal gardens. I loved The Secret Garden (movie and musical) growing up, but had never seen a formal garden in person until the summer I spent in London in my early 20s. And Mellon Park in Pittsburgh, captures some of the whimsy and romance that I grew to love about the gardens in London.

Even the gates have beautiful floral details.

This is the other walled garden at Mellon Park. The walls are falling apart, so I hope it will be a future renovation project. For now, it has more of a rustic charm.

This is from the daylily and daffodil garden. The little daylilies look so triumphant with the sun illuminating their form. I can’t wait until the daffodils bloom. They are my favorite flower – I carried a bouquet of daffodils for my wedding, just like I dreamt about as a little girl.

This bird was curious about me and my camera. I think the noise of my shutter clicking is what interested him.

Happy spring!

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a young woman who was inquiring about whether or not Captivating Imagery was affiliated with Operation: Love ReUnited. Her husband will be deployed to Afghanistan in January and she was looking to schedule a portrait session for her and her husband. While, I’m not yet affiliated with Operation: Love ReUnited, I think it’s a great way to give back to our troops and their families.

We scheduled a date to meet in Pittsburgh’s Strip District for a fun portrait session. The couple often spent Saturday mornings in the Strip and for the session, we took that as a cue for some fun shots.

If you are (or you have a family member) serving our country and are about to be deployed or returning from deployment, please contact me about scheduling an on-location portrait session or a photojournalism session at the airport for a departure or return. I am offering this service for the months of December through March, and on a limited basis throughout the year.