Yes, usually my blog post for a session occurs [way too many] months after the actual session.  But in an attempt to get things back on track,  I am going to try to start blogging each session RIGHT after I finish editing the session.  So my blogging is definitely not going to be in chronological order of sessions.  Oh well, I guess it is my blog and I can make my own rules!  Right?

This family is originally from the Oil City area, but now live in Pittsburgh.  They still have a cottage by the river though and they really wanted to get some fun family photos in a place that has lots of meaning to them.  And, interestingly enough, not only do they love this area because of their river cottage, but also because it was where they got married!!!!  How sweet is that?????

We had to reschedule this session due to weather, and BOY did we luck out with a new date!  It was a gorgeous Sunday morning.  Not to hot, not too cold, JUST right.

This family really wanted lots of fun and candid shots.  And we got LOTS.  In fact, I had so many fun shots I really had a hard time narrowing my final picks down.  I ended up with a few more than usual!

Here are some of my [many]  favorites of the day.  What an amazingly cute family!!!!  So sweet, and I loved them with all their very different personalities – from the beautiful teenager, the cute and oh-so-sweet pre-teen, the rough-housing boy and the crazy and adorable ” baby” sister!  I know sometimes mom and dad get frustrated when the kids don’t seem to be cooperating, but to be honest, I love when I can capture photos that capture exactly who the kids are right now.  No worries!

Now, onto the photos!!!!!

Thank you all so much!!!!  It was SUCH a pleasure spending a Sunday morning with you all!!!!

Until next time!!!  XOXOXO!!!!

Well, what can I say about the “G” family?  They were adorable, sweet and just oh-so-amazing!!!!  Mom and Dad definitely have their hands full with twin one year olds – Lily and Max -  and a three year old – Isabel!.  But these parents are definitely doing something right!  I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the session – I have three kids myself and I know how crazy those ages are!  But these kids were amazing.  The session was actually EASY!!!  And I had so much fun with them!!!

We started the session outdoors.  It was a beautiful day and we found some perfect open shade!  I just love these shots – especially the ones showing the interactions between the family!!!!

We then went indoors for a few shots….

And then got ready for “The Cake Smash”!!!  This cake smash was absolutely HILARIOUS!!!   I honestly was laughing out loud just watching Lily acting like the perfect little lady taking her dainty little bites, while Max just started immediately demolishing his cake.

But soon it was all over and the two munchkins eventually made their way to their bath.  I just absolutely LOVE the path of frosting to the bathroom!!!!

Thank you all so much!!  It was such a pleasure working with you!!!!

All of Meredith’s family was so kind and fun to work with. I took photos all throughout their home – including the bathroom! -  and we ended the session with some photos at a nearby park.

Here are just a few of my favorites – it was so hard to choose!!!!  I just loved them all!!!!!

Thank you all so much!  It was such a pleasure working with you!!!!

What a wonderful month of April it was.  Well, yes, other than the fact that it rained about 99.99% of the month.  And the fact that many of us were considering stocking up on supplies to start building our arks.  But as they say “April showers bring May flowers”.  And the rain finally did stop and wasn’t May really was an insanely gorgeous month?  My flowers never looked more amazing than they did this season.

This April was also the first time I offered “Mommy and Me” mini sessions.  I know, as a mom, how few pictures I am actually in.  So, in honor of the upcoming Mother’s Day, and in an attempt to encourage more moms to stop making excuses and jump in FRONT of the camera for a change, I set up a day dedicated just to moms and their little (or bigger!) ones.

I was a little nervous after I scheduled the day, as the weather was just so cold and rainy all month and I thought for sure we would be rained out.  And due to a few scheduling difficulties, I ended up scheduling the mini sessions on four separate days.  Interestingly enough…..those four separate days of sessions all ended up being during the few short hours of beautiful weather we actually had in April!!!!  Coincidence?   I would like to think it was the “luck of Irene”, but most likely not.

I had such a great time with all the moms and their little ones.  I had some moms with little ones, some with bigger ones and even one group with 3 generations of moms!!!  I enjoyed meeting everyone and loved all the amazing “mommy and me” moments that I was able to capture.  Now I need to heed my own advice get out from behind my camera!!

Onto some of the many beautiful pictures!!!!

Thank you all so much!!!!!  And yes, I will (God willing) be doing this again next year!

This photo was from a session I did almost 2 years ago.  There were four kiddos ages 2 and younger.  Grandma wanted a photo of all the grandkids while they were visiting from out of town.  The only time everyone was going to be available was a couple hours one early evening.    And it was November, so it was cold and dark so our only option were indoor photos.  However, the home was a gorgeous old Victorian (swoon) so it definitely had lots of beautiful backdrops.

However, as you can expect, trying to get four little ones to sit still for ONE photo together is almost impossible.  I got lots of individual shots.  And finally at the end, we made a last ditch effort to corral all the munchkins together on a couch.  It was pretty like trying to keep a pile of puppies in a box.  You get one in, and two jump out.  But we did get ONE photo of all kiddos together.  And grandma was just thrilled.

I just LOVE this outtake.  I think it just sums up the evening of craziness!  Too funny!!!!!

]]> http://irenesmithphotography.com/blog/2011/04/from-the-archives-franklin-pennsylvania-child-photographer/feed/ 1 http://irenesmithphotography.com/blog/2011/03/baby-d-is-one-franklin-pa-child-photographer/ http://irenesmithphotography.com/blog/2011/03/baby-d-is-one-franklin-pa-child-photographer/#comments Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:42:04 +0000 irenesmi http://irenesmithphotography.com/blog/?p=667 Yes, I still have sessions from the fall to blog, but I had to sneak Baby D in sooner rather than later.  This little cutie-patooti is near and dear to our hearts as he is my nephew!  And his cousins – my girls – absolutely adore him.  He is one lucky little boy as he has a plethora of family that adores him.

Anyway, since he is part of the family, I get to claim all rights for photographic milestones!!  Whoo HOO!!  So far, I have been able to get newborn pictures, six month pictures, and now [believe it or not] the munchkin is ONE!

Since Baby D’s birthday is in late December, getting nice outdoor photos is usually not that easy.  I brought along my seamless paper so we could have a mix of backdrops since most of our shooting would be indoors.  And, although it was a bit cold and snowy, it was a beautiful day, so we even got outdoors for a bit!

With kids that are mobile, yet still very young, I like to bring lots of props/toys etc. to help keep the little piglets interested (and still) for long enough to snap a few pictures.  On this day we used bubbles, balloons, toys, books, a sled, a dog and even [to celebrate the birthday] some cake!  And, believe me, we needed it all!  He is such a sweet, happy and oh-so-active little boy!!!!

Thanks guys!!!!  See you soon!!!

**** 5.10.11 update:  I had such a wonderful time during my Mommy and Me sessions that I am extending this offer for a limited time.   The sessions will be held at Hasson Park, but will be scheduled individually.

If you are interested in scheduling a session with your kiddos (or maybe still looking for a belated Mother’s Day gift for that special mom (or wife) in your life?) – then please contact me soon!

I have been thinking about doing some type of spring mini session for a while.  But, to be honest, the typical spring/Easter sessions with bunnies and chicks are just not my style.  I much prefer natural surroundings, beautiful moments and honest smiles.

So, as I hemmed and hawed over what I should do, I read, yet another, article about how important it is for YOU (as a parent, grandparent) to get in more photos with your children (and grandchildren).   So many moms don’t want to be in photos because they aren’t thrilled with the way [they think] they look.  They think they need to lose weight, get in shape, change their hair.  Or they claim “I take horrible photos!”.

What we neglect to take into consideration is that our kids love us completely unconditionally.  And when we are gone, our children and grandchildren are going to treasure those photos.  Yes, they will also love the photos of themselves as they were children, but don’t we all just love seeing photos of ourselves as kids (or even adults) WITH our parents???  And do we look at those photos and think, I wish mom wasn’t in the photo because she needed to lose weight?  Absolutely NOT.

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, and in an effort to encourage ALL moms (or grandmothers) to stop worrying about whether they look good in photos and to get in front of the camera  – I am offering “Mommy and Me Mini Sessions!”

I really would be honored for an opportunity to capture some cherished moments with your family, FOR your family.   Trust me, they will thank you.

Sessions will start at 9:00 A.M.  I will plan on Sunday, May 1st for a rain date.  And, if that doesn’t work, I will be rescheduling for the following weekend.    Payment is required to reserve your session and is non-refundable.  If we have to cancel, I will work with all families to reschedule.  A complete price list is available upon request.

And, to show you just how sweet those “Mommy and Me” moments can be….

Me and one of my own munchkins – sweet Caroline. I am not good at practicing what I preach so I am in only a handful of [my thousands of] photos.  Largely because no one else really knows how to use my camera.  But I used my self timer one evening and I love this photo.  I even blew it up big and put it on my wall. All my kids just LOVE this picture.  Although my oldest said “you look so young in that photo”.  And I am not sure if that means I usually look old….hmmmmm.

And a couple photos from past sessions:

Please contact me to reserve your session!!!!

I met the “F” family for an early fall family photo shoot.  The F family has a darling three year old girl who is full of life.  They wanted a whole medley of photos – from photos of their little girl, to photos of the family having fun, and then just some sweet photos of mom and dad.

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect afternoon – warm and sunny, beautiful fall colors and a very sweet and enjoyable family.  I absolutely love when I can capture the honest moments between loved ones.  And this wonderful family gave me many moments to capture.   They were SO much fun!!!!  I just love my job!

On to the photos!!!

I just love this set of photos!!!   Beautiful light, beautiful colors, beautiful moments!!!!!!

And a storyboard that pretty much summed up this family and this session!

Thank you all so much.  It was such a honor to spend the afternoon with you all!!!

A few weeks ago I spent an absolutely glorious morning with a sweet 2 1/2 year old – that is two AND A HALF.    That “half” is very important when you are said two year old.

I met sweet Kenzie and her grandmother at a local park early in the morning.  The sun was shining and Kenzie was smiling and talking like crazy.  Some may think two year olds can be “terrible”, but I think they are terrific and really miss some of those days with my own little ones.  They just grow up too fast….

One thing I know about two year AND A HALF year olds is that their attention span is also about 2, about 2 minutes that is.  So I try to keep the session moving along and as interesting as possible.   For Kenzie’s session I brought bubbles, blocks, Barney stickers, a crate, a blanket and goldfish!  (Hey, you never know what will appeal to a little one!)   Kenzie’s grandmother also brought bubbles along with books!   And we successfully kept sweet Kenzie happily traipsing throughout the park for a good hour or so!

We started at the bridge – looking for fishies!

And soon we brought out the bubbles!

The crate and the books were fun for a bit.

And we then headed over to the playground!

I even tried a quick rendition of “Five little monkeys jumped on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head!”

And ended the session with a few minutes with the blocks on the blanket.

It was so much fun hanging with little Kenzie for the day.  I am sure you can tell from her photos, that she is quite the character!!!  Thanks sweetie-pie!!!  Hope to see you again!!!

Deacon was a very easy newborn, but he was a bit more challenging at 6 months (although usually the opposite is true!).  Of course, he is teething, and was more tired than normal, so Aunt Irene and her camera were not exactly what he wanted that morning.  And, not only that, but he had recently discovered rolling from front to back and back to front and every which way in between.  So getting him to sit still for one second to look at me was not very easy!

But little Deacon tolerated his session long enough to get some adorable pictures throughout his home and in the backyard.   He is such a happy little boy and [typically] so easy going.  My girls absolutely adore their newest cousin and, as I worked on his photos, they would often walk past, stop, and just sigh and say “I love Deacon”.  So sweet!!!

But, enough talk, here is the little man!!!!!

Thanks so much guys!!!!!  I can’t wait for the next time!!!!!!