Wow! It’s October ALREADY! Crazy! Life has been fast and furious for me personally and professionally.  I’ve recently been asked to speak at several more conventions, so I’ll blog that one on another post.  Lots of news and suprises coming soon!

But first things first! ‘Tis the season for Holiday Cards and we all know December gets here faster than a fruitcake gets regifted! LOL!

The cutoff for holiday sessions is November 13th (with the exception of newborns & bella baby clients).  I am almost totally booked up for November and most of October.  In order to accomodate more clients and try to avoid the dreaded “waiting list”, I am going to try something new this year and have some “Simple Sibling Sessions”. These are 30 minute sessions, one outfit, one “theme”. Great for those of you who don’t neccesarily want to have the entire family in a session and really want to gear the session for your Custom Holiday Cards and a few prints for grandma & grandpa.

I will announce pricing details next week, but there will be limited availability to these studio sessions and they will fill up quickly. I’m working on setting up an online scheduling program so that you can see the exact times/days available to avoid playing “tag” during this crazy time.

So while your waiting for further details and specifics (and my new nifty scheduler), you can start thinking about your “one outfit” for the session. To help you out, here’s some that are tried and true!

Also… some new cards have been added this year to the custom templates (they are on the last pages)… Check them out here:  CUSTOM HOLIDAY TEMPLATES

Finally catching up on LIFE (and SLEEP!) after a 2 week whirlwind in London… Can’t wait to work on and post some of those pictures… but first things first! (On a side note.. Holiday sessions are filling up quickly… if you are  a “Bella Baby” client, you should call and schedule your fall session asap to be sure to get the time/day that works best for you. I’ll be posting a new blog in the next week with holiday deadlines, new card templates and some clothing suggestions. There’s usually a pretty good sized waiting list because it’s hard to think about the holidays when it’s still 90+ degrees…ha!)

Onto one of my latest favs… These guys have been clients for years… It is truly one of my favorite parts of my *job* to get to see the kiddos grow up! These 3 girls are no exception! These sisters are so crazy about each other and I love to just WATCH them interact and GIGGLE… NONSTOP!  I cannot believe how much they have changed over the years… the oldest *beauty* is only TEN and she’s way taller than me (ok, ok…. yea, it’s not THAT hard to do… but STILL!).. and HELLO? does she LOOK 10? (I really am starting to believe that story about “something in the chicken” LOL!)  Enjoy!

Gotta love the REAL LIFE *OUTTAKE*… cracks me up!!!

GORGEOUS!!!! ABSOLUTELY! ALL THREE!

Did I mention she’s 10?? (her mom and dad are in TROUBLE!  They need that SHOTgun & shovel… (sorry for the SOUTHERN reference… hahaha!) amazing NATURAL beauty!

I wanted to let everyone know that I’m out of town working for two weeks but am anxiously gearing up for the upcoming holiday season! I know I’ve received many calls already for scheduling your session for the fall and I can’t wait to see all the returning families & faces, as well as new ones!

I’ve just landed in London, England (can you say JET LAG!!) and will be here assisting a SUPER cool, two part, Nigerian wedding with Kevin.  I don’t normally photograph weddings, but I love to assist…especially on the “Destinations”! That said… even though you get to do a little sight seeing, they are really pretty insense and alot of work, but you really get to know your couple and their friends/guests, which makes it fun and different!

Anyway, I wanted to let you ALL know that if you are emailing or calling, we WILL be returning your call and getting EVERYONE scheduled! No worries! I will return to the studio on the 15th of September and Laura will be in and out of the studio during these days I’m gone returning emails and phone calls. Sorry for all the phone and email tags… Life will get “back to normal” after the crazyness of the summer and will get on track ready for the fall!

I have some cool new ideas and backgrounds that I can’t wait to play with. I may also do another “Beach Week” this year…possibly in October. If you are interested, please send me an email and I will let you know when it’s official and the dates. I can only do ONE beach session per day (at sunset), so I want to try to accomodate all who are interested in this. I like to do it in October or November when the weather cools off a bit! (tho it’s pretty cold here in London and I had to bust out my sweaters… BRRRRR).

In the meantime, check out the Parenting KID COVER SEARCH details… I want to see my adorable clients on every cover!

Be sure to check back for the current news and happenings… I’m hoping to capture some fun and interesting “London/Paris” images to share!

Wow… How behind am I on blogging…. Okay, so 50 lashes with a wet noodle! ha!

I really have some amazing new pictures to share… so just hang in there and bear with me! Lots going on these days…

In the meantime… I’m proud to share a current article which features me (along with two other amazing photographers who have been my friends for years, Jen Hellinga and Kathryn Langsford) in the latest PPA (Professional Photographers of America) magazine. All about “Belly Basics”! Maternity sessions are some of my most fun and it’s always exciting to get to know parents before their new *bundle* arrives! Love it!

Also, I may not have said, but I’ll be speaking at Imaging USA in January in Nashville… (PPA’s BIG event for the year…) Come say hi!

Wow! 2 blogs in two days.. Might be back on my “roll”

This little guy just gets cuter and cuter! He recently celebrated the big *O N E* and it was fun to capture him at this fun age! He’s got some of the BEST EXPRESSIONS!

During the session, mom said… “Oh no, I forgot to bring an apple”… Apparently, Dad had requested an “apple shot” (that’s a first for me! LOL!)… I thought it was really cute that it was something to Dad.  I’m not a huge “propsy” photographer, though, I do have a few stashed around, mostly to entertain those *active* kiddos! However, I remembered that I had photographed the “students” at a preschool almost eight years ago and had bought an APPLE prop for the kiddos to hold while sitting in a desk.  I quickly ran to my prop cabinet and VOILA! Dad gets his “Apple Shot”! Ha ha! LOVE it!  Here’s a few of my favs…

LOVE THE TONGUE!!! LOL!

Here she is, all 8 days of her! Isn’t she just adorable? She was just a perfect angel during the entire session. Mom and Dad didn’t even get “pottied” on! ha! She was a perfect mix of sleeping and wide awake! People often ask when it’s best to do a “newborn” session and I have to say 2 weeks or under. During those first few days, the babies sleep so much more and you get those sweet, cuddly poses.

You may recognize “mom” from her maternity session I posted a bit ago…

(you can see the maternity blog here: “HOT MAMA” and her gorgeous “Romance Album”

Allrighty… on to “Baby A”… pure greatness!

First of all… (and you can say it with me!) “BLOG NEGLECT”… I was doing so great?!? ugh… okay… I have SOOOO many things to post that I can’t wait to share!

First to post… I meet many people. many families. many new “parents to be” (I know it’s probably disturbing that I call them “mommy and daddy” even when they aren’t *used to that yet*….so what? it’s the warm up! LOL!)…

The norm is that most all pregnant *mommies* are the ones who plan the “maternity session”… they are thrilled! excited! all about it! The *daddies*? Not always. Some don’t come to the session at all…fine…if they aren’t on board, they will only be miserable… some come to the session…but tell me “If you had BEER here, this would be WAY MORE FUN!”…. (you know who you are…and yes, I’m working on your SECOND baby boy’s *sneak peaks* right now…you will LOVE them!)… some brag about their “manicure” they got…then ask “is my face in the picture? Because my wife said it would just be my hands” (can we all say *sabbotage”??? LOVE IT!)….

This *Daddy*… and *Mommy*… were amazing! The connection was there. They were both all about it! It was romantic, sexy, fun, playful, and silly all at the same time. I love that! *Daddy* is a musician and he brought his guitar and serenaded his beautiful *bride* several times…  Photography is alot about connecting… and I felt very much a part of their *moment*….and I canNOT wait to meet their new little *person*!

I have to mention that I “sort of” met them a year ago… Some of you *faithful blog stalkers* might remember this post: Party Like a ROCKSTAR. “Dad” is an amazing singer and performer… check out his band, “Miggs”, current single, “Perfect”…

And here they are… in all their love and adoration…

I won’t even tell you what happened right BEFORE this shot *winks*…. love it!

awwww….he was serenading…. total PULLBACK

Don styled this one… awwwwww……

The Serenade…..

Okay, so *mama* saw them and loved them and gave me the *go* on a few more *sassy* shots… isn’t she just gorgeous?? I always love to get a mix of images… some you can display in living rooms and some that are more private and intimate.

Okay, I’ve been dying to share these pictures of this *little man*! I have been photographing him since he was just a *belly bump*!   He is not only adorable, but a total heart breaker CHARMER! He *IS* mister personality… and STYLISH to boot!  I’m sorry…is there anything much cuter than his adorable Burberry DUDS?

I know his mama is so proud because he also just made the cover of the current Tampa Bay Parenting! Check him out!

Here’s a few others from the session… total doll!

I can only share a few *sneak peeks* since this goregous mommy hasn’t seen them yet, but here are a few recent favs…. I absolutely loved her top from Isabella Oliver (You can check them out online here: Isabella Oliver) and some of these portraits are my favorites! I love too that they are beautiful and can easily be displayed anywhere in a home! We actually got quite a MIX (but the sassier ones will need her approval first! *smiles*).

P.S… I had to laugh when I busted out my *fan* and she said… “that fan is GOLD”!! hahaha! it’s sure to make anyone feel like a super MODEL!