I hope everyone had a great holiday season. The blog has been a little slow lately as I’ve been in and out of town a lot. And the blog will probably be a little quiet over the next few weeks as well. I’m revamping my products and pricing for the upcoming year. For some silly reason, I decided mid-December to redesign the website as well. It’s been down ever since and I need to dedicate some time to getting it finished and back up! And I’m also working on the details for the 2012 Cutest Dog in Columbus contest! Entries will be accepted starting in late January, more details to come in the following weeks.

It’s time for my favorite images from the year. I’ve picked my 10 favorite images from all the portrait sessions I photographed in 2011. In previous years, I’ve picked my top three images from each type of session, this year I’m mixing it up to my top 10. It was hard to pick my favorites and to not make them all images of dogs. Because we all know how dog-obsessed I am. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some of my favorites form 2011!

Congrats to Jason & Stephanie who were just married a few weeks ago. Their wedding was so much fun! This image is from their engagement session in Youngstown at the Covered Bridge at Lanterman's Mill at Mill Creek Park.

The 2011 winner of the Cutest Dog in Columbus. Desh is so adorable and happy!

I've been photographing Emma since I started as a photographer and it never gets old, especially when I capture an genuine moments like this one.

Jenny (who is also a photographer) wanted photos with her boyfriend Eric. I'm excited to say that they became engaged over the holidays! We weren't sure what the weather was going to do for us on at their session - but it turned out fantastic. And Jenny did a great job with clothing choices and colors for fall portraits.

This was a great session with for Rebecca who is not only a model but also a fitness instructor. I was luck in 2011 to not only meet other amazing small business owners, but also work with them.

Lilly always makes me laugh, she is five, going on twenty-five. I get amazing expressions from her when we're out for her session.

One of the toughest sessions for me in 2011 was getting all three Havanese dogs to cooperate for a group photo. The end result was even better than I expected!

Hannah was so much fun to work with for her senior portrait session. Her great personality shined through in all of her images. And those eyes of hers are beauitful!

Who doesn't smile when looking at this photograph! The fact the dogs have ties on is just icing on the cake!

I am not a morning person, but good thing we got to the park first thing in the morning for Kim and Jeff's family photos. It was well worth me getting up earlier than normal for beautiful light and a beautiful family!

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Yes, you read that title correctly. Clients have been booking their holiday portrait sessions since early September! I am a wee bit behind on blogging this session. We did these photos just before the kids went back to school this year. Gabe and Emerson’s mom was on the ball booking their portraits early. Last year, I squeezed their session into my schedule in early December to get their Christmas cards sent out. It was so last minute that mom remembered this time to get them done early, so we had plenty of time to work on a card design, get them ordered and mailed out.

I’ve known these kids forever and every time I photograph them I just feel like I’m getting older and older! Where does the time go? They’ve both grown up so much, even since last year. Emerson now wears contacts, is wearing make-up and had her ears pierced. Sigh, they just grow up too fast.

We met up at Heritage Park in Westerville for their portraits and it was a beautiful, but hot day. I wanted to get some photos of the kids near the barn, but there was an event going on at the time. No worries, we had over 50-acres of the park to work with, instead. I’ve worked with these two so often that they are in charge of the sessions. Gabe decided everywhere he thought that they should get their photos taken in the park. And Emerson always takes a little bit to warm up to the camera, but then she’s ready to go and just wants to be photographed alone. After the kids made all their decisions about their portraits, I again took over and got some great images of them individually and together. I can’t wait to start working on their holiday cards and see what we come up with for this year!

Such a fun shot of Emerson!

I love this image of Gabe - he looks serious and so grown up!

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I can’t believe it’s already September! The weather has really cooled off over the last week and I am very excited that college football has returned (especially Ohio State). I’ve had a few kids portrait photography sessions recently as families were scheduling before school and their extracurricular activities started up.

The other weekend I made a quick trip home to Youngstown for James and Lilly’s photography session. I can’t seem to stay away from Mill Creek Park and Fellows Riverside Gardens when I’m there. The park and the gardens are just the perfect backdrop for any type of photos. It’s been just over a year since their last portrait session with me and James has definitely become a runner in that time. He will turning two in November and he’s such a sweet little guy. He was only concerned with three things; checking out the flower garden, the photo of a puppy on my cell phone and potato chips. He had zero interest in my camera and really just wanted to run around the gardens. Luckily, I was just as quick as he was so that I could capture some images of his big, beautiful blue eyes.

His sister, Lilly, is now five-years-old and just like last time I photographed her, I feel as if I’m talking to a 16-year-old! Seriously, this little girl is like talking to an adult. The things that come out of her mouth are hilarious. I always tell her mother she’s in for a world of trouble when this little one becomes a teenager!

Here’s a few of my favorite images from their session. When I’m back in Boardman in October, I’ll be doing their family portrait as well. I can’t wait to see what these kids have in store for me at their next photo session.

James was yet again ready to run back out into the park right after I snapped this one.

Look at those big blue eyes.

I love this photo of Lilly.

She sure does love knock-knock jokes!

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Fellow Columbus photographer and friend, Melissa, sent me a text message that it was time to get together. Her daughter, Emma had her first fashion show and now has the modeling bug. She told her mother to ask her photographer friends if anyone would like to work with her so that she could get more experience in front of the camera. I had to chuckle at that, since Melissa is always photographing her three kids and is a great photographer. So we set up Emma’s portraits in the heart of Columbus, the Short North the day before the kids went back to school.

I had a nice surprise when I met them for the session, brothers Brody and Aidan were also tagging along. Melissa wanted to get a quick photograph of the three kids together before I got started with Emma. I, of course, had to grab a few photos of the boys since they were ready to go. Once Melissa got her group shot done, she and the boys went for a walk so I could work with Emma alone. You can tell this girl is not shy in front of the camera and pulled out some signature Emma poses for me.

When we wrapped up for the afternoon, Melissa and I started discussing plans for this year’s family photographs. We’ve both got a few ideas in mind and I love photographing their family pictures because Melissa does such a wonderful job coordinating the family’s clothing. I can’t wait to work with them on that session. For now, here’s a few of Emma and her brothers from the other day.

My favorite from our session - I love the crazy pigtails!

 

 

Aiden doesn't exactly like having his photo taken, he tends to spend more time running from the camera than posing for it. I was beyond thrilled to capture this moment when he wasn't paying attention to me.

 

Brody is just the cutest little thing! He's going to break all the girls' hearts when he grows up!

 

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When I arrived at Franklin Park Conservatory the other weekend I was surprised that the parking lot was full already at 10 am. Once inside I realized why FPC was packed, their Annual Breakfast with Santa was going on. I met up with Gabe, Emerson and their parents for a mini session for their 2010 Christmas cards. We bypassed all the festivities and ventured into the exhibit area for the kids’ portraits. And even though it was brisk outside, the kids agreed to make their way outdoors for a few quick photos as well.

I first became friends with the kids’ mom 8-years ago when we worked together at the local Girl Scout council and over the years I’ve watched Gabe and Emerson quickly grow-up. The kids and their mom were even in my wedding a few years ago. It is completely depressing to me that the kids are growing-up so fast, because that means I’m getting older too!

Here are just a few images from their photos the other weekend. I know we’re entering winter, but I can’t wait till the weather breaks to get these two out for a full portrait session in 2011!

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