I photographed the three cutest kids last week - that strawberry blonde hair that adults would love to have! All three kids watched and waited patiently for me to set up my lights and background in their livingroom all curious about what everything was.
First I met Danielle - so polite and happy to be in her new dress. What beautiful blue eyes she has!
Alex was the ham - sometimes laughing so hard I had to stop and laugh along with him. I love this image because I love how he curled his toes up!
And this is Megan, also known as Boba (not sure I am spelling that right??) Little Megan here is actually the leader of the household - she was so great at saying “Alex - No!”.
And finally here they are together! So sweet! And…expecting a little brother or sister in September! Can’t wait!
The McGee family moved from California to New Jersey almost 2 years ago. So when they decided to add a dog to their family, they thought - it had to be a Jersey name!
Welcome Joey. Joey…the perfect Jersey name! Do you think he is smiling in this image? OK - let me back up now to some portraits I did of the girls.
This is Kelsey - beautiful smile and beautiful girl.
This is her sister Emma - adorable! I think they were actually both smiling so much because of Joey! Also because school was almost out for the summer.
I love sister pictures. Something they will always treasure…maybe not immediately!
What was great about Joey was everytime I made my silly attention getting sound - Joey would tilt his head to the side. So, so cute. I imagine that even as I am typing this blog a week later, that Joey is already growing….and knocking something over!
Hard to believe that we found a nice day in June with the weather we have been having here in New Jersey - but despite the wind, we had a beautiful day in Sandy Hook.
I have photographed the kids, Anna and Gavin before, but this time we extended the family. I love seeing the dunes, the grass and fence in the image - it really captures the beach!
I can’t believe Gavin is over 6 months already. He is the happiest kid! Full of smiles and so happy to be hanging out with his family.
All Anna wanted to do was play in the sand. Who wouldn’t??
Remember that feeling?? Hanging between your parents and swinging? It’s been a long time, but we’ve all done it.
They even got the little guy to stand. Isn’t that terrific!
And finally the feet shot. Gavin was sort of suspended which I thought was pretty funny. He had no idea what was going on. Another great day at the beach!
This image was captured from a segment of the Today show with Hoda and Kathie Lee. The story was about Lisa VanDerMeiren, the bride who had her bachelorette party at a Habitat for Humanity worksite in Somerset in May. Her group raised over $5000.00 towards the Women Build division by getting donations and volunteering their time for a day. The photograph was published in the Star Ledger and is expected to appear in New Jersey Bride magazine.
It’s not easy to see, but exciting to see on TV!
I worked the Greg Schiano Charity Golf Outing at Fiddler’s Elbow last week with my Rock star photographer friend, Bill Storer. We photographed the participants with Greg Schiano - the head Rutgers Football coach. I jumped in for a quick one with him. It was a great event that raised money for many charities. It’s nice to see people giving back!
I resisted Facebook for the longest time. Finally with the encouragement of a few friends, I created an account. I have never been very active, but have loved the fact that it has connected me to friends that I have lost contact with.
Enter the Berneros. Roger was a friend in High School and after discovering that I am a photographer, checked out my website and we were able to set up a date to photograph his family.
Here is Roger and his adorable wife Kelly. I probably haven’t see Roger in over 30 years (did I just say that??) but he is exactly the same. Despite a few gray hairs, his energy, smile and big hug brought me right back to high school. Before i move onto the kids, I have to say something about Roger and Kelly. I want to say to Kelly - good job - you got a good one! And I want to say to Roger - hold on to her. When she looked at your picture in the back of my camera - she said - look how handsome Roger looks!
These are their 3 boys - Ryan, Josh and Tyler. First of all - they were great kids, and secondly I couldn’t believe that despite the fact that they were dragged around the park on a Saturday afternoon, they never complained (at least if they did, I didn’t hear them!) How handsome they are!
Here they are all together. I laughed with Kelly about only having boys and we agreed that we wouldn’t know what to do with a girl! Next I said to them, let’s do something different.
Here they are - it is amazing how personalities can show up even in the bottom of your feet!
Just when the boys thought it was over - I saw the light coming around in front of a greenhouse. They were so agreeable. At least until I said “That’s a wrap” - - then this!
Boys will be boys!
Wait until you see Laura and Kevin!
With a little help from LinkedIn, I was reconnected with a former work colleague from over 15 years ago just in time to watch his 2 children be thrust into the limelight!
This is his daughter Laura. She has such poise in front of the camera. After I directed her around in different poses, I asked her to do something she wanted to do and below what she came up with -
Adorable and fun are words that come to mind. Good luck Laura.
Kevin, her big brother is also very photogenic - his personality really came forward when he asked to be photographed with his skateboard -
His “look” was expertly created right down to his shoelaces and we really had fun in the street.
In this image I applied a little artwork to give it a detailed drawn look. Remember - if you see them in a commercial or movie, you saw them here first!
Arriving at my favorite photo location, Willowwood Arboretum, we listened to the sky rumbling. I think the only place in New Jersey it rained on Saturday was there!
Luckily we were able to sneak in some great family shots of the Falzaranos.
This is my favorite image of them. This was right before the rain came down!
Matthew and his Dad take cover under the trees while the rain comes down. I really thought it would blow over!
Matthew is not concerned with the rain. It has been really fun watching him grow. He was one of my first clients - the first ice cream shot that now hangs in Ava’s in Basking Ridge. It looks like such a grown up little boy now!
Happy 1st Birthday to my little Texan girlfriend Rylee. She and her Mom came to me this week for her official First Year Portrait and we were all left a little sweeter!
Here is our Birthday Princess all cute and sitting for her portrait. She is actually very much on the move and the “sitting” really lasted a matter of seconds.
Up, on the move and directly for the camera was her montra. But look how cute the outfit is!!
Now for the fun part. Take off the clothes, add one small birthday cake and the sitting takes on a new look.
She started off a little timid. Right away she knew it was something good and tried a few times to just put her face down into the cake, but couldn’t reach.
Her Mom gave her a taste - so now she knows it is something REALLY good. Notice the foot up in the air. Watch it closely because it plays a key part going forward.
She now has both feet covered in cake. Did you know that when you are a baby, it is acceptable to eat off of your feet? Please don’t try this at home.
Now with a little prompting from Mom, she is screaming her head off. So, so happy. I really wish I was running a video camera, but I think you get the picture!
Finally, she is completely covered and the cake has been smashed to bits with her hands and her feet. What do we do NOW?? Her Mom and I cart her off - with paper towel drop clothes right to the tub. I am still finding pieces of birthday cake along the way! Oh what fun we had! These are times in my life where I can’t believe I am being paid for this!
Happy Birthday Rylee. What are we going to do next??
Congratulations to Amanda who received her First Holy Communion on Sunday. Amanda has such a natural beauty about her - the communion dress really added to the whole picture.
One of my favorite things to do when I am doing family portraits is to gather the women of the family. This is the 3-generation shot. It is a timeless image.
In this image, I think Amanda looks like an angel - complete with the halo! She is so comfortable in front of the camera.
Pretty girl - wonderful day!