gangs all here.

January 6, 2016

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m officially back to blogging after a busy Christmas season. And I am super excited to give you an idea of what an extended family session looks like! I truly feel it is something you MUST add to your to-do list if you can get your whole family together.

I shot this group the day after Christmas. Not the most ideal weather, wet and gloomy. But the ladies spiced things up by adding scarves to their outfits, and Nana Rose is seriously a ray of sunshine all by herself.

For extended family sessions, especially ones this large, I only shoot a few full group shots (they received 3) because it’s not easy to pose 18 people, especially when it’s wet out. For smaller groups, you may get a little more variety. After the whole group photos are out of the way, I move on to the different variations that the whole family still needs to be present for.

THEN. Each small family gets their own mini session. And you’re done! I know the idea of extended family sessions sounds stressful. But ask this family. It was painless. I am super organized and everything flows nicely if you let me do my thing.

EVERY family gets their own CD with ALL of the photos. These are most, but not all of the photos this family received. I tend to only blog my favorites. When you’re ready to book your extended family session, contact me!

christmas mini recap.

December 10, 2015

My very first time holding Christmas Minis was a huge success! Now that I have another first under my belt, I feel comfortable offering more Christmas Mini dates next year so that I can accommodate everyone who asks. Turning down families made my heart hurt but I didn’t want to overextend myself. I do this for fun after all.

Half of me doesn’t want to interfere with people’s Christmas cards, but the other half is over here dying to show off some of these shots. So here are just a few.

Day one…

Day two…

I’m feeling extremely blessed for the amazing weather and the beautiful families that chose me to capture their holiday memories. Things are going to slow down as winter approaches. Just a reminder that I only work with natural light, so the only indoor jobs I take on during the winter months are lifestyle newborn sessions, which can only happen if your home has a lot of light coming in. If you are looking for an outdoor winter session of any kind, feel free to contact me! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

rudolph’s at sunset.

December 2, 2015

I absolutely LOVE small town life. My husband and I get our Christmas tree from Rudolph’s Christmas Tree Farm (on Sonricker in Attica) every year. This year, I called with this whole speech about me getting my tree from them, how I’m a photographer, I’ll plug their business, can I PLEASE have my mini sessions there? The man I spoke to was like. YES. The end. No questions asked. So I’ve been there 4 times since.

This family is super special to me. They live out of state, but come in for most holidays (and ALL family emergencies) so I was beyond excited when we were able to schedule a session.

Three-year-olds are some of my toughest customers. Our strategy? Well, we started with “SAY ARIEL” and this little girl would smile and say “Ariel!” Next we went with “SAY I LOVE JENI” and my heart exploded when she said it back.

how to dress for family photos.

November 17, 2015

Sometimes all the stars align and everything goes perfectly during a photo session. Mom kills it with the outfit combos, the kids smile on command, and the sun is exactly where I want it to be. It doesn’t always happen, but it happened on Sunday with this beautiful family.

I get TONS of questions from clients asking advice on what they should wear for their sessions. If you want your photos to be Pinterest worthy, I’m going to need some help. First, really think about what season you want to represent, and base your color scheme on that. Plaids for fall, bright colors for spring, reds and golds for Christmas. Neutrals work for every season. BUT, and this is a big BUT, only ONE person in your group can wear something loud, like a plaid shirt. The rest of you need to wear solids, with pops of the loud in the form of a scarf, bow, collared undershirt, etc. This also works with a bold color. Christmas photos for example, everyone in the family should not be wearing red sweaters. Choose one person to rock the red, then have others wear a vest, scarf, or bow with red. Even pants, I love colored pants.

Try not to be too matchy, matchy. This family had father and son wear the same (loud) shirt, BUT dad put a sweater over it. Pops of loud, but not too much. Brilliant. I REALLY love how mom thought things through and made sure no one clashed if paired together, even extended family. Grandma and uncle blended perfectly.

Brother and sister look especially good together, which is super important because kid-only photos are almost as important as full family ones. Mom even had a gray blanket to use. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

If you want to dress your kids in matching outfits because that’s what you like, PLEASE DO. I’ve had families do this in the past and their kids looked adorable. If you have your heart set on loud shirts or red sweaters, go for it! These are just guidelines for those of you who want my advice. Don’t want it? Don’t take it! Do what works for you and your family. Hope this helps everyone prepare for Christmas minis which begin this Saturday!

boss lady.

November 5, 2015

Meet my best friend. Her name is Kristen Dispenza, and she is the Queen Bee of Mary Kay in our little community. Last month she became the first ever Pink Cadillac driver in Batavia, which of course she got for free because her and her Diamond Divas totally crushed it.

Today is a huge day for Kristen, because one year ago she opened The Glam Spot (located in the Harvester Center) with her partner, Carrie. These two boss ladies opened this facility so that they could share their love of Mary Kay products as well as the business with ANY woman who wanted to learn more. Both Kristen and Carrie also gave up their other sources of income so that they could pursue Mary Kay fulltime. Now they are both living the dream, and THAT is something to celebrate. Congratulations!

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