As my friend Charisse would say, “Ohhh, what a little dumpling”.

The little smile is the result of me acting like a complete goofball.

We did most of the session in the family’s spare bedroom- it had the most gorgeous light! Just look at the catchlights/reflection in her eyes. Her adorable little face also helps.

The color one on the right?? One of my favorites. Her little grin is just too cute.

As is the way she is so intently listening to her daddy.

All together now: “AWWWW”

Of course, the foot in the mouth shot.

During the session, we stopped to give little Avery a snack. Avery would tug on her daddy’s face and he would calmly tell her “gentle, Avery, gentle”.The intimacy of these two makes my heart smile.

Don’t let the sweaters fool you. We had one semi-nice day amidst the Florida humidity.

Picture perfect

Caroline has grown so much since March.

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A couple of outtakes- happy happy

The glory of being 2. I love action shots like these and capturing the essence of childhood.

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CHUBBY WITTLE CHEEKS- I could just eat her up!

can we say “doll-face”?

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I have SO many great expressions from Georgia. By the time these were taken, it was actually DARK outside. I cranked up my ISO, opened up my aperture and slowed the shutter speed as much as I could (while not blurring her movements). She makes my heart palpate.

Thank you, as always, Nat for being so open to different ideas (pulling off the side of a road in rush hour traffic) every time we get together. I find myself waiting to hear you are back in Jacksonville just so that I can be in your lovely company and hear your sweet love stories and relationship advice.

Hope your day is filled with happiness and yummy treats! More posts coming soon.

Her mommy, Sheridan, was pretty amazing as well. Not only did Sheridan let me choose Rebekeh’s entire outfit, but she gave me freedom to do whatever I wanted. She stood quietly in the distance-holding our props- letting me indulge in silly jokes and skipping around the park with Rebekeh. There were no forced smiles or “cheese”’s here. I think this contributed to one of the most natural-looking child sessions I have ever done!

I am obviously funny. Oh, and that pose on the right? Totally her own.

Can we say heartbreaker?

I didn’t give her this pose either! SASSY

We looked high and low for puddles. When I don’t want rain, it rains. When I want rain  for a puddle-jumping shoot… and there is a 70% chance of rain. Guess what? No rain. This is the best puddle we could find… soggy grass.

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Love!

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The best thing to ever happen during a shoot….Even if the guy was a tad creepy. I think it’s a requirement for ice cream men in Florida.. But anyway-he was nice enough to let us get a few shots.

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Thank you Rebekeh for being soo good! I’m glad we’re friends and Sheridan-you’re an awesome mommy!

I’ve shared similar stories before and they all break my heart a little. But, I am so happy to be able to capture memories for these families to hold onto while they are apart.

Dina requested that we do her family’s session in an old car shop near their home. Thankfully it was covered-because, of course, the rain came. It was hot and humid… if you aren’t from THE South, you can’t possibly know humid like we do. It was pretty miserable, but the DeFlavis’ were great.

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Two of my favorites!!!

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Tony, you’re a hoot.

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Can you get any cuter, Tommy?

Cruisin’….Can’t you just hear the “brrrrrrrrr” sound?

Sleepy baby

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She loves books and horses. We combined the two!

Juicy apple.

Pocahontas? Just a little? Come on

Mmm yes, three of my faves!

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Like I said, nine. Laughing to mom doing the underwear dance.

Work it, honey.

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And then the light proceeded to disappear.
Thank you Shelbye, for being such a trooper. I know you didn’t feel well.

Meet Rebekeh. She’s 5 and started kindergarten this year! We held hands and romped through very wet grass together, twirled, jump-roped and ate ice cream. I think that makes us friends.

Monna, here’s a two of my favorite shots from the day.

On Tuesday, I sent out my spring promotion via email to some former clients. On Wednesday, Natalie (who lives in Tennessee) contacted me to see if I coulf fit her in. She was leaving to visit her mom here in Jacksonville in less than 2 days. Normally my schedule is jam-packed between AmeriCorps, my job at the assisted living, volunteering, and photography, but we were able to make it happen.

Today, it turned chilly and cloudy while I was working and I thought the worst. Not 30 minutes, before I was due to arrive at Natalie’s mother’s house- the sun came out.

Just a couple of preview pictures-because i couldn’t hardly wait to edit these.

First, a super cool picture of Natalie’s baby bump. I LOVE THIS.

and caroline-oh the crowd that gathered around her cuteness