There is something so refreshing about updating the family portrait hanging in your house or the one folded up in your wallet. And fall seems to be the perfect time to do so. 

The kids are starting a new school year, the weather's changing, the holidays are approaching. Maybe you've been putting off those holiday cards the grandparents have been asking about... It's all happening!

Let me help.

In November, I'll be hosting three (yes, three!) mini session days! 

These mini sessions a perfect for families looking for photos for holiday cards, gifts, or just an updated family portrait.  Best of all they are fast and fun!  Just 15 minutes!  

The session fee is $150.00 and I will have lots of great add-ons, like digital files, albums and print package (perfect for holiday gifts!)

Here's a list of the mini session days, you can click on each date to take you to the corresponding sign-up page:

• November 12
• November 13
• November 19

We also have a Pinterest page you can check out for fall outfit ideas and holiday card inspiration!

See you in November!!!

Halloween is such a great holiday for kids and adults: they get to dress up while we get to see our little ones in some of the cutest outfits possible! I mean really, who doesn't love a baby in a Halloween costume? 

That is why I've decided to have a little Halloween party here at the studio on  October 29th!  All morning, from 9:00 to 12:00 I'll be having five-minute mini sessions designed to highlight your kids in their best and cutest costumes!  The 29th is also the date for the Greenwood neighborhood Trick or Treating event!  So why not make a day of it?!  Stop in for a photo, then hits the streets for some Trick or Treating fun!!

 Click here to reserve your five-minute slot*. 

You can also check out our Pinterest page for costume inspiration!

*The session fee is only $50 and includes digital files.

Photographing friends is always such an honor.  Especially when they are amazingly smart and talented women, like my friend, Elena Blair.

Elena is a family photographer and photography educator, based here in Seattle, WA. When she asked me to take her portrait I was thrilled, but also a little nervous.  I wanted to give her something that really showed her personality and was just as creative and artistic as she is.  

To achieve this, I used my 1950's Rolleiflex camera, studio strobes and Iflord Delta 3200 film.  

I just love how they turned out!

Luckily, so did Elena!

One thing that happens every summer is that I get WAY behind on my blogging!  With my kids at home and summer activities (not to mention the beautiful weather) sitting down to my computer and writing is hard!

Now the kids are in school, the weather is yucky and I have TONS of photos to share!  My goal is to blog at least once a week!  Wish me luck!

This little one couldn't have been more fun to work with!  Sleeping like an dream for the first have of the session, then bright eyed and happy for the second half.  And so much personality for such a wee-one!

I love working with newborns.  It always amazes me how different they all are.  Each one coming into this world with their own way of doing things... their own little personality that you can see from the get go, even when they're asleep! 

This little lady was no exception.  She wiggled and stretched her way through our session, warm and cozy in my Seattle studio.  Such a trooper!  And SUCH a cutie!  

Oh, and check out the STUNNING quilt made for her by her grandma.  Incredible!

Watching families grow is one of my favorite things about being a newborn photographer.  It brings me so much joy.

The Udodiks are one of my favorite Seattle families.  We met the first time about four years ago when they came in with their first baby.  Then I saw them again about two years later when they had their second daughter.  And then again, just a few weeks ago with their third daughter.

This family is so sweet and so much fun to work with.  It is clear that they are completely in love with their little family and it is a pleasure to witness and capture.

Last week I took a trip to a suburb of Toronto, Canada to attend the memorial service of my Aunt Lynn.  

My Aunt and I had been very close.  And while we had lost some part of her years ago to Alzheimer’s Disease, her physical passing was hard.  She was an amazing woman with a loud laugh and a fierce way of loving those around her, especially her family. 

I flew back east with my dad and stepmother.  Once there, we met up with one of my brothers, my cousins and two of my uncles.  All people I love but, because of distance, I rarely see.

In the days leading up to the memorial service we did what I think most families do during such times. We looked through photos, told stories, laughed and cried. 

Going through all the old pictures was amazing.  I saw photos of my family I’d never seen before.  An image of my parents before they were married.  My Dad as a young boy that could have easily been mistaken for my son Dexter. My Aunt’s old modeling photos that had been taken when she worked at the Washington Post in the late 1950’s (I’d never known that she modeled or had worked for the Washington Post).

As we were looking through all the old images, I was struck by a couple of things that I’ve been thinking about ever since.  

The truth is, sometimes I feel like I have a silly job.  

With all the craziness in the world, I often question if I should be doing something with my life that helps people.  I take photos.  Shouldn’t I be doing something more important?  

Sitting with my family last week and going through all the old photos reminded me that I do do something important.

I was reminded that pictures matter.  They connect us to our past.  They inform future generations.  They tell the story of who we were, how we lived, and who we loved.

My aunt lost her memories long before she died.  But we still have her pictures. They saved some of those memories for us.  What a gift.

So to you, my client, I just want to say thank you. Creating photos of you and your family means the world to me.

Thank you for allowing me into your life.  

Thank you for trusting me with your memories.

I’m happy to be heading into the busy fall season with a renewed sense of what I do and why I do it.  And I can’t wait to get started.

As a newborn and family photographer, one of my very favorite things to do is capture an older sibling with their new brother or sister.  

These are the photos every mother and father want.  These are the photos that will be printed, hung on the wall and sent to Grandma.  I know it.  And it is my goal to get as many good shots of this special bond as I possibly can. But, it's not always easy.  

The truth is some toddlers are not super excited about the new baby in their lives.  Behind the scenes of the precious older sibling with newborn baby photo is often fraught with emotion.  It's one to the reasons why I keep a stash of lollipops and bubbles on hand at the studio. Ha!

This session however, was a total dream!  The older brother could not get enough of his new baby.  He was beaming and proud and so clearly over-the-moon that it brought a tear to my eye while I was shooting, and then again when my film came back.  I'm pretty sure he'll be the best older brother there ever was!  

And as for the lucky baby brother.... well I'll just let the photos speak for themselves!

These two stole my heart.  

Last weekend I had the opportunity to photograph my eighty-seven year old mother-in-law Joan. 

Joan has always been an out-going, life-of-the-party, kind of lady.  And she still is.  But she also has dementia, and some days are better than others.  

The day of the shoot was not a great day for Joan.  She was tired and really just wanted to sit on the couch under some blankets and relax.  She wasn't over excited about being dragged up to the studio.  But we decided to move forward anyway.  We got her ready and sat her on a comfortable stool behind a desk (to give her something to lean on).  I thought perhaps we'd get one or two frames and then let her go back to her comfortable spot on the couch in the lobby.

But as soon as we got her situated and in front of the camera, everything changed.  She sat up straight, talked about her kids (all seven of them), sang songs.... she was herself in a way she hadn't been just minutes before.  Something about the photos brought this out in her, and it was amazing to see and to capture.

Most of my time in the studio is spent photographing newborns and their families.  I love those photos because they capture such a special moment in time. The newness of a relationship that is so unlike anything else.  That sense of wonder and the indescribable love that we all feel for our children. 

But what about the other side of that journey?  When at some point the roles reverse and the child grows into becoming the care giver.  

The love that is there on that end is a different kind of love.  It's the love that has history.  It has a lifetime of stories.  And memories.  And times together.  It's about the love children feel for their parents as well as the love parents feel for their kids.

I think that that was what Joan was responding to the day of our shoot.  

She was there with two of her kids.  They got to sit, with their arms around each other, and talk and laugh and just be.  

Moms and babies.  

That is what I photograph.  And as any mother will tell you, your baby is always your baby, no matter how old they are.  And your mom is always your mom.  She's always that person who loved and cared for you, even before she knew who you were.  That relationship is unlike any other we will ever have.  And I'm so honored to be able to capture it.

Happy Mother's Day.

Clients often comment on the fact that my work does not look like other newborn photography they’ve seen.  Part of that is due to my minimalistic style.  I don’t pose babies or use props, which I know is uncommon in my field.  But part of my look is also due to the way I capture my images.  

Everything seen on my website was shot on film.  And the subtle look of film is, what I believe, people are seeing when they comment on the distinct look of my work. 

I choose film because my goal is to create timeless images for my clients.  I want their baby’s photos to have the same sense of nostalgia that baby photos of their grandparents have.  Film helps me create that.  

I also choose film because I know I can trust it. 

I don’t know what the future holds.  I don’t know if we will be able to open and view a CD or a thumb drive or even what will happen to “cloud storage” in ten, twenty or 100 years from now..  What I do know is that the floppy disks I used in college are obsolete, but the film negatives I have from my own childhood and even from my parent’s childhood are still printable.  I know that when I shoot a roll of film the lab will scan it and send it to me as a jpeg file that I can then save on my computer and share with my clients.  But, if (God forbid) something were to cause my computer or my hard drives to crash, there would still be the negative, and those images would not be lost.  

I choose film because shooting film makes me a better photographer.  It slows me down.  It makes me think.  It allows me to look up from my camera and connect with the people I’m working with.  

Most importantly though, I choose film because it brings me joy.  I share that joy with my clients and it comes through in my images. It also inspires me, which means I love my job and even after 16 years of doing it, I never feel burt out.  In fact, I look forward to each and every session I shoot and am looking forward to many more years to come.