St. James Plantation- Bianca Maternity Session
One of my favorite locations, St. James Plantation in Southport, NC, was calling our names when it came time for Bianca's maternity session, seeing as we both have worked on this property before! Woodlands Park was so pretty with the last splash of fall colors in the leaves, with just enough dappled sunlight streaming through... (sigh) just gorgeous! I was so excited to meet Bianca & Channing as they celebrated the pregnancy of their first baby, a little boy they named Atlas.
One of my favorite locations, St. James Plantation in Southport, NC, was calling our names when it came time for Bianca's maternity session, seeing as we both have worked on this property before! Woodlands Park was so pretty with the last splash of fall colors in the leaves, with just enough dappled sunlight streaming through... (sigh) just gorgeous! I was so excited to meet Bianca & Channing as they celebrated the pregnancy of their first baby, a little boy they named Atlas.
Those tiny feet tiptoe into your heart & stay there forever...
Atlas is so very lucky to have parents as full of love and excitement over thier new parenting adventure as Bianca & Channing!
Congratulation, Bianca, Channing & Baby Atlas! You are such a beautiful family!
Chris & Keally Tie the Knot
With the threat of stormy weather over our heads, I definitely went to bed the night before Chris & Keally's wedding hoping for just a little sunshine at some point on their big day. What followed was one of the prettiest days we had had in weeks (phew).
Gorgeous venue, happy couple, thoughtful wedding details, this wedding was a dream to photograph! Chris & Keally, thank you for letting us be a part of your day. I wish nothing but the very best for you two in the future.
With the threat of stormy weather over our heads, I definitely went to bed the night before Chris & Keally's wedding hoping for just a little sunshine at some point on their big day. What followed was one of the prettiest days we had had in weeks (phew).
Gorgeous venue, happy couple, thoughtful wedding details, this wedding was a dream to photograph! Chris & Keally, thank you for letting us be a part of your day. I wish nothing but the very best for you two in the future.
Congratulations!
*As always, just click on any image to view larger!
Keally, absolute stunner.
You guys are ridiculously cute.
^ This, my friends, is what happens when you ask the maid of honor to whisper something inappropriate in the bride's ear! Look at the "cat that ate the canary" grin on the Maid of Honor's face afterward!
This wedding was such a coworker reunion for us: the officiant, the bride, my second shooter and I all used to work at the same restaurant years ago :) KB, you did a great job officiating, my friend! Love these girls!
Can you tell there was absolutely no fun to be had? What a shame ;)
And they lived...
Roman D.
Ah, the oh-so-fun two year old! I swear, this is one of my favorite ages to photograph! Yes, you do about a million squats as your run around trying to get them to glance at the camera. Yes, you pull out every trick in the book including your freshly Dora-song-loaded iPad + lollipops to keep them engaged. But then you get an image that just shows them in all their two-year-old glory and that moment is just. so. awesome
Ah, the oh-so-fun two year old! I swear, this is one of my favorite ages to photograph! Yes, you do about a million squats as your run around trying to get them to glance at the camera. Yes, you pull out every trick in the book including your freshly Dora-song-loaded iPad + lollipops to keep them engaged. But then you get an image that just shows them in all their two-year-old glory and that moment is just. so. awesome.
Roman's mom, Aftyn, is a friend + coworker and we had been chatting about our photo shoot to celebrate his 2nd birthday. Our last shoot had us stuck under a covered bridge in a hellacious downpour for a good chunk of time, so this time we played it safe and moved the date up by a day to avoid some shifty weather headed our way , and decided to take a photo-session stroll in their beautiful neighborhood.
Notice that basketball? Well, Roman has a thing for sports. Sports are the center of this little man's universe at the moment, along with Dora the Explorer and his Mom & Dad, of course. Every shot, just about, has Roman carrying around his favorite basketball :) Gotta love a kid who knows what he likes!
^ How CUTE is this one, am I right? Love his little grin. I'm not a fan of trying to pose kids, I'd rather just hang back with my camera and see what they're going to do, give them a little room to just BE and usually I end up with photos that really let their little personalities shine through. What a doll!
And would you get a load of those gorgeous lashes??? Why is it that boys get the thickest most beautiful lashes and girls get...... mascara. (sigh)
For the last little bit of our morning together, Roman wanted to show me his new golf clubs, and who was I to argue ;) we headed back to their home and spent a few moments in the beautiful morning light of their living room. Natural light is a photographer's dream! I'm already dreaming up another round of photos in this space!
Roman,
You are too much. Those chocolately brown eyes, that baby face, the joy on your face when you're playing basketball or listening to "I'm the Map" by Boots & Dora :) I love it all. Now I know, at one point in time, all moms have said something along these lines:
Me: "Aww, he's too cute!"
Aftyn, Roman's Mom: "You want him?"
Yes, certainly, absolutely, positively, I do!
Thanks, Aftyn + Roman! I had a blast :)
Reilly M. : Beach Birthday
It's so crazy what a difference a year makes! Last year, Reilly, the fam & I headed out to Oak Island for a beach birthday shoot to celebrate Reilly's 2nd birthday.
Lots of fun, of course, but it's amazing to me how little cake actually made it to her mouth vs. her cute outfit!
It's so crazy what a difference a year makes! Last year, Reilly, the fam & I headed out to Oak Island for a beach birthday shoot to celebrate Reilly's 2nd birthday.
Lots of fun, of course, but it's amazing to me how little cake actually made it to her mouth vs. her cute outfit!
Orange Frosting EVERYWHERE! (2012)
This year, Reilly was happily enjoying the beach, feeding the seagulls, collecting shells on the beach and just generally enjoying her day.
Which of course ended with a bright yellow cupcake and surprisingly little frosting on her clothing :)
She was entirely too cute with her yellow birthday cupcake. Love this girl!
As a child, I would go to the beach with my grandparents and always make a spectacle of myself as I threw slice after slice of bread into the air, surrounded by a ridiculous amount of seagulls. One of the highlights of my childhood memories, and I still like to feed the seagulls to this day. For this shoot, I thought it would be fun to get Reilly in on the act, and to take a few seagull inspired shots for her big day.
Well, apparently my memories seem to have omitted that just a handful of bread can and will bring out a TON of seagulls!
(INSERT SCENE FROM "THE BIRDS" HERE)
So many seagulls came to our bread slice buffet that we had to have Reilly's Dad wander down the beach to give us a little breathing room!
Thank goodness for those Dads who are good sports :)
And speaking of good sports... when Reilly decided she wanted to play "Barbershop" with her Grandpa G, and pulled just a BIT too hard on his hair, let's just say I was "camera-ready". Like I said, definitely a good sport :)
Happy 3rd Birthday, Reilly! I have loved watching you grow up with my lens :)
Stacey K.: An Announcement
Do you know how hard it is for me to keep a secret???
Especially an incredibly happy, exciting, surprise like this???
Do you know how hard it is for me to keep a secret??? Especially an incredibly happy, exciting, surprise like this??? Stacey contacted me a little while ago to fill me on in the scoop: they're expecting!!! Yay! For those of you that have been following along for awhile, Stacey & Jonathan are the proud parents of Elle, the happiest 2 year old I've ever met. She's soon to be a big sister and I seriously can't wait to be that little babe's personal paparazzi! Stacey & Jonathan, I'm so happy for you two and am so excited to meet the next little member of your tribe :)
^ Stacey's big cravings? Oreos & pickles!
Stacey, you're absolutely gorgeous. I know one thing for sure, your children have surely hit the genetic-lottery ;) Congratulations!!!
Elle: 2nd Birthday Shoot
When the chilly weather keeps you inside on photo shoot day, what do you do? Well, if you're Stacey + I, you clear out Stace's front room, whip out the bubble gun and let the newly 2 year old Elle run around indoors where it's nice & cozy!
When the chilly weather keeps you inside on photo shoot day, what do you do? Well, if you're Stacey + I, you clear out Stace's front room, whip out the bubble gun and let the newly 2 year old Elle run around indoors where it's nice & cozy!
Brace yourself.... here comes the 'tude!
Oh yeah, work it, Elle! Feels very "Charlie's Angels" to me, lol. This girl is a NATURAL.
In between all of the bubble madness, we decided to make a break for it and test out the weather for a few backyard pics. My goodness is this little girl stunning, or what?
Back inside we went after it started to get a bit chilly, time to BRING ON THE CAKE! It wouldn't be a birthday without cake now would it? Red Velvet cake...my fave!
What a fun session this was! I cannot believe we're already celebrating your 2nd birthday, Elle! We ended this session with a bang, that's for sure, because Stacey had a little surprise 2nd birthday gift for you, didn't she? You're going to be a BIG SISTER! wooooohoooo! Cannot wait to meet the new family member, I have a feeling my camera is going to be very, very busy ;)
Happy Birthday, Elle and CONGRATULATIONS, Stacey & Jonathan!
Rylan L.: Downtown Wilmington 1st Birthday Shoot
Cupcakes + coffee shops, win-win, am I right?
Cupcakes + coffee shops, win-win, am I right? Well, when Jen and I talked about planning Rylan's official 1st birthday portraits, we had the downtown Wilmington area in mind because of all of the location options you can find there. But what wasn't in the plans was the 40 degree weather and what I'd like to call the "frozen tundra wind tunnel" effect we experienced every time we walked between buildings! We were troopers for a few minutes, just enough time to get a bunch of cute pics of the little birthday boy :)
BRRRRR! -------->
Even with lots of Mom cuddles and his thick hoodie, we knew it was time to get this little guy indoors.
Luckily, we were just steps away from one of my favorite coffee shops, Java Dog Coffee on Front Street in the Cotton Exchange building. Delicious coffee, hot chocolate for the kids, great atmosphere, and dog-friendly! Love this place, if you're in the area do yourself a favor and stop in :)
Once inside, we found a comfy spot next to the window overlooking the downtown area and grabbed a hot chocolate for Rylan along with coffee for the grownups. Mmm! Add a birthday cupcake and VOILA! Is it wrong that I can totally relate to the 1 year old's urge to smash my face into a cupcake first thing in the morning?
Rylan, you are so lovely, you little charmer! Happiest of birthdays to you from your favorite paparazzi!