Santa & His Helpers (A Christmas Pin-Up Session)…

**Before reading any further, this post contains pin-up photos so you may not want children around to see the photos. There’s no nudity but it’s pin-up style and Santa is involved, so you get the idea. 😉  haha**

Last night, a bunch of photographers got together at a local studio (who are in a local photog group) for a Christmas Pin-Up session with Santa & two models. We all hung out for a few hours, taking varies shots in a couple of different rooms. The models were great to work with and hey…it’s def not every day you get to work with Santa! 😉 We had so much fun! I so wished I felt up to par (darn migraine) to get really creative with some of them last night but I got some shots I’m happy with. 🙂

Here are a few faves of mine from the session:

Things To Be Thankful For…

I hope everyone truly enjoyed their Thanksgiving Day with their family, friends and loved ones…ate until their plates were empty, their bellies were full and their bodies were in a turkey coma but still had their eyes on that last bite of dessert. 😉 I know I’m still stuffed like a turkey!

I just wanted to write to say a few things that I was thankful for. First and foremost: I am truly thankful for a wonderful, loving and healthy family. I have been so blessed to have my husband and two sons in my life who are HAPPY and HEALTHY. Those two things are what truly matters. All the little things in between…all those little minor details, the inconveniences that happen on a daily basis, those don’t matter when the day is over. Do they? What matters is those that love you…your friends and family, are beside you. No matter what.

I have a supportive and loving husband, my best friend, whom I love with all my heart and who is the best father I could ever have imagined. He doesn’t hesitate to support me in my dream and goal to continue my dream with a successful business and also to do one of the most important things in our lives…stay home to raise our children. Our two boys are the sweetest kids a mother could ever dream to have. I am always surrounded by my brothers, sisters, parents, nephews, nieces, my close friends and everyone else in between and we are always there for each other through the good and bad times.

I am thankful for anyone who puts their lives on the line to help others. Military, Police, Fire….it is because of you that we can sleep safe at night, warm in our beds, feel protected and know that we live in a free country. It is because YOU. Without YOU, I wouldn’t want to imagine what this world would be like. I am thankful for you.

I am thankful for a roof over our heads, heat in our home and food on our tables. It is times like this, especially around the holidays that it makes you realize that many people in this world do not have families to go home to, to celebrate these happy times with. Many people are homeless. Cold. Starving. The next time you see a Food Bank Donation Bin (or something like that), try not to pass by it so quickly…every little bit counts.

I am thankful to be able to share my love and talent thru the art of photography to those around me. To share memories and emotions that will last a lifetime. Moments happen so quickly but when you have that photograph to look back on, to be able to relive that exact feeling, is amazing! For me to be able to share that….is incredible! For that, I am thankful.

Ok, let’s get a little light-hearted now just for fun instead of so serious, shall we? Here are some other things I’m thankful for:

A Car (because that would suck to not be able to drive)
My 5D Mark II (nuff said. LOL)
Date Nights with Hubby (although they don’t happen often)

A Day with my Mom
Anything with Chocolate & Peanut Butter
My fuzzy slippers 😛
Heated Car Seats
High heels
Dels Lemonade (esp after JJ’s soccer games 😉
Horses
Massages
Mexican Food
Margaritas
Sleep
Shannon’s Homemade Gifts (if ya know Shannon, you may know what I mean)
Miranda’s Stuffed Mushrooms. Haha (crap…noticing a food trend here.)
Country Music
Brad Paisley or Tim McGraw concerts
Rain Puddles & Frogs (because there’s nothing better to do on a spring or summer day with the boys!)

And one of the best of all….homemade crafts from my boys as their eyes light up and they are so proud!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Everyone!!!

Saturday’s Craft Fair! Come See Us!

Holiday Craft Fair in Smithfield, RI this Saturday! Come on by as there will be a TON of businesses selling their services and products! The holidays are right around the corner. Don’t wait until last minute! 🙂

Angela’s Twin Session…A Sneak Peek.

I had the pleasure to meet Angela and Aaron’s twins, Adrianna & Austin. I’ve known Angela for quite some time…as we went to high school together. I haven’t seen her in 12 yrs so it was definitely nice to catch up a bit. 🙂

The lil’ ones definitely kept us busy! This was my first twin session and at 6 wks old, I thought maybe I’d get a few of them sleeping because I had sooooo many ideas in my mind that I wanted to do. But they had other plans for me. 😉 So although I didn’t get to try the ideas I wanted, I think we got some great ones! It was awesome to meet and hold them…man, I love that infant stage.

Angela & Aaron, thanks for putting up with me and not minding too much for getting peed on. 😉 It was worth it, I think! 😀 Here are few of my favorites from their session:

I had envisioned them on their bellies on the lil’ couch and then Adrianna laying half on Austin.  Yeah, that wasn’t happening. 😛  HAHAHA  Still thought this was cute!

Ginny’s Tarts & Treats

The other day, I had the priviledge to photograph some products by Ginny Marsella, owner of Ginny’s Tarts & Treats. I’ve known Ginny for a couple of years now, as she is also a PHENOMENAL massage therapist and I’d highly recommend her to anyone who needs one! 😉

I also had the YUMMY experience to sample many of her creations and they are FABULOUS! To be honest, I am not one for white chocolate, but one of my favorites is the white chocolate covered potato chips. They are awesome!! So you see, even if you prefer one chocolate over the other, you have GOT to try both. Ginny’s Candied Apples are to DIE for and there are so many options for those.

I could go on and on about her products but I would definitely recommend contacting Ginny if you ever need a wonderful gift with a personal touch. Think Holidays, Weddings, Showers, Birthdays, Birthday Favors, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Thinking of You, etc etc. The possibilities are endless! Her website is in the works so I will add that once it’s up and running. So for now, if you’d like to contact Ginny, you’re more than welcome to call her at 401-573-2910.

Here are a few of my faves from the product session:

I call these “Every Pregnant Woman’s Dream”…chocolate covered potato chips!

“Black Friday” MONTHLY Promotion…

Now that it’s November, we may want to try not to think about it…but yes, holidays are right around the corner! *GASP!*  So instead of waiting until it’s too close to Thanksgiving or Christmas where you’re panicking about what to buy that special someone, I’m promoting a “Black Friday” Monthly Sale.  Yes, for the entire month of November! 

This will be a Collaboration Favorites Album. You, as the client, may choose up to 10 portraits from a past photo session (or wedding) in then I, as the photographer, will choose the remaining photos to complete the album.  You will receive a 8×8 photo book album with 20 sides (10 pgs, double-sided) that includes a hard cover on the book with a photo directly on it.  This album would make a BEAUTIFUL gift for parents, grandparents, siblings  or any loved one at the holidays.  But who are we kidding, it’s perfect to display on your mantle or coffee table as well.  For those bridal couples that didn’t choose the option for a parent album, you could use this to surprise them as well! The original cost of these photo books is $150 but up until November 30th, all orders placed before then will receive them at $75 plus RI sales tax.  If you order more than one copy, you’ll receive 10% off the balance!  For those that may have a portrait session from now until the end of November, you are more than welcome to “lock in” this offer by adding it to your session fee. 

So for those that may not have purchased prints from past sessions yet or if you want to get a head start on your holiday shopping, just send me a message to snag this great offer! 🙂

OCF (Off-Camera Flash) Strobist Photos…

So I went to a recent photography class to learn a little more about OCF. A local photog group holds seminars, classes….it’s just a lot of fun connecting with local photographers of all levels. For this class, they had 3 models to assist. One was a daughter of a photographer friend, who was a natural in front of the camera. The other one is a 19 yr old who is absolutely stunning! Couldn’t believe she was new at modeling because she was very easy to work with and you can tell the camera loves her 😉 And lastly, was Bill. I couldn’t even tell you how much we all loved Bill. He was fabulous to work with, very funny…and I loved hearing his stories that he created while we photographed to “create” the mood.

And yes…the rum in the photos is real and he was drinking. HAHAHA He was too funny….

Here are a BUNCH of my faves from the class…
 

 

Cathy & Brian’s Wedding Day…

On October 24, 2009…I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Cathy & Brian’s wedding.  Cathy and Brian are such WONDERFUL people and to be able to photograph one of their most important days of their life, was phenomenal!  Cathy looked positively breath-taking and seeing these two individuals together, you could clearly sense the love that surrounded them.  They had an amazing wedding party, lots of family and friends…you certainly couldn’t ask for a better day.  They didn’t let the rain dampen their spirits and we were even lucky enough to take the formals outside.  Gotta love a couple that doesn’t mind getting just slightly damp for gorgeous photos! 😉 

Cathy & Brian, thank you so much for letting me be a part of your day…capturing all the love and fun you had.  We had an absolute blast and couldn’t have asked for a better day.

This is my first time posting a video so I’m praying that it works! *Keeping fingers crossed* 😀