This mom was organized enough to book me before her baby was born according to her due date. Births, being unpredictable, she came a week early. Mom wanted the photo session as soon after birth as possible. Six days later and 91 degrees at 6pm…
An additional treat were two sets of grandparents, whom were all living with the new mom and dad during those first few weeks. A first grandchild on both sides. One can only imagine how they will dote on her!
It was all about the mermaid outfit! The birthday girl had a good time with the balloons and scarves before the guests arrived… which for me, creatively, was the best part!
This by far is the ulitmate dress for twirling! And what a twirl! Clearly a future athlete! Photographing in the fall out in the Hamptons is a treat, its calmer and not as hot.
Big goals for one session. Actor headshots, modeling headshots and athlectic modeling headshots. Clothing choices: three t shirts and a hoodie not intendrd to use...turns out to be the best images came from that hoodie.
Leon was amazing from the start but initially put on his "posing face", which was great but lacked personality. We talked a bit and he became more at ease. I tried to trigger him to give something more. Every 40 or so images we stopped to see what we were getting and taking it from there. Collaboration is EVERYTHING! I chose to show my personal favorites, chuck full of "Leon" for acting, modeling etc. We were both very pleased with the diversity and the range of personality and expression!
After photographing and attending so many mitzvah's, this one was simple and classic! The bar mitzvah boy is even barefoot during a hora in his own apartment! The temple was stunning, the tallis was the same color as the torahs in the ark, a perfect combination coincidently... What would I have done without the gentleman that works at Central Synagogue? He positioned the tallit perfectly after grandpa had put it on and was full of ideas for the images. Needless to say a little hairspray, a gorgeous tallit and a beautiful family make a great combination for perfect photography.
A few hours later everyone headed to the apartment for good food, magic tricks, mind reading and a hora! Followed by a spectacular birthday cake, carrot, and quite melted by then.
Its a day everyone dreads, portrait day like in school! Once I was done, they couldn't wait for me to return to take more! I did two looks, one classic studio and the other a bit more current or cutting edge. They chose both! For different purposes and each person now owns a two perfect retouched portraits to use for social media as well!
The important part of photographing in a corporate environment is being quick and efficient. Give direction on positioning and tell them where to look. It is also beneficial to have a decent sense of humor, especially when the other co workers are observing and teasing!
What's better than an ice cream party for six year old twin girls? A gelato party! It surpassed even the best ice cream party as it was at one of the best gelato shops in NYC, Amorino. The gelato is imported directly from Italy - it doesn't get better! Imagine a fresh made waffle cone with more than three insane flavors made into a flower and topped with a macaron- then imagine an unlimited supply of these cones plus thick homemade hot chocolate!!!
A dance party followed by an awesome acapella group singing their favorite songs apres the hot chocolate and gelato.....
What to do when a child shows up to a photo shoot in costume? The costume, the identity of the day, is very important to the child and they may be very hesitant to remove it....
Batman, aka Henry, came with his parents to my studio last week. As an experienced mother I immediately started calling him Batman which was exactly what he wanted to hear, step one. I ask if he could perhaps demonstrate some flying techniques, something he was thrilled to perform. After a few clicks of the camera and lights, I gently asked him to show me who was under the mask, he pulled it up and with coaxing eventually shed it completely with the cape!
Mom didn't pressure him at all and had brought a white button down shirt for the shoot. Henry liked what he came in but mom asked him if he would like to look like dad in the white shirt, bingo! He agreed and let her change the shirt. It was a fantastic session! Light, lively and captured him perfectly!
As an experienced children's photographer and mother, I had realized that the costume was important and it was who Henry wanted to be for the day. Indulge the need, pay attention and the rest will fall into place! Hours after he left the studio with mom and dad, I noticed the mask was left on my desk, completely forgotten! His mom is coming by in a day or two to pick it up...
The sun was still this bright at 6:30, and incredibly golden orange. The girls, who have been among my favorite subjects for years, were really excited to be photographed! The combination made this early evening session magical!
I photographed this beautiful sister and brother over 12 years ago! The dad had saved my contact information from when I was still shooting film! There was a beautiful new baby to photograph, some graduation portraits and family portraits. A simple commute to Brooklyn to this lovely townhouse, replete with an incredible outdoor space! Why go to the park?
The drive upstate was tame but as the guests arrived, so did the snow. The amazing birthday party for adorable twin girls continued for three hours as the storm grew more intense. The predictions were 15 inches and the house was way up on top of a slippery mountain. After a 3 hour knuckle drive home, I uploaded these amazing images and sent to the parents and girls to enjoy on their day off of school the next day!
When indoor portraits are finished and there happens to be the rare balcony available...Yes, it was me outside with the camera freezing, but well worth it for this beautiful mom and her daughters!
I found a few more favorites from this newborn session as I was meeting with the mom to go through the images together. House calls are an integral part of the process. When I post galleries of over 300 images to choose from its much easier to narrow down the best when I swing by with my laptop loaded with Adobe Photoshop. This program allows us to place similar images side by side to compare details as well as toggle back and forth in Camera Raw with a magnification tool to see minute details.
The look of joy on a mom's face as she looks at her new baby and look of curiously on a toddler's face when he observes his new baby sister . We were able to capture lots of winning images, although we couldn't replicate the one of her brother on a black reflective table sleeping. She was awake the entire session as well as an additional session!! 
In the age of the Smartphone, one may be hard pressed to "splurge" on a professional image for work websites, social media, corporate images, LinkedIn , singles websites.....
A professional image that captures personality and concentrates on looking great can be the key to success in reaching your goals. Its well worth it. Professional photographers not only know the secret to good lighting, they have a trained eye to look beyond the smile to represent who you are at your best!
Toddlers- they are spontaneous, silly, independent, fearless and in this case very flirtatious! As our session came to an end this adorable little boy, who was so intent on running and reading, came across a woman, whom he couldn't take his eyes off! He was mesmerized and very excited! So macho! Sooo cute! What a beautiful sister, so patient and loving!
I have been photographing this new big brother since he was 4 months old. The way he stared in amazement at his baby sister, just a week old, when she was placed in his lap! Priceless! A new baby and a winner Halloween costume, life is good!
As much as I love the changing colors of the leaves, I do love warmer weather while photographing. The children however, enjoy being active outside with no regard to the temperature. These beautiful children had a blast! 
,
Last week of August and the last minutes of warm glowing sunlight..tweens are the best! They love to be photographed! This young grandmother was a lovely lively addition to this perfect photo shoot!
I love seeing the dynamics of siblings. These two brothers were great! Whatever and however silly the older brother was being the little one, just three, tried to emulate even if it meant climbing to the highest rock!
