And baby makes.....Five!

Once again I was tickled pink when former clients Diane and Leo contacted me to photograph their newborn daughter Lara's Christening portraits. I captured their newborn twins about 3 years ago and it was a pleasure being back in their home, seeing how the twins have grown and of course meeting the new little lady.

While Diane and Leo got baby Lara fed and changed, I was busy capturing this amazing gown.

 The details were so intricate yet delicate.

 A wide shot to showcase its length (and poof factor)!

 The invite reflected the couple's classic taste.

 And here she is! A little startled to be in the big dress....

 and then almost saying, "Hey, I can get used to this..."

 When Lara grows she will love seeing how her parents fussed over her here.

 Mommy will remember this sweet moment.

 Babies' expressions are just priceless, right? I also like to show the hands to show relative size and more "fussing."

 And here she is....pretty as can be, her blue eyes sparkling.

 A slightly bigger smile. Does she know how cute she is?

 The bonnet didn't last long but I did want to show more of the dress.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes big bro and sis were entertaining themselves.

Big bro was reading up on his duties.

And then they joined in on the family grouping. Big bro and sis' faces are priceless.

And here is the money shot of the day....all three kids looking! Putting their heads right up against each other is key to this image.

 I saw an opportunity here and went for it.

 Some portraits of the twins....it's truly amazing to see how they've grown.

We just HAD to showcase the back of Lara's bonnet and dress.

A sweet mother-daughter moment. Directional window lights casts the soft shadows.

 And brightens Lara's face so softly.

 I wanted to create a peaceful moment for Diane, Leo and Lara. A family with 3 year old twins and a newborn rarely gets it!

 A sleeping baby means happy parents! But the smile on their faces says so much more.

 Mommy pileup! The awe of it all is just great to see.

 An outfit change and new babysitters.

 Nicolas is a very sweet big brother. His expression is here will make Lara's heart melt one day.

 This shot is definitely set up but I like the playful yet restful nature of this wide image.

 There's a very small window of time that you can fit inside a basket and wear and orange tutu at the same time.

 This smile happened in a microsecond.

 Daddy was an especially good soother.

 Ella was very playful.

 Finishing off with another trio shot.

 And....it's a wrap!

Diane and Leo, thank you so much for inviting me back to photograph your beautiful family. It was a joy to witness the growth and addition in your home!

Color!!!

I think fall has become my favorite time to photograph. The richness and diversity of the colors in nature are just so inspiring. When I photographed this lovely family, I actually thought, "Should I even offer them black and white?!?! Would it be sinful to do so?" Well, I went ahead and shot a fun session so here are the results.

We started out with some traditional portraits. The kids were so easy going. Notice the catch lights in their eyes?

 The sun skimmed across their faces at eye level at JUST the right time. Click.

Peak fall colors DO look great in black and white. I am a big fan of contrast and I don't even have to fudge it much in post production. The kids' clothes pop nicely here.

 He has a great look even when just waiting for direction so I tended to not direct him so quickly.

 The bark of a tree is one of my favorite textures.

 It's nice to look away from the camera sometimes, too.

 This was sis' idea and I liked it so we did it. So cute.

 Another great high contrast example. Add a funky fish eye lens and the trees bow down around them.

 Quite possibly one of the best jumps of all time!

My fave of the day. This image positions me as the observer. The foreground of the leaves on the ground is eye catching and I just love the casual moment.

 The kids were workin' it at this point. ;-)

 Another fave. They were really fun and this shot shows it.

 Outtakes are a must with me. Candid and natural.

 Traditional, yet fun and with lots of color.

 Mom and Dad. Good looking mom and dad, that is!

 I softened the brown and yellow backgrounds here so the faces could pop.

 Getting the camera at the kids' level was key here, as was including the end of the bridge rails to add drama.

 On this one I wanted the image to feel like the rails were wrapping themselves around you, so I moved in a little bit. I like the way bro has his arm around sis, too.

 Emotional stuff is just more captivating in black and white in my book.

 Mom and Dad laughing at their kids being goofy.

 Peeking through the leaves and using them to frame the shot. Do they know I'm there?

 Now they do!

 Another outtake. So real.

 Of course we HAD to throw leaves.

 This is a fun image to put on a wall because there is something going on.

 Last shot of the day!

Thank you so much for spending your morning with me - as I think you know, I had a great time!