When I was pregnant with both of my girls, I had to find out the gender before they arrived. I am a planner by nature and the thought of waiting nine months to discover the gender of my baby always seemed daunting to me. In retrospect, I wish I had the patience to wait it out. Although I will not be having any more babies, I am able to share in the excitement of my clients, most of whom are patient and discover the sex of their baby at birth. 

My season of Spring family photography sessions is in full swing and I am loving every second of it. It is so refreshing to be outdoors again and most of the families I have photographs so far have been so fun loving and energetic. 

The beautiful sisters in this session gifted their mother a surprise  extended family session . I was thrilled and honored that they chose me to document this special moment for them.  I photographing larger families because there is always a fun energy and unique dynamic to these sessions and, of course, I absolutely adore capturing grandparents interacting with their grandchildren.

Like many Long Island family photographers, I schedule my sessions around the light.  The best time of day to schedule a session forfamily photography or children's photography is an hour before sunset, which in the photography world is known as Golden Hour. In the Summer, this means that a photography session would start at around 7:00 or even 7:30, depending upon the month during which we shoot. Shooting during golden hour is especially important for beach photo sessions for families and children .  

The weather last week was dreary and it felt like the rain would never end. Finally, the clouds melted away and we were left with an amazing Spring day. It was the perfect night for my first family session of the season.  We had to reschedule this session because of the weather and, at first, I wasn't sure that the weather would hold up. Thankfully, the weather improved and I had a great time photographing this beautiful family.  

I recently had the privilege of being a part of a top secret surprise proposal. The groom and his family put together the ultimate surprise proposal plan that took place right here on the Boardwalk in Long Beach.  When the groom's sister contacted me to see if I could photograph the engagement, I was thrilled to be a part of it and I knew that it was going to be fun filled and momentous.  

It is always wonderful to see my maternity clients return for their newborn sessions.  What makes it even better is when those clients are local Long Beach residents. I know how busy new moms are and I am pleased to be able to offer the convenience of studio newborn sessions for them.  The session lasts 2-3 hours during which time I pose baby comfortably and gently into natural poses. 

I have been busy in March and April photographing expanding families and their newborns. It has been great getting to know each family and I am always honored to capture these moments for them.  I am so very happy that most of my clients are opting for family newborn sessions. I feel it is so important that in addition to portraits of your baby, you capture those sweet moments that encapsulate the first few days home with him.  

When potential clients contact me about newborn sessions, I always recommend scheduling a family newborn session. This type of session allows the client to get a blend of posed portraiture, as well as some lifestyle images of the family interacting with the baby.  Many clients want to schedule in home family newborn sessions, but fear their home is too dark or does not have the "look" they want for their baby's first photos. Other clients have told me that they prefer the "polished" look and brighter aesthetic that a studio session provides.  

II have come to the realization that the older I get and the older my children get, life just seems to get increasingly chaotic. Most of the time, I am able to embrace the chaos of life and roll with it, but like most working moms, I often find it extremely challenging to pause, remain present in the moment, and enjoy the simple things in life. Sadly, there are many times that I put off doing things with my children because I have deadlines to meet or am caught up in the day to day routine of being a mom.  Compounding to this problem is the fact that I am a Virgo and, therefore, by nature I find it difficult to deviate from my work and routines and tend to be strive for perfection. 

The morning after the recent nor'easter snow storm that dumped 8 inches of snow in areas across Long Island, was warm and mild. I woke up early that day in anticipation of an arduous journey through snow covered streets to capture a beautiful family who recently welcomed a baby boy into their home. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped outside to see that most of the mounds of snow had already begun to melt and the day felt more like Spring than Winter. In fact, it was the absolute perfect day to travel to this Massapequa home for a cozy and connected family newborn session.  

I love my new studio here in Long Beach and I have been getting lots of use out of it over the past year.  I have been making changes to the studio and will be adding more as the year goes on so that. can give my clients diversity in their gallery of images and also make them as comfortable as possible during their photo session with me. 

Oh, how I wish more women would schedule maternity photo sessions for themselves during their pregnancy. There is nothing that can surpass the beauty of an expecting mother; as cliche as it might sound, the natural glow of a pregnant women is simply unsurpassed. Sadly, so many women do not see themselves as beautiful during this momentous time in life. Many women tell me that they just don't feel their best during their pregnancy and, consequently, shy away from the camera during those nine months. I completely understand and I too felt this way about myself during both of my pregnancies. Although I did not shy away from the camera and took my monthly photos of my bump, I never scheduled a photo session with a photographer and I still regret it to this day.

I absolutely love when I have the honor to photograph my former newborn clients for their first birthday portrait session. It is so wonderful to see how much the baby has grown over the course of the year and I just love to see how each she has developed a unique personality.  

I love when my former clients return for milestone sessions.  It is such a pleasure to watch the children grow and it is an honor to be able to document that growth for their parents.  I photographed this little beauty in June for her six month sitter session and when I saw her again the other day, I was amazed at how much she had grown in these last six months.  It truly was such a delight to be able to photograph her again.  

I have been absent from social media lately because I was away on my annual family vacation to the Florida Keys and Disney. I love our vacations for a multitude of reasons; not only do we get to escape the cold of winter, but it allows us a time to unplug from technology and our jobs and focus solely on our children and each other. It is so important to have this family bonding time and I treasure every second of these days.

t may be the dead of winter, but I am dreaming of Spring, which is also the time of year when I offer my mother and child sessions.  These are my favorite sessions to offer because I personally know how hard it is to get out from behind our cameras and get IN those photos with our children.  It is so important that you take the time to get in the frame with your children;  it is something you will never regret doing and years from now, you and your children will be thankful to have these photos.  My approach to the session is geared toward capturing mom with her children in a natural and organic way; so, moms don't worry about whether or not your child will be cooperative. I am going to capture you being a mom and doing what you do best, nurturing and loving your child, no matter what his/her mood is.  So, expect to cuddle and hug those kids..a lot!  No matter how many times I photograph moms and their children, I am always moved by their love and bond. 

I am always honored when clients hire me to photograph their newborns. There is no time in life that is quite as precious as those first few days home with a baby. It is even more of a privilege  when I am asked to photograph my clients in their own homes. Lifestyle newborn sessions are the best way to ensure that the photos of your baby are unique, personal, and authentic. There is something about the way families interact with one another in the comfort of their own home that allows me to capture the emotions of that special time.

My first newborn session of 2018 was with this sweet baby boy, who was born just a few days after the New Year and promptly on his due date.  Baby P was wide awake for most of his session, which is always fine with me. I love images in which baby is awake and alert. Because my approach to studio baby photography is a soft and natural look, it is not a problem if the infant is awake; in fact, I tend to prefer those alert images because they always seem more authentic to me. 

Now that the busy Fall season has come and gone, I can finally catch up on my blogging.  I photographed so many beautiful children and families this season and had so much fun getting to know the families and photographing them. I also wanted to finally share a few photos from a few recent Fall family sessions and provide some insight into family photography for those who are considering booking Spring or Summer family lifestyle portraits.  

My last session of 2017 was a newborn session that took place right here in my Long Beach studio.  It was a brutally cold day on the day of Miss K's session, but thankfully my newly installed radiant heating system really helps to keep the newborns cozy and comfortable during the session.  It is so important that babies feel comfortable during a session and I use a variety of methods to ensure their comfort such as white noise, rocking, swaddling, and various other techniques.  The length of a studio session varies based on how well the baby falls asleep and how she transitions between poses.