So right now I have to share what will definitely be one of my faves for 2013.  My first Mommy & Me session.  When I cooked up this idea I had no idea what would come through my door.  No idea the stories I would hear, no idea the friendships & network I would build. It took me weeks and what seemed like forever to comb through all the email replies I got to my casting call.  I was overwhelmed. SO MANY of your replied! No one even knew what they were signing up for!  It just showed me how much you trust me with yourselves and your kiddos and it really taught me so much more than I ever anticipated!

Much more to come on all this in future posts.  These Mommy & Me Sessions have been such learning and growing experience for me that I really want to share.  I do family photography – we are moms, right?  The stories are going to ring true for so many of you out there… !

My first girl (and we are all “girls” at heart, are we not?  I got yelled at once for referring to a group of women as “girls” instead of “ladies” or “women”… it struck me as odd since most of them were much older than me.  I thought to myself,  “hey, I’d love to be called a ‘girl’ by a fellow ‘girl’ at ANY age, really!”.  Ok, sorry – tangent!)

Anyway – this “girl” ended up becoming my MUA (makeup artist) for these sessions and more.  You’ll most likely see her (and possibly her IMpossibly adorable daughter Bella) at your shoot if you book a Mommy & Me.   It was an instant connection, an instant “click” of personalities.  I find this gets more and more rare the older I get and so,  that much more valueable.

So Christina is a mom, like you and me.  She is a talented and professional makeup artist and can be hired for weddings, commercial work,  makeup classes/parties, and photography sessions. She’s been tweeted about by celebrity event planners.  And she’s just a super cool chick to have lunch with.  Trust me, I know.

You would be doing yourself a crazy disservice if you didn’t stop by her website and facebook page.   Especially if you are getting married soon.

So…whereas I’m always the one behind the camera…she’s always the one behind the brush. She never gets done up.  She’s always the one doing YOU up.  Her hair is pulled up neatly in a bun and she looks every bit the makeup pro. I couldn’t have asked for a better first mom for these sessions. That’s her story in a nutshell…there’s more… and the best part is telling it with the images…

Christina’s before & after:

I was thrilled when C & C won this contest … I had photographed a maternity and newborn session for them already so we were very excited to plan this session for Kira’s First Birthday.     We booked Westbury Gardens for the shoot months in advance.   A special location was definitely in order.    We started planning outfits way in advance and boy do I have to hand it to Kira’s mommy … I thought I was detailed with the links and guidelines and suggestions I send my clients when putting together a session wardrobe.  But C – you get 1st prize for sending me Powerpoint slideshows of ideas – I LOVE it.   Not even kidding.

I have to admit that it was really, really cool to see Kira again and to get to photograph her at 1 year old.   And by really, really cool I of course mean a little sentimental.   I mean, I photographed her in her mommy’s belly, and then just a few days old as a newborn and then now, I got to photograph her as 1 year old…  standing, laughing, babbling… and very much her own little person.

Her Mommy is stunning…

And Kira is definitely Daddy’s little princess (check out the toe grab – too cute!)

Just a stunning family… 

Going through this session and choosing which ones to blog made me realize – it’s time for another contest!!! I had so much fun doing this one last year and it was so nice to see it all come to completion with this session.  Sooo, it’s already in the works.  All I will say for now is that no photo will need to be submitted this time around – all I want is to hear from YOU!   You won’t even have to work hard for this one, it’s going to come naturally.   Details coming soon so stay tuned.  I’ll be announcing the details in full on the blog  (maybe on my birthday?  Hint: I am a Virgo.)  so keep an eye out here – twitter followers  and facebook fans  (links up top)  will get a heads up!  Back to baby Kira… 

Like  I said, I was so thrilled they won.  When I did Kira’s newborn session, I quickly found out how much they both love photography.  They showed me all these beautiful images of their lives; memories that were captured by lucky photographers like me, that were treasured by this family – organized into beautiful albums and wall displays.  It’s always a pleasure to meet someone as appreciative of photography as you are but to see it the way they treasured their memories made me so happy to be their photographer.  I am honored that my images of their lives’ milestones get to be part of those albums and wall displays.  And I was more than a little envious of their organization skills in that area, quite honestly.     

Congrats again guys!!