And it was.

It was an absolutely gorgeous evening,  slightly cloudy, and beautiful, warm, diffused sunlight.

I wish I lived closer to the ocean, I absolutely LOVE  beach photo shoots and often get a bit jealous when I see one of my favorite [coast dwelling] photographers like Tara Whitney or Patti Schmidt posting yet another beach inspired session.

I guess we do have Lake Erie, and yes, that can be beautiful too, but there is nothing quite like the warm, smooth, sandy beaches of the ocean.

I love almost all of these photos – except probably the one I am actually in.   I definitely would love to change the crazy hair and squinty eyes, but I am taking my own advice.  As hard as it is, I am trying to get in front of the camera more so my kiddos can actually see photos of me and remember our vacation in the years to come.

Now my next problem – which one to print – BIG???  I am planning on ordering a large canvas of one of these photos and just can’t decide.  I probably won’t use the photo of me (I can print that a bit smaller).  But maybe one of the two kiddos?  Any input????

Until next time!!!!

I wish you all the best in whatever you do.  I hope you follow your dreams, enjoy every moment and remember this -

“It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are” – E.E. Cummings

But I still have to say I am so ready for warmer weather, spring flowers, lots of greenery and plenty of time outdoors!!!!

I have been a bit busy lately.  Easter is HUGE for us Russian Orthodox folks.  And then my oldest came down with stomach flu on Easter morning which put a real damper on our all-day festivities.  But she is on the mend.  And now  I can take a breather and get back to getting caught up (yet again).

And, FINALLY, spring sprung this week!  In fact, it actually has been almost summer-like, which is quite surprising.  I have been out and about with my kids and my camera and just having a great time.  And little by little, I will get more sessions blogged and more of my “to-do” list completed.

But for now, I will have to leave you with just some beautiful spring photos.  I am so happy to have a macro lens this spring, and that, along with my wonderful 50 1.4, is all I need to  capture all the signs of spring!!!  And, there is nothing like amazing catch lights courtesy of  mother nature!  Absolutely LOVE it.

Until next time!!!!!

I met Andrea on a beautiful fall day.   It was a bit late in fall, so there weren’t a lot of fall colors left on the trees.  However, that didn’t matter one tiny bit.  The late afternoon sun was shining and it was [fairly] warm.  Definitely not too bad for a late October session!  We met at Morrison Park, in Seneca, PA.  I have done a couple other shoots there – a family session and some wedding portraits.  It isn’t a big park, but it is quite pretty.

Andrea is a very sweet girl.  And she had such cute shoes!!!  OK, yeah, if you know me, I love shoes!!!!!  And I love when my seniors have many cute shoes to show off!!!!

I think you have to agree – beautiful light, beautiful colors and a beautiful girl!!!!!!

The following photo is definitely the artist fave.  I love the light and I just love Andrea’s soft expression.  Beautiful!!!!!!

Thank so much for choosing me as your senior photographer!!!  I wish you a happy and very successful future!

Last night, it was a gorgeous (but cold) evening and I decided to take the girls for a walk to check out the flowers.   Our little sunny spot in the woods is next to a natural spring.  It was filled with sunkissed snowdrops.  And, it was so absolutely beautiful.

Only the snowdrops are in bloom right now.  So I will have to make another trek out in a week or so to see see what else I can dig up.  I just love this little spot in the woods.  And I think I may have to drag my kids out there for a more “formal” evening photo shoot soon too.

Of course, isn’t that true about the appreciation of most things in this life?

“If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm.”  Frank Lan

Unfortunately, at this time of year, there is NOTHING pink outside.  Not even if I am really really creative.  Oh well.  I did find pink styrofoam and a pink scarf and decided – that would work!

Isn’t it amazing how looking at the most average, mundane items from a macro perspective can make said items so much more interesting???

Amanda was another one of my fall seniors.  Amanda is from the West Forest area.  Forest County is the least populated county in Pennsylvania, but I have to say, it is also one of the most beautiful.

I also have to add, I did a quick search regarding Forest County and its population and I learned a couple interesting tidbits.  Seventy five percent of all homes are second homes or vacation homes and there is not one traffic light in the entire county!

I met Amanda and her friend, and later her mom too, at Tionesta Lake.  Amanda is actually an aspiring photographer herself with plans to study photography.  It was definitely fun taking photos of someone who you know is really enjoying and appreciating the whole process.

The Tionesta lake area was so quiet and beautiful that day.  We drove around the lake and explored a few different areas.  We then traveled into “town” to Tionesta’s new lighthouse and ended the session with a few pictures around there.  It was a cloudy, but bright day.   The light was perfect and even, the colors were rich and the photos were beautiful!  I just love how Amanda’s brown eyes just sparkle!

And this is definitely “artist’s fave”.  I loved the symmetry and texture of these trees and how Amanda’s colors just pop out of the scene.  Beautiful!

Thank you all so much!!  And I wish the best for you!

One of my favorite parts of being a wedding photographer is designing a wedding album.   I love being able to take all best and all the story-telling photos of the day and create a beautiful book that a client can not only use to remember their day, but have something that they pass down to their children and grandchildren.

Yes, there are wedding videos and DVDs and memories.  But NONE of those things will stand the true test of time.   Memories fade,  equipment gets outdated and your DVDs and videos WILL eventually be obsolete.

Photos and wedding albums can, of course, be damaged.    But with some luck and some care,  these are the ONLY items from your wedding day will stand the test of time and be treasured for generations.

I designed a wedding album for Bethany and Jeffrey.  For a change of pace, I thought I would share the album spreads along with a touch of  Jack Johnson!

Bethany and Jeffrey’s Wedding from Irene Smith on Vimeo.

Casey is a great senior from the West Forest area of Pennsylvania.  I am quite familiar with her and her family as I had the opportunity to do her sister’s senior portraits only last year!  I was so honored when her mom asked me to take Casey’s portraits as well.  Repeat clients just warm my heart!!!

Casey wanted to do her portraits at Hunter’s Station Golf Course.  I was excited to try out this new location as one of my favorite parts of being an on-location photographer (other than meeting such great people!) is getting to explore new locations!   Casey was able to get permission to use a couple golf carts for our session and we all (Casey,  her mom and sisters!) were off!

We traveled throughout the cart paths, stopping when we saw something that looked like a great location.  There were so many great backdrops, especially the incredible river view at hole #7.  We got a ton of great photos throughout the course and ended the session with some shots along the Tionesta bridge.  It was an overcast day, but the clouds provided the perfect softbox for beautiful and even lighting.

Beautiful location, beautiful girl, beautiful photos!!!!!