I often take on personal projects. This allows me the creative opportunity to explore new locations, lighting and posing that helps me to be a better photographer. During my busy season, it is really difficult to find the time to do so, but when my daughter asked for a photoshoot, I couldn’t say no. She loves having her photos taken and I love capturing her in a way that is authentic to her personality.

When parents contact me about booking a session, they often are worried about getting their child to sit still for pictures. It is not realistic to expect toddler aged children to sit still for an hour for photos. In fact, most adults wouldn’t even want to do this. Instead, it is important to give children the ability to move freely, explore and interact during a photo session. This freedom will help to facilitate natural and authentic moments and expressions in images. It is for this reason, that I feel so strongly about scheduling outdoor portrait sessions instead of in the studio. Quite simply, children tend to feel more relaxed outdoors because being outdoors gives an immediate feeling of freedom. It eliminates all of the pressure fo feeling like the child as to perform for the camera.

Holy moly…it is cold out there. I don’t know about you, but I am over this cold weather and looking forward to the Spring. For many of you, this Spring is particularly special because your little ones will be receiving their First Holy Communion.

I love to document children on their Communion day. This special moment is the perfect time for me to capture a wide array of classic portraits of your child. My communion portrait sessions are centered on capturing candid and natural images of your child, as well as beautiful and artistic images that encapsulate this very special rite of passage for your child. Some of my most favorite photos I have ever captured are those of children on their Communion day. I just love the dramatic natural light that a church provides for portraits, but it also seems that this special day allows for a child's whimsical nature to shine through and I love capturing that silly and relaxed side of children too. Scheduling the photos before the communion day ensures that you capture beautiful portraits of your child in a natural and relaxed way, without the stress of rushing around on the day of the ceremony. Plus, most kids love the opportunity to dress up in their special outfit before the big day.

I am so excited to announce my Spring lineup of mini sessions. I offer Spring sessions annually and these sets are perfect for a wide array of occasions. This year, I am offering two different sets, both of which are bohemian inspired and are perfect to capture a multitude of milestones.

The first set is definitely the more bohemian influenced of the two sets. It features a brick wall adorned with macrame hangings. Vines of potted green plants and an array of textures such as a rattan chair, jute rugs, and crochet blankets complete the set. The set can be used for updated portraits of your children, for a mommy and me photoshoot, a maternity session, six month milestone session, Easter portraits, Valentine’s day portraits, for a birthday, or even for Communion photos. I absolutely love the images and plan on using these images to commemorate my youngest daughter’s sixth birthday.

Although we are in the clutches of Winter, Spring is just around the corner. For many of you, this Spring is particularly special because your little ones will be receiving their First Holy Communion. I am particularly excited about this upcoming Communion season because my eldest daughter will be receiving her sacrament in May.

I love to document children on their Communion day. This special moment is the perfect time for me to capture a wide array of classic portraits of your child. My communion portrait sessions are centered on capturing candid and natural images of your child, as well as beautiful and artistic images that encapsulate this very special rite of passage for your child. Some of my most favorite photos I have ever captured are those of children on their Communion day. I just love the dramatic natural light that a church provides for portraits, but it also seems that this special day allows for a child's whimsical nature to shine through and I love capturing that silly and relaxed side of children too. Scheduling the photos before the communion day ensures that you capture beautiful portraits of your child in a natural and relaxed way, without the stress of rushing around on the day of the ceremony. Plus, most kids love the opportunity to dress up in their special outfit before the big day.

I can hardly believe it, but my oldest daughter is going to be eight this weekend. As I reflect on her birthday, my wish for her is to have confidence, know her self worth, have the strength to chase her dreams and to always know how deeply loved she is. Showing her how much she is loved is the easiest part of motherhood; however, nurturing those other qualities can be a bit of a struggle.

If there is anything I have learned in these past eight years of parenting, it is that children learn by example and not by what they are told. I try my best to be very cognizant of how I behave and what I say; of course, I am not perfect, but I do always try to show her that she can do anything that she sets her mind to, as long as she is willing to work and put forth the effort to accomplish those goals. Fortunately, my little firecracker is fierce and determined. She does not shy away from a challenge and if she can’t do something, she keeps trying until she masters it.

We had a stretch of warm weather this past week here in the Northeast and it perfectly coincided with the gorgeous peak of the foliage in the area. November truly is such a perfect time to photograph families. The hues of the foliage are gorgeous and the warm November light adds such beauty to the captures. Images from a Fall session are timeless and can adorn your walls for years to come and be used for holiday cards.

I recently photographed this beautiful family during my annual Fall mini sessions. Their 11 month old daughter is so adorable and was mesmerized by the fallen leaves. Mom dressed her in the most adorable pink skirtall from Zara, which is a favorite vendor of mine for children’s attire. I love the way the pink pops agains the orange and brown tones of the foliage. This sweet baby is already walking and a quick game of peek a boo with her helped me to capture the adorable images of her with a big smile on her face.

I have been photographing so many families with six month olds lately and I absolutely love it. This is the perfect age to capture photos of your child. Babies have so much personality at this age. They can sit up, laugh, play and really interact with the family. Although I love photographing newborns, I have to say that this stage is probably my favorite to capture.

Many of the families that I have been photographing had babies during the COVID quarantine and, therefore, were unable to have newborn photos taken. For many of them, their Fall family photo session is the first time they are capturing photos of their child. I have been making sure to capture plenty of photos of the family together, as well as portraits of the baby as well. Some of my clients will finally be sending out birth announcements using photos from their session.

As a mom, I love to buy my girls new holiday pjs to commemorate the Christmas season. These garments are as much of a tradition in our household as putting up the Christmas tree and I always make sure to photograph the girls together in those pjs.

There is something so classic about the holiday pajamas photo, which is why I offer a holiday themed pajamas in bed session each year. The images always have a warm and cozy look to them and the photos are perfect for holiday cards or to simply document the holiday season. The aesthetic for this year will be very bright and modern. Kids will get to snuggle up on the bed in their pjs, read holiday books and eat milk and cookies.

Photographing a vintage Volkswagon van has been a vision of mine for quite some time, so when I came across this gorgeous restored 1971 bus, I knew I had to create a mini session using it as the backdrop. The bus serves as the perfect backdrop for family photos.

I rented the bus from Long Beach Photo Bus and I can’t say enough positive things about the company and owners. They hare really designed the photo booth to be a true experience. It is not only available to photographers, but for party rentals as well. Head to their site for more info.

Even though I love photographing newborns, the six month sitter milestone session is becoming a favorite of mine to photograph. It is amazing how much your little one grows, develops, and changes in those first six months of life and the half birthday is the perfect time to update your images of your bundle of joy. At six months old, babies have vibrant personalities that are evident; they can sit unassisted, clap, wave, laugh and smile. It is such a pleasure to be able to document all of those precious moments for my clients. I always have so much fun during these photo sessions.

Because of COVID, there were so many families who were unable to have newborn photos taken this past winter. This session is the perfect opportunity to finally capture images of your little one.

I have just packed away the last of my holiday decorations and I can hardly believe that the holidays have come and gone. The holidays are a whirlwind of family gatherings, activities, preparations, and, of course, shopping. Although I enjoy the festivities, I also like the few weeks afterwards, during which time I can decompress and get my wits about me again. Now that I finally have my head above water again, I am focusing on the Spring. Yes, I know, we are still in the clutches of Winter, but just remember, with each passing day, the days get longer and bring us one step closer to those beautiful Spring blossoms and mild weather.

For many of you, this Spring is particularly special because your little ones will be receiving their First Holy Communion , a special milestone that I know you want to document. I love photographing this special moment because it is the perfect time for me to capture a wide array of classic portraits of your child. My communion portrait sessions are centered on capturing candid and natural images of your child, as well as beautiful and artistic images that encapsulate this very special rite of passage for your child. Some of my most favorite photos I have ever captured are those of children on their Communion day. I just love the dramatic natural light that a church provides for portraits, but it also seems that this special day allows for a child's whimsical nature to shine through and I love capturing that silly and relaxed side of children too. Scheduling the photos before the communion day ensures that you capture beautiful portraits of your child in a natural and relaxed way, without the stress of rushing around on the day of the ceremony.

As a mom, I love to buy my girls new holiday pjs to commemorate the Christmas season. These garments are as much of a tradition in our household as putting up the Christmas tree and I always make sure to photograph the girls together in those pjs.

There is something so classic about the holiday pajamas photo, which is why I offer a holiday themed pajamas in bed session each year. The images always have a warm and cozy look to them and the photos are perfect for holiday cards or to simply document the holiday season. The aesthetic for this year will be very bright and modern. Kids will get to snuggle up on the bed in their pjs, read holiday books and eat milk and cookies.

Nothing says it is Christmas time, like the classic children's story, The Polar Express.   I am excited to be able to offer this truly classic photo experience for your children.   On September 14th,  join me for the Vintage Train Children's Mini Session. It is a perfect opportunity to get your holiday photos done before the cold weather settles in and before the chaos of the holiday season. Plus, these photos are classic and timeless and can be used for both Christmas card photos and also hang on your walls.

As a children's holiday portrait photographer, my goal for each session is to capture natural photos of children rather than stiff and posed images. Because I love to capture a child's free spirited and inquisitive nature, I always try to create holiday mini sessions that get the children involved in an activity.  In the past, I have held interactive sessions including a campfire session, a snowman building session, and a boating session and they were all tons of fun for the kids and stress free for the parents.

This year’s beach session might be my favorite mini session yet. I have been toying with the idea of a beach Santa session for a few years, but I couldn’t quite figure out how to approach it. However, that all changed on a winter’s day when I walked into the Long Beach Post Office and saw a painting on the wall that inspired me. Those of you who live in town are familiar with the painting, but it depicts the local beach in the 1920’s with throngs of people bathing on the beach. I admired the style of the era, in particular, the swimsuits and I envisioned Santa in a similar style red striped swimsuit playing with the kids in the sand. Thus, this year’s beach holiday session was born.

To bring some vibrancy and color to the photos, we opted for a garden location for their birthday/family session. The night of the session was absolutely gorgeous and the sunset was beautiful. We started the session with a few posed family portraits and then continued with some birthday photos of the twins. Thankfully, there was an array of flowers that were in bloom that allowed me to capture this family with a variety of colors and textures in the background.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! I hope you are spending this weekend with your families, barbecuing, relaxing, and, most importantly, remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

For most people, this weekend signifies the unofficial kick off for the Summer season. It is a time when we feel rejuvenated and refreshed by the first warm days of Spring and we are busy making plans to catch up with family and friends. This season is my favorite time of year. I love the warm weather and I try to soak up very last minute of the weather here in Long Beach. We spend almost every minute of the day outside whether it be at the park, the beach or simply just lounging on our deck.

Even though I love photographing newborns, the six month sitter milestone session is becoming a favorite of mine to photograph. It is amazing how much your little one grows, develops, and changes in those first six months of life and the half birthday is the perfect time to update your images of your bundle of joy. At six months old, babies have vibrant personalities that are evident; they can sit unassisted, clap, laugh and smile. It is such a pleasure to be able to document al of those precious moments for my clients. I always have so much fun during these photo sessions.

As I am typing this blog post, it is snowing steadily outside. At this moment it does not quite feel like, it but we are only twenty days away from the official start of Spring. It has been a long winter and I am looking forward to the warmth and beauty of Spring. I am also looking forward to all of the exciting sessions I have planned for the season, including an Easter mini session, which I am offering for the first time ever.

I have just packed away the last of my holiday decorations and I can hardly believe that the holidays have come and gone. The holidays are a whirlwind of family gatherings, activities, preparations, and, of course, shopping. Although I enjoy the festivities, I also like the few weeks afterwards, during which time I can decompress and get my wits about me again. Now that I finally have my head above water again, I am focusing on the Spring. Yes, I know, we are still in the clutches of Winter, but just remember, with each passing day, the days get longer and bring us one step closer to those beautiful Spring blossoms and mild weather.

For many of you, this Spring is particularly special because your little ones will be receiving their First Holy Communion , a special milestone that I know you want to document. I love photographing this special moment because it is the perfect time for me to capture a wide array of classic portraits of your child. My communion portrait sessions are centered on capturing candid and natural images of your child, as well as beautiful and artistic images that encapsulate this very special rite of passage for your child. Some of my most favorite photos I have ever captured are those of children on their Communion day. I just love the dramatic natural light that a church provides for portraits, but it also seems that this special day allows for a child's whimsical nature to shine through and I love capturing that silly and relaxed side of children too. Scheduling the photos before the communion day ensures that you capture beautiful portraits of your child in a natural and relaxed way, without the stress of rushing around on the day of the ceremony.