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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High in the 50′s, partly cloudy and somewhat muddy. Normally those would not be the best conditions for a portrait session, but when you’re in Ohio in December, it’s better than expected! This time of year is my busiest photography, but also the worst time for the ever changing weather forecast. I always joke that being an on location photographer in Ohio also requires having a minor in meteorology! Kelie contacted me in late November to squeeze in a portrait session for herself, her husband and dogs. I was nervous that the weather would not work in our favor, but amazingly enough it did!

Kelie lives in Pataskala and I have always wanted to photograph right down the road at Blacklick Woods Park. This was a great opportunity to do so since it was close to her. The park was a little busy that day since it had finally stopped raining and was unusually warm for early December. Blacklick Woods is such a great location and I’m so glad I finally had the chance to work there.

Kelie and Ethan brought along their two dogs, Regie and Tyra for their family portraits. These two dogs had such different personalities! Regie is a 4-year-old Boxer who is social and loves everything and everyone. Tyra, an 8-year-old Boxer mix was more laid back and was more focused on her people than the camera or having her portrait taken.

During our session I was able to capture a wide variety of images for them. A few of just Kelie and Ethan as well as the dogs alone, together and with their people. I love when I hear “I brought some costumes for the dogs”, that comment made my day! For a few images, Tyra became Santa and Regie was Santa’s helper. I also enjoy that I’m not the only dog mom out there that loves to dress up her pet for the holidays!

I’m so happy with how the weather turned out in our favor for their photos. Thank you Kelie and family for picking me to photograph your family!

LOVE the costumes!

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I love photographing Natalie and her family! Natalie shows up quite often on the blog, because I get to work with her and her family at least once a per year. I love watching her kids grow over the years.

With the weather change, we moved the session from the outdoors to inside Franklin Park Conservatory. It was the first day that the Conservatory was decorated for the holidays. With beautiful foliage, a moving train display and a lot of poinsettias, it was a beautiful setting. Little Christopher was not in the mood for this year’s portrait session, but luckily, I was able to get a few smiles and giggles out of him.

As always, their family was awesome and I captured some fun images of them throughout the session.

The non-posed moments of a session always end up being my favorite portraits.

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I was out for dinner one night with fellow photographers Jenny and Melissa, talking business and life. Jenny mentioned that she wanted to have some portraits done with her boyfriend Eric, before the holidays. Of course, Melissa and I jumped on the chance to take them. Instead of having to pick one of us or schedule two separate sessions, we decided to do one portrait session with all of us. We met up on a Sunday afternoon at a few locations in Westerville and New Albany. It always makes me a little nervous to photograph other photographers!

Jenny and Eric are so cute. And of course, Jenny did a great job with clothing choices. We were hoping for a little more fall color for the session, but most of the leaves had fallen off the trees earlier that week. We started at a small farm in Westerville that Jenny had found. It had a variety of great areas for their portraits. After the farm, we headed down the road to an open field with a barn. The light was amazing that day and the slight breeze was the icing on the cake for their photos. I used to drive past the large field every day when I worked in Westerville and always thought about what a great location it would be. I’m so glad that I finally had the opportunity to go there because it was perfect for their photos.

Eric was a sport putting up with not one but three photographers that afternoon! I can’t wait to see the images that Melissa captured. It’s always fun working with another photographer and seeing how the same photograph can look completely different from two different points of view. I had so many favorites from the day it was hard to pick which ones to post!

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They’re back! This is the 5th time I’ve photographed Melissa’s family portraits. This year, we planned much better than the last session. Last November, I photographed her family in early November and it was down right cold! I remember that it was so cold out because I even wore thermal underwear that day! This time around, we put the session on the calendar early to beat the possibility of bad weather. Low and behold, it was pouring down rain the day of the session. We rescheduled and were rewarded with a cool, but sunny day in November.

Initially I suggested we have their session in Bexley, where I photographed Melissa and her business partner, Sarah, a few weeks ago. Melissa is the queen of coordinating clothing for her family and when she sent me their urban look, I realized that my location choice might need to change based on their outfits. On to plan b and a new location in Downtown Columbus. Graffiti – check, urban feel – check, great looking family – check, dog in a matching outfit – check! This time, Melissa even brought her dog Lego to get in on some of the photos. And she dressed him in his own little sweater – I was in love! Not only did they have matching urban outfits, but they also had coordinated some great dressy clothing for another backdrop down the road.

Melissa again had her makeup done by Beautimarked by Kelli right before the session. I cannot stress enough what a great idea it is to have your makeup done professionally for your portraits! Not only is it one less thing to worry about the day of your portraits, but I truly believe that it gives you more confidence and comfort in front of the camera.

I can’t wait to see what Melissa comes up with next year for a clothing theme – she keeps outdoing herself every year!

Such a fun graffiti wall that we found downtown.

I love Lego's dog sweater!

Josh and Melissa are such a great looking couple

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