Julia's Photo Blog

On Monday I had a huge amount of fun photographing two incredibly beautiful children: Jordan (age 8) and Ben (age 6).  Not only were these kids gorgeous, but they were very sweet and super polite (I think Ben even called me ma’am at one point!).  They followed my directions so well- not that they needed that much direction… they also had great modeling instincts! Their mom told me that at least Jordan (and maybe Ben too) are interested in trying out some modeling. I think they both could certainly have promising careers!  We had a lovely evening in Forest Park, starting out at the Muny Theater for some pretty architecture and then heading to a few other spots in the park.  Mom Carolyn jumped in a few pictures, and Grandma and Grandpa were along to watch and help get the kids smiling- it was great! The light was beautiful, and it was the first outdoor portrait session I’ve done in awhile that didn’t feel sticky-hot and humid.  The weather was beautiful, the light was beautiful, and the kids were beautiful… what more could a photographer ask for?  I seriously flagged over 100 favorites on my first pass through these photos, so it took me quite awhile to get it whittled down to the ones I’m posting here.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I have!

LOVE this. :)

This morning I had a fabulous portrait session with an adorable little four-month-old girl, Madelyn, and her two adoring parents, Linda and Warren. When I arrived at the house, Linda gave me the tour of all the rooms, all of Madelyn’s cute outfits (there was an abundance of pink!), and the many, many options of toys and blankets and stuffed animals that could be used for props! This baby has enough Winnie the Pooh dolls that she could probably open a retail store someday if she ever wanted to sell them off. :)  The house was filled with evidence of this bundle of joy: dolls in every room, pictures covering the walls… and she is only 4 months old!  Her parents admitted to a little bit of spoiling, but also said that their family and friends continue to shower little Maddie with presents.  I could easily see why her mom said that Madelyn is a “very celebrated baby!”  I always love working with families who are obviously as excited about pictures as I am, and this couple definitely fit into that category… so we had a great time! They had lots of ideas for today’s session and for future sessions as well. I can’t wait to see this cute little girl grow up. :)  Here are just a few images to introduce this beautiful baby and her family!

So serious. :)

Look at that cute little tush. :)

A gift from the British nanny!

I know some people are all about the smiles… but I just love a cute pouty face like this!

Dad is a foot doctor- so how perfect is this?

At one point near the end of the session (after Maddie was totally worn out!), Linda and Warren glanced up at each other smiling, just for a second, and I had to tell them to redo it so I could capture it.  I kind of loved this look they were giving each other- a look of teamwork and shared joy. I just thought it said perfectly, “We are the team that will love and raise this child, together.”   

My kid brother (almost 23! I can’t believe it!), is going to graduate from college this May, and will be applying to law schools this year.  Apparently, some of these law schools want a picture. I guess maybe being really, really, ridiculously good looking might help your chances of being a good lawyer?  So my brother needed a lot of help with that (Just kidding! He’s actually a pretty good-looking guy… must have good genes). In any case, I agreed to take some pictures for him.  He didn’t pay me, but I figure once he’s a lawyer this must be good for getting out of a few speeding tickets, if nothing else (not that I, um, speed, or anything… 0:)  The session was quick, since he had to get packed to leave for college tomorrow, but we had fun.  At one point I apparently told him to “try to look handsome and not stupid,” and had to assure his girlfriend that I do NOT speak to my actual clients that way. What can you do? It’s sibling stuff. :)  Here are a few of the family’s favorites.

On Saturday I had the great honor of photographing the wedding of Sarah and Adam alongside my photographer friend Timothy Pastor.  It was a sunny, SMOLDERING hot August day, and if it wasn’t for the happiness of the occasion and the good company, I might have wished I was relaxing in a pool instead of working. But it was a beautiful wedding, thanks in part to the work of a stellar wedding coordinator, and clearly the couple’s family and friends could not have been happier to share in the celebration of love between two people they cherish.  I was the “second shooter” for the wedding, which is certainly a different animal than being the first shooter. But in some ways, it is a refreshing challenge!  As the second shooter, you still are sometimes the only one there at a certain point in the day to capture a moment as it is happening. I always love knowing that I caught an emotion or a memory that the couple and families will love to look back on.  However, for much of the day you are all too aware of the first photographer’s position (and sometimes the position of the videographer as well!), and you really have to think about where you can go to capture a different angle or point of view from what the main photographer is getting.  As a photographer, sometimes it is frustrating knowing that the angle you really WANT- the place you really want to be- is where the other photographer is standing!  But the fun, challenging part comes in when you have to ask yourself, “Okay, I can’t stand there, so how can I give this couple something different, a different point of view of their wedding day? Where else should I stand? Can I use a different lens?…”  So for any photographer friends who read this blog, I want to encourage you to think that way the next time you are second shooting… the first photographer is getting a lot of the “must-have” shots, so that frees you up to play a little! I am going to try to continue pushing myself in that direction as well. Here are a few of my favorite images from the day, and I can’t wait to see the images that Tim got! 

Mimosas!

Bridesmaids all cuddled in bed. :)

A gift from his bride…

A gift from her groom…

Diamond tennis bracelet… he did good!

The “first look”- Adam sees Sarah for the first time.

I loved this- while the guys were getting their formal pictures taken together, the girls decided they needed to “cool off their sweaty knees.” Soon they were making Marilyn Monroe jokes… if only we had a street vent to play with… :)

Maybe my favorite…

At the reception- announcing the new husband and wife!

Wait… no dancing pictures?!?  I know, I feel funny that I don’t have any more pictures from the reception to post. But another downside (or one might say it is a perk ?) of being a second shooter is that sometimes only the first photographer is hired to be there for the entire reception. So my day with Sarah & Adam ended here (and it looked like the reception was off to an amazing start!).  

I did want to post one final picture that was really just for me… here I took a picture of Tim (the first photographer) who was taking a picture of Joe (the videographer) posing with all the ladies.  A little “behind the scenes” action.  I really enjoyed being a part of this day and this team!

In a fun multitasking session this week, I had the pleasure of taking pictures of cute and flirty two-year-old Duncan, as well as maternity pictures of his beautiful mom, Karrie (who is 8 months pregnant with Duncan’s little brother, Dane).  Karrie’s husband suggested she get maternity pictures done when she was first pregnant with Duncan, but she felt a little self-conscious at the time. This pregnancy, however, she has only gained 15 pounds (!!!) thanks to a stellar personal trainer and some hard work!  So these pictures are a surprise for Daddy, and I am pretty sure he will love them! I was told that Duncan was a little shy, but we had a handful of family members with us to help get him to smile (that boy loves his Papa!). He did great!  They told me he must think I’m cute since he was sitting so nicely, smiling, and even crossing his legs in a nice little pose, all by himself.  I thought he was pretty darn cute too!  And Karrie looked gorgeous- would you believe, most of her clothes weren’t even maternity!  Who else thinks she looks like a hot, young, (pregnant) Geena Davis? Hmm?  We got some beautiful pictures, and I could hardly limit them down to a reasonable number to post. Here are a few favorites.  Karrie already booked a family portrait session for November… I can’t wait to meet little Dane and photograph this whole beautiful family together!

Super cute serious face. :)

I love this one…

And I love love this one! :)

I am proud to share that one of my images was recently chosen to be printed as a limited edition art piece, to be sold for a charitable exhibition benefiting the Franklin County Home Care Corporation in Massachusetts.  Only 10 prints of this images will be available for sale in this limited edition, at $50 a print, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to charity.  Visit the gallery homepage: http://gallery.hallmark.edu/mark/ to buy a print or to see more beautiful images by other talented participating artists! Here is my image that was chosen:

I selected the following charity to benefit from the sales of my limited edition print:

Franklin County Home Care Corporation
Franklin County Home Care Corporation/Area Agency on Aging (FCHCC) is a private, non-profit corporation, which develops, provides, and coordinates a range of services to support the independent living of elders, people with disabilities and caregivers. FCHCC serves all Franklin County towns plus Athol, Petersham, Phillipston and Royalston in Worcester County. We are committed to preventing or postponing the need for institutional care, facilitating the return home after an institutional stay, advocating for elders and people with disabilities, funding local projects and providing support to local Councils on Aging and Senior Centers.

A little more about the project:

“The Limited Edition Charity Project at Hallmark Institute of Photography involves students, faculty and staff pooling their photographic skills to benefit the communities in which we live and work. From over 100 submissions, juror Amanda Cooper, Curator of the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, FL (selected) 20 photographs to be printed in editions of 10, on paper generously donated by Moab. Each edition will be for sale online exclusively on this site and the students and faculty will donate the net proceeds to various local not-for-profit organizations nominated by the image makers. This project is a great way for people to start collecting art and for the participants to start being collected artists.” 

On Monday I did a high school senior portrait session with a girl after my own heart- Mariah Saldana.  Mariah is going to be a senior this year at Fox High School.  This cool girl loves to read (me too!) and wants to someday be a college professor (which, incidentally, is exactly what I wanted to do when I was a senior in high school!).  She’s into her Xbox (okay, so we differ a bit there), as well as her favorite candy- Sour Patch Kids! (I practiced great restraint and did not ask to steal any of her candy during the photo shoot.)  The moment I knew I really liked this girl is when she asked if she had to wear shoes during the photo shoot, because she really prefers to go barefoot whenever possible.  I told her I was totally with her on that one (since I once toyed with the business name “The Barefooted Photographer”, but I figured that wouldn’t fly at weddings!).  Anyway, we had a lot of fun, starting at her aunt and uncle’s beautiful house and backyard and then finding some awesome spots along Telegraph Road to pull over and enjoy the prairie grasses and beautiful evening light.   She brought along a stack of her favorite books as well as a quilt that her grandmother made for her when she was a little girl (I just love that!).  Here are just a few of the many great shots we got! 

Favorite hat!

Sporting her Xbox controller…

Love this cute expression… Had a little fun with the color on the next few! :)

A few shots looking all professional. :)

And then down the road a bit… we found such beautiful wildflowers!

Maybe my personal favorite of the day…

I think this may be my other top pick.  How cute is she with her grandma’s quilt and all her favorite books?

Yum. :)

Today I got to photograph a pretty stinkin’ cute little girl- Miss Lily Abel.  Lily is 6 months old, and she was a CHAMP- lasting for a full two hours of shooting, with multiple outfit changes and very little fussing!  Her mom and dad could not be cuter in how much they clearly dote on their little girl, and it was too easy to see why Lily would have everyone wrapped around her little finger!  She had a beautiful smile, a super cute giggle, and when she DID get fussy, she even did that in a cute way by blowing rasberries to express her frustration, instead of crying.  I was so excited to post a few of these online that I had to stay up late to do a quick edit and put a few of my faves up right away!  Thanks to the Abels for sharing their bundle of joy with me for a fun afternoon!