Nothing says it is Christmas time, like the classic children's story, The Polar Express.   I am excited to be able to offer this truly classic photo experience for your children.   On September 14th,  join me for the Vintage Train Children's Mini Session. It is a perfect opportunity to get your holiday photos done before the cold weather settles in and before the chaos of the holiday season. Plus, these photos are classic and timeless and can be used for both Christmas card photos and also hang on your walls.

I can’t believe that today is Labor Day. I have to say that this was the fastest Summer season of my life. I was busy working with tons of families and children, but also got a lot of quality time in with my family, friends, and neighbors. I am truly sad to say goodbye to Summer, but I lam looking forward to the Fall season too.

I can’t believe that today is Labor Day. I have to say that this was the fastest Summer season of my life. I was busy working with tons of families and children, but I also got a lot of quality time in with my family, friends, and neighbors. I am truly sad to say goodbye to Summer, but I lam looking forward to the Fall season too.

The majority of my sessions took place on the beach this season and I have no complaints about the location. I completely understand why so many families choose the shore as the location for family photos. It is beautiful, serene and families tend to laugh and play readily at the beach. Plus, a sunset not only provides the most flattering light, but provides gorgeous hues and tones for photos.

As a children's holiday portrait photographer, my goal for each session is to capture natural photos of children rather than stiff and posed images. Because I love to capture a child's free spirited and inquisitive nature, I always try to create holiday mini sessions that get the children involved in an activity.  In the past, I have held interactive sessions including a campfire session, a snowman building session, and a boating session and they were all tons of fun for the kids and stress free for the parents.

This year’s beach session might be my favorite mini session yet. I have been toying with the idea of a beach Santa session for a few years, but I couldn’t quite figure out how to approach it. However, that all changed on a winter’s day when I walked into the Long Beach Post Office and saw a painting on the wall that inspired me. Those of you who live in town are familiar with the painting, but it depicts the local beach in the 1920’s with throngs of people bathing on the beach. I admired the style of the era, in particular, the swimsuits and I envisioned Santa in a similar style red striped swimsuit playing with the kids in the sand. Thus, this year’s beach holiday session was born.

I love that so many of my clients have been opting to do family sessions in place of the traditional cake smash photo session. A first birthday is the perfect milestone to update those family photos. I often encourage my clients to get into the frame with their children and this is especially true when a client opts to do an outdoor session in place of the studio.

I recently photographed this family, whom I first met 11 months ago when I photographed them in their home for a lifestyle newborn session. I loved that I was able to see how much baby M has grown over the year and she was an absolute delight to photograph. She was all smiles and giggles throughout the session. I usually schedule my sessions an hour before sunset, but in the Summer months this time of day can be problematic for children because sunset coincides with bedtime. I can work around that time of day and shoot an hour or even an hour and a half earlier by scheduling the session at an outdoor location that provides lots of trees to filter the light. I am glad we moved the start time for this session because our birthday girl was so happy and I was able to capture some really sweet moments.

I have been shooting a lot of newborn sessions here in my Long Beach studio and I am loving every second of it. I recently photographed a baby and his two older sisters. I met this family two years ago while shooting an extended family session. The family is a delight to work with. They are fun loving and super nice, so I was thrilled to be able to work with them again for this very special session.

Baby C was an absolute dream. He slept throughout the entire session…even through several outfit changes! Big sisters clearly love their baby brother so much and it was so sweet to capture images of the siblings together. I love the way mom dressed the sisters in classic white shirts, jean shorts and a boho floral halo headband. The attire brings a classic simplicity to the photos, which I adore.

To bring some vibrancy and color to the photos, we opted for a garden location for their birthday/family session. The night of the session was absolutely gorgeous and the sunset was beautiful. We started the session with a few posed family portraits and then continued with some birthday photos of the twins. Thankfully, there was an array of flowers that were in bloom that allowed me to capture this family with a variety of colors and textures in the background.

To meet the diverse needs of my clients, I offer a variety of newborn sessions. Because I know how important it is to capture family memories, I always encourage my moms to schedule a family newborn session; however, I recognize that not all moms want to be in the frame and some are only looking for images to use for birth announcements. For those moms, I offer the Simple Studio Newborn Session. This is a shorter session, running around 60-75 minutes in length and includes two sets. As always, my set is kept neutral and understated, which will help me to focus on your newborn’s beauty and allows me to capture timeless imagery.

Pinch me, am I dreaming? Is this awesome Summer weather for real? I have been embracing every second of this weather and much of that involves spending time down by the shore. My favorite time to go to the beach is late afternoon into the evening hours. I love how serene the beach is at this time of day and I love to watch the colors of the sky, sun and ocean change as sunset approaches. These gorgeous soft colors are what make it the perfect location for photos.

My favorite type of session to photograph is the family session. I am always honored when families entrust me to document their family for them. For many families with young children, this is the first time they are having photos taken together as a family. Many of them have not had professional photos taken since their wedding. I also know that for families with young children, parents worry about whether or not their children will cooperate for the session. Fortunately, I have two young children of my own and I know a few tricks to keep the kids engaged in the session and I like to keep things fun for the kids.

Many of my clients have been opting to do family sessions in place of the traditional first birthday sessions. I love this idea for so many reasons. Opting for this type of session allows you to update your family portraits and get birthday portraits of your little one as well. It allows me to capture all of those fun and cozy moments with baby and with the full family session, we still have time to do a cake smash.

Some of you may recall my blog post from last Summer about our newly purchased 1969 Playmor canned ham style camper. We have been busy working on the camper and are nearly done with the renovations. During the Fall and Winter, we worked mostly on the interior of the camper. I detailed some of those renovations in my last post. Over the last two months, focused on the exterior and also adding some necessities to the interior of the camper.

When we first started renovating the camper, I wanted to replace the fold down table with a butcher block style table. I searched a few of my favorite vintage shops over the winter and could not find what I was specifically looking for. So, Tim decided to make the table himself. I really love the way it came out and it really completes the design of the interior of the camper. He also installed a retro style microwave that matches the retro mint green fridge we added over the winter. Tim also added an air conditioner to the camper, which was super important because the camper gets really hot when sitting in the sun on an open field.

Summer is now in full swing and I have been busy photographing children and families down at the beach. I feel so blessed to be able to work in such a gorgeous and serene location. Regardless of the amount of families I photograph and the amount of sunsets I watch, I am always humbled and amazed at the beauty of the ocean.

I truly believe the the beach is the perfect backdrop for any family session. The clean and muted colors of the sand and ocean provides the perfect backdrop for your photos and allows me to focus one the love and bond in each family. The golden glow of the sunset provides ultra flattering light, but also enhances and highlights the love and bond of each family.

Mom contacted me about a first birthday session for her youngest son, but did not want a session filled with props or a cake smash; instead, she wanted natural images of her son, which is the exact type of session I like to shoot. In the warmer months, I always suggest outdoor sessions to my clients for children’s photos. Shooting outdoors allows me to get the most authentic and natural looking images possible; additionally, these type of images are classic and can hang on your walls for years to come.

I absolutely love in home lifestyle newborn sessions. These sessions are the most natural and organic way to capture those first moments with your baby. I capture you and your family interacting with baby, but I also make sure I get a few polished portraits of baby for you to use for birth announcements and to hang on your walls. I have found that most families really appreciate and value those images of them with baby so much more than the posed mages I provide.

I often get asked by clients, what can I do to prepare for this session and what can I expect? So, I decided to write a blog post in which I will answer those questions.

The weather in June has been spectacular! I am loving every second of this month and I am so excited that my session one beach sunset family photos sessions has begun. The beach truly is the perfect backdrop for any photo session; it provides a gorgeous natural backdrop and the ocean and sand seems to help facilitate the playful and interactive images that I love to capture.

I recently had the opportunity to work with this beautiful family again. I photographed them two and a half years ago in their home for a lifestyle newborn session when they first gave birth to their twins. I just love when families return for future sessions and I have the opportunity to see their children grow.; it truly is such an honor.  

I always feel honored when I am asked to photograph a surprise proposal. Not only does photographing this type of engagement session require the client to have faith in my ability to capture the moment, but he must also depend on my reliability during what is amongst the most intimate and joyous occasions that one can celebrate in life. Because I know how nerve wracking this process can be for a groom to be, my first priority for this type of session is to put the groom at ease and help him to feel confident in my ability to capture the moment. I do this by maintaining open communication throughout the planning process.

When I was contacted a few months ago by the groom to be, I knew that this engagement session was going to be really special. The groom concocted what just might be the most carefully thought out and intimate plan to propose to his girlfriend. The groom was planning his top secret proposal at Bailey Arboretum in Lattingtown, which is one of the best locations in the Long Island Region. As the arboretum is quiet, secluded and provides a wide array of botanicals, it would provide a perfect backdrop for the moment.

Did you know that you schedule a session for family portraits right in your own home? My style of photography is not really about the location, but rather, centered on capturing you having fun with your children. Your home is the perfect location because your children will feel at ease, you don’t have to waste time traveling and it allows me to capture your family authentically.

I was elated when this mom contacted me and said she wanted to schedule a lifestyle session in her Garden City home. The goal of her session was to capture her family playing in the yard in which they spend much of their time. These types of moments are exactly what I like to capture for families.

One of the best parts of my job is being able to watch my clients’ families grow. This is especially true when I capture newborn photos for a family and then have the opportunity to capture the first birthday milestone session for them as well. It is such a pleasure to be able to see how baby has grown over that past year and I also love getting the opportunity to work with the family again. The rapport that I develop with my repeat clients allows me to capture natural images of their family for them.

I had the pleasure of working with the Q family again last week. I photographed their son for his first birthday session a few years ago. I also had the honor of photographing their daughter, Miss H, last year when they came to my studio for a family newborn session. When mom contacted me in April to set up an appointment for birthday portraits, I could not believe that a year had already gone by. I was thrilled to be able to work with this awesome family again .

I had the pleasure of kicking off my Memorial Day weekend photographing this beautiful family, who recently welcomed baby number three into their family. Big brother and sister are active toddlers, both under the age of four, so mom wanted an in home session. The in home newborn session is perfect for any family; however, for families who have active young children, having baby photographed in the comfort of the client’s home will alleviate much of the pressure and stress of this type of session and will also help facilitate more natural and organic images.

Newborn sessions tend to take a long time to photograph, especially with larger families. Even though my studio is equipped to handle families with children, I find that when toddlers are in their own home, they tend to be more relaxed. When I photograph in the client’s home, I can give the children numerous breaks throughout the session. I do this in my studio too, but in a home, they can truly step away from the photographs, which provides them with the opportunity to recharge. Most of the time, they go to another room and either have a snack or play a game. When they return from their break, they are ready to smile for the camera.

Oh, how I wish more women would schedule maternity photo sessions during their pregnancy. The beauty of an expecting mother 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, refuse to be in photos 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 monthly photos of my bump, I never scheduled a photo session with a photographer and I still regret it to this day because I don't have anything that really captures how special and miraculous that time was and believe it or not, I often miss being pregnant. 

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! I hope you are spending this weekend with your families, barbecuing, relaxing, and, most importantly, remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

For most people, this weekend signifies the unofficial kick off for the Summer season. It is a time when we feel rejuvenated and refreshed by the first warm days of Spring and we are busy making plans to catch up with family and friends. This season is my favorite time of year. I love the warm weather and I try to soak up very last minute of the weather here in Long Beach. We spend almost every minute of the day outside whether it be at the park, the beach or simply just lounging on our deck.