Family Fun

We had a fun, but HOT! family photo session this past Memorial Day with family friends. Joan and Marlin have been family friends for years and their family is growing with the recent addition of twin grandchildren in addition to their two other grandbabies.  We played around in the shade at the Penn State Arboretum before it got too hot! It was fun chasing after all the littles and catching up with their parents, too!

Oliver and Lily were fantastic and so much fun!

Someone has her daddy's eyes...

Curious about the pool...

These guys handled photos like champs (so did the babies...).

Miss M

Mr. A

Grandma snuggles are the best!

Cecilia

As part of our whirlwind long weekend in PA, I got to spend some fun time with my forever high school best friend and her family.  Cecilia turns 11 today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) and as part of her birthday present, we did a fun photo shoot in her tap costume for this year.  Here are a few favorites:

This is my favorite! 

Adi wanted to tap dance, too!

Miss J - Senior Portraits

So you may have noticed that I haven't posted much here lately... like in five or six months! Life has been busy with the little one, work, and, well, life in general! But when Wendy emailed me a few weeks ago about doing Jessica's senior portraits, I couldn't refuse. Why? Because this family has been close friends with our family forever. Because Jessica was the flower girl in our wedding (Yikes! If that isn't enough to make you feel old, I don't know what is!). Because I've been SO itching to get back out with my camera, and who better to do it with then a lovely young lady who is a ton of fun? And really, I got to hang out with the whole family during our shoot, which was an added bonus! It turned out to be pretty cold and windy the day of our photo shoot, but Jessica dealt with the cold and wind like a pro! I actually stopped into Jessica's house the night before the shoot to look at photos, and let me tell you - this girl knows how to dress! Check out these outfits below - great looks, perfect accessories, and a few different looks without overdoing it. Love, love, love this girl and so happy to have had the opportunity to take her senior portraits!

Ok, on to the photos!

Seriously. How pretty is she?

Jessica is a dancer, so we snuck into a local dance studio for a few shots...

and then found this AWESOME building right down the road. I love shooting in historic towns!

Jessica is also in the band - she plays the clarinet and is the drum major for Bellefonte High School's marching band. So of course, we took a few photos in her uniform!

 

I also snapped a few shots of Jessica with her younger sister, Kristen, who was super helpful at keeping the ducks away in the park! Love these girls!

For Mom ~ Bellefonte Portrait Photographer

In mid October, Mom asked a favor. She wanted some portraits for a Christmas gift for Dad. Of course I said yes, but what was going through my head was "This is either going to be the easiest or the hardest shoot EVER." Why hard? Because normally, I talk with my clients and get to know them, then spend an hour or so with them during the photo shoot. I get to know a small portion of their personality, highlight a few sides of their "self."  But this is my MOM. She whom carried me in her womb, raised me, encouraged, pushed, scolded, and loved me for all of my 29 years. She's nothing short of amazing; she takes care of everyone (and I mean EVERYONE). She's the most selfless person I know. So yes, when my mom asked me to do a photo shoot with her, I was slightly terrified. How do I portray this amazing person? One of my best friends? A phenomenal mother, a wonderful grandmother?  Of course, we talked about the normal photo shoot necessities -- location, outfit, times, etc. And then she snuck out of the house on a Saturday morning while I was in town, we had coffee with Grandma (another amazing woman!) at the Cafe on the Park, and then headed over to Talleyrand Park for her photos.

And I shouldn't have worried. My mama is so beautiful, a fool could take good photos of her. So here are a few of my favorites, now that it is after Christmas, Dad knows about the photos, and appropriately, on her birthday. Happy Birthday to the best mom in the world, and one of my best friends.

Fall

I've been trying to sit down and write this post for three or four days now; it's been that crazy of a week! Jared and I spent this past weekend in Pennsylvania, visiting for a Penn State game and for Kirra and Mason's baptism. It has been a really long time since I've been home in the fall, and I was SO excited for fall colors! Fall may just be my favorite time of the year up north -- the leaves are changing color, the air is crisp, and the temperature is lovely during the day and cool overnight.  There's just a feeling of crisp excitement in the air. The extra fun was that we were home for Halloween and got to see all of the munchkins dressed up! I've got some exciting shoots coming up, but until then, here is some fall prettiness to hold you over!