a tea party and some dancing

I get asked a lot if I still do portrait work. While it's true that most of my business is now food-focused, the answer is yes.
My favorite kinds of portrait sessions, however, are the ones where there are no traditional poses or stressed out parents begging their kids to smile. The best photos, in my opinion, are the ones where kids are allowed to be who they are and do what they do.

Recently, one of my regular clients told me her daughters were in a very girly stage and their favorite thing to do is to have tea parties. She asked if I would be open to the idea of her putting together a tea party for the girls and having me document the whole thing.
In my mind, this was the PERFECT photo session-- candid, playful, unposed, colorful, and FUN.

The icing on the cake (so to speak) was when Chloe broke out in spontaneous dancing at the end.
Too cute for words.
















Speaking of portraits, the holidays are right around the corner and Fall is the perfect time to get your family photos done!

best buds

The niece is in town and she has found a new BFF in Nina.

pretty belly

hula hoops and hairdos

I am in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina right now for our annual Thanksgiving gathering. For one week a year, my very large extended family gets together at the coast for a lot of eating, drinking, deep-talking, game playing, beach walking and other general debauchery.

This week means a lot of different things to me but one of the very best parts is that I get to see my brother and his wife and daughter.

My little niece, Thea, is my favorite girl in all the world, (and I tell her that as much as possible.)

Thea and I have a special bond. I was at her birth and watched as she emerged into the world, loud and fiery, determined to make her voice heard. She is a force of nature-- opinionated, passionate, funny, smart, insightful, creative, and larger than life. She is a kindred spirit and I adore her.

At 5 years old, (actually, 5 years and 11 months, thankyouverymuch), Thea has become quite a hula hooper. We spent a good chunk of the day together yesterday- hooping, (well, Thea was hooping, I was trying to hoop and failing), running around the beach, playing hide and seek, and making faces at one another. And then Thea decided to do my hair, which I think was quite lovely. I taught her how to hold my camera and take a photo so you could all see her handiwork.

great ladies and a fun class

This past Saturday was my Photographing Kids workshop and I just gotta say, I keep lucking out with the people who sign up for my classes. They are consistently awesome-- creative, fun, outspoken and up for anything. We had a great time.

It also doesn't hurt that I had two awesome models; the fabulous 4 year old Meilee and the adorable 3 month old Kate. Thank you Hsiao-Ching and Amy for donating your children. :)

I have more classes coming up and a few ideas for some new offerings, so stay tuned and email me if you are interested!