This sweet little boy is John. These two sessions, yes two, were shot when he was three to four months old. We had our first session planned for when he would be fully rested and ready to play, but we didn’t foresee daddy’s alarm clock waking him up from his nap. He was a tired boy, but we tried! He was having a rough time and no fun, so we decided to call it a day and see what we got. I was pleased with some of the images I captured from the first session, but it wasn’t enough to capture this little one’s spirit.

Julie, John’s mom, and I decided we’d like to try some shots outside. We are so glad we did! This little boy is smiley after all! He still was a bit leery of smiling at me with that big black thing in front of my face. Once we got mommy behind me and my camera, he had some fun.

I have to tell you that this couple, James and Julie Petrakis are the culinary experts behind what has literally become my favorite restaurant here in Winter Park. They are the owners and head chefs at The Ravenous Pig. If you have not been to this restaurant, you should go very soon and invite me to go with you.   James is also a high school classmate of mine and it’s so fun to see him and Julie making their dreams a reality at TRP.

We were invited to the Farrar home last weekend for a barbecue and water slide party!  We had so much fun with the Farrars, the Pages and the Harrisons, and we’re pretty sure the kids had fun too.  Watch and see!

My cousin Courtney and her family came to Florida this summer to visit.  She and her husband (Steve) have three sons, Alex, Gabe and Sutton.  About 30 minutes before these photos were taken, Alex had just injured his forehead on a corner of a console table and had to be taken to a walk-in clinic.  So Gabe and I (and Sutton too) had some fun while they were gone….

Gabe is such a great kid.  He’s courageous, smart, witty, spunky and charming.  He is such a sweet soul, most of the time.

I love his disheveled hair- proof of a long fun day on the beach.

I was asked to shoot headshots of this young man, Paul Michael.  He is 13 and an aspiring actor, destined for greatness.   When I asked him what his favorite roll would be, he quickly responded with the genre of Sci-Fi.

We had fun shooting despite the wind that was blowing every which way and messing up his hair. Poor kid.  I made him wear a long sleeved button-down shirt in 90 degree weather.  At least we had that breeze.  Ha!

I hope your auditions go well, Paul Michel! Good luck  to you!

Meet baby Aubrey! She is the beautiful daughter of Karen and Brad, who have wanted this little miracle for a very long time. I was extremely happy to have captured Aubrey’s newborn days for this awesome family! While planning the shoot, we figured out that we are originally from the same neighborhood! This is such a small world!
Baby Aubrey is so precious and such a beautiful little one! Congratulations, Karen and Brad on your little miracle!

This week’s challenge on I Heart Faces is “Props”. Henry sparked my memory for this challenge. I found these “vintage” suitcases from Pottery Barn and have loved using them. I use them in my home and then take them with me for a use as props for shoots. Can’t get better than a multi-use product!

Nathan and I bought this hat last winter.  I have always wanted to photograph James wearing it, but he never has been a fan of the hat in the first place.  When we got to Utah I asked him if he would sit for some portraits for me and surprisingly I got an, “Okay, Mom. Sure.”

YES!!!

So I captured these images yesterday.  Let me just say that editing and retouching in Lightroom is tough on a laptop without my trusty Wacom tablet…and it’s much slower than my workhorse MacPro at home.  I’m not sure how others do it. 

Nathan, my husband, doesn’t like it when I call our son “Jimmy” but it’s just too fitting for this situation. Ha!

I have been thinking about doing something like this for a while now and I’m feeling that now is the time. A portrait photographer’s life gets pretty crazy in the fall months because many families want to get their photographs taken for holiday cards, photo gifts for family members, etc. So I thought, why not start that season off by giving a gift to a family in need? I want to give the gift of photography to a family that would not have the means to pay for it. I will gift a complimentary one-hour session, print package and a set of holiday cards to a family that has had a tough time this year.

This is where you come in, my friends. I need your help finding a family. I will be taking nominations for families who would love to participate in this until Wednesday, August 3rd.  They need to be recommended by a family member or friend and their story needs to be posted on my Facebook page wall (link here). Families need to be local to Central Florida, live in Orange or Seminole County and a family that I have not previously photographed. I will select a family from the nominations and announce on Friday, August 5th who will receive the gift.

Life is challenging and is full of dips and curve balls. I’d like to help by using the gift that God has given me to make someone else happy. Start nominating today!

My friends Jeanie and William (Lake Baldwin Dental) have an amazing adoption story. I have known Jeanie for three years and some friends of ours and I have heard her talk about her want to adopt a child.  She and Will decided to adopt from Ethiopia. A few months ago after a lot of paperwork, courts and international travel, they brought home a little boy named Haben. He is the cutest little peanut EVER. He’s such a sweet child and now has his forever family. The older children have welcomed him into their home with excitement and open arms.  It is so fun to see them interact together.
It’s so much fun to hear Jeanie tell the stories of how Haben is adjusting to his new family and his new life. You can read the story about the adoption on her blog at Hearts for Haben.

Love you guys!

I have just finished uploading my new mini-magazine to ISSUU which lets me show it to everyone through my website and blog! HOW COOL is that? Check out my new mini-magazine and learn about my work, my style and also tips and tricks for fantastic photography with MWP!

Please leave comments and let me know if you like it!