Happy New Year friends! I just realized as I was going over all my photos from the past year to choose these very special 150 that this is my 6th year to do this! That makes me so happy! I do want to say that this is a totally subjective grouping in that these are my favorites… and have not been chosen by voting, or an impartial panel or anything even remotely like that. Some of the photos were taken by my daughter Celeste, which I must note because darn it I didn’t get to go to New Zealand where a couple of these were taken. I love every one of my clients and every wedding, event and portrait session is so important to me. But there is something about certain photos that just jump out at you, either aesthetically, or emotionally, or compositionally… and sometimes because of what they represent or say. And every year I do this it gets harder… I mean to tell you it’s difficult to choose just 150 out of over 100,000 photos. This is just something I do to reflect over my past year of work and to celebrate my clients and to celebrate creativity! A lot of lot of love went into each and every one of these photos and it was such a joy and honor to work with each of you and to be a part of your lives in this way. Here’s to more photo adventures in 2018!
AT HOME WITH THE WENZEL’S
This adorable family is a favorite of mine… I mean one look at these images and you will see that they just radiate happiness. They are their own party all by themselves. We always have a ball! I have shot this family several times before, and you’ve seen them on this blog. We did a wonderful mother’s day shoot with both Kelly and Brent’s moms and the kids… and I have captured both Cooper and Hadley’s birthday parties. Kelly is a heck of a party planner, on top of being a business woman and mom… and any party she throws is going to be creative and fun. This time Kelly wanted to do a different kind of shoot… one in the place they are most relaxed… at home. I just love this idea and hope to do it with more families… people’s personalities are reflected in their surroundings and this beautiful, stylish, colorful family have a beautiful, stylish, colorful home to match.
Those of you who are familiar with my work know that I absolutely love color… and Brent, Kelly, Cooper and Hadley never disappoint. I love the bright, cheerful aura that permeates this family and their home. The following photos, shot in the back yard, are some of my favorites. These kids are absolutely brimming over with personality!
Being an only child myself, I have always envied people with siblings… and these two are pretty sweet together…
Celeste and I had no problem finding something colorful and fun in the Wenzel home to bring some pizzazz into these photos. Honestly, these kids don’t really need any added pizzazz, but we threw some colorful tinsel and colored lights into the mix anyway and I’m pretty crazy about the results. I.just.love.these.photos!
One of the things I like best about this family is the way they play and laugh together… the family that is silly together is the best kind… don’t you think?
Every time I finish a session with this group I am excited to get home and start editing… and just looking through the resulting images makes me smile and look forward to the next time. Happy happy 2014 to you guys!
THE GORGEOUS GOODMAN FAMILY
Recently I had the privilege of photographing Christy and Michael Goodman and their lovely little girls Mira and Anna in their home. Photographing clients in their homes is something I’ve recently started doing and I’m really loving it. It is so much fun and such an honor to meet clients where they live every day, as you really get a sense of who they are and their unique personality is revealed in their surroundings. The things we love and display and the places we share with the people we love are sacred… and it is in these places that we are the most ourselves. The Goodmans have a beautiful home, and they are such a loving connected family. I had so much fun with them and I think it translated into their images. Not only are they gorgeous and photogenic, they are pretty accomplished as well… Christy is a Star Director with Stella and Dot, one of the fastest growing companies in the US right now, and Michael is an attorney. They are a very busy couple with two energetic growing girls and a dog… and I’m just glad they were able to make time to take some family Christmas photos because I am pretty crazy about these images.
The morning started when I met Michael in front of the courthouse for a photo intended for his professional website. In addition to being an attorney, he is a restorer of classic cars and a real enthusiast, which I think is great… I think we should all have things in life we really love… it’s these things that make life richer. He thought it would be cool to do a photo with one of his favorite cars, which once belonged to his grandmother… how cool is that? It is very cool, and midnight blue.
We made our way from the courthouse to their home where I got to see another car that Michael is working on… a very cool black one with a very loud engine… a man and his cars… so classically American. So I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos in the garage before we started with the family.
We transitioned seamlessly from classic cars to scooters… and I got some great shots of Mira and Anna on theirs. It brought back so many memories of my girls and their scooters. These little girls are full of personality and so adorable…
Who doesn’t remember that feeling of being a kid and wanting to show company your room? Well I certainly do. Mira and Anna were more than keen to share theirs and who could blame them? What bright, colorful, cheerful spaces! Mira chose aqua for her room… and she is partial to mermaids… and Anna chose sunny yellow. Perfect for these two! I have to admit I suggested the jumping on Mira’s bed… but their mom Christy supervised…
I have to confess that I just love these family photos… these people are so connected… and so lovely together. They are happy and it shows. As usual I asked Christy and Michael how they met… and they met when Michael was gigging with a band. That is a great story… both were out of college and starting their lives. I am guessing there was instant chemistry between them because quite obviously something between them was and is very right…. and now this couple is a family of four. You will notice a beautiful musical instrument in the background in some of these family photos… which I thought was a cello but is actually a bass guitar. When I asked about it I was told that Michael has many guitars… so in addition to being an attorney and car enthusiast, he is also a musician. The beautiful piece of art over the fireplace, that I noticed right away, was created by a friend of Christy’s. In the shot with the table, the wonderful light fixture was chosen by their decorator because Christy had been inspired by something she had previously seen, and the figures on top of the hutch were chosen by Michael from their travels… it’s these details that make these rooms uniquely a Goodman family rooms.
I have traditionally been an outdoor photo girl… and as much as I love these images of the Goodmans in their home, I have to say that these images we took behind their home in the great outdoors are my favorite. Oh my but they are so beautiful… if I do say so myself…