Alicia & Dave E-Session

Last Sunday amidst all the thunderstorms rolling through the area I met up with Alicia and Dave for their engagement session at Chadds Ford Winery. This was my first time meeting them in person (they live in D.C.) and I couldn't be more excited to put a name to the face and even more excited that they are totally adorable. We readied ourselves for the shoot by starting off with a wine tasting. It was perfect to get to know each other and calm some nerves. I highly recommend going to Chadds Ford, not only do they have some really good wine but their tasting was extremely generous. We could have hung out a lot longer but since we actually needed to take some pictures we steadied ourselves, sorta, I think we tried 13 wines? It was the perfect getting to know you time.

Now on to picture time!
I have a lot of favorites from the session but this one is at the top of the list.

Awesome stainless holding tanks.

Dave brought along a little surprise for Alicia, their football jerseys! She is an Eagles fan, he is a Patriots fan so he thought it would be fun to stir things up a bit. I would love to be a fly on the wall when their teams play each other. There are more fun shots in the slideshow.

Another top contender for favorite of the day.

The management at Chadds Ford was very gracious to take us down to the cellar for some photos. I even gained an assistant to hold some lights for me.

Love this one by the barrels.
Continuing some moody lighting.

I have been lovin these engagement sessions. I come away from each one with a big smile on my face, so happy to have so many awesome couples to work with.

Alicia and Dave you guys are adorable, make sure to let me know when you are in town again.

Slideshow

Ashley & Matt E-Session

Last Saturday after a fun session with Crystal and Chris we headed over to the east side to meet up with Ashley & Matt. We met them at Frank restaurant which is where they first met. Matt used to work there and Ashely lived right around the corner. We had some drinks and hung out a little at their table. Ashley even wore the shirt she had on when they first met. It is a cute place and the food that was coming out of the kitchen smelled divine!

I wanted to put a little something together to get the all around feel of Frank's

They did a quick wardrobe change and we headed to the park around the corner from their apartment.

I just love this one, Ashley has beautiful brown eyes.

Matt is a total goof ball but he is super handsome and has a great smile

mmm buttery flare

Matt is in the process of opening a new restaurant in Brooklyn so we thought it would be perfect to incorporate that into the shoot. Its going to be so cool for them to look back at these when everything is finished. As of last Saturday they still didn't have a name nailed down but once I find out the name I will be sure to update this post. I had a lot of fun playing with some different lighting techniques and mixing things up a bit. Its one of my goals this year to be a little more experimental with artificial light, get some moody into it ya know.

**up date! The restaurants name is No. 7**

We could not forget the smittens! Ashley's mom got the smittens for them and when Matt proposed during a hike he put the ring in the shared smitten hand for Ashley to find.

Too freaking cute.

Again, such a fun day. We also had amazing meals with both couples from Saturday, it was a tasty day. I am so glad we were able to travel to NYC and capture important things for each couple. Matt cracks me up, you will see some of his character come out in the slideshow. They are getting married in October at the Appleford estate in Philadelphia. Can't wait to see you guys again, hopefully I will see you before the wedding if we can get up for the restaurant opening.
Thanks again to Don for second shooting and assisting me throughout the day. Some of the shots in the slideshow are from him. Isn't he a great well rounded boyfriend?

Slideshow

Crystal & Chris E-Session

Last Saturday Don and I headed up to NYC for two awesome engagement sessions. We met Crystal and Chris first in Times Square. They really wanted to incorporate the city into the shoot and we had a fantastic time. At the very start of the shoot we had a bit of a shoe malfunction as they were running across the street Crystals shoe strap broke! But luckily Don had a safety pin on him and Chris ran to the drug store for some tape. Go figure, these things happen but we made the best of it.

Crystal and Chris will be getting married in Philadelphia at the Academy of Fine Arts in September. I am really looking forward to seeing them again, we had a great time on Saturday.

Now on to some photos!

I love the motion in this image, one of my favorites from the day.

Nothing could be more New York than hailing a cab.
OK, so maybe the Naked Cowboy is becoming part of the NYC culture. He was a little upset when we didn't actually want to pose with him, we just wanted him in the background. But we did take some of the traditional tourist shots with him, you will see in the slideshow.
$2.00 well spent.
From Times Square we headed over to the Brooklyn Pominade. Crystal went to Law School in Brooklyn and so this was familiar territory. Everything about Saturday was perfect, beautiful people, perfect temperature and white puffy clouds.
Love all the elements in this image, the sky, the couple and the shadows.
SexyJazz hands!
Ha ha, Chris has this thing with jazz hands. I really enjoy their playfulness in this image.

We had so much fun, and I can't wait to see them again. Don did a little second shooting and some assisting for me, the only reason I was able to get some awesome shots of them with the sky behind them. A few of his images made it into the slideshow as well! I am so happy he was able to go up with me. He had a great time and really enjoyed meeting everyone.

Enjoy the Slideshow

Sura & John E-Session

Thursday evening I spent some time with Sura and John. Their wedding is in September and after hanging out with them again on Thursday I am even more excited for it now. They are such a fun and cute couple, lots of personality. Not to mention they followed directions well and took some chances for the sake of the image. Love that.

We started off at CHOP, they both work in emergency there and its also where they met. So it was a no brainer to take some photos there. We then went to Elfreth's Alley for some essential old city Philly photos and they were excited to go to Logan fountain at the end. The fountain was very fun, check in the slideshow for more images. We all got a tad wet but it was worth it.

I think I made them run across the street five times to get this particular shot. One of those things when you get it in your head you must have it. I have always loved that National sign and I pictured them just like this in mid air. cool.

I love this little series.
Shows a lot of their personalities.

I think one of my favorites from the day.Fun with feet.
Cool alley way, somehow the fire escapes reminded me of Italy.

Slideshow
(Sorry if it stalls a bit in the middle, not sure why its doing that.)

Melissa & Mike

A few weeks ago Melissa, Mike and I headed out to do another engagement session with just them this time. Last time we did a family style shoot but we wanted to concentrate on just the two of them a little more this time around. Not to mention it was awesome to hang out with them for a few hours and get caught up with just the grown ups.

Of course we picked a hot and humid day, but what can ya do? They braved the weather wonderfully and a quick stop at Starbucks helped revitalize us.

Here are some of my favorites.

We were out in Yardley and I just love these old houses.

I wanted to get a head shot for each of them. Man love Melissa's eyes. I have some ideas brewing for her wedding day and those eyes!

A little behind the scenes action here courtesy of Mike while he was holding my camera.

Not only am I a photographer but I can also fix broken necklaces, bustle dresses, fix make-up, tie bows, design invitations, menus and much much more!

Melissa and Mike will be tying the knot this September and I can hardly wait. I will be doing double duty at the wedding, wedding photographer for the first part of the day and guest at the reception. Melissa has been a very good friend for years and really wanted me to be a part of her big day in both ways. It will be fun and I am so excited for her.

Love you guys! Enjoy your slideshow

Come up with a caption for this one.

I know you can come up with some fun captions, lets hear em!

The above couple are the lovely Melissa and Mike who are getting married in September. We went out last weekend for another engagement shoot, our first one included their adorable daughter Ellena. We thought it would be fun to get some of just the two of them and it was good hanging out time for all of us. I am still a tad backed up from being away last week and that will continue since I will be away again most of this week!

You guys should have some fun with this one until I return on Thursday. I just crack up every time I look at that image.

Have a great week!

Lydia & Pat's engagement Session

Lydia and Pat are such a fun couple. We met up last Friday to roam around Rittenhouse. We found a bunch of cool little spots and they even got in the fountain for me. I got in too, it was actually refreshing. They both went to school in Philadelphia but didn't meet until they were working in Baltimore. They just moved back here so its an exciting time for them to get to know the city together again.

Lydia can totally work the camera! She kept cracking me up she was soo good, which then made her crack up. I loved it because she has such an expressive laugh.

I LOVED this mural. Oh I can't resist those colors.

The owner to this house happened to be arriving home when we were on his stoop. At first we just thought he was watching us but he was flattered and patiently waited while we took a few more shots. I really enjoyed this stoop.

I think this is one of my favorites from the evening. Just something about it.

They are getting married coming up in August at the Pearl S. Buckhouse and will begin my marathon of weddings into the fall.
Totally excited, I have had a nice break and will be ready to jump right in.

Check out their slideshow

Julie Pete & Logan Family Engagement

Friday evening I spent some time with Pete, Julie and Logan. Pete and Julie are getting married in August and instead of doing a more traditional engagement session we decided to make it a family affair. Logan pretty much called the shots on this shoot, we followed him and did what he wanted to do. He moves quick too! We went on a walk through the neighborhood and then down to love park. The light Friday night was a dream.

This is one good looking family don't ya think?

Mr. Logan all grown up in his little car just chillin.

I always enjoy letting the kids loose and seeing what they do, you had to keep a close eye on this guy though. I like that you can see Pete making sure the little man was ok.

Amazing light like I said. I think this is my favorite color family photo of the day.

I had to include this one because I can't tell you how excited I am to see these guys on their wedding day. Julie is amazingly gorgeous. I love this image, she didn't even know I took it.

It was great spending time with you guys.
We are going to have a great time on the wedding day.

Slideshow

Elizabeth & Kevin Engagement Shoot

Sunday morning I met up with Elizabeth and Kevin for their engagement shoot. They live out in Ohio but Elizabeth's family lives here in Philly. They were in town for her bridal shower so we took advantage of that and headed out before they had to be at the airport. It was equally as hot as the day before and we took a few breathers to cool off in between locations. Man the heat just drains you, I give these guys credit for looking so adorable through it all!

There are so many cute little hideaways in Old City, I just love that neighborhood.

Their reception will be at the Seaport Museum so we thought it would be cool to head over there for some photos. The sun was hot and high so I decided to use it to a bit of my advantage.

The Ben Franklin Bridge always photographs so well, as does Elizabeth!

I hope you guys were able to cool off and relax before heading to the airport. I am glad we got to meet up and I can't wait to see you in October.

Enjoy the Slideshow

Jessica & Karol Engagement

Saturday after hanging out with baby Zoe I headed down to Old City to meet up with Jessica and Karol. They are getting married in October and I was very excited to meet up with them again. We hung out for a while got a bite to eat and decided to take some casual photos near Head House Square, on of my favorite places to go.

Meet Jessica and Karol
This is one of my favorites from the day.

I think this one ties for my favorite.
I really enjoyed the little moments they had together during the shoot.

Spring isn't over yet, there are still a ton of plants flowering all over the place.
I loved this patch of purple.

They are so comfortable together.

Its been so exciting getting together with all my couples this year. I am so excited for all the weddings I have coming up. Its going to be a great summer!

Jessica and Karol, I look forward to hanging out with you guys again. You are going to be such an adorable bride and groom!

Enjoy your slideshow

Jessica & Chris Engagement Shoot

I have been so excited for this shoot. Don and I went up to New Haven CT this weekend to hang out with these two awesome people. We first met Jess and Chris at one of the many scooter rallies that we go to every year. They brought a big group down from Connecticut one year to our July rally and the rest is history. Chris is also a photographer and we have always had tons to chat about. Last year when he told me that him and Jess had got engaged and they couldn't think of anyone else to photograph their wedding I was so excited and not to mention honored. Their wedding is going to be beautiful. We head up to Bennington Vermont for it at the end of June.

Enough chit chat and on to photos.

It was supposed to rain all day Saturday, but we got beautiful weather instead.
Aren't they adorable?

I just love this one.

We have a ton of shots with the scoots.

I love Jess's laughter in this image.Weeeeeee!!

Really what could be sexier?

Ok maybe this.

You can't just pose with the scooters you have to ride them.

And of course Jess has her own scoot!Again thank you guys so much for all the hospitality and friendship.
I can not wait for your wedding weekend and to see you guys again.

slideshow

Alison & Kevin Engagement Shoot

First off I hope everyone went out and voted today! I will be very curious to see who Pennsylvania favors.
So thats it with the politics, which I am really not big on. On to more exciting things like Alison and Kevin! We had a blast on Sunday and it was such a gorgeous day. Alison and Kevin are true outdoors people and after chatting a bit seems that Kevin is quite the history buff, he would do a good job guiding tours at the Fonthills Museum where we did our shoot! He was full of all sorts of information about the property,which by the way I love this place. So many fun spots to choose from and I love the spring, such vibrant colors.

Alison and Kevin are my 6-7-08 couple and I could not be more excited to shoot their wedding!

Aren't they adorable?

I think they are both naturally photogenic.

Totally hot.

I enjoy being surprised by unintentional shots, as I was getting set up for this shot I fired off a few frames just to make sure my settings were just so as Kevin and Alison were patiently waiting for my instruction and this was the test shot, it turned out to be my favorite of the bunch.

I could not wait to get them in the field of dandelions. We did these at the end, and good thing since we were all covered in yellow pollen afterwards!

I love this sea of green and yellow.

Such a fun afternoon! Be sure to check out the slideshow, a ton of awesome stuff in there even one of them running from the law! :) Not to mention Kevin is a man of many faces and provided me much entertainment going through all these images. Enjoy.

Alison & Kevin Teaser

Whew what a weekend! I am going through a ton of images at the moment. I had the pleasure of going out on another wedding with Ryan Estes this weekend, what a blast! Stay tuned for those images. And this afternoon I got to meet up with Alison and Kevin for their engagement shoot. We had a great time, not a dull moment. I realized going through all these images it may be a day or so before I get them up so I wanted to just leave you with a little taste.

Yes the hills may be alive with the sound of music, or something like that.

Man it was a gorgeous day! Stay tuned for more!

Allison & Barry E-Shoot

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Allison & Barry yesterday afternoon for their engagement shoot. They are getting married June 1 at the Overbrook Golf Club, I am really looking forward to it, it will be just gorgeous.
The days I get to hang out with the B&G for these shoots are really important. This was my first time meeting Barry and man he is a total ham. Love it. He did the crazy stuff I asked him to and it totally broke the ice for everyone.

This one is my favorite of the day.

The total ham I was talking about.

More play time, Barry is going to be a great dad.

I think this says a lot about the two of them.

Oh man, too much fun. I had a great time with you guys. I can't wait to see you again on the wedding day.

Your slideshow

Rich and Yun-Jin's Engagement Shoot

Last night I met up with Rich and Yun-Jin for our night engagement shoot. Their wedding is next weekend so we wanted to make sure to get our e-shoot done before hand. We had a fantastic dinner at the Korean restaurant Paladium and got to know each other. Then we jumped right in to the photo shoot.

I was so excited to do some night shooting!

They were naturals.

They often duck into little alleyways for a quick kiss, so our starting point was perfect.

I love these two images of them.

You can't go wrong with a night shot and City Hall in the background.They were smiles all night.We stopped off at their future apartment at the end of the shoot.
Great high ceilings, and original marble floors.

They were such a pleasure to photograph! I can not wait until the wedding next Saturday.

Be sure to check out the slideshow, there are so many awesome shots.

Melissa and Mike's slideshow

Did you think I forgot? No, me, never! Going to NYC and getting sick kind of set me back a bit. All is good now and without further ado check out their slideshow.

We had an interesting day to say the least. Figuring out ways to entertain Ellena while getting shots of Melissa and Mike, being in the wrong place at the wrong time on Main Street in Manayunk (upset Eagles fans only puts it lightly) and then ending on a high note at the Art Museum with beautiful light. We had a great time one that surely won't be forgotten.
I am looking forward to their wedding next year, its going to be a blast.

Melissa and Mike

Sunday I got to hang out with Melissa and Mike. Melissa has been a good friend of mine for years and it is such a pleasure to see her so happy. This was a bit of an unconventional engagement shoot because they had their daughter Ellena with them. You might remember previous photo shoots of Ellena. Anyway, Mike is always working and has seemed to miss out on all the photos shoots so we figured this was the perfect way to get the whole family together and I don't think Mike and Melissa have any real good photos of the two of them or as a family.

I love Melissa's eyes, aren't they amazing, one is brown one is green.

Mike had a great time playing with Ellena on the swings.

Ellena was very content sifting through the fallen leaves. She was very upset when we picked her up to move on to another location.

A very nice family portait.

Mike is a total goof ball.

I just love the subtlety of this photo.
I couldn't resist.Melissa and Mike are getting hitched September 21 at the Glen Ford Mansion. It is a beautiful venue right along the Delaware River. I am so excited. I have not had a chance to get their slideshow together so hopefully these teaser photos will hold you over. I am headed to NYC tonight and will be there through Friday for Photo Plus Expo. Until then, enjoy the rest of your week.

October Specials and Celebration

October is going to be a month of specials and celebration!

First is the Celebration.
I am venturing out into the world of being a full time professional photographer! Yep that's right, bye bye day job. This means I will have the much needed time to devote to my business and my clients. Very exciting! I have worked long and hard for this day to come and you, my fantastic clients, have allowed me to get where I am today.

The Specials!
I am a member of the Professional Photographers of America and every October they host Family Portrait Month. Studios that participate in Family Portrait month commit to donating a percentage from each sitting to Operation Smile, which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. I can not think of a better chance to raise money for such a worthy cause. I plan on donating 10% of my total portrait sessions and weddings booked in October to Operation Smile.

Portrait Sittings
In addition to me donating a percentage from each portrait session to Operation Smile you will have your choice of one of the following products that I will include in your package at no charge to you.

1 set of 24 5x7 Holiday Cards, perfect timing for the upcoming holiday season! 85.00 value
or
1 12x18 print matted to 16x20, ready to be framed. 85.00 value
or
1 soft bound book filled with all the images from your session. 85.00 value

October is a great time to get the family together, the holiday season is right around the corner, so there’s no better time for a family portrait, which is always appreciated as gifts for family and friends and to send along with holiday greeting cards.

Weddings
In the month of October ONLY I am offering 10% off all 2008 wedding photography packages! I will also be donating a percentage from your wedding package to operation smile. The fine print? You must book your wedding, have the signed contract and retainer to me by October 31st. This is an amazing deal and could yield up to 700.00 off your wedding package.

Please feel free to contact me and set up your appointment

Kristin and Phil's Guest Book

We just finished Kristin and Phil's guest book and it is off to the printer/binder! I think it looks fantastic and am really excited to see it in person. Click here to see the book.
Don is responsible for the design and illustrations, he did an amazing job as usual. I offer guest books as an add on item, if you want to add one to your wedding package let me know.

Show me some love, comments back on.

No wonder I was feeling so unloved! Somehow all my comments were turned off, actually I have to check a box every time I have a new post that says if I want comments or not...didn't used to be that way. I am wise to it now, comments are enabled so feel free to share your love.

Jane and Brian's Engagement Shoot

Jane and Brian were a lot of fun today. I knew they were going to be an easy couple when this was the first shot I got! They were really excited for the shoot.
They are getting married in September at the Valley Green Inn. So we figured we would do some pictures in the City for their engagement shoot.

Old City has so many cute little side streets, great spots for photographs.