Tag Archive for: portraits

Thank You for a Great Year: The Best of 2017

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2017 has been a blessed year for my family and my business and I’m so thankful to my clients for the opportunity to document so many wonderful memories from weddings, to babies, to high school seniors. Thank you so much for reviewing my business on Google, for referring your friends and family, and for liking my posts on Instagram and Facebook! I’m so grateful to get to work for people like you! I’m proud to share this recap of my work over this past year and blessed to note that I’ve been able to run this business from home on a part-time basis. Which compels me to say, God is good! Just wanted to give the Lord credit for all that is good in my life: my husband and children, my extended family, and friends. Thank you all for your support. Ok, onto the photos.

As we prepare for a new year with new beginnings, what better place to start than some brand new babies!

newborn portrait from above

baby and siblings

newborn and parents

mom and dad kissing and embracing baby

mama kissing her baby

baby in onsie

sleeping baby

mommy and baby snuggles

baby sandwich

daddy and baby looking into each other's eyes

And it goes so fast…
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McConnells Mill Engagement Session: Choosing a Location to Match Your Style

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Earlier this month, I enjoyed getting in a quick trip to McConnells Mill State Park for an engagement session. I have loved coming to this park since I was a child, but when my clients choose it as their location, I do a little happy dance. I feel so blessed to be only a 30-minute drive from this lovely park. Now as I was getting to know this couple over the course of a phone call and a few emails. I offered some options for locations ranging from a park with a mansion to a main street in quaint town nearby. And with this couple’s plans to wed in a beautiful log cabin lodge in the fall of next year, McConnells Mill fit their style best.

kissing engagement photo

One of the great things about coming to McConnells Mill in December is that there is no shortage of color with the evergreen trees and mossy boulders. Meanwhile all of my other favorite spots are grey and brown unless it happens to snow.

Sitting on an old log

This covered bridge over the stream is lovely and so is this couple!

kissing by the covered bridge

This calls for a straight-up portrait. In my experience with photographing weddings, the parents always appreciate a traditional portrait like this.

engagement portrait

And modern brides and grooms usually prefer something like this:

whispering sweet nothings

One of the fun things about photographing sessions at this park is the getting to walk on this lovely trail through the woods.

a walk in the woods

And these next few images just feature more of the loveliness of this engagement session.

embrace by the white waters

walking between huge boulders

amidst the mossy boulders

I really love this last shot of them laughing amidst the evergreens. It really sums this session up.

in between the evergreens

Congratulations to this happy couple!

Christmas at Home: What Better Place for Your Christmas Portraits?

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As the holidays near, families are looking for that Christmas card-worthy photo. And what better place to do that than in your own home? This year’s photos are a fun mix of families and kids and babies with the excitement and cheer that only Christmas can bring. My favorite shot of the season is with this family in their Christmas jammies. This mama has a ton of Christmas spirit and her family is in for a treat over the holidays.

family in Christmas jammies

And Christmas time is so much fun for babies too. This baby’s mama mentioned that she pre-cleaned this strand of lights before their session. So cute!

baby with Christmas lights

I’m sentimental, so it means a lot to me to photograph my sons in front of their own Christmas tree. I think the mama of these cuties pies feels the same way.

by the Christmas tree

And this little sweetie even had a reindeer ready for her photos! I love seeing all of the fun families have with getting their kids excited about Christmas!

little girl and reindeer

Oakland Family Portraits: Walking Between Locations Gives Kids a Break

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When I used to think of photographing in Oakland, engagement sessions or weddings come to mind. But after this recent family session there, I really love this area by the Cathedral of Learning for families. This family didn’t have any ties to the University of Pittsburgh, but recently moved here from another big city and appreciate a more urban setting. We started at steps of the Carnegie Library.

family portrait by the Carnegie Library

The beauty of the architecture and landscaping offered lovely lines and bright splashes of color for this portrait of these sweet little sisters.

little girls by the garden

And then they wanted to switch positions and this little sister planted a kiss on her sister’s cheek.

little sisters kiss

This whole session took place on the corner below the Cathedral, so we could just walk from location to location. These little girls did so well too!
Their mama was wise to choose this location knowing that moving around would keep them happy.

family walking along the path

We are blessed to have such beautiful scenery in Pittsburgh. I think this is my favorite shot of the family.

family portrait by the fountain

And we planned to stop at the PNC Carousel in Schenley Oval to complete our session. It was a great reward for the girls too!

family by the carousel

I love photographing clients on this carousel, but the best shots are really right before and right after the ride, because with the up and down and spinning movement, getting a shot where everyone is visible can be tricky.

on the carousel in Schenley Oval

Carousel rides are a good end to a session.

Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Mellon Park

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About a year ago, I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family when their youngest was about a month old. You can check out that session here. It’s amazing how much little ones can change in just the course of a year and such a blessing to be able to meet up with them a year later for family portraits at Mellon Park in Pittsburgh.

family by the fountain

This big brother was so sweet with his little bro and was a model subject. I think his mama must take lots of photos of him at home!

family seated on a blanket

We started at some of the most popular locations for photos at the park before the crowds filled in for a festival that was being held there.

walking hand in hand through Mellon Park

I love this park, it’s one of my favorites and most of the sessions I’ve done here have been closer to sunset. But coming here in the morning and working with the sun rising on the opposite side from where it sets presented a nice challenge in that I found some new and lovely spots that work well in the morning light, like this gate below.

portrait by the gate of the walled garden

Family portraits with little ones can be a little bit tricky getting everyone to smile and look at the camera at the same time. I love this more candid shot where mama was just tickling her little one. That got him to smile!

mom and dad tickles and giggles from the boys

We wanted to capture some images of the boys together and getting them off of their feet is my go-to approach when they’re little like this, so this park bench in the lower walled garden was just the thing!

boys on the park bench

kisses from big brother

boys looking over their shoulders

Throwing our kiddos up in the air is such a natural thing to do when we’re trying to get them to laugh and have fun. It just happens effortlessly in sessions and I love to capture this. It never gets old.

momma throwing her boy up in the air

Look at these two handsome little guys sitting so nicely on this blanket!

boys seated on the blanket

And we ended this session with lollipops, which are such a great motivator for smiles. But the little bro dropped his and ended up forgetting about it so this lucky guy wound up with two!

daddy let him have two lollipops!

What a great start to the day!