Deidre, Matt and Two Fun Kids

My daughter's preschool held a fundraising auctionearlier this year and my friend Deidre "won" the family photo session I donated. I remember hearing about the auction afterwards (I wasn't able to attend) and it's kind of a strange feeling to hear that people were bidding on my services (among others). I'm not gonna lie....it was kind of exciting!

Anyway, I met up with Deidre, her husband Matt and two kids recently for their session......it was a lot of fun playing around at Pepsico Gardens (finding myself there a lot lately)...



This boy never met a tree he didn't like...







Little sis? Not so much...but I still like the pic!



Off the trees and onto much safer territory for some simple portraits....







...and some playful ones, too....







I'm doing this a lot lately, but it works, so why not, right?










I like the simple texture of the gravel in the foreground and then the dramatic background here...



I'll end with my faves.....I love this relaxed family shot.



This pretty face was having a devilish moment with her brother just a second earlier, but showed her angelic side just perfectly here....



I love the texture of the grass, an off-center composition and Alyssa's laid back (but very model-like!) pose....



Thanks, Deidre & Matt!

Gianni's Communion and His Friends

An old friend from high school heard that I was a photographer so he and his wife asked me to photograph their son Gianni's communion portraits. I really like doing this sort of thing because when most people think of communion portraits, the images are often super posed in a studio. I wanted to freshen it up a little and photographed the family outdoors in a relaxed way.





For traditions' sake, I incorporated something slightly studio-like, but used window light to add just a touch of drama.



Little sis was a total ham....and I didn't mind at all.







"Sit still" was not what she wanted to hear....and that's fine because then I shoot something like this.



La tutta famiglia!





Like father, like son.



Proud Grandma and Grandpa.



We added a Part II to this family shoot.....two sets of family friends each also have an older boy and a younger girl. All the boys were born in the same year and all the girls were born in the same year. (I don't think you can plan that if you tried!) So pictures are a must with this group.



The sweetness of girls....





The spirited boys....





Some individual portraits...














Family portraits...





Often times after couples are married and have kids, all the photos taken are of the little ones or the entire family; never of them anymore. So I always take pics of mom and dad on their own.

Gianni's proud parents......



Something a little more casual for their friends....





Congrats, Gianni!