I’ve known this little kiddo back when she was still in her mommy’s tummy.  I love getting to see her every year and watching her grow.  It’s one of my favorite things about being a photographer.  I love getting to know families, see them year after year, and document how they evolve over time.

The other weekend I met this family at the park in Scottsdale to take their yearly photos.  Below are a few of my favorites that I wanted to share.  Hope you enjoy!

I wanted to share a few photos I took of these two kiddos the other week.  I did a quick little mini session for this family and snagged a few good ones!!  I love big brother’s smile, and little brother’s bubbles.  Such cuties!!

A while back, I had the chance to photograph my friend, Sarah, and her family.  If you’ve read my posts, you know Sarah works with me at weddings and she’s an awesome photographer.  When Sarah asked me to take her family photos, she made it clear that she wanted their lifestyle documented instead of taking normal family portraits.  She came up with some fun games and activities to keep everyone occupied and to pull their attention away from me.  This allowed the family to be themselves and have fun while I quietly photographed authentic moments unfolding in front of me.  The experience had me thinking about the “lifestyle photography” term ever since.

It’s a popular thing to say these days: “I’m a lifestyle photographer”.   But what does that mean?  I always thought it meant photographing people doing something in their natural environment.  A documentation of someone life.

But these days, the term is used so often that its meaning doesn’t feel so obvious anymore.   I often see regular portrait photography displayed on websites and blogs by “lifestyle photographers” with very little signs of “real life”.  Last I checked, I don’t walk around every day smiling at cameras.  That would not be my lifestyle, and I think it’s safe to assume it’s not the lifestyle of most people (unless you’re famous).  So how did this term get so abused?

I think we all love the idea of capturing real moments and that’s why the term is so popular.  You can tell a lot more about a person when they are in action and captured in their natural state.  But for some reason, when we are in front of the camera we are aware we are being watched and our behavior changes.  We act less like ourselves.  And even worse, we make eye contact and smile at the camera!!!

I don’t think the term “lifestyle photography” is abused on purpose by other photographers.  Documentary style photography is really hard to do when the session is planned and your subjects know they are the focus of your camera.  And when these plans don’t unfold in a way that inspires real life action to be documented, we resort back to what is safe and familiar…  ”smile at the camera”.   So I’m sure the intent to photograph real life is there, but the results don’t always manifest that way.  I think as photographers, we need to be honest about when our work is truly “lifestyle” and when it is portrait photography.  Both are equally as important and beautiful.  We don’t need to blur the lines.

Below are some of the photos I took of Sarah and her family.  There’s a few pictures below that I would NOT consider “lifestyle worthy”, but they still feel cohesive to the overall session.

So I put the question out there to all of you folks on the internet… What does Lifestyle Photography mean to you?

A while back, I got together with a few local photographers for a fun group photo session.  We had a couple of models to practice shooting on, which included two little girls, a teenage girl, and an engaged couple.  I got to hang out with the fabulous Sarah Shaw from Fazzi Photography, Kathy from Kathryn Crouse Photography, and Julia from Julia Romano Photography.   It was super fun working with these ladies! (and thanks Sarah and Kathy for bringing the models!)

This blog post is Part One of our get together.  When I first arrived, I got to work with the two little girls.  They are the cutest sisters ever!!  So stinking ADORABLE!!  Below are some of the photos I took of them.  Love these girls!!

I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been super busy, and definitely behind on my blogging.  This family session was actually taken in May, in Tucson, Arizona.  I’ve been photographing this family for about two years now.  I just love getting to see these guys, especially the kiddos.  They are growing so fast!!  I finally got around to posting a few pictures from their outdoor session.

I just love this little guy!   I photographed him last year when he was a newborn, and again at November’s Mini Sessions.  I love watching little kids grow up, especially their first year.   It’s amazing how fast kids change is such a short amount of time!!

Liz and Kieron are expecting their second child this summer…  I can’t!!  Pretty soon this guy will have a playmate to hang out with…  double the cuteness!!

Here are some of my favs from their session…

I LOVE getting to see little babies grow up, especially that first year.  I first met this little guy when I did his newborn portraits.  It’s amazing how 7 months can change so many things.  Now he’s sitting up, crawling, making all kinds of cute faces, exploring the world, and he has the most adorable two bottom teeth!!

We did this session at DC Ranch, which is one of my favorite places to photograph in Scottsdale.  This is also one of my favorite ages to photograph children.  So I was in heaven…  I could have taken his picture all day!!  Here are some of my favs from the session…

This appointment has been on the books for months.  Kari reached out to me long ago to photograph her family… and at the time, it felt like her appointment would never arrive.   But it did finally arrive, as all days do, and it was worth the wait!   I loved photographing this bunch!!

Below are a few of the photos we took that day…

This baby was one of the happiest children I’ve ever met!  BUT… oh my, those blue eyes are TO DIE FOR!!!  He’s going to get all the ladies when he’s older!

I especially loved this session because I got to follow this little one around in his element… playing outside, playing inside, eating lunch, hanging out in his crib…  real moments.   These are my favorite kinds of sessions!!

As 2010 came to a close, I made an important business decision.  I’ve decided to concentrate my business on weddings and children (between the ages of 6 months – teenagers only).  I will no longer be taking maternity and newborn sessions (I’m making exceptions for existing clients).  I want to focus my business on what I’m most passionate about, and weddings and children portraiture are my favorites.

One of the most important reasons I am drawn to taking photographs is because I love the idea of documenting honest moments.  And children are completely real.  They don’t filter themselves like adults do.  They are in the moment and “are who they are” with no apologies.

In honor of all the kiddos I photographed last year, I pulled some of my favorites from 2010.  All these little ones are so special and I love that I was able to capture a small moment in their lives.

This is a short and super sweet post.  Here’s a few black and white photographs from a newborn session I did in December.  I’m finally getting around to blogging this adorable little boy!!

I’ve been photographing this little one since he was a newborn baby.  He’s growing so fast!  I absolutely LOVE getting to see kids grow up, especially during that first year.  This is the first time I got to see him walking… well, it was more like running.   I definitely got my workout chasing after him!

Shawna and Tommy, it was great to see you guys again and your little guy is cuter than ever!!

Sarah and Kris had something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving, as they welcomed their baby girl into the world.  This little one was the tiniest peanut I’ve ever photographed.  She was also one of the easiest babies I’ve ever photographed.  ”Perfect” doesn’t seem a good enough word to describe this munchkin.   She’s beyond perfection.

Here are some of my favorite photographs from the session.  Congrats Sarah and Kris on your little girl!

Another cute family session completed!

Liz and her little girl are awesome to work with.  They get right into being themselves and seem to forget the camera is on them.  I get to capture so many real moments this way, and I LOVE that!   Liz’s sister and father were in town and hopped in for some photos too.

Thanks girls (and guy) for the fun session!!

I’ve known Chris for a long time, so I was super psyched when I got to photograph his family this holiday season.  His wife, Robyn, and their children are awesome, and I had a great time hanging with all of them.

We started our session in downtown Phoenix by the Science Center.  Heritage Square has so many fun options for photographers, so I’m always happy to shoot in that part of town.  But it got really fun when we made our way through a back alley.  I was so happy this crew was up for a true urban photo session.   Love them!

Here’s a few photos of this beautiful family…

Two weeks ago I held my first mini sessions.  I had a wonderful group of families and children come out to meet me at the Mesa Arts Center.  The day was beautiful and everything went better than I could have imagined.

I want to thank each and every family that came out to see me!  All of you were so easy to work with, especially under the time constraints.  Thank you so much!!

I also want to thank one of my best friends, Julienne.  Without her encouragement and constant support, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to try something like this.  The mini sessions would not have happened without you nudging me (OK… maybe pushing me) to try something new.  Thank you for being the wonderful person you are!!

I will definitely have more of these events in the future.  If anyone would like to be on my mailing list, please shoot me an email to let me know.  That way you’ll be the first to know when I’m holding the next mini sessions, and also stay informed on other specials throughout the year on products or regular sessions.

Below are some of the awesome kiddos and families I photographed.   So. Much. Fun!!!

I first met Kara about 6 years ago…  she used to be my boss!   It’s so funny how much can change in such a short amount of time.  I love that about life.

Seeing Kara again was awesome, and taking her family photos was so much fun for me.  Her husband, Charles, and her two gorgeous boys were awesome to work with.  I felt like I was on a photo shoot for the Gap!  Don’t they look like perfect models for that store?

Below are some of my favorites from their session.

I moved away from home (Massachusetts) about 10 years ago.  When I first left home, it was scary because my family and friends that I was used to relying on were so far away…  I was definitely on my own and it felt scary.

But as time went on, I made new friends…   friends who have consistently been there for me and supported me.  And Shannon and Andrew definitely are two of the best!  I can’t express how much I appreciate all they have done for me over the years.  They truly are some of the greatest people I know, and I’m lucky to call them friends.

I was really happy when I got to take a few photos of their family this holiday season.  I haven’t had a chance to do their pictures until now… and I’m so glad we finally got together for a family session!!  Below are some of the pictures from the session.  Aren’t their kids just beautiful?!

Mother and daughter sessions are always fun for me, and this one was especially enjoyable.  Pam and her daughter, “J”, met me at the Biltmore mall and we had ourselves quite the adventure.  We had donuts, bounced around a pink ball, met some dogs, ran around the grass, found some books to read, picked some flowers, and laughed ourselves silly.  I definitely got my workout in that day!

It was really hard to narrow down which photos to post on the blog, so there’s a little more than usual here.  My favorites might be the photos with the donuts!

It’s that time of year again.  The holidays are right around the corner, and that means I’m going to be super busy taking photos!  I’m going to try and blog everything this year… they just may be really short posts.  Starting with this one…

The “J” family is my first official holiday session this year.  We went to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.  If you are in the Phoenix area and have kids, you have to check this place out.  It’s one of the best parks I’ve been too.  They have a train that will take you for a ride around the park, and they also have a merry-go-round.  But I have to say, photographing on these moving objects takes some getting used to.  It made me a bit dizzy!

Here’s a few shots of this super cute family!!!  Love them!

I told you these were going to be quick blog posts!