Wilmington │Spine Family
Wilmington, NC family mini session taking advantage of beautiful fall foliage on this hidden gem walking trail with Tiffany Abruzzo Photography.
Around September or so, the inquiries for Fall Mini Sessions come rolling in and before I know it, the calendar is jam-packed with families wanting to check off a few To Do list items before the big holiday rush. You may remember this family from our downtown Wilmington, NC family session (if not, you should definitely click here to check it out). Ashley & Joel have the most adorable kiddos and we decided to spend the afternoon on a nature trail to make the most of the fall foliage for their mini session.
Fall Foliage Mini Sessions for the win!
The best part about this particular trail for me is that at a certain point, the trail opens up to this small bridge surrounded by trees and water, which I absolutely love. The kids always get kick out of it and it feels like such a hidden gem in Wilmington, NC.
Thank you, Ashley & Joel for tromping through the woods with me for our mini session. You're the best!
Check out other Family Session features!
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.
Don't you just love birthdays? Especially that most special of birthdays, the 1st birthday :) I love waiting to see how the birthday babe will react to all of that frosting at their disposal with NO ONE to tell them not to dive in head first! Note to self: must attempt to dive in head first to a cake at least once in my life. Side note: mmmm cake....
Don't you just love birthdays? Especially that most special of birthdays, the 1st birthday :) I love waiting to see how the birthday babe will react to all of that frosting at their disposal with NO ONE to tell them not to dive in head first. Note to self: must attempt to dive in head first to a cake at least once in my life. Side note: mmmm cake....
Pizza, family, presents, cupcakes, what more does a boy need?
Rylan, happy birthday! You are so very handsome, I can't wait for our 1st Birthday shoot in the near future :)
