Nikol & George Engagement Shoot

I think Nikol and George's engagement shoot is a testimate to what I do for my clients. They both live in London England, George's parents live here and the wedding will be at the Franklin Institute this spring. They were in town for a quick two days back in December, we scheduled our shoot on the one day which happened to be the biggest snow storm of the season. It was the only day we could do it and since they won't be back in town together for a while we were not going to post pone. So I drove down to Longwood gardens to meet them. The drive there wasn't too bad, roads were not great but not that bad either. The way home was a different story. I think it took me four hours to get home. George's parents don't live too far from Longwood and it took them a while to get home too. It was quite the experience, but no regrets.

We did our shoot, had a great time in the gardens and it was such a juxtaposition to the weather outside. Longwood Gardens during the holidays is a must see.

We had a lot of fun in the children's garden of all places.

I particularly like this one.

A little fun with reflections.

another favorite.

They are too cute.

Of course we had to do some shots outside. I actually brought boots for Nikol, such a short trip she had not expected a snow storm of all things. Luckily we were the same shoe size! ha!

The snow was coming down pretty hard at this point! Love this.

Aww, love this too.

I love the this tree still has the brown leaves. Look at all that snow! Crazy. This area got something like 18 inches of snow and we were out in the height of the accumulation.

I had a lot of fun with you guys! Totally worth it, I would totally do it again. Can't wait to see you this spring.

Kate & Ben, Radnor Hunt

Kate and Ben had a wonderful day! Before I get too far let me mention some of the key players.

Venue: Radnor Hunt
Flowers: Harmony Hill Gardens
Pies: Linvilla
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Second Shooter: David Schrott, David shot a lot with me this year, as usual great stuff David thank you for all you do!

Lets get on to some images.

starting with some bling.

One of the groomsmen warming up for the ceremony.

The flowers were amazing. They were from Harmony Hill Gardens, which is an organic grower in Buck county. Ben's step mom was instrumental in the arrangements.

David got to spend a good bit of time with the boys, I love this little moment.

Kate was very excited about her shoes, who wouldn't be?

One of my favorites

Kate's something old was the veil her mom wore.

Love this.

Ben taking a few moments before the ceremony.

All the center pieces were different.

All of the details at the wedding were made, or arranged by family and friends. I like their interpretation of the program as the chalk board.

I love the look Ben is giving Kate here as they meet at the alter.

They did a self uniting ceremony. Kate's aunt Sara officiated; Kate and Ben wrote their own vows. September 26 is also sentimental because Ben's grandfather was married on the same day in 1941. Pretty cool.

I loved the brides maids dresses. Some gorgeous ladies.

The emotion on both sides of the family was very touching.

The kiss!

I love how Ben is getting the "adaboy" from his dad as they come down the isle!

We really hoped the horses would be out for some photos.

A still from one of my motion sequences, check out the slideshow below for more.

I think this guy may have secretly wanted to eat Kate's bouquet.

Radnor Hunt has this awesome swing. We had to take advantage.

Another favorite.

Instead of a wedding cake, they had pie.

The pie's were delicious. They all came from Linvilla Orchards except the one on top, Kate's mom made that one special.

I love love this little moment!

Pie is good!

What an awesome day. We had such a great time and the weather held for us, the minute we were done with portraits the sky opened up! Thank you for having me out, always a pleasure.

Check out the slideshow for more images.

Little Nuala and Baby Orlaith

If you have been following me for a few years you will know that this family has been with me since the beginning so to say! We first started right before Nuala was born and now she has a sister, Orlaith (or-lah). This was my first meeting with Orlaith since the belly session. She is such a beautiful happy baby! Nuala is such a great big sister too. This has to be one of my all time favorite sessions.

Meet Orlaith

happy baby

She has amazing eyes.

I love this one!

Nuala taking on her big sister roll.

I can't believe how much Nuala has grown!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I am all about fun family pics.

I think if there is any one image to sum up this little girl it would be this one.

Again, LOVE!

hehe, this just makes my heart happy.

How do you know a family really loves you? When they specifically request a photo of you with their children. The feeling is mutual guys, love ya!

The slideshow is pretty fun, I highly recommend checking it out.

Steph & Dan

Stephanie and Dan had one of the most gorgeous days I can remember! We had such a great time with them. Such a fun group. Before getting into images here are some of the vendors that played an important role.

Venue - Old Mill
Flowers provided by - Passion for Petals
Dress designer - Reem Acra
Caterer - Conner Catering
Cake - Swiss Haus Bakery
2nd Shooter - David Schrott, thanks David its always a pleasure.

We will start of with Dan and Thor, Thor was the best man. Love it. Thor was very excited to see Steph.

For most of the portraits we were at the Japanese house and garden in fairmount park.

Dan is so adorable and handsome at the same time.

Steph's dress was gorgeous!

I love this one.

Pam from Passion for Petals did an amazing job with the flowers.

I am in love with this image. I love love love it.

The ring barer, playing with the rings during the ceremony.

Married, woohooo!!

I love Steph's sisters expression during her speech.

A few more from the portraits for ya.

Love this ring shot.

They really are an adorable family.

Many more images in the slideshow, check it out.

Baby Declan, One Year

Billy and Karith are friends of mine from our vintage scooter club and I gave them a moodybaby session at their baby shower last year. It was so fun to get out and spend some time with these guys. Declan was so much fun! He is a really smart, cute adorable little guy.

He enjoys a good book.

Stories are always better with mom and dad.

Good times with mom, dad and "the pig" which is Oberon their dog.

This little guy has no fear. He was up and down that slide so many times.

I love this one.

mmm is that handle good?

This is his farmer John pose.He seems pretty comfortable with the corn stalks in the background hanging out in his John Deere wagon.

Not to mention his flare.

Another favorite. This hat is a staple on this boy.

Fun times as usual. I really can't believe Declan is a year old. Its really crazy. How time flies when your having fun.

Enjoy the slideshow!

Baby Jackson, Six Months

Oh my gosh, baby Jackson is the cutest super chunk I have ever laid eyes on. We had such a fun session. Carina gave her brother the gift of a moodybaby photos session at their baby shower. I had been waiting to hear from these guys wondering at what age they would want me to come out. So happy they choose six months. I love babies at six months!

Meet super chunk baby Jackson.

Oooh love it. He is like a mini Micheline man!

They still had some awesome color, had to take advantage of that!

So serious!

Love when they try to get my camera!

I snapped this really quick, proud parents looking on.

I think any woman with a child knows this. Ouch!

Story time!

I love the point of view shots.

Yeah! Play time!

Auntie Carina supplied the entertainment behind me.

Thank you Auntie Carina for my moodybaby session!

LOVE it.

You guys were so much fun! Thank you so much for having me out.

Check out the slideshow for more fun images.

Melanie & Joe, Married 9-19-09

I just need to preface this post by saying I could have easily posted every single image from the day on the blog! Geesh it was hard to narrow down, there are many many more where these and the slideshow images came from. I just hope the ones I choose do it justice.

Let me start by giving you all of Melanie and Joe's vendors that made their day so beautiful.
Venue & Cake: Nomandy Farm
Flowers: Petals Lane, Brittany always does an amazing job.
Dress: Casablanca, Melanie incorporated a few custom touches as well.
Photobooth: Party Booths
Band: DAME, they always rock the house!
Video: Marc Smiler, Marc did their love story which you can see here.
Make-up: Pasha Cosmetics by Pam Fox
Second Shooter: The one and only Miss Linette! Thank you so much darling! I love having Linette out shooting with me, you will see lots of here photos here too. She got to hang with the boys before the ceremony.
If you want to take a peek back at their engagement session go here.

We will start off with the bouquet. You will notice the detail of the humming bird. The hummingbird has a special meaning to this family. After the passing of Melanies great grandmother a hummingbird started coming around very frequently. The hummingbird seems to visit her family in the most perfect and sometimes strangely coincidental times. It serves as a reminder that they have loved ones always looking down on them. I thought it was a fantastic addition.

Melanies Mom had all of her things strategically laid out for her. I just love this one with the reflection of her dress and the shoes on the dresser.

Beautiful Melanie

The boys huddling in.

Joe excited on the way to the church.

Check out Mel and her ride to the church!

It's all sinking in! Dad is giving his daughter away! Ahh!

The ring barer pillow, so unique.

I love catching little moments with the children.

Married!!

I like to do fun active stuff with my bridal parties, you will see those in the slideshow, I love these candids Linette caught.

One of my favorites. We did portraits at the most perfect time of the day. Not to mention this was the most beautiful day in September!

I think this proves that Joe will do anything, and I mean anything for Melanie.

The car was awesome!

I loved their first dance too. Definitely showed off their individualism, the song in the slideshow is what they danced to.

Love this and check out how ripped Melanie is! Nice muscle tone girl!

I am already wishing I put more images in the slideshow, I know I left out a lot. Their slideshow could have easily been a five minuter if I could do more than one song.
I have to mention that Melanie did such a great job planning out the timing of the day. Not only did we get the very best light of the day but we had plenty of time for all the formals and for their portraits. We were not rushed in any way. We even finished ahead of schedule and they got to attend most of their cocktail hour. It was perfect.

You guys are great. You already know how much fun we had with you. Its been such an amazing experience. Thank you for making me feel so warm and welcome the whole time.

Enjoy your slideshow, I apologize for the one little hiccup in there.
I can't seem to get rid of it.

Baby Anderson, two weeks

Little baby Anderson was the sweetest thing. He was only two weeks old for this shoot and we were fully prepared to have a very sleepy baby. Well, he must have known it was photo-shoot time because this little guy was awake for our whole session. He did a wonderful job and made mom super proud for keeping his eyes open for as long as he did.

Meet baby Anderson

He had a little snack and then some cuddle time with mom.

He has already found his thumb, which he loves.

May be a new favorite.

Quiet time with mom on the bed.

Love this.

He loves the stroke of his moms hand on his face.

"yeah, you know its all good"

Anderson was such a pleasure! He is a cutie pie. Thank you for having me out.

Enjoy your slideshow

The Bernards

Some of you may recognize Julie and Pete from their wedding last year. Well life has surely had some big changes for these two! This past winter Julie gave birth to Preston and Owen, yes they are identical twins! Man are they adorable! Their big brother Logan does a great job of looking after them too.

Logan, like the center of attention? No..... :)

Logan really does do a good job of hanging out with his brothers.

It is quite the event just getting out of the house with twins and a toddler.

Love this of Logan and his T-Rex balloon.

Now, I had the names right the day of the shoot.....but I seriously can't remember who is who. Preston or Owen?

Love this.

Julie just might be super woman.

Pete and all his boys.

Their good friend John stopped by for a few shots too. He and Logan are best buds.

Seriously? This kid couldn't get any cuter.

This is the usual scene in this house.

One more family portrait.

Aren't these two a smoking hot couple?

As per usual, great seeing you guys. Major kudos to you, you certainly have your hands full and you make it look so easy!

Enjoy your Slideshow

Jane & Dave, Married 9-12-09

Jane and Dave had a wonderful and intimate wedding. The weather that weekend had been off and on, but it cooperated for us when we needed it too. I had a wonderful time with these two.

Vendors:
Flowers & overall decor design: Eclatante Event Design, Kendall Brown does amazing work!
Dress: Marisa
Venue: Morris House Hotel, I love the Morris House Hotel. It is the perfect spot for a smaller wedding.
Caterer: Max Hanson, the best lump crab cakes I have had in my life!

Jane's dress was so gorgeous! It was light, simple yet there were so many layers. It looked amazing on her.

Shoes were her own. Nothing bridal about them, but they were super cool.

I LOVE this image of Jane getting into her dress.

Gorgeous!

Lots of emotional moment on this day. I loved the fact that both her parents walked her down the isle.

Married!

Having a little fun in the dress.

One of my favorites.

Dave has such a cool dapper look to him!

I just happen to like this moment.

Eclatante did such an awesome job!!!

First dance.

A new favorite ring shot.

One of the best wedding favors I have seen this year!!

Such a great image to end with.

Check out the slideshow for many many more images.

Baby Gus, One Year

This little guy is near and dear to my heart. Gus is my good friend and former room mate Jill's son. Augustin if we are going by full names. He looks just like Jill with the red curly hair to boot! I had such and awesome day with these guys. I can't wait to do it again. I seriously can't believe he is already a year old. Time flies. Jilly is doing an amazing job, she is such a good mom and will most likely be the funnest mom in the class.

You can see how much he looks up to her.

What a stinking cutie!

Ok, mom. I'm hungry. Lets get this show on the road.

You will never question if he is her child. Gus is the mini male version of Jill.

There are just no words.

Fun times down the slide!

Building trust.

My favorite.

Jilly we need to do this again. I can't go this long without seeing this little guy.

Peace and Carrots, enjoy your slideshow

Baby Alex, One Year

Baby Alex was so much fun to hang out with. He is such an active little boy and so expressive. I was exhausted after this shoot! haha!

Cracking up at Dad with the watering can.

I love this, just the simple pleasure of touch and color.

Such a handsome little man. Loved his t-shirt.

LOVE this one. Just something about it. Maybe its the expression of independence and the assertiveness of a one year old on a mission, I don't know. I love playing with shadows too.

We had a ton of fun on the slides.

The wheel is his favorite part of the playground.

Some fun with mom on the swings.
(Yep, that's my hand in there too. I would tickle him every time he got close.)

LOVE this.

Back to the wheel!

We ended with some story time.

It was great spending the afternoon with you guys. Thank you so much for having me out!

Enjoy your slideshow

Baby Evie

I am finally getting caught up with the blogging world! I know its been quiet, thanks for being patient.

Well, back in August I had a wonderful time with Melissa, Ben and baby Evie. They were in town for Soyoung & Stephen's wedding and were excited to schedule a shoot. It was a bit of a special occasion. Evie's first birthday and their wedding anniversary all rolled up together at the same time.

Love this little family portrait

Everyone had the biggest smiles all day.

Evie showing us her serious face.

Love this too.

She was very enamored with herself in the mirror.

Too cute!

This little girl was such a star that weekend! A photoshoot of her own and capturing everyone's attention at the wedding.

It was so great spending time with you guys!

Enjoy your slideshow

Soyoung & Stephen Married 8-28-09

The Vendors
Venue: Cairinwood
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms
Dress: Vera Wang
Caterer: Feastivities
Cake: Tartes, no website but they are on 212 Arch St, Philadelphia. YUMMY!
Make-up: The fabulous Beke Beau
DJ: EBE Matt Ostroff
Wedding Bands: Henri David at Halloween
Second Photographer: David Schrott, Thanks again David!

It still feels like their wedding was just yesterday! Soyoung and Stephen are two of the most tender, relaxed, and beautiful people I know. We didn't let the rain get us down and luckily Cairinwood has plenty of awesome little nooks to duck into for photos. All the ingredients that went into the day made it beautiful and perfect. Both of their families were just lovely and made us feel very welcome and warm.

Beautiful Blooms did a fantastic job on the bouquet.

One of my new favorite shoe shots.

Soyoung's dress was Vera Wang. It suited Soyoung perfectly, gorgeous. Soyoung also wore a real gardenia in her hair, every time she walked by me the fragrance was amazing.

She didn't plan on even having a veil but in the end she did and a very long gorgeous one at that!

One of my favorites, Soyoung's mom putting the gardenia in her hair.

Simple. Stunning. Soyoung.

Lovely moment of their first meet.

Don't they both just look stunning? I loved Stephens gray suit.

Like I said, Cairinwood had some great inside spaces!

What more can I say, really?

Very sharp looking men.

Elegant looking ladies.

Another favorite.

Soyoung and Stephen had a Quaker ceremony, where they married themselves. There was no officiant, just them marrying each other. It was quite beautiful.

The cake was simple and amazing.

I really enjoy this one of Soyoung's mom dancing.

Lovely end of the night dance.

Thank you guys for everything! I hope it was worth the wait. You are amazing and I am so happy to have played a part in your day!

Enjoy your slideshow
It may take a minute to load, its pretty big.

Despina & Chris Engagement Shoot

So Despina and Chris are actually getting married tomorrow! I've been terrible with the blog I know, that will change in the coming weeks.

We had a lovely time on their engagement shoot, it was actually take 2 on the shoot. Amidst my busy schedule and finally finding a day that worked; on the way to our first shoot I got a flat tire. We were meeting at Valley Green but they were on the other side and didn't know how to get to me. I had them wait and have a drink while I changed my flat tire, yep I changed that baby by myself its actually no big deal. One hiccup once I got my spare on, it was flat... wawhwahwah. Long story short a lovely couple took it to put air in it and I was on my way. By this time it was dark and Don was on his way out of the city so we just decided to all have dinner instead of continuing with the shoot. See the three degrees of separation come into play as Despina went to school with Don, which was a surprise when they first came to meet with me. It was a happy little reunion actually. There are many more little things but that would make this a book, we rescheduled the shoot had dinner and all was well with the world. Thanks for all the patience and understanding guys! Its been a fun ride.
For this shoot I actually picked them up in my new car, added irony I bought a new car two days after the flat indecent. Go figure. (I didn't buy a new car because of the flat though, just coincidence.)

They are quite the lovely couple, very natural together and Chris keeps Despina grinning ear to ear.

Their favorite spot.

Having a little fun with signage.

We had such a great time and have had two lovely meals together now. Tomorrow is going to be a blast, my first big fat greek wedding. haha! We aren't afraid of the rain, Despina's smile will be our sunshine.
See you guys tomorrow.

Baby Ryder Session 3

This little man gets cuter with every breath he takes! I always have the best time with this family and Ryder is getting so big!

This is my favorite image, I just love it!!

He had been a little sleepy when we first started but once we put him on the slide he perked right up. This was his first experience on the slide too, so it was extra special.

One happy kiddo!

Oh, doesn't this look just make your heart melt?

These guys are one adorable family. It is always such a pleasure to see the love they have for this little man.

Love this one too.

kisses from mom!

"hey, what's in there?" This is why I always use my lens hood for kid shoots, I love it when they interact with the camera, they have something to grab on to and it keeps a safe distance from little fingers. :)

As per usual, such a fun time. You guys are awesome, I'll see you again soon!

check out the slideshow!

Emily & Josh Married 8-22-09

Venue: John James Audubon Society Center at Mill Grove
Flowers: Longstem
Dress: La Esposa from Linzelles
Caterer: Jeffery Miller
Wedding Planner: Anthea at Jeffrey Miller
Second Shooter: Heather Fowler

Well where to begin?! Emily and Josh's wedding was such a fun day! It was such a HOT day too! I think it may have been one of the hottest of the year and they had to make a tough decision about moving the ceremony to under the pavilion, we were expecting major thunderstorms that evening. The decision was made to play it safe and have it under the pavilion, it was a gorgeous site and inside or outside the ceremony was so beautiful, touching and you could just feel the love between Emily and Josh. The rabbi did such a great job, laughter tears and joy.
When the bridal party was coming up from the barn to be introduced the skies opened up and we got our thunderstorm. It was pretty cool actually, going into the first dance and hora with thunder trying its best to be noticed above the music. It was such a great party.
Big thanks to Heather Fowler for second shooting for me!

Get comfy, lots of images here and slideshow at the end.

I love this shot of Josh that Heather got before we headed out.

Emily's dress was gorgeous!

Love the moments when the dress first goes on!

Emily's parents, so cute as they react to seeing her in her dress.

They were so cute for their first meet.

Love this.

I shot a few rolls of medium format film for them. This is one from the film series.

I loved that the bridesmaids flowers were all different. Looked so cool against the hot pink dress.

Josh got his suit in Thailand, it was custom made. Emily chose the inside accent color as a surprise for Josh when they picked it up at the end of their trip. This is where the hot pink theme comes in to play. Isn't that an awesome suit!

True personalities come through!

Awwe Yeah.

A quick fleeting moment in the barn next to the AC vent, ahhh heaven!

Love this one Heather got of the boys.

One more from Heather, moments just before heading down the isle. Some tender words from her dad. Love it.

The kiss!

Loved this, happy to be hitched!

Everything looked amazing!

Lots of fun had on the dance floor.

One last end of the night portrait.

Enjoy the slideshow

Baby Hutch

Baby Hutch was so adorable! We had such a good time during our shoot. He just started walking a few days before and he was doing the frankinstein, drunk baby walk all over the place! His new found ability opened up so many new possibilities and cool things to get into. Not to mention keeping mom and dad on their toes.

I got there just in time to get him waking up from his nap.

Isn't this kid cuter than anything you have ever seen?

Babies love to check out what going on in that lens!

Hutch is Dad's hunka hunka burnin love.

A kid that likes grass! Awesome.

I just have to laugh when I see this one. We had just tried for a nice family walking photo, but Hutch didn't want to walk. Gotta love it.

His little side looks are heart melters.

Bath time Mohawk!

High five to dad.

He likes to hide in the curtains.

We had such a fun session, Hutch is such a heart throb! Our session ended just in time to put him down for bed. Talk about good timing!

enjoy the slideshow

A lot coming soon!!

I apologize for my lack of blog presence lately! I assure it is not because I have nothing to do, quite the opposite actually. Its been a super busy summer and I am busier than I have ever been before. The past two months have been such a blast, I have been shooting at least four days a week and school has started at Drexel where I am teaching two classes. The Philadelphia Wedding Project has been keeping us busy as well, check it out we have so many awesome sponsors and there is still time to submit your story! I am diligently working to get sessions online and the blog has been very quiet because of that. I thought a good substantial teaser of all the things to come would be just what the blog ordered. The images are pretty much the order of which you can expect to see everything.

Baby Hutch

Emily & Josh

Baby Evie

Soyoung & Stephen

Baby Gus

Jane & Dave

Baby Ryder

Melanie & Joe

Baby Alex

Despina & Chris

Steph & Dan

Kate & Ben

I also just shot an awesome double belly session with Dave Williams on video. We will have video and images cut together in a few months. Such a cool project!

Kate & Ben Engagement Shoot

Kate and Ben's wedding is quickly approaching, the end of this month! We went out for their engagement shoot last month at Radnor Hunt, which is where the wedding will be. They brought along their pups, who enjoy long walks at the Hunt. It was a gorgeous evening and we got some great shots. We also headed down the road to Sugartown for the last part, I love that place. Lots of photos in this post, I couldn't choose so you get a lot of images.

Ben and Hannah leading the way.
(Ben the dog, which by the way was not named after Ben the groom.)

So cute!

One of my favorites.

Such a good looking group!

These are from Sugartown. Love this one. Ben has a great smile.

Kate is such a natural beauty.

Love this one of Ben, what a ham.

Kate strutting her stuff.

Another favorite.

At this point I could have taken them on a whole other shoot! We were all warmed up and relaxed, so it was time for a little fun. I loved seeing this side of them.

You guys were great! Can't wait to see ya again in a few weeks!

Zachary & Noah

August was definitely the month for family portraits. I hadn't seen these guys since Zachary was in his mom's belly! He is so adorable and Noah was just as much a gentleman as he was when I first met him.

Great looking family, no?

Noah is a very good big brother.

The many faces of Noah.

This family has a love of books.

May be my all time favorite playground shot.

Zachary loves to just dangle. Isn't he a cutie!

They have a similar photo to this one of Noah when he was a baby in the same spot.

Love this family portrait.

It was so great seeing you guys again! Noah is so smart, no doubt to his love of brain quest. Zachary couldn't be more adorable.

Enjoy your slideshow

Oliver, Nolan & Isla

I love this family. Another prime example and my how time flies! I will always remember the first time I photographed them.

Very pregnant Robyn and little Oliver.

Then the first shoot with Nolan and the beginning of the "traditional" family portrait.

Now look at them! With a new addition, Isla. I didn't even know about Isla till I showed up, Robyn complimented my hair and said oh I remember the days before three kids. I thought to myself, three kids? What? And yep, they had just been through a whirl wind of an adoption and welcomed little baby Isla into the family. I think she is the perfect fit.

Oliver and Nolan exhibiting typical brother territory battles.

Beautiful baby Isla, or Lala as they are calling her.

She is adapting quite well and sleeps through all the noise of two rambunctious boys.

Time to take a ride in the family elevator! This game keeps these guys occupied for hours.

More territorial battles.

Sweet little Nolan.

Oliver trying to decide if its worth jumping in.

We always take a little walk down the street for pictures. The rain that day didn't stop us.

Dad and daughter

Bath time. All together, boys, dogs and all. I love how both Oliver and Nolan are touching their heads. Something so brotherly about that.

Enjoy the Slideshow

Abbie's first birthday!

Abbie's birthday party was a blast. She has it made at her grandparents who own all these blow up playgrounds! They were an obvious hit with all the kiddos. Time sure flies when you are having fun. You can look back at Abbie at two weeks old and six months old. I have been loving the babies first year packages. I get to watch these kids grow and its so much fun.

Abbie was excited about the party!

Little AJ, you might recognize him, with his new found friend.

peekaboo!

Loved the cake, not only looked delicious it was!

Laughing at something dad said. Love this image.

mmm her own personal cake!

Messy chocolate baby!

Trying to escape but dad caught up and gave her tickles.

You have to love a baby in a tutu.

The happy family on a special day!

I can't believe a year has come and gone, thank you so much for everything! It has been so much fun to see Abbie grow.

Be sure to check out the slideshow

More from the beach

Finally getting caught up around here, where did August go? It feels like fall.

A few more favorites from my family session at the beach. Great family, great kids, great day! Check out the slideshow at the end.

Check out more in the slideshow.

Slideshow

Beach Family Photos Teaser

I apologize to my loyal blog stalkers! This summer has been pretty crazy, can't complain but I am a bit behind in editing jobs right now. I will have a larger post for this awesome family with a slideshow next week. I wanted to get some teasers up for everyone though, thank you for being so patient.

Isn't this a good looking family?

Meet Georgie

You remember J.P. from last fall right? Cute as ever.

Nile

Jolie

Baby Jane, loving the water.

And last but not least Griffith.

We had lot of fun a the beach! Such a great family. Stay tuned next week for more.

Baby Sadie Session 2

Sadie is just getting cuter and cuter! She is such a happy baby, has grown so much since I last saw her! She is super expressive and has such a great personality. It was fun to see Mike and Morgan get their silly on to entertain her for photos.

Its like she's already telling us a story, maybe some playground gossip.

Hehe, gotta love that tongue!

Hand in mouth, you know that's where your supposed put it right?

Little cheeky monkey

Back to the gossip: "Really? Oh no you didn't!"

Aren't they just adorable?

Classic Philly Love.

We stopped to smell the flowers for a minute.

Bathing beauty

Being this cute is hard work, wears a girl out.

Playing with Mom, by the way Morgan love those lashes!

Great hanging with you guys again. So glad we cooled off in the fountain a bit. Sadie just keeps getting cuter, can't wait for the next one!

slideshow

Kristina & Dave Married 7-11-2009

Kristina and Dave had a beautiful wedding at Drexelbrook! Miss Jenn Childress was there second shooting for me, thank you Jenn! We had a great time with a very lively group. I started with Kristina. She kept her dress a secret from everyone until right before she put it on. Most of the time the girls and mom know what the dress looks like, but not this time. I loved her dress. It was a fantastic spinning dress.

Love this image right before she got dressed.

Jenn was with the guys before hand and got this great portrait of Dave. Love it.

Kristina has strikingly gorgeous eyes.

We had a few moments to relax, breathe and take some portraits before the ceremony. I love the calmness in this one.

Beautiful

Might be my favorite.

I love capturing the guys making their entrance.

The look from the groom when he see's his bride for the fist time, always priceless.

Kristina gave her new daughters a special gift during the ceremony, it was very sweet.

This little guy wanted to check out the gazebo during the ceremony. You can see a little mischievousness in his face, I love it.

The bubble machine at the end was the perfect touch!
The newlyweds.

Love this portrait Jenn got.

The first dance was a lot of fun. That dress was amazing.

We stepped outside for a few night portraits. I love this one.

OOh buttery! Love this.

You knew they were going to smash! Everyone knew and man did they smash! Look for the whole sequence in the slideshow. It has to be the best cake smash I have ever seen.

Such a fun time! Thank you so much for having us out. enjoy your slideshow!

Slideshow

Hilary & Paul engagement shoot

Hilary and Paul were so adorable. Paul was nervous, which added to some of the adorableness, for the photos. He did great and even better after a little hair of the dog if you will. In all seriousness we had a fun time on this shoot and it was great to get to know each other better. These two love birds will be getting married this fall and I can't wait to see them again.

This was one of the very first shots, love it.

Playing with some off camera light

See, adorable.

Philadelphia is full of awesome fountains.

One of my favorites of the day.

Love this fun little series.

You guys are awesome, so great spending time with you. I can't wait to do it all again come November!

Ekash, One Year!

Little Ekash can seriously steal your heart! This boy is so adorable. He has changed so much since I saw him last fall, its crazy! He is walking now and has such a personality.

He is still very curious about the camera.

He has the cutest little wiggle when he walks. You can totally see it here.

He likes to share his toys

At home on the playground

Now this is a super special moment. Ekash is walking all over the place but he still crawls up steps, well that was until now! This is his very first time walking up steps unassisted, with mom in the back just in case. He did it all on his own.

My favorite!

Happy Father and Son.

Having some fun on the swing.

Love this little moment

Seriously one adorable family

Be sure to check out the slideshow for more and for the sequence of Ekash's first walk up the steps by himself. It was difficult choosing which images to feature by themselves.

Slideshow

Baby Titus Session 4, One Year!

I can't believe its been a year, if its gone by fast for me you can only imagine how Maygan and Dan feel! Little Titus is so adorable and he is probably walking all over the place now, he still needed a little helping hand when we had our session.

Daddy with the finger support.

Their church was generous to let us have it to ourselves for photos.

A little peekaboo.

Titus loves to swing and he goes super high!!

Some comfort from mommy.

I love this one.

Still loves to smell the flowers.

mmmm, ice cream on a hot day. The perfect reward after a long shoot.

So good seeing you guys, I can't believe that was our 4th and last session. Crazy how time flies!

slideshow

Baby Jared, One year

Baby Jared was super adorable. That red hair still growing in with a little bit of baby mohawk, irresistible! We had quite a few "first times" in this one year shoot. It was so much fun to watch his parent surprise and see them experience some new things together.

Meet little Jared.
Not too sure of the grass at first, had never crawled in the grass, but we overcame that. It was too cute to watch him figure it all out.

He swings at day care all the time but this was the first time swinging at their local park. He had a blast.

Jared is almost walking, oh so close. This may be my favorite image from the session.

He was very animated.

Dad rescuing him after his long crawl up the grassy hill. Love this.

Story time with mom.

Love this little moment.

He loves playing behind the gate on the stairs.

Happy Birthday little Jared!!

I had so much fun with these guys! Thank you so much for having me out. Jared is super adorable.

Enjoy your slideshow

Erika & Ryan Married 6-27-2009

It was an absolutely perfect day for Erika and Ryan. Where do I begin really? Through all the planning and phases of preparing for this wedding I really bonded with them. We had such a blast during their engagement session, Erika had an amazing boudoir session with me an Jenn Childress and getting to know them over this past year has been just an overall awesome experience. Showing up on the wedding day, being welcomed by family and friends and just feeling a close connection with Erika and Ryan made for a perfect day.

Some other vendors that helped make this day perfect:
Venue: Appleford
Flowers: Hilary Felton of Country Meadows Florist
Cake: Masters Baker
Caterer: Sage
Wedding Planner: Roni Venonsky of Perfect Weddings
DJ: Jason Weldon of Synergetic Sounds
Videographer: Pete Malone of First Floor Films
Dress Designer: 2be
Second Photographer: David Schrott (David will be out on more weddings this year with me, he is awesome.)

So on to some images. As always there are more in the slideshow at the bottom of this post.

This may be one of my favorites of the day. Erika's first look at herself in the dress.

Dad's first look at Erika

I think we all had some tears at this point. Ryan was SOOO nervous and excited to see Erika for the first time. He was tearing up even before he got his first look.

Love this moment.

I love seeing the softer side in men. You can see the overwhelming love he has for Erika right here.

Its always good to look at things a little differently sometimes.

I can see this image printed and framed in every family members house.

Erika is one of the most strikingly beautiful women I have ever known.

Another favorite, just love it.

Gorgeous day, gorgeous bride.

You have to have a little fun in the dress.

The beginning of one of my motion sequences in the slideshow. I particularly like this image on its own as well.

What a great bunch of bridesmaids and a great moment!

Ryan with his boys and best lady.

Erika and her girls.

Now this moment, makes me tear up every time! Erika is very close to her Me-mom. June 27 wasn't a date chosen at random, June 27 is the date her grandparents were married 60 years ago. The garter Erika wore was the same garter her Me-mom wore on her wedding day. I just love this, the first time Me-mom sees Erika, you can just tell how close they are.

Okay, wiping away some tears? Well you have to love the moments after they are pronounced man and wife. These images are always some of my favorites.

I loved this little detail Erika had for her Moms flowers.

First dance.

I love this room at Appleford! This is moments before they are announced, taking a second for a photograph.

This wedding was one of the biggest dancing groups of the season. Jason Weldon had them dancing all night long!!

Can't leave out the bridesmaids new best friend, Pete Malone. I can't wait to see the video from this wedding. The whole day the bridesmaids were harassing Pete (in a good fun way) the phrase of the day was "ya get that Pete?" Oh girls he got it, don't you worry! haha.

Such a fantastic day, fantastic couple and fantastic vendors. Thank you so much for making me part of such a wonderful event. You guys are awesome.

Check out the slideshow, the music is an Italian wedding song in honor of Erika and Ryan's Italian honeymoon. It is very enjoyable and gives a good encounter of the whole day.

Mandy & Ryan Married 6-20-2009

Mandy and Ryan's wedding was an awesome experience. They were married in Lincoln Nebraska, where they are from but they live here in Philly. Lincoln is a cool little town and Mandy and Ryan's families were so hospitable. Both sides of the family have been waiting for this day to come, Mandy and Ryan have been together for nine years! It was truely a weekend of celebration. We had an amazing time. I am going to jump right into the images, there is a slideshow at the end if you want to see more images.

Mandy's shoes.

Time to get into the dress! Very exciting.

I really love this shot, Mandy watching as her bridesmaids get some finishing touches.

Anticipation to see Ryan for the first time.

Ryan mighty handsome in some window light.

Another favorite, moments after they first saw each other.

The weather was bit off and on, some sprinkles but luckily we had planned on doing portraits in the capital building anyway. It was great we were the only ones there.

Have to love great foot wear!

You have to make sure to have a little fun in the dress, I've been enjoying doing this with my brides this year.

This may be one of my all time favorite portraits EVER.

A quick kiss before heading to the church.

Rust and rings, good combo!

Loved Ryan's tie.

There is a fun series of these two in the slideshow. With kids its always inevitable that they won't want to cooperate for a simple photograph and that's okay as long as you know how to get what you need out of them. For this image the flower girl really wanted her mom, but her brother was quite content and rather chipper. I told them to give me their best funny face, the ring bearer was all about that and in a series of five or so images the flower girl goes from all frowns to a very nice smile, her brother all the while with a goofy face. I love it. This image is the mid point.

Mandy coming down the isle with her Dad.

Woohoo! Married!

They had this awesome bugeye sprite to drive away in. AWESOME.

Off into the sunset, after a few laps around the Hay Market.

weeee! I love Mandy's expression in this one.

The reception venue was amazing, AMAZING. There is nothing like this in Philly. It was the Rococo theater, which has been restored back to its theater dining state.

Check that out! Pretty awesome.

The best speech of the season. "Finding a husband at Target"

Adorable cake toppers to match the lovely couple.

The first dance.

Being sent off with sparklers at the end of the night.

When the reception was over a sever thunderstorm was rolling through the area and it was pouring rain! I love how this image captures all the raindrops.

Big thank you to Don for shooting with me! It was such an great day for a fantastic couple. Check out the slideshow, its super cute. Be patient and let it load, I have it set to load all images before playing so you will get a smoother playback.

Stephanie & Dan Engagement Shoot

I had a blast with Stephanie and Dan. You will see, Stephanie has a very contagious smile. She couldn't help but smile the whole time. We traveled around to a couple of locations in Fairmount park, just missed the Japanese Gardens but we made the most of it. Its been over a year since I have seen these two, so it was great to catch up and get to know each other better.

We started at the whispering benches.

crossed the police limits.

Asian Gothic.

A little reflection.

Light hearted nature.

One of my favorites

They are adorable aren't they!

Steph solo in the tree.

Another favorite. I love the emotion in this one.

A little relaxation. I love the blue spruce in the background, makes for some awesome color.

Another great moment.

This one is for Steph! She kept making fun of me when I would tell them to go into the tree. So she acted like she was being hunted. hahaha, I love the sense of humor with these two.

Awesome expressions here

We ended with walking Thore, their bull dog. He was very sweet.

Such a great afternoon with you guys! I had fun on our little adventure through Fairmount. See you guys in September!

Belly

A new favorite!
This is from a recent session, I was so excited to get this film back. You can see why.

Emily & Josh Engagement Session

A few weekends ago Emily, Josh and I met up at a top secret location for their engagement shoot. Really its top secret I can't tell you where it is, well maybe if you ask. Anyway it was a gorgeous day and we had a great time laughing it up and taking some pictures. They live in NYC and I would have loved to do the shoot there but our schedules just couldn't make it work. Luckily they come down here a lot and our secret location is one that Emily and her family frequents and I can see why. These guys are getting married in August at the Audubon Society, which I am so excited for. That place is awesome.

Meet Emily and Josh, cute aren't they?

Emily has a secret passion for photography and specifically requested that I shoot some film for the engagement shoot and on the wedding day. The square images you see here are all shot on film with my hasselblad on black and white film.

I really like this pairing.

Emily coveting my hasselblad.

I love the movement here. (film)

There were so many cool spots! This place is amazing.

Emily and Josh were seriously made for each other. They have such a great connection.

Which do you like best, the digital color version.....

or the film b&w version.....

Emily becoming one with nature. It is fitting because she is a natural beauty.

So many awesome moments with these two.

Relaxation time on the rock couch.

LOVE IT.

Its quite amazing all the detail film picks up, look in the trees and this is resized for web. A large print of this would be awesome.

Some lovin in the ferns.

We had to head back and include Duke their new puppy in some photos.

Too cute!

We will end with little Duke. So adorable and cuddly.

It was awesome getting to know you guys better and spending some time with you. Love little Duke! I can't wait to see you guys on the wedding day.

Blair & Mark Married 6-6-09

Blair and Mark's wedding was full of surprises! We were laughing about it because I always ask if there are any special surprises that will happen during the day so that I can watch for them and be ready but they said no there wasn't anything in particular planned. Well that was because they had no idea! They were surprised by Blair's dad and brother with beautiful music and singing, another one of Blair's friends came out belting Tina Turner, the bridesmaids surprised Blair with the song she had originally wanted to dance their first dance to, and it just seemed to keep going. It was a great time, I was so happy to be a part of it.

Before I get too ahead of myself here, check out all the vendors and details that helped this come together:
Venue: Villanova Conference Center Tim Sweeney the coordinator did an awesome job.
Flowers: Ilonka Floral Decorator
Dress: Romona K from the Bridal Garden
Cake: Doughman Baked Goods
Band: Big Ric + Vegas Band
Second Shooter: Steve Langdon Another great day shooting with Steve! Thank you so much for coming out!
On to some images shall we?

Blair's shoes. She was excited about the shoes and more excited about the shot I would get for her.

Steve got some awesome ring shots.

Handling of the dress.

Love this one Steve got of Mark!

Blair was simply beaming all day.

My favorite shot of Blair.

They didn't see each other before hand, this is Marks first look at Blair coming down the isle.

The kiss

Married!!!

Blair showing off her bling and some flare.

Its funny I took this shot just to get a meter reading on Blair's skin tone, it was only a shot for technical purposes, but I really like it.

Walking on air.

Great light, great couple, what more could you ask for?

Another favorite.

The first Dance

Blair's brother Seth and one of the Bridesmaids sang Lucky by Jason Mraz. It was fantastic.

Big Ric even got Mark out to sing to Blair, which was hilarious! Most men would have caved under the pressure and while Mark is not the most musically talented he surprised everyone with his new found ability. Blair and everyone else including me loved every minute of it.

I just love this reaction. It was so fantastic to see the love and support behind Blair and Mark.

YEAH! You go Mark! I love this one.

With all of the surprises that kept popping up during the reception we did manage to get away for some shots with the Meadowcroft sign. They had been talking about this sign since I first met them over a year and a half ago! There had been some mention that we might not be able to make it work with the timing and such of the day but I was not going to let this photo opportunity slip and I knew it was important. Mark and Blair piled into my car and we snuck out of the reception for a few to get these. TOTALLY worth it.

Be sure to watch the slideshow for some more images and dancing. The song was written and perfomed by Blair's brother Seth, he has an amazing voice.

Slideshow

Coming soon to a blog near you!

Okay, so yes I have been a tad absent with the blog posts as of late. I do have a good reason, I have been traveling and shooting and traveling and shooting, well you get the idea! I have a ton on deck, so I thought I would give you the line up in order of whats next here at the Joy Moody blog!

First up will be Blair and Mark married June 6th! Such a fun evening full of surprises. This image is one they talked about when I first met with them a year and a half ago! Meadowcroft is their new last name so it only seemed appropriate to do a little shoot with this sign which was conveniently located down the street from the reception.

Then we have Marybeth and Adam. Marybeth happens to be one of my best friends, we were roommates for a semester in College. I traveled down to Ocean City Maryland to have a little visit and engagement session with these two beautiful people. They both work at Seacrets and they also met there so it was the obvious choice to do the engagement session there.

These are all of Adams favorite things.

Some moodybabies will grace the blog as well! This is baby A.J. Talk about a small world but I first met A.J's dad during Erika and Ryan's engagement session, he let us take some pictures up on their roof deck, we then figured out that AJ was in a play group with baby Abbie! We had such a fun time, cant' wait to share these!

Then baby Ryder! Oh my how this little boy has grown since our first session. He is so adorable I can't even express his cuteness.

Then up is Mandy and Ryan's wedding. They were married in Nebraska this past weekend, June 20th. Don and I had a most enjoyable time with their family and friends and the wedding was so much fun!

I am playing a lot of catchup this week and gearing up for Erika and Ryans wedding on Saturday! So keep an eye out on all the eye candy that will soon grace the blog.

Molly & Brian Married 5-30-09

I can't say enough about Molly and Brian really. Everything about last Saturday was perfect. Starting with the most gorgeous weather anyone could have hoped for it all just got better as the day progressed. Molly was stunning, simply stunning. Brian handsome, cool and collected. Both sides of the family, which is now a HUGE family, were so easy going, happy and excited all day. How can you not get some awesome images in an environment like that? I don't think its possible. Before moving on to this large post, and believe me I could have featured every image that is in the slideshow but I had to show some restraint, here are some of the vendors that made this day fantastic.
Venue: The National Constitution Center
Flowers – Amaranth Florist, Narberth, PA
Dress – Melissa Sweet
Band – CTO Park Central (as of this week they will be CTO To the Max)
Catering – Max & Me Catering
Cupcakes – Angie’s Fancy Pans
2nd Shooter: Linette Kielinski, BIG, HUGE thank you to Linette. Linette is close personal friends of Molly's family and I would not have been shooting this wedding had it not been for her referral. Molly and Brian specifically requested Linette and I am happy they did! Linette first of all is an awesome photographer (my plea to have her shoot with me more this year, PLEASE!) and second the connection she has to this family brought a very wonderful personal touch to her images. Thank you so much Linette.

We started with Molly getting ready. She had a wonderful close friend do her make-up.

The rings.

The shoes, on the blue rocks Molly's cousin brought down from Maine as a wedding present.

Linette's shoe shot after I had put the shoes back where I found them. LOVE this.

I love brides going up and down stair cases, something about images like this.

Beautiful Molly

We had some fun with her fantastic dress.

The first look.

I love the excitement in Molly's face.

Linette caught Brian's excitement.

Molly and her girls.

Brian and his boys

I know I already teased you with this one. I just love it.

Watch out, he's hot!

We had such an awesome location. Love this one of Molly.

The National Constitution Center is an awesome place for a wedding. Especially when you had weather like Molly and Brian did. Linette got this great overall shot.

Molly's nephew and niece, the ring barer and flower girl.

The hora, man this was so much fun!

If you want to see more, watch the slideshow, its a big one!

Molly and Brian it has been such a pleasure, seriously. I love you guys and both of your families. I am excited that I will see you guys again this fall at another wedding!

Watch the Slideshow

Molly & Brian Teaser

I am almost ready to post a huge HUGE blog for Molly and Brian, but in the mean time and just because I can here is a teaser.

This is by far one of my favorite portraits from the day.

Stay tuned!!

Irene & Jim Married May 23, 2009

Irene & Jim were married last Saturday at the Rittenhouse Hotel in center city. It was a gorgeous day and they were a stunning couple. I have had a great time getting to know these two. They are a quiet couple but they are full of surprises. We opted to have them meet before the wedding at get all the portrait and group photos out of the way. The only way to go really if you want to attend your cocktail hour.
Before diving into the photos here are some of the other vendors that made this day so awesome.
Dress: Jim Hjelm
Flowers: Petals Lane
Venue: The Rittenhouse Hotel
Band: Sid Miller Band
Caterer and Cake: The Rittenhouse Hotel
Lighting: Synergetic Sound & Lighting
2nd Shooter: Steve Langdon (Thank you SOOO much Steve! It was a pleasure working with you again!)

We started the day with just Jim and Irene. I love Irene's expression here, she had the best smile when looking at Jim so I had him stand behind me. (Jim is super tall)

Love the shadows in this one.

Love this one Steve got. Jim looks like he is straight out of the Frank Sinatra era.

Gorgeous. I don't use textures too much, but I thought it was appropriate to get the look and feel I wanted in these next two.

The light was right on!

I think this is one of my favorites.

The flowers looked awesome!

These next two shots would not have been possible had Steve not been second shooting for me. Steve had shot some interiors for this building and asked them if we could take Jim and Irene up to the roof deck for some photos. They obliged and we took full advantage.

This one is looking over South Philly.

Such a vibrant bouquet and lovely details on Irene's dress.

Married!

Congratulations you guys!

The table setups were super simple and elegant.

Jim's reaction to his brothers toast.

I couldn't resist. This is one of Jim's running buddies and he put on quite a show.

The hora is always good for photo opportunities. I love that they are going in for a high five.

Last one. I love the in action moment while Irene was dancing.

Be sure to check out the slideshow for more images.
Irene and Jim I hope you are having a wonderful time in Italy!

Soyoung & Steve Engagement Shoot

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of hanging out with Soyoung and Steve. They live in Old City and were excited to wander their neighborhood and take photos. These two are so sweet. Taking pictures of them seemed effortless, they are naturals in front of the camera. They just exude a calm and carefree nature. I found myself stopping our conversations mid-sentence when I would see the perfect spot or the perfect light. We were regular chatter boxes. They will be married in August and I am really looking forward to seeing them again.

One of the first few images of the session.
I find it helps to embarrass them a little (not in a bad way) and make them laugh, it really helps to bring through their true personality. I love this one!!

Here they are all adorable!

We strolled down Delancy, one of the most beautiful streets in Philadelphia.

You can just see the love these two have for each other.

Oh the sweet buttery light! Head House Square is an awesome place to shoot.

We found a special garden I had never been to.

Love this location.

We took a little stroll through Independence Park and stopped a few places along the way.

Some of the coolest spots are in your back yard, this was the alley way behind their building.

It was so great hanging out with you guys. The weather couldn't have been better and you guys were just a pleasure. I am looking forward to August!

Mothers Day Belly

With Mothers day fast approaching I thought it only seemed appropriate to share some images from a special families recent session. These guys have been with me from when I first started getting my official business off and running. Our first belly shoot was with little Nuala and she is now 3 and very excited to be a big sister. Rebecca is due right around Mothers day, what better gift could you ask for? I have been including more and more children in these shoots, as returning clients have new babies and families grow. I am continually surprised at how well the children listen and put up with my manual focusing and directing. Photographing children can be tricky and with film even trickier. Nuala was great, she is so sweet and already showing mom and dad what a good big sister she will be.

With our first belly shoot when Nuala was in the belly we did a shot in this same chair and a slightly different angle on the legs, they have it framed above their bed so for the new baby we did this variation which will join the other print on the wall.

Rebecca looks gorgeous. She has such a perfect belly.

A nice little moment between mother and daughter.

Happy Mothers day to all my Mom's out there, I hope you have a wonderful day! I am off today to visit my Mom in New Mexico for Mothers day. I couldn't tell you the last time I spent Mothers day with her so when she requested a visit and I didn't have a wedding booked it was a no brainer.

Mandy & Ryan Engagement Session

I am so excited for Many and Ryan's wedding in many ways. First they are good friends of mine and Don's, we are all connected through our vintage scooter club so I am a bit partial to these two. Second the wedding is in Lincoln Nebraska! Which I am sure everyone in Lincoln might not think its a big deal, but I can't wait. I am looking forward to the new scenery and doing some fun shoots in some corn fields and stuff like that. The reception is also in an old theater, which I have heard is really cool. Mandy and Ryan are originally from Lincoln and their families are still there. They came out here on a trial basis for Mandy's job and they liked it so much they ended up staying. We had a great time on their shoot, we had some lunch and drinks to let the heat subside and the sun fall a little more in the sky, it was perfect timing. We wandered their neighborhood in Society Hill and ended on a high note at the Franklin Fountain for some yummy ice cream goodness.

They are a good looking couple don't you think?

Style and comfort

I have a lot of favorites from this session.

hehe, I love Mandy's expression here.

Contender for favorite of the day

mmm, afternoon light

This was just a test shot for my exposure, but I liked it so much it made it to the blog!

Having fun getting the petals to fall off the tree.

We had to of course include Poppy in the photos!

Their neighborhood is fantastic, love this area of Philly.

Hanging on their front stoop, poppy happy.

Quick wardrobe change and a few more portraits.

Beautiful Mandy

Have to include some flare.

Ending at the Franklin Fountain should be a requirement for all photo shoots, especially on a hot day.

So much fun you guys!! I can't wait to see your home town and meet your family!

Molly & Brian Engagement Session

I am so excited for Molly and Brian's wedding. They are getting married May 30 at the Constitution Center, its going to be awesome. We got together on Sunday for their engagement session, its been a while since I last saw them so it was great to reconnect. Sunday was pretty crazy, Philadelphian's go wild once the weather gets warm. I think everybody and their mother was outside. We met up at the Art Museum for a few shots in the Azalea garden and then off to the rock garden and Kelly drive. I love the rock garden, its a little gem I never knew was there!

They said they were a bit camera shy but I think they worked the camera quite well!

A nice little candid moment

They are hot stuff!

I thought these paired together nicely

I love this image. I love Molly's look and the way Brian is guiding her up the trail. Beautiful.

Molly is such a natural beauty.

There they go again, being all adorable!

Something about this one I really like.
Brian just stared wearing glasses and I think they really suit him.

So you think they were camera shy? Nah! You guys did great. I can't wait to see you again on the wedding day.

Irene & Jim Engagement Session

Last weekend I spent some time getting to know Irene and Jim. Their wedding is fast approaching, May 23! We had a great time wandering their neighborhood and taking photos along the way. They are a super sweet couple. We are going to have a great time on their wedding day, I can't wait!

I got them to warm up pretty easily.

A little play on their height. Irene is very petite and Jim is super tall. It was a fun dynamic.

I like getting some more candid moments during engagement sessions.

The streets in Society Hill are awesome.

Another favorite street. I told you they were adorable.

I thought it might be fun to play around with the driveway mirror.

Irene lives off of Washington Square and I loved some of the structures at her apartment building.

This might be my favorite from the day.

Thank you guys so much, I had a great time with you. Can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Blaire & Mark Engagement Session

I had a fantastic day with Blaire and Mark last week. The day started out rainy and there was some talk about rescheduling but we figured can't control the weather on the wedding day might as well just go with it for the engagement shoot. They were great and the day didn't end up half bad!
It had been over a year since I last saw these guys, they were on the ball in booking their popular June 6 date! I was so excited to see them and reconnect. They trusted me to find some cool spots in the city to shoot. Blaire mentioned architectural detail and I knew where I wanted to take them.

Isn't this a cool location?
I can't take all the credit, I found out about it through one of my students last term when they took some images for their project here. Any idea where this is? We almost didn't even find it!

Going a tad out of order here.
We started the day off at their home with their adorable bulldog Winston.
Winston took us for a walk.

I love when I can get my couples to crack up! Love love this one.

Winston had to have a few solo portraits of course.

He is one solid pooch. Only a year old! Crazy. He can just steal your heart.
Mark is an awesome guy too, don't get me wrong!

More infectious laughing

Super simple portrait but might be one of my favorites.

Another awesome moment

I love finding these quaint Philadelphia streets.

We had such an awesome afternoon! I can't wait to see you guys in a few months.

Enjoy your slideshow!

New Bellies

Spring is always the busiest time for me with bellies. I am not sure what it is about the spring. The cycle of new life maybe?

I haven't shared any bellies in a while. This work is very intimate and private. I always say it but I never want anyone to feel uncomfortable so a lot of my belly work never makes it to the blog.

I have been having a blast with these sessions. Its such an awesome time in a families life.

Here are a few I would like to share.

True Craftsmenship!

Yesterday a group of us (Ryan Estes, Sofia Negron, Jennifer Childress, Pete Malone and Geoff Horowitz) took an old fashioned field trip up to Long Island to visit our favorite album company Leather Craftsmen. I have some experience, very limited mind you, bookbinding and have always had great respect for how these albums are made. Yesterday my respect and admiration grew 100x over. I could have sat at each station in awe watching these albums being made. We flip through these albums everyday and then just sit them down without any thought. After seeing the entire process I came home and examined my albums in amazement of what I had just experienced. Leather Craftsmen albums are truly handcrafted in every sense of the word and I am proud to offer them to my clients. I kept hoping that I would see some of the albums I currently have out being bound but I didn't .

I swiped photos of the day from Ryan.

The fun antics of photographers on a road trip. We had to stop and celebrate St. Paddies day too!

Thanks for the photos Ryan. It was awesome hanging with you guys yesterday. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to have such great friends who are in the same profession. You guys rock.

Baby Parker

Disclaimer: This post has a lot of images it it!

I couldn't help myself. Parker is way too adorable. She has so much expression and I had such a good time with her and her parents.

We started off playing a little tambourine, she is hinting that it might be my turn to play here.

We had some fun family time. Lots of tickling involved.

Very interested in everything.

Floor time with daddy.

More music in the kitchen, this time with home made instruments.

A bit to drink and some Cheerios.

We did a lot of hanging out by her favorite window. Its just her height, love this image.

Little pudgy hands.

The view from the other side. Love this one too.

Did I mention this is her favorite spot?

Then upstairs for a wardrobe change and to play a little.

Too much, the cuteness is too much!

Being swept off her feet by daddy, she didn't mind a bit.

Back to the window!

This is up there for my favorite of the day.

Check out that belly!

Getting strapped in for some fun time.

And last but not least a classic family portrait.

I warned you it was a lot of images! I had such a great time with you guys. Check out the slideshow below for more favorites from the day.

Slideshow

Phun with Philly Photogs

I have been out all day and just came home to find this fun video of an intimate get together we had back in December. Pete Malone, Jenn Childress, Sofia Negron, Ryan Estes and myself got together for some good ole fun. Yep, again we are all great friends and like to do things together. Its great to get out of the office and goof off, since we don't get normal weekends most of the time.

I am always a bit embarassed to see myself in moving film, but I guess everyone is? Jenn and Ryan win the prize for goofiest, I am a little too camera shy to be so goofy. Pete is responsible for the video and well you will get the idea. Watch for Ryan falling and Pete taking his pants off in public. Oh believe me its never a dull day with us, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Phun with Philly Photogs from First Floor Films on Vimeo.

Erika & Ryan Engagement Session

A few weeks ago I met up with Erika and Ryan for a much anticipated engagement session. So many things about the day were symbolic. It was the day of the first part of the last world series game, as we all know it ended up in a rain delay and luckily the rain held out for our shoot. It was also their anniversary and exactly six months to their wedding day. Lots of cool coincidences! We did our shoot in the Rittenhouse area since this was where Ryan proposed.

Check these two out!

I love this one.

We took a few shots in front of the Rittenhouse which was where there families were waiting for them after Ryan proposed. The proposal was a total surprise for Erika but Ryan had the whole family in on it and everyone was waiting for them here to celebrate.

HOT!

They are such a dynamic couple. They really got the hang of working the camera! Erika's eyes are awesome.

And what I totally love most about them! So hilarious.

We found a random chair and decided to use it to our benefit.

Again, holy hotness!

So sweet

This is the spot where Ryan proposed and a frequent lounging spot for them when Ryan lived in the city.

Towards the end of our shoot when we were headed back to the park this guy drove by and asked us if we had been shooting on Delancy, we said yes and then he offered us his roof deck for a few shots! It was awesome because the whole time we were walking by these houses just wishing we could go in and see what they were like and then our wish was granted! Thank you Mark for inviting us into your home an on to your roof! You can see some of those images in the slideshow, it was soo hard to choose which images to feature on the blog.

Erika and Ryan get married next June, I can't wait its going to be a blast.
Thanks guys, it was a blast hanging out.

Slideshow

Ashley & Matt Wedding 10-12-2008

Continuing on with this gorgeous October weekend Ashley and Matt had such a gorgeous day! I have really enjoyed getting to know Ashley & Matt. Talking with Matt you can't help but crack up at his sarcastic sense of humor, he is going to give Ashley many laugh lines. Its funny because I feel like I get to know my couples pretty well and I have to catch myself during the ceremony sometimes if something is funny because I have laughed out loud a couple times. This happened at Ashely and Matt's wedding. Matt wrote a love letter to Ashley for his vows and I will always remember one little part where he read "and everyone is starring at me right now, aren't they?" I know I am taking that a little out of context for all of you who were not there, but I still just crack up and you will see Ashley cracking up as well in the slideshow. Both of them are great writers and their vows have to be some of the best I have ever heard, straight from the heart and full of their personalities.
Venue: Appleford
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms
Dress Designer: Wearkstatt
Bridal Boutique: Bridal Garden
Caterer: Feastivities
Bakery: Cake Art Studio
DJ: Anastasia, I don't have a website for her but she was awesome!
Videographer: First Floor Films, awesome working with you Pete!
Second shooter the one and only Miss Linette. This was our last wedding of the season together! boohoo, we didn't realize it until days later. It was a great season Linette, so happy to have had you out on so many weddings this year.

On to some images and slideshow at the end.

Ashley was stunning.

Flowers were gorgeous! They totally matched the dress Ashley wore for their engagement shoot.

The cake was not only gorgeous, but it was delicious!

This has to be one of my favorite images from Linette!

Appleford has a lot of really cute spots for photos inside, they just did some refinishing and freshening up. I love this of Ashley in the bridal suite.

First look coming down the isle.

Awesome ring shot compliments of Linette.
Matt opened a very special bottle of wine for the occasion and this was the cork.

Matt can get the best smiles and laughs from Ashley.

Hey! You're married!

My current favorite bridal party photo.

Signing of the marriage license. I love the reflections.

You gotta love a couple that can sing Bon Jovi to each other!

Fun shot of one of Ashley's bridesmaids. Here's looking at you!

Ashley and Matt is was such a pleasure, I had a ball, I love both your families and can't wait to come to dinner at your new restaurant!

Slideshow

Jessica & Karol 10-4-2008

Jessica and Karol had a glorious day in October for a wedding! Everything went so smoothly it was amazing. Jessica did a fantastic job with all the little details and scheduling of the day. We were never rushed and they were able to enjoy every minute of the day without missing a thing.
The fantastic vedors:
Florist: Ten Pennies
Dress: Marisa from the Bridal Garden
Shoes: J. Crew
Cake/Reception Site: Hyatt
DJ: DJ Johny Looch
String Duet: Glorious Strings
Miss Linette was out shooting with me again, we had a great time as usual.

The couple

Jessica's purse was awesome, it totally matched her dress perfectly

Some Details

Even the adorable pooch was dressed for the occasion.

I love this, the look on Karol's face as he watched Jess come down the isle.

Linette caught this wonderful moment with Karol and his dad.
There were so many moments like this all day.
Karol's dad and brother were so proud and so happy for the new couple, lots of endearing happy tears flowing.

Jessica and Karol both went to Penn so Jessica got permission for us to take photos in the Quad.
It was an awesome location!

Such a lovely bridal party

Jessica was simply gorgeous.

Karol was elated to have his ring, he was showing it off all day!

Such a dapper man, wouldn't you say? Awesome shot from Linette.

The first dance

The reception was at the Hyatt which has amazing views of the Delaware river.
This is a fun image playing off the reflection in the ball room and the lights outside.

I love this image, such a classic movie feeling.

A little painting with light

It was such an amazing day, we had such a great time!

Congratulations you guys! Linette and I had the most enjoyable experience with you and everyone at your wedding.

Enjoy the Slideshow