Kids are the most fun to photograph because they are the most au natural photography subjects I work with. While I spend time trying to grab a nice, albeit fleeting, family moment where everyone is smiling with their eyes open, I also capture those candid moments that make up the hilarity of being a family. NOTE: I never identify a child’s name, and I always receive permission from the parents before posting a child’s photo on my blog.
This fall I got to photograph Alice and Joseph and their cute little boys. Big brother loves his little brother, but had a hard time standing upright next to him – every hug resulted in them falling backwards into a cuddly heap. It was a lot of fun, though, as we wandered through their Takoma Park neighborhood and neighborhood park. Finally, I found some time to post their photos!
Tina contacted me for a lifestyle session because, as working parents go, she only had pictures of her kids, but not of just her. For an application she was working on, she needed some pictures of just her, demonstrating some of her personal favorite activities – baking, reading, sewing, exercising, and tending to her garden. It was a nice way to remember that even though most of our non-working time is eaten away by little ones, we are still people as well as parents, and we have independent interests. Anyway, she was a great subject to work with and we had a lot of fun. Here are a few glimpses into Tina’s life when she has a moment to herself.
Cherry blossoms down on the National Mall just don’t compare to the suburban ones, I have to admit, though the suburban ones don’t come with massive tourists buses and swarms of tourists trying to climb the fragile trees or rip the flowers off of them. However, the advantage to living within a metro ride to the country’s most-famous spring decor is that I can pop by at any point during the short-lived week of blossom-age, which occurred so early this year that I had to reschedule all my shoots and work around rain, sick kids, and all that. Regina and Jerry, who are only spending a year in DC with their little one for a residency, decided to capture their family session down on the Mall, and we lucked out with a smaller crowd and full blossoms on the stretch of arbor near 17th and Constitution. Though it was a cooler, cloudy day, the magnificence of these pink petals still make for a beautiful backdrop. I had a great time chasing their kid around who just loved toddling his way up and down through the trees. A few pics from that day!
Kathy and Alex and their growing family gathered for some cherry blossoms pictures earlier this spring! Their toddler was such a calm little guy who was curious about everything growing – the spring flowers, his mother’s belly, the baby who would be his new sibling. Congrats to the happy family!
Kate and Ben and their kids showed up subtly color-coordinated for their cherry blossom shoot at a nearby park in Silver Spring, which was perfect. Their smiley little kids were particularly drawn to the attached playground, of course, but I managed to get some adorable shots of them hugging each other and with their parents. The little girl was all belly and smiles and their boy was energetic and hilarious. Here are a few from our sun-setting day just as the blossoms were beginning to peak and before the rainstorm of a weekend.
This year, the cherry blossoms in DC decided to make an early, early appearance – nearly three weeks earlier than last year. After undergoing an unusually warm winter, the blossoms were terribly confused as to when it was spring, and once they began blooming, I had a very short window of opportunity to capture photos and family sessions. To make it more interesting, my weekend of blossom line-ups were interrupted by rain and threat of snow. I madly ran around town examining the buds on the trees each day to make sure they peaked when the National Park Service was claiming they would. Fortunately, they were correct, as was I, and some lucky families got to take some early spring photos.
Emily and Sean and their baby boy enjoyed a morning of photos in their impeccable Silver Spring home. I mean, sparkling impeccable. It’s like they had a newborn who couldn’t move around destroying half the house or something yet. For now, he lay around looking ornamentally cute on the floor and on their couch. Adorned by two loyal dogs, the family couldn’t have had a more picture-perfect holiday card. In the last shot, he was already napping soundly in his father’s arms.
There she is! My friend Kevin’s new-ish baby girl, sitting so well for the camera. She and Kevin are inseparable. He donned her in this little holiday outfit for her first Christmas card, which I had the honor of taking the photos for. She was all smiles and cheeks, and we lucked out on another beautiful sunny day to capture some of her joyous glow.
I met Robyn and Howard and their growing girls at their new house, which they had just finished building and wanted to feature on their holiday card this year. They also lucked out on one of the warm December days we had—I was literally sweating during the session as they shielded the blinding sun out of their eyes! The girls were silly and funny and typical siblings—they love each other, but won’t hug each other—and are also incredibly photogenic. After taking some photos in front of the house in the blistering sun, we checked out the backyard and discovered some spots in their garden that turned out to be lovely backdrops for more pictures. Enjoy!
Stephanie and Jeff have two little people with two big personalities, and it was just a riot capturing their pictures. The big brother doesn’t like to admit that he really, deep down, loves his little sister. His sister, on the other hand, spent much of the photo shoot chasing him around trying to hug him to pieces. Stephanie opted for an urban look to the pictures so we met in downtown Silver Spring at the artsy Christmas tree and then to the new Silver Spring library. Here are a few shots from their session!
Well, hello there little Christmas ornament! And she was cute and priceless enough to be enough to decorate anyone’s living room for the holidays – and holiday card, which is what Yasmin and Charlie called me up to help them out with. We went around Sligo Creek park in Silver Spring on a beautiful fall afternoon, just before sunset, and got some great late-afternoon lighting that highlighted this adorable little child and lovely family. Yasmin taught me a wonderful phrase: “baby bling,” to describe those little headbands, and her baby wore some cute little booties that kept falling off. The three of them were so much fun to hang out with that afternoon, and I was lucky to get a lot of great takes from this patient little one. A few of my favorites, below.
Ari, who is the unofficial social chair of our neighborhood playground, with Mandy (who looks good in every single photo I took, literally) and their little ones.
Remember this kid? Well, here are a few of my favorites from this session! We’ve actually met a few times at the local watering hole (i.e. the playground) and when his mother, Joan, opened the door, we both went, “oh! I recognize you!” Anyway, this child woke up on the wrong side of the toddler bed that morning, but still managed to put on quite a winning look. I’m telling you, this kid is going to charm his way through life. I had such a great time photographing this little family.
Quick! Live baby or toy doll? This little girl was just so good, it was difficult to pick out one shot for my featured snapshot from this session. As a writer it’s against my rules to tritely call a child a doll, but I made one exception today.
If Christmas was a person, this is exactly what she would have looked like as a baby. One day, boys will say to her, “Santa took sparkly ornaments from the Christmas tree and put them in your eyes” (sorry Dad).
She may be little, but she has a big heart, and it’s all for her big brother. A sneak peak from this super sweet family’s photo shoot.
Shelly and Matt have a great little family, with a complete ham of a daughter and a total little bug of a baby boy. I had so much fun hanging out with them and taking pictures. They have endless smiles and lots of laughter, and made it easy to capture so many wonderful moments. We also lucked out on one of the last, warm, sunny fall days, in late November! Afterwards, their daughter showed me all her favorite toys and I would have stayed longer because she was just so hilarious, but I had to reluctantly shuffle off to another shoot. Here are a few of my favorites from that day.
Another new family and their little baby boy! He made his entrance several weeks early, but just in time for his first holiday card.
Another one from my weekend of holiday card shoots. This little boy has all the making of a future male model. That look is clearly blue steel. (Zoolander reference)
A snapshot from one of my jam-packed weekend of family photo shoots, just in time for upcoming holiday cards. This little girl was a real riot, and her baby brother was just all toothy smiles and cheeks. The camera loved them.
Fall and kids—my two favorite things. As a fall baby, I think I naturally gravitate towards the season. I was a big fan of orange and yellow (and still am), I used to love and still like the idea of collecting acorns for no reason other than to feel like a squirrel, and I chose this time of year for my wedding date. That and because the venue we liked had an opening. But there’s also the rainbow of leaves that paints the blue skies and carpets the ground, the warm sun and the crisp morning air, the apples and pumpkins and all the cliches that make an easier transition from summer to cooler weather.
As tradition, we started to take annual photographs at our wedding site (Woodend) for its rainbow of foliage. As small people appeared in our lives, the pictures shifted from being of us to just being of them—because once you become parents, you pretty much disappear into an anonymous existence. Here are a few assortments that I took this year, at Woodend and then at my in-laws’ in Chicago.
One small step for baby—one giant leap for parents
Tom and Kate—no, not that Tom and Kate, but a far cooler couple—are expecting their first-born this January! I caught them on a rainy fall afternoon right before a baby shower in their honor. Pregnancy is such a bizarre time in a woman’s life, with changing body shapes, an alien-like creature shoving its way around the belly, and the range of emotions and physical symptoms experienced in a short nine months. But you wouldn’t be able to tell with Kate—she just went about her afternoon like pregnancy was no big deal. Here are a few great moments of her and Tom just enjoying their last pre-child days.
(Baby boy toes, Chicago)
I jetted to Chicago a couple weekends ago to meet some totally teeny-tiny, completely adorable and helpless little new humans. After you’ve had two of your own, you completely forget just how small they start off (although mine began in the 8-pound range, so they were never this small). Here you’ll meet my sister-in-law Lexi’s and Gregg’s baby girl, and Brandon’s and Stef’s baby boy (baby girl and baby boy are second cousins!) complete with sausage toes, yawns, cries, sleepy eyes, and doting parents.
*YES! I come to Chicago often and would be more than happy to be your family/ engagement/ newborn/ etc. photographer when I’m in town. Please contact me for details on my upcoming trips!*
Diana and Derek were the lucky winners of our preschool’s fundraising auction in which I donated a family session. As parents who spend most of their free time trying to get their kids dressed and fed and off to school, it was no surprise that nearly six months went by before we were able to set a date! However, they chose my favorite time of the year to take photos—autumn—at the time when it’s still warm enough for short-sleeves but cool enough to see the leaves start to change colors. We met up on a sunny Sunday at Sligo Creek park with their two boys and spent an afternoon capturing them snuggling, hugging, throwing rocks into the water, finding enormous sticks that doubled as walking canes and crutches and swords, and just enjoying their day with each other. I had such a great time hanging out with their little family! Thanks for a lovely afternoon!
Red Kite Studios 
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