Yikes.

With the craziness that consumed my late fall and early winter, other than one sneak peek, I never posted any other photos from this senior session!  It definitely wasn’t my intention.  So I will not only post some pictures, but also write a blog post!

I met Aurora at McConnell’s Mill State Park which is north of Pittsburgh, PA.  I love that area.  I actually used to live just south of the park, in Cranberry PA, WAY back during some of my single days.  In fact, my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I hiked there a few times.  Such a beautiful place!!!

Aurora’s session was scheduled toward the end of the senior season, in early November.  As you can imagine, that time of year can be cold, wet and miserable or it could be warm and very fall-like.  We absolutely LUCKED out that Sunday afternoon as the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!!  Although, I do have to say, the downside to perfect fall weather in November is that everyone and their brother think a hike at McConnell’s Mill is a great idea!  So it was a bit crowded and sometimes a little overwhelming.  I know I would have a hard time trying to pose for photos with a crowd of people all around me!

But Aurora did an amazing job.  We started out down the creek, away from the crowds, and climbed around on the rocks with the Mill in the background.  We eventually made our way to the Mill and along some of the gorgeous hiking trails.  And ended the session up in a picnic area with some beautiful late afternoon sunlight and a few lingering fall colors.  We even got just a few photos by the covered bridge.  But holy-schmoly, we REALLY had to dodge some traffic and wait for a break in the never-ending flow of people to get that shot!!!

Onto the photos!

Thank you all so much!!!  It was so nice meeting you and your family and I wish you all the best!!!

Until next time!!  XOXO!!!

I met Virginia at one of my favorite session locations – Two Mile Run.  Even though I have done many many sessions there, it always amazes me how completely different each and every session still can be.  It all depends on the time of day, the season, whether it is sunny, cloudy, windy etc etc.

Virginia’s session was pretty much ideal.  She is a beautiful girl who was so natural and relaxed in the front of a camera.

In addition – it was almost like we special ordered that afternoon’s weather and the big guy delivered!  It was a late afternoon session and the sun was hiding behind some light clouds.   Having this natural “softbox” gave us deep, rich colors and the ability to shoot in a few locations that usually don’t work later in the day because the sun is positioned right in the subject’s eyes.

Then, about halfway through the session, the sun peeked through!  And there is something about late afternoon sun suddenly streaming through the clouds.  (In fact, I was almost SURE we would see a rainbow.  And wouldn’t THAT have been amazing!!?)  However, I won’t complain.  The warm sunlight provided the absolute most perfect lighting for our backlit, field shots.

I really enjoyed meeting Virginia and her mom.  They were so nice and so much fun.    I had such a great time and was absolutely thrilled at the photos.  I just LOVE my job!!!!

And now onto some peeks!!!!  Perfect!  Don’t you think???

Thank you all so much!!!!

Until next time!  XOXO!

Take one beautiful senior with great style, one perfect late afternoon fall day, throw in some amazing light and you get one unbelievable senior session!

I met Emma and her family at a local park that I have shot at a few times.  I love locations that offer a lot of backdrop options.  And this was one of my favorite locations, complete with fields, bridges, a creek, trees – it has it all!

However, when I arrived, I noticed that my favorite field was completely mowed down!!!  EEK!!!!!  Oh well, it really didn’t matter in the end as there were still plenty of other backdrops.

Emma was so sweet and fun and did a great job in choosing outfits and accessories!   I also had to admit I was a bit impressed at her ability to negotiate in the oh-so-high heels she chose to wear with her final outfit!  But she did it, and looked amazing!!!

Thank you all so much!!!!

Until next time!!!  XOXO!!

I met Nicole on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Two Mile Run County Park.  And one of the first things she said to me  was “I don’t take very nice pictures”.

Well – I definitely beg to disagree!!!

Nicole is, no doubt,  a very beautiful girl who actually takes gorgeous photos.  She did an amazing job in choosing outfits and accessories!  I also just loved that Nicole had her make-up professionally applied prior to the shoot.  I always give my clients a detailed “What to Wear” guide before their session, to help them in deciding what outfits/shoes/accessories work or don’t work.  And one tip I suggest is a professional make-up application.   I know it isn’t always a feasible option, but if you can, I think it is worth it.  (And, shhhhhh, it is free at our local department store!)  It is amazing how those artists can just make your skin look so flawless and also make your eyes just POP!

Here are a few peeks from Nicole’s session.  I think you will agree she is definitely photogenic.  And hopefully I succeeded in changing her mind about that just a bit……

Thank you all so much!!!

Until next time!!! XOXOXO!!!

I met Tyana on a beautiful Sunday morning at Two Mile Run.  I have been SO lucky with my sessions this season.  Almost all have had absolutely perfect weather.

Tyana is such a sweet girl and I had a great time meandering all through the park with her and her mom.  I tell all my seniors  that the beginning of the session is almost always a bit awkward for everyone as we all get warmed up, but TRUST ME, we are going to have FUN!!!!  And we did!!!!

I love Two Mile, there really is such a nice variety of backdrops.  And since I have done quite a few shoots there, I have a pretty good idea of what locations work best at certain times of day.   We were able to get beautiful photos by the lake, in the fields, and in the many grassy areas.

Thanks all – now onto the pictures!!!!

It was such a pleasure meeting you!!!!   Thank you so much!!!!

Until next time!!  XOXO!

Hello there blog!!!  Wow, this is has been a crazy busy few months – but in a very good way.  LOTS of amazing senior sessions!!!!  This is my first year with all 3 girls in school all day.  I thought it would be so easy to get quickly caught up with all my sessions and have time to really start blogging regularly again.  But I am finding my days go SO fast, one minute I am getting them all on the bus, the next minute, they are home again!!!

This session was one that was actually planned MANY months ago when Meagan’s mom contacted me in January!  We chatted off and on during the winter/spring months and finally scheduled Meagan’s session for mid July.  Meagan and her mom decided to do the session at a family’s farm.  It was an absolutely PERFECT location  and a perfect day.   The light was gorgeous, the backdrops were stunning and the session was wonderful!!!  I guess the only slight problem was that the day of the session actually was one of the hottest days this summer.  Luckily, we started the session early in the morning, but we were all quite ready for lots of cold water and some A/C once we were done.

I had a great time.  It was such a pleasure meeting Meagan and her mom.  They were all definitely so much fun to work with!!!  I am so lucky to have such wonderful clients!!!

Onto some pictures!

Thank you all so much!!!  And best of luck Meagan in all your future endeavors!!!

Until next time!  XOXOXO!!!!

Marissa was one of my sweet seniors from early this summer.  We planned her session in and around the Franklin, PA area.  I love shooting in Franklin – so many different options – from the parks and the alleys, to the tree lined streets and French Creek!  We took advantage of it all that afternoon.  Our only snag was we had about 15 minutes of rain right in the middle of the session.  We tried to shoot between raindrops but ended up just taking a break under cover until it slowed down.

But Marissa was a great sport and, in spite of the weather we still got some beautiful photos!!!

It was such a pleasure meeting Marissa and her family!!  Thank you all so much!!  And best of luck in all you do!!!

Until next time!!!  XOXO!

Ryan was a senior from this past winter/spring!   I have worked with Ryan’s family a few times before as I did his older sister’s engagement and wedding photos!  They were such a great group of people and I was so excited for an opportunity to work with them again!

Ryan has a lot of varied interests that he wanted to incorporate into his session – one being snowboarding and other golfing!  Well, since obviously it is hard to incorporate both (well) in one day, we did a two part session – the first in the winter and the second in the spring.

And we were amazingly lucky!

For our winter session, the schools were closed for a snow day.  However, the snow ended earlier that morning and the temps were in the 30′s.  We had fairly warm (for winter) weather AND a fresh blanket of beautiful white show!!!

For our spring session, we met at a local golf course, Wanango.   I did another senior shoot there a couple years ago in the fall and it is a beautiful location.  However, this past spring was extremely WET and we had very few sunny days.  But when I met Ryan on a Saturday morning for our shoot, it was one of the rare and absolutely beautiful spring morning.  Another perfect day!!!!

Ryan has graduated and is now enlisted in the Army National Guard.  Pretty impressive!  Although I am sure his family is missing him quite a bit.

Now – onto the photos!

Thank you all so much!!!  Good luck in all your future endeavors!!!

It was such a pleasure working with you again!!!

I love capturing a senior’s unique personality and interests.   I shoot on-location, and have done shoots all throughout the area (and beyond!).  However, I am also eager to try new locations and ideas.  I am always thrilled when I senior wants to shoot somewhere I never shot before:

Or wants to incorporate one of their favorite hobbies!

Because all seniors are so different, I offer a few different types of senior sessions.

Standard Senior Sessions

This is my most popular session.  The standard session is a 1 – 3 hour on location session.  You can choose a few different locations and multiple outfit changes.   I choose and edit the best images of the session and upload them to a password protected gallery where you can view and share the photos and order your prints and other products.

Standard sessions are just so much fun.  It always takes a little while for the senior to get comfortable being the center of attention and to start feeling less awkward and more like America’s Next Top Model.   By being very generous in the amount of time I spend during the portrait session, I find that once the awkwardness passes, and the senior relaxes, that is when the truly amazing images happen!   And I have often been told, at the end of the session  – “That was SO much fun!!!”.

BFF Senior Session

BFF sessions are, like my standard session, a 1 – 3 hour on-location session that can include a few different locations and multiple outfit changes.  However, A BFF session is a session that you share with, obviously, your BFF!  I have done these sessions with best friends and even a few twins!  And we always have a blast!

Each senior takes turns getting their individual portraits.  I will also take some photos together.  But the main purpose of the BFF session is to allow the seniors to enjoy their senior session with their best friend.  And I find that BFF sessions are just a bit more relaxed!

Each senior gets their own individual, password protected gallery of images.  Since it is a shared session, each senior’s gallery has a few less images to choose from, but I find that, for most, it is still more than enough!

Simple Senior Session

Lastly, I offer a “simple” senior session.   This is a great and economical session for a senior who may just not be interested in a full session.  A simple session is a 30 minute session that must be conducted within the zip code 16301.   But if you are a senior who lives outside the area, you are welcome to travel in!  There are a whole host of location options within this area that I am sure will meet any senior’s needs!

The senior gets an online, password protected gallery, of about 10 – 15 images to choose from.   Just enough to choose your yearbook image and give mom a few portraits to display!

I am so looking forward to meeting all the 2012 seniors!!!!  And please CONTACT ME with any questions or to schedule your senior session!!!!

Until next time!!!!

xoxo!

I am gearing up for yet another wonderful senior season!  I have been booking some very interesting and exciting sessions for this summer and fall and am so excited!!!  this is going to another great year!

I am also planning on keeping my schedule a little less hectic this year, as I took on a little too much last year got a bit overwhelmed.  As much as I love photography, I love my family a bit more and I hate to be so busy that I miss out on too much.

So, if you are interested in scheduling a session, especially this fall, please contact me soon!!!!

Anyway – Emily is (yet another) senior from last fall that I haven’t blogged yet!   Although, you may have seen some of Emily’s pictures on my site already as she was one of my favorite senior sessions!

We started Emily’s session at her home. She and her mom were a little skeptical as to whether they had any “picture worthy” areas around her home.  I, however, wasn’t worried at all.  One thing I have learned over the last few years is that finding the right light is pretty much all you need for gorgeous photos.  It honestly doesn’t matter what is in the background and whether you have acres of gorgeous vistas.  Some places you think may be the least picturesque, can, in fact, be absolutely stunning!

Now Emily’s home is actually extremely picturesque and filled with beautiful backdrops.  And that, coupled with absolutely gorgeous late afternoon sunlight and a beautiful girl,  made for a wonderful session!  And it also definitely helped that Emily and her family were just extremely nice, down to earth, and oh-so-much-fun to work with!!!  I truly enjoyed myself!!!

We spent a good amount of time shooting all around the home and then we traveled to a local park and finished the session with some amazing, warm evening sunlit photos!  Beautiful!!!!

Thank you all for such a wonderful session!  I wish you all the best!!!!!