I met this adorable family of 4 at Holmdel Park for a family session on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago.  We had initially discussed doing pictures of just the girls for a Father's Day surprise but schedules didn't work out to get them taken in time but Mom was still interested in taking family pictures for the first time ever and I'm so glad because they are a truly lovely little family.  The dad was apprehensive about the process of getting pictures taken but everyone - including the 4 month old baby - did so well!  There was a lot of sun on this particular morning so we made sure to stick to the shady areas in the arboretum and near the farm.

I got to photograph this crazy-adorable daddy-daughter duo at the end of May - my second time working with this amazing family.  We were at Tatum Park in Middletown, New Jersey on a gorgeous spring day.  My favorite father-daughter moments to capture are them holding hands, sharing kisses, and walking hand-in-hand.  They don't happen for every session but this sweet girl was ready for her session with daddy!!

Our youngest daughter turned O N E last week so we had a little session to document her special birthday.  Her birthday party will be The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme - very appropriate for our big eater - so I crafted a little banner to go along with the theme.  I (with A LOT of help from Daddy!) did her session in our kitchen with a sheet as a backdrop and used the natural light that was available through our windows.  She was a wiggling little ham for the whole thing and we got several good pictures.  I'm so happy with the way they turned out and I'm excited get a few printed to display at her party!

I've been posting photos from sessions and I most recently posted tips for scheduling your session (read that here!) but I thought I'd share some things you might not know about me.  I think it's important that you (as a client!) feel more comfortable with me taking your photos so here I am to let you know a little bit about the gal behind the camera!  Here we go!

1. I have my bachelor's degree in Accounting.  I worked for several years as an accountant after graduation but ultimately decided to focus on my photography and stay home with our babies.
2. I was born and raised in a small town in Indiana.  My husband and I moved to New Jersey after our wedding in 2011.  I'm a mid-western girl living in an east coast world.
3. Roller coasters are totally my jam but I CANNOT handle the fair rides that just spin in circles.  
4. My favorite movie is Field of Dreams but the Fast and Furious series is so good!!  And I'm a total sucker for girly chick flicks, too.
5. I love having pictures printed so I have a few projects that I work on every year to make sure we have albums and printed pictures in our home.  I love to make a family yearbook/photo album using an online company that highlights some of favorite trips, birthdays, holidays, and family visits.  And the past 2 years I've been working on a weekly album that I print pictures for and add journaling (a simplified version of scrapbooking!).  Please ask if you want to know more - I could go on and on and on!
6. If there were one thing that I dislike the most.... it's getting ready for bed at night.  Ugh.... I'm already sleepy from being comfortable on the couch and now I'm supposed to wash my face, brush my teeth and put my PJs on???  The.worst.
7. Every year my husband and I have filled out March Madness brackets (NCAA men’s basketball tournament) since we've been married (that's 7 years!) and include a small wager.  Going into the 2018 tournament I was 5 for 6 and very confident.  Our bet this year was the loser being the driver for two months - we always, always, always split driving duties when we're together because we dislike driving so much.  Did I mention I was confident?  I was so sure I would win and my husband would have to drive us EVERYWHERE for two months and what do you know that cheese-head won.... So I've been the sole driver when we're together since April 3 and I've been miserable.
8. The best ice cream flavor, hands-down, is cookie dough.  And the best ones have so.many.cookie dough bites!
9. I've recently started quilting.  I've made 4 quilts, 1 t-shirt quilt, 1 quilted throw pillow and I have 2 t-shirt quilts on the cutting mat.  I am definitely an amateur and my quilts aren't perfect but they have all been gifts to special people so I hope they can look beyond some minor flaws.
10. I make meatloaf in the microwave.  It's how my mom taught me (she gave me the handwritten recipe at my bridal shower) and it only takes 15 minutes!

There you have it, friends.  10 little (random) things you probably didn't know about me!  So now it's your turn!  Tell me something random and fun about yourself.  I'd love to know!

You might have read on my home page, or heard from other photographers, the term "natural light photographer" and although I feel like the term is obvious to everyone, most clients might not understand what "natural light" means from a photographer's stand point.

Light is a key element in taking a photograph.  The intensity and the direction of the light source tells me what settings I need to use in my camera to get the best image and helps me pick the best location for each session. 

As a natural light photographer, my light source is the sun.  Really bright and direct light can be harsh and produces unflattering shadows on subjects.  Whereas diffused light, from a cloudy sky or in the shade, gives nice, even skin tones without any shadows.

The direction of the light source, the sun, plays an important role in my thought process during a session to know where I'll place myself in relation to my subjects.  If the sun is high in the sky during a daytime session, I try to pick a location that is fully covered in shade either from a tree or building.  If I can't find shade, or if the client prefers a specific location,  I'll place the sun directly behind my clients.  I position myself facing the sun with my clients looking at me to help avoid squinty eyes or harsh shadows.

A natural light photographer dreams of scheduling every session during 'the golden hour' - the one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.  "Golden hour" refers to the warm, gorgeous, glowy light we see in the three pictures below.  Weekends in the spring and summer are usually jammed with all the family activities so as the sun starts setting later, it's easier to schedule a session for an evening during the week!

Of course not all sessions can be scheduled during the golden hour.  Kids are like clockwork so if dinnertime or bedtime falls in the middle of that short window of time, it's just not ideal to have a session scheduled that late.  Sometimes it's Mother Nature that decides not to cooperate and there's a sky full of clouds.  Sometimes the only available time is smack-dab in the middle of the day.  And guess what?  It's ok!  I can still get gorgeous photos if the golden hour doesn't work or there's clouds filling the sky!  Below are a few examples of how we made it work when the session wasn't during the golden hour and the weather wasn't perfect.

I will always suggest scheduling your session during golden hour so we can get that warm, natural glow but it's important to know that sessions really can be scheduled for any time of the day that works best for you (and your littles!).  And I spend my days leading up to your session stalking the weather and willing away rain and bad weather!

I planned a mommy & me mini session date at the beginning of April and picked one of my favorite outdoor locations - Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown, NJ.  I didn't know if the flowers would bloom before the scheduled date but I knew it would be a gorgeous location nonetheless.  I showed up a little early the morning of and I was so so SO happy to see the bright colorful tulips and a beautifully pink magnolia tree!  Spring decided to show up just in time for mommy & me portraits!  And how lovely are these mommy's with their littles?!

We had absolutely beautiful weather in central New Jersey over the weekend and I spent almost all of it outside with my family.  We had a picnic in the park, we planted strawberries and flowers, went to the playground and enjoyed several neighborhood walks.  It was one of those weekends you could bottle up and keep forever!

The end of winter is drawing near, even though I think we're supposed to get a big snowstorm here in central New Jersey sometime this week.  We're looking forward to spending our days outside.  While we wait for the flowers and warmer temps, we've been spending our days drawing, doing puzzles, riding bikes inside, learning to crawl, having dance parties, and enjoying plenty of movie nights. 

As an on-location photographer, business definitely slows down during the late fall and winter months.  But that doesn't mean I'm not photographing the two cuties I spend my days with.  Our oldest daughter finds any excuse to wear her "blue dress" so when I asked if she'd wear it for me to take pictures she did a few twirls before running to her room to get her dress.  And this was our youngest daughter's first Christmas at six months old - such a special time for both girls!