It has been almost a year since I photographed these siblings and they have certainly grown. We had some backyard fun and play for this session. The little girl was very interested in tasting the water that was being sprayed from the hose.

The little girl in this family told me that she’s so cute she often gets free things. Like she once got a free donut at a coffee shop. ( The well known place will remain unnamed.) Well I can certainly see where she’s coming from on this one and the cuteness factor certainly kicked in for this session. Next time I go for my latte I’m taking her with me.

Her brothers were fun to be with too. The eldest spent some time catching bugs and the youngest loved tucking his shirt under his armpits. It really made me laugh. Talking about cute he had a very adorable smile!

Here’s a studio session from this week. This girl came in to be photographed in her ballet recital dress.  When Mom took her hair down at the end of the session is was so beautifully wavy I just had to get some extra shots. This last portrait is one for the memory book. The day after this she had 9 inches cut off her hair and donated the locks to Pantene Beautiful Lengths which makes wigs for cancer patients. Way to go L! A lot of people are very proud of you.

It was good to photograph this family again. They are longstanding and very valued clients. This time it was for mother daughter portraits at our local park.

I photographed the little guy in this family when he was a newborn. We decided he should come back for some portraits with his sisters when he was able to hold his head up steady.  Doesn’t he look like he’s going to be well watched over by his sisters? I thought he would be putty in their hands but not so. He ruled the show here. In fact he was simply too strong to sit with his eldest sister and I only got a few seconds to shoot that set up. The girls came in very cute dresses so we did a few  individual portraits too. The youngest always shows me some great expressions and the oldest is always a good helper. They are such fun to photograph.

This girl did such a wonderful job in studio. She was 41/2 but was so good in front of the camera that I extended the session. I’m glad I did as we got a real variety of portraits. I’m looking forward to putting this gallery together!

We are in a long stretch of hot hot sunny days, some more humid and thundery than others. There seems to be no end in sight. PERFECT. Mike and I have been neglecting our own experiments with the camera of late. Must get back to doing more personal work. Here’s one from some recent camera play using the last sun rays of the day.

It was lovely to see these sisters again for some Summer portraits.  We did the shoot against the backdrop of their garden. They have some wonderful flowers and bushes in bloom, such a beautiful setting. I always find it hard to put the camera away. When one of their dogs came out after the session..well…I just had to get the camera out again!

I find summers are more emotional milestones in my children’s lives than birthdays and Christmases. Maybe it’s all that time I spend with them and the approaching year change at school that makes me more focused on how much they are growing up.

I have known the children in these three portraits for many years. They are the children of one of my very best friends. I see them more in the summer because they hang out with my kids at the local lake and our pool. When I was asked to do a portrait session with them one of my aims was to capture them alone in their own  little moment. ( In one instance that involved a conversation about a tarantula on Uranus but it’s too complicated to explain.) What really struck me was how much they are growing up. My friend and I hope our kids share summer lake days right up to leaving for college and I hope here are lots more childhood milestones and memories  in the summers that pass us by.

I have photographed this girl twice before. I think she was two when I first met her.  It was great to see her again and she’s really growing up.  She came in studio for one of my dress sessions and what a gorgeous dress she wore!