We had yet another perfect January day on Sunday for photos at their home in Rockville, MD. I was thrilled that they chose to do this session at their home.  Last time I was there, they had at least a foot of snow on the ground, so I can’t say I realized quite how beautiful it was, but this time, we had the perfect setting for some great photos!  Some of my favorite photo sessions lately have been those that took place at my clients’ homes.  While it definitely didn’t hurt to have a spacious back yard, it really wasn’t necessary.  I love that we were able to capture some moments of intimacy and true joy by photographing the family in their own space doing the things that they love best.

While Mr. D tolerated us long enough to give me a few posed photos, he really wanted to get down to action!  So we shot some hoops – complete with a cheering section to give hugs after good shots!

After the hoops, we got chilly, so we headed back inside to read some stories.  Caillou is his favorite – apparently Mom even made a Caillou cake for the big birthday party!

We even got in a little coloring with Lightning and Mater.

Then we headed back outside to run around and play some more once we were all warm again!

This might be my favorite photo of the morning.  Of course he didn’t want to be in the photos, so I decided to take a few of Mom and Dad together.  When he realized that we were carrying on without him, he came racing back to be in the photo again!

Mr. D worked hard at keeping his smiles for himself the whole time I was there, but at the last minute we played for a bit on his swing-set, and I finally managed to catch a few!

B family – it was wonderful to see you again, and to see how much D has grown.  Thank you for choosing me to document this special occasion!  Enjoy 2!  XOXO ~ K

Mr. Will and Miss Stella are sitting up now, and I can’t believe what big kids they are becoming!   This is a fun age to photograph because they aren’t escaping yet, but are old enough to engage with the camera a bit.   I think these photos really capture their personalities.

I think the expressions below are ones that Mom and Dad are going to see quite a bit in the years to come.  They both have the guiltiest “Who Me?” looks on their faces.  I can totally imagine them each trying to blame the other for the mischief that’s occurred!

The best thing about this age, is that you can finally elicit genuine smiles and giggles.  I’m pretty sure that at this point, Mom was singing and dancing, and Dad was wearing a necklace and hiding behind a blanket.  I’m sure we were getting some strange looks on the street in downtown Leesburg, but whatever they did it was perfect, because Mr. Will thought it was a riot and gave a huge grin.

Miss Stella likes to fly!  :)  Look at those beautiful eyes!

A quiet moment with Mom.

A silly moment with Dad.

These last two are some of my favorites.  To date, Mr. Will has never complained at a photo session.  He always goes with the flow while his sister is usually the more fussy one for me. Today however, he had enough, and he let us know it!  I can’t blame him.  It was getting chilly, and he’d taken his socks off.  Once he got angry and cold, the end came quickly and there was no going back.

S family, you make it look so easy.  I can’t believe how fast these two are growing, and that we’re already talking about scheduling their one year session.  Enjoy the chaos of the next few months and I can’t wait to see you again when they are on the move!  XOXO – K

I loved going through these sessions and seeing all of the fun families I got to work with last year. There were newborns, grandparents, pets, siblings, and best friends.  We had sessions at home, sessions at the beach, downtown sessions, and sessions in my very own neighborhood park.  We suffered through biting cold and stifling heat. Along the way we made great memories, created family heirlooms, and decorated a lot of blank walls!

Click to see the entire 2011 Year in Review Slideshow.  I’d love to know which photos struck a chord with you!

If you’d like information about scheduling a session for your own family this year, please email me!  I’d love to create memories with meaning for you and your family in 2012!  I’m now booking for Spring sessions, and will have limited weekend availability.

1.) at the carwash 2.) Northlandz layout 3.) Northlandz trestle bridge 4.) angry birds for the non-technical  5.) the reasons I haven’t gotten any work done this week 6.) sunrise with moon out the front door 7.) airplane near Baltimore on I-95 8.) Little Man enjoying the scenery.

Happy Friday!

Hope you all enjoy the pop of spring on a cold dreary day.  As always, everything here can be purchased from Gap, Old Navy and Piper Lime.  Happy shopping!

In the years since, every January first, I think to myself for an hour or two that I should try again because everyone else is doing it.   I watched one friend successfully document her life last year, and am envious that she completed her task.  She now has 365 photos of her children, her friends and her life, and 365 great memories and stories to share.  This year, I thought about trying again.  With an iPhone it should be even easier, but then there’s some days that I just don’t do anything exciting or worth taking a photo of.  Despite having a photography business, there are some days I just want to veg out and enjoy the moments when I’m in them and not feel like I HAVE to take a picture. I can’t think of many other professions where workers set themselves up to do extra work just for fun every day and then post the results online and share with friends.  Can you imagine an accountant going home each night and saying “Now I’m going to do some tax forms just because I want to do one every day for a year and I didn’t do one yet today!”?

So anyway.  I did decide that I wanted to be more conscious of taking photographs for fun, for me, and to more carefully document things that we do as a family.  So I’m going to try to be good about posting a Weekly Favorites post here each week.  Some weeks I might have a dozen photos to share, others only one.   They might be from my iPhone, or they might be from a session, or from my camera.  I hope you’ll enjoy them, I hope that I’ll enjoy doing it without the self-imposed pressure, and I’d love any support or encouragement you can offer!

1.) sunrise through the bathroom window 2.) January sky 3.) halftime at basketball 4.) sunshine before the snow 5.) first road trip in dad’s new car 6.) snow on the wheat grass 7.) our new homework station in the dining room (saving grace) 8.) snow on crape myrtle

Santa was very good to us this year, as you can see from the stash he left under the tree!

There were two prevailing themes at our house this holiday.  The first was Monster Jam Monster Trucks.  We went from having 5 trucks on Christmas Eve to having 22 trucks by Christmas Night…  The best worst thing about Monster Trucks is that there is a perpetual “freestyle course” set up all over our family room, which consists of boxes, ramps, and random cars.

The other gift which was a major success was Lego Trains.  These are basically the model trains you remember, made out of Legos.  Much easier for little hands to control and redesign and rebuild.  Our Engineers still need some work, but these have been a huge hit.  If you have little ones who like trains AND Legos, keep this idea in your back pocket for next year.

No Christmas post would be complete without the obligatory photos of the boys in front of the tree.  They didn’t really want to cooperate and pose together, so I had to settle for these shots.

The other super-exciting thing that happened since I’ve last posted is that Little Man turned 4.  I find it hard to believe I have a 4 year old in the house now, although he actually acts like he’s going on 8 like his big brother.  He surprised us this year by asking to go see trains rather than having a party, so this weekend we are off to see a layout with 8 miles of model train track.  Wish us luck.  :)

With the holidays finally behind us, I’m starting to get back to a normal routine.  I’m am loving that I’m already starting to hear from clients who are thinking about booking sessions this spring!  I’m headed up to my hometown to photograph my best friend from high school and her family this weekend and can’t wait.  I’ve promised her for two years that I’d do these photos the next time I was in town!  Think warm thoughts for us!

When my client contacted me to schedule this session last fall, she wanted to schedule something the week between Christmas and New Years, when her brother and nephew would be home for the holidays.  We discussed several options but settled on shooting the session at her childhood home with her parents on what unfortunately was the only rainy day of the entire week.  While it was gray and dreary outside, the whole family was bright and cheery inside.  Photographing inside a smaller home filled with mementos and memories certainly presented it’s share of challenges, but I love that we were able to incorporate so many aspects of life and family togetherness into our session.

Let me start with this photo.  The family didn’t want to make the holidays the focus of the session, but they had a beautiful tree, (and the best part is that it can be seen from two different rooms!) I couldn’t resist taking at least a few in front of it.  I loved this photo the minute I snapped it, because of the joy on both of their faces.  I hope that when my children are grown and have kids of their own, my husband can still make me laugh like this.

Three generations of beautiful women.

For the three cousins, these stairs were the focal point of the house, every time I turned around someone was hanging upside down and asking me to take a photo.

This photo was a recreation of a treasured one that their grandmother has held onto since they were toddlers.  I think they take up a bit more of the stairs than they did last time!

Love this one of the men playing chess.  During the session someone would occasionally scurry out of the room and make a move.  Here there is a bit of instruction going on.  What a great family bond to have.

The rains broke for about 5 minutes and I dragged everyone outside.  You can’t tell from this photo, but it was drizzling a bit.  They were all annoyed at me because I was standing under the overhang of the garage staying dry while they were getting wet.  :)

Apparently there is a long-standing family photo tradition of these two jumping off the front steps.  I hear there is even one of Missy in her wedding gown.  When they asked for one I was happy to oblige!

One of the beautiful things about this home was the abundance of unique furnishings and decor items.  These chairs were fantastic and I can imagine spending many hours curled up with a blanket and a book in them.  I love this moment between the ladies.

One of the best things about photographing a family in their natural environment is the ability to capture snippets of the things that mean the most to them.  Whether it’s a particular piece of furniture, or a hobby that they love the most.  While many clients worry that their homes are too cluttered or too messy for photographs, the most meaningful moments can be preserved when we shoot in a home, and it’s easy to rearrange things!

I’m going to end with this final photo.  When I was packing up to leave Mrs C. presented me with a gorgeous book of photographs called Wise Women by Joyce Tenneson. At that moment I realized I hadn’t taken a photo of her alone, so we scurried to find her favorite spot in the house and give her a few moments alone in front of the camera.  Of all of the photos we took I think this image is my favorite.

M and C families, I hope you enjoy these photos.  There are still many more to come, but I wanted to get your preview to you today.  You were a joy to work with even on a dreary day.  Happy New Year!  

Merry Christmas friends.  Thank you to each and every one of you who take the time to stop by and visit each day – those who leave comments, and those who simply read.  I’ve been so blessed to be able to stay at home with my boys and to build this little business to keep myself busy doing what I love.  Stay tuned next week for a few of my favorites from this year. Until then, enjoy this week with your loved ones, and celebrate the magic of the season.

According to my little pal there are 19 days left.

The good news is that our tree is up and the stocking have been hung by the {sealed gas fireplace} with care.

The bad news is that I sat down and started making a list of all of the things I need to do in those next 19 days… Unfortunately not one of the things on that list is “relax”.  So I think I’ll be taking a little bit of a blogging hiatus here.  While I may not go totally silent, I won’t be posting on the usual Tuesday – Thursday schedule I’d been trying to maintain.

Never fear though.  If you’re still looking for a holiday gift certificate, I’m not going anywhere – email me if you want to make a last minute purchase.

It’ll just be a little quiet on here for the next few weeks while I make merry with my boys.  XOXO – K