I just wanted to say thank you to you all

for a wonderful 2011. Without sounding too cliche, I am so grateful every day for having what I think is the best job in the world, and it’s because of you all. Your support and faith in me keep me inspired and loving what I do. I will be blogging all of the sessions from this past fall soon, and I am booking sessions for 2012 now! I’m also going to attempt to post my 2011 Favorites next week, if I can get these two kids to take a nap at the same time ever.

The photos below are from this year’s holiday card, which I also used for Kellan’s birth announcement. Peace, Love, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and thank you again!

10/2: afternoon/evening only
10/8: afternoon/evening only
10/9: all day afternoon/evening only

Please note: if you have recently inquired about a session, I would recommend confirming a date and time ASAP. There are currently many more inquiries “out there” than there are available spots, and I am booking dates on a first come, first served basis. A session is confirmed only when I have the signed contract and session fee in hand. Thanks for your understanding!

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I will be leaving this post at the top of my blog for the next couple of months, so

be sure to scroll down for the latest in client photo sessions!

As most of you know, we are expecting a little brother for Lila in mid-November. It’s coming up so fast! My availability for sessions for the remainder of the summer and fall is very limited at best, so if you are thinking about booking a session, I would do so ASAP. As of now, I am almost completely booked.

Remaining Available Weekend Dates*:
8/20: morning only
9/18: evening only
10/1: morning only

*I may be able to make a couple of weekday sessions possible if needed, so please inquire if that would work better with your schedule.

If I’ve spoken to you about an upcoming session, please be sure to confirm the session (including paperwork and session fee retainer) at your earliest convenience to guarantee your session. As always, please email or call me with any questions at all! I am also happy to refer anyone I can’t fit in to another photographer local to you, so feel free to ask me for a referral if you would like.

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and stay tuned, I have some fun sessions coming up this week on the blog!

Lisa & Jim, your wedding day was simply wonderful, thank you for letting me be a part of it!

Melissa F, you are the winner of the ClickinMoms Lifetime Membership! I’ll email you shortly with more info. Congratulations!

And because I can’t post without any photos, I leave you with a few recent shots of Lila splashing in the puddles near our house. She picked out her outfit (with the help of my husband).

I haven’t had all that much free time lately, between doing the mom thing and my sessions, so the blog unfortunately took a back seat for a little while. I’m making a big effort to get back here again, so you’ll definitely be seeing more of me in the near future.

I have updates! I’m sure lots of you know at least some of them, but you’ll want to read to the end, because I’m giving away something pretty awesome to a lucky photography-enthusiast reader.

Update #1: let’s address this lovely little misfortune (taken with my iphone, processed with Instagram):
Lila fell at gym class 2 weeks ago, while on the trampoline with one of the teachers. She has a hairline fracture in her foot, and is wearing the cast for another week. As a result, she’s morphed into 28 pounds of angry “carry me everywhere” toddler, who refuses to walk on said cast. I think we’re both counting the days until next Friday when it comes off. She misses the park, she misses running, jumping, standing, she misses being herself. As do I.

Update #2: Another reason for my exhaustion, aside from carrying the Cranky Toddler everywhere, is…Lila’s going to be a big sister! (Yep, pregnant, and carrying this not-so-little girl all over the MetroWest suburbs of Boston.) We are expecting a LITTLE BROTHER for Lila in November! We couldn’t be happier, and Lila has even already named her baby brother. His name is going to be “Baby Megan”, if you ask her. Such a goofball.

Update #2.5: In relation to my pregnancy, I wanted to mention, I AM still shooting! I will be taking sessions through September of this year. Beginning October 1, I will be operating on more of a spontaneous schedule.

Note to my dear, amazing clients: if you’re planning on booking a holiday card session, a fall photo session, an end of summer session, I would highly recommend getting it on my calendar before 10/1/11. I will still take sessions after 10/1, but it will be on a limited basis, and dependent on how I’m feeling at the time. The calendar on my website has been updated to reflect dates still available for the remainder of the summer and early fall. (Note to my Western MA clients: I will be in the area over the weekend of 7/15, if you are interested in scheduling something then.)

I don’t have any relevant photos for this update (no maternity photos…yet!), so I’m showing one of my new favorite non-people summery images.

Now for the giveaway!

I’ve had many requests from people asking for advice related to photography. Whether it be running a business, starting a business, processing my images, how I shoot, what gear I use, you name it, it’s been asked. I unfortunately have not inherited my parents talent for teaching, and therefore, don’t plan on offering mentoring or workshops at this time. Instead, I wanted to direct you to a place where I learned pretty much everything I know to this point. I’m still learning from them, every single day.

Back in 2008, a good friend emailed me about a new forum starting up for women photographers, called ClickinMoms. I jumped at the chance to learn more about my new obsession, and haven’t looked back since. CM is for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts and hobbyists alike–we all have the same end goal of improving our photography skills and learning as much as we can about our art. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from CM over the past 3 years–it’s immeasurable. CM itself has grown immensely since I joined, and we now offer online workshops and private mentoring, as well as having tons of fun with challenges, contests, and exclusive discounts and benefits for members.

I have the honor of being able to give away a Lifetime Membership to ClickinMoms this month! This is valued at $195, and will be given to one of my lucky readers! A Lifetime Membership to CM means no more subscription payments, ever! You also get first access to all of the workshops and other exclusive benefits available only to Lifetime Members.

All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment below, telling me why you’d like to win. It’d be awesome if you liked CM’s Facebook page too! The only catch: you can not already be a member of ClickinMoms to win. This giveaway is for new members only! Now, if anyone decides they simply MUST join CM before the giveaway is announced, never fear–CM will refund the winner’s subscription fee at that time.

Entry deadline is next Friday, June 24, 2011 (aka Cast Begone Day!), at 5pm EST. I will choose a winner via random.org shortly thereafter, and announce it here on the blog, so make sure to check back.

I’ll end with some of my favorite, never-before-blogged images, since I’ve been so lax about sharing lately.


(This is blurry on purpose–it’s taken with a lens called a Lensbaby, and is a manual focus lens. Using it on a 2 year old is not the brightest idea, but I love this.)

I chose a rather easy subject (our daughter Lila), but decided to do the whole thing in black & white only. I’ve learned a lot from this project, and I love it! This may sound weird, but I now look for photo compositions that I think will specifically work best in black & white–not just for this project, but in all of my work. Below are just some of my favorites from my project this year.
Have a wonderful 2011, Happy New Year!!

I did a lot of things as a mom I swore I’d never do (listen to Laurie Berkner, watch Barney willingly, ignore the mess, forsake my beloved shopping days for kiddie gym class, you name it). Business-wise, I always swore I’d never shoot weddings. Too much pressure, too long of a day, and giving up one of my two precious days a week with my family.

Then I (second) shot one. And was hooked. I loved shooting weddings. Those little moments I loved shooting already–the ones where people are genuine with each other, and not paying attention to anyone with a lens? Weddings are MADE for these moments! Ok, well, maybe not really, but you know what I mean. Over the rest of 2010, I shot a handful of weddings, some as the second shooter, and some as the primary. Pouring rain, thunderstorms, bright blazing mid-day sun, wintery darkness, 90 degrees, muggy and buggy, I’ve seen and learned a lot this year. More than anything, I ate my words. I love shooting weddings, and all that comes with it! Below are some of my favorites from the year. (Note: I am currently only accepting a VERY limited number of weddings for 2011. I have a few on the books already, and have about 3 spots left. If you are thinking inquiring with me for your wedding, I would recommend doing so sooner rather than later.)
(The cutie on the left above might look a little familiar–he’s the little boy running down the stairs in that Beautiful perfume ad I’ve seen on tv! He does a lot of print modeling work too. Fun!)
This is the last business post for 2010 for me! Tomorrow I’m posting my favorites from my 52 Weeks project I did this year, with Lila. And Saturday I’m going to announce my new personal project for 2011! I wanted to send a HUGE thank you to all of my amazing clients for such a wonderful year. You are so supportive and inspiring, and I can’t ever thank you enough. I look forward to seeing everyone again in 2011!

I won’t lie, when I was first starting out, I was the least excited about these sessions. All those people, looking everywhere but at me, not sure of what to do with their hands, wearing forced smiles as I tried to make them NOT say “cheese”…it just didn’t inspire me. Only once I started taking a different approach to these sessions did I realize their true potential–and I’m not talking money or sales for me here. Capturing a family’s true make-up, their real interactions and connections, showing their absolute love for each other–that’s what I’m talking about. Figuring out who was the funny one, the serious one, and watching them bring out the best in each other. I stopped worrying about making sure everyone was looking at me, and started making sure they were looking at each other. I now sit casually behind the lens, and wait for the Real Moments, instead of the really forced moments. And family sessions have surprisingly (to me) become my most favorite type of session. I LOVE watching families together, and seeing how they love each other.

I hope you can see that in today’s Favorites Post.

ap!

On to the photos. Sit tight, and keep scrolling.

I just realized I haven’t blogged this session yet either. You’re going to flip, just WAIT. One of my faves from the entire year.

Up tomorrow, the kiddos. I thought this post was long…but I have a feeling that one could be longer! Happy Monday! I hope you’re not all quite as buried by snow as we are, I think we got 18″ overnight. It’s a winter wonderland out there!