2023 Fall Minis!

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The fall weather in the Boston area really did a number on my shoot scheule this season. I am so thankful to my wonderful clients, who patiently hung on through two, sometimes THREE rescheduling attempts. Thankfully, I was able to connect with everyone, which made me so happy!

As always, it was so fun to see my returning clients and meet some new lovely people too! Arlington Reservoir didn’t disappoint with its variety of scenes and backdrops. Want sand? You got it! Want leaves? It has those too!
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Doggy Doggoes. The Goodest Bois and Girls

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I spent yesterday taking pet portraits at the WCNA’s Festival by the Lake. My parents have been very active members since one of them founded the group and the festival was born in the late 1970s. As a kid a ran around that festival playing the kids’ games and sneaking hot dogs from the food booth. As a teenager I alternated between volunteering in the food tent, performing puppet shows for kids, and doing face painting.

Cut to this year and I have this brilliant, (in my opinion), idea. The festival is great, and the dog show that happens as a result of everyone bringing out their good girls and bois to the event is top notch!

What better way to bring in some money to the organization than to offer pet portraits?! I had a blast with my friend Shannon wandering around and meeting all the dogs and offering portraits to their owners in exchange for donations in the amount of their choosing to the WCNA.

Here are some of my favorites;

PS please remember these images are the copyrighted and not up for grabs for you to do stuff with. Look but don’t touch or steal!

The G Family

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The G family has expanded, so they gave me a call! I’m so glad they did. What a bright space and a bright family!


The W Fam!

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I’ve been photographing the Ws for a few years now and this year we decided to do something a bit different. It was cold when we scheduled their shoot (not much warmer now!), and we thought inside would be best.

I asked them to think about things they like to do together, or things the kids enjoying doing, and I came over and shot a variety of posed and posed-candids. I think it’s a fun collection!

Fall Minis Round Two!

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Obviously a ridiculously delayed post, but just the same!…

My fall season is winding down and it’s been a busy one. While I love spending time with my clients which my full length sessions allow, mini sessions are a great way to fit in a lot of people, which I like because I want everyone to have some nice family photos if they want them! And fall gets so booked up that it becomes tricky to accommodate everyone. Mini sessions help me do that.

These are some of my favorites from my second mini session event which took place in early November at Menotomy Rocks Park

Summer Wrap Up

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How did I manage to let the entire summer go by without sharing with you? I truly have no idea. Literally, I am sitting here wondering how I didn’t show off a few of the families I met with before autumn hit (has it hit yet?).

Well, better late than never?

Here’s a small collection from a few sessions I had over the summer…
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Fall Mini Sessions

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This year’s mini session event was supposed to take place at Horn Pond because the it was such a great location for Linda and MIke’s Family Session a while back. Prior to leaving for a trip recently though, I visited the pond to be sure it looked right and well, it did NOT! The water had risen so high that while it’s a beautiful place to visit and walk, I knew it wasn’t going to offer us much by way of environment to work with for mini sessions.

I drove around until it got dark that day trying to find a new spot. I decided to go with Menotomy Rocks Park and it worked great! We had beautiful weather too which certainly didn’t hurt. And it was also very nice to see everyone’s faces out from behind their masks in the fresh open air!

I’ll be doing another mini session day on November 6, so if you’d like to get in the mailing list for info, subscribe at the bottom of the homepage and I’ll make sure you get the details.

Here are some favorites;
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Please, Wear a Mask

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When someone books a session with me, they receive a booking confirmation email with paperwork and details about what to expect from a session with me.

For the first time, (and hopefully the last), I added a paragraph;

“One more thing about your session - Please come to your session wearing your masks so I can take a few photos of you as a family wearing them. I know this may seem like a strange request, but I feel compelled to record this weird time in our history, with hopes that a year from now it will be a thing of the past. If later on you do not want that photo of your family all wearing masks, you don't have to look a them. But if it strikes you as telling part of your family's story, your experience, you'll have it! (I will email your mask portrait to you for free after your session).”

I wondered if there would be push-back on this. Would my clients not want this horrific experience documented? Would they prefer I simply photograph their family, or outdoor bar mitzvah, or couples session as though it was any other year? I can’t say I would blame them if so. I thought for sure that some people would ask that I not photograph them wearing their masks, or they would ask that the images not be shared.

There was not one objection. They all seemed to understand the importance of taking such a photo. In fact, many expressed how important they thought it was to document it. Some have even mentioned including it in their annual holiday card this year! Documentarians after my own heart!

I find the children especially interesting in these photos. Some have eyes that shine bright while they smile beneath the fabric, many wear their masks with comfortable acceptance, and some have the body language of pure fed-upness. I hear you, kid.

I am often expressing gratitude for my clients on this blog and today is no different. They helped me do something unusual during a most bizarre and unsettling year. They connected with me for family photos, and every last one graciously accepted a request from me and the result is this collection.

For my clients, and many other reasons, I am so thankful!

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Mini Sessions, Round Two!

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I usually only host one mini session event in the fall. I invite clients new and returning to pick a time slot on one specific date and meet me at a predetermined location for a quick twenty minute shoot. It’s a great way to get family photos and for me it helps me provide photography for multiple clients during the busiest time of the year for me.

After my annual mini session day took place, my sisterfriend Maureen got in touch with me and said that she and a few friends would love to have mini sessions too. Typically I would let my sisterfriendclient know that mini sessions are a one day thing, unless multiple families want them. But in this instance, Maureen simply brought me clients, which was so amazing! I was able to provide photos for her family, her friends’ family, and a third family who signed up after I promoted the event.

We shots these photos out in Sudbury. It was a blast, the weather cooperated, and we met for the best light - in the late afternoon!


Mini Sessions, Round One!

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Dig, if you will, a picture; You’ve booked your time slot for your annual mini-session with me. You’ve gotten your kids into their best outfits and made it from your home to Maudslay State Park in Newburyport for your session without anyone asking if you’re there yet or saying they’re thirsty.

You drive along the road where you can view a vast field in the park. And in that field…art installations, along with many many people enjoying said art installations. Interesting.

Not sure where we’re going to take pictures then.

You pull into the parking lot, which is overflowing, navigate your way around the myriad of masked visitors, and just as you pull into your spot with time to spare for your session, you get a text from me, your photographer.

“When you arrive, come to the back of the lot to that big, white clabbered house. Those are the bathrooms! We’re going to take photos back here. See you soon!”

Um, I paid good money for this?

My clients are the best. After their initial Uh…what? wore off, they all went with the flow. I think the results were delightful, and we managed to avoid the crowds as well.




Will and Avery!

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This year, twins Will and Avery and their parents met me at Land’s Sake Farm for our session at Lauren’s (mom) suggestion and it was a great choice!

Located in Weston, the farm (you should click on the link above and check them out!) welcomes photo shoots (we left a donation). Their grounds are lovely and rustic, and it was fun to wander and shoot along the way.

Kristin, Benjamin and Co

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I think we can all agree that things are pretty rough right now. Political unrest, a pandemic making a mess of everything. At the time of this session in August, that was no different, and it was gross and hot too!

I felt some levity when I heard from Kristin who said her family was due for a session. I have photographing them since, well before they were a family! My first session with Benjamin and Kristin were for their engagement. Now they have two beautiful sons and I have had the honor to photograph them as they grow too.

Seeing them and capturing them together brought some light to my week!




Post Those Photos in Real Life!

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Happy New Year!

If one of your goals for this next decade includes finally getting your photos displayed in your home, this write up is for you!

One of the most exciting things to see when I return to clients’ homes for an annual shoot is photos from past sessions displayed on their walls or on tables in frames. In this fast-paced world it’s so easy to take those digital files and tuck them away and never get around to printing them and enjoying them.

A while back a friend of mine asked for help with laying out her photo wall. It was a lot of work, but I had a blast going through her photos, helping her choose which to go on the wall so that in the end, the story of her family ran the length of her staircase.

I thought I would share some pointers in case you wanted to take some photos from a session with me, and create a display with them. Of course, if you have the drive, you can take photos from your personal collection and apply these rules too, but for this example, I’ll use photo from all one shoot I had recently.

How to choose what goes on the wall

  1. Choose an anchor photo. The anchor photo is the largest photo, or one of the largest photos, and tends to be centered among all the other photos in your wall layout. It should be one of your favorites. In the example below, I chose two siblings having a moment.

  2. The goal is for your wall to tell a story. Avoid an entire wall of people looking straight out at the viewer and create visual interest by choosing photos with a variety of expressions, crops and compositions.

  3. Consider a photo that is a break from the expected but still contributes to the overall look. In this layout, the photo of the hands holding the pinecone accomplishes this.

  4. Make sure your subjects fill the frames differently. Don’t fill your wall with a bunch of full-body shots. Have some with medium crops (waist up), tight shots of faces, and looser shots that show the subjects within an environment that tells a story or adds to the overall effect of the collection.

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Layout and hanging directions;

What you’ll need -
brown craft paper (comes in a roll)
painter’s tape
frames in a variety of sizes
prints of your photos (they can be small 4x6s for the time being, and printed at home. They don’t even need to be in color.)
hanging supplies for when you are actually working on the wall.
toothpaste

  1. Gather up all the frames you want to use. In my home I prefer simple frames so the focus is on the images, but variety of styles can be can be great too.

  2. Do a search online for “photo wall layouts” or explore Pinterest using the same search words for layout inspiration. I found the layout I used in this entry HERE.

  3. Once you have your frames, lay them out on the floor in a rough layout of how you’d like them to be on the wall. I start with the largest frames, then balance the whole wall out by adding the smaller frames around them.

  4. Place the photos (remember, they can be just small quick prints at this stage) on the frames on the floor. When you’ve made a final decision of which photos you want in which frames, you’ll know how large each photo needs to be printed according to the frame it’s with. Consider taping the small photo to the glass of the frame for safe keeping once you’re sure you want it in that particular frame. Remember to print your photo to fit the size of the mat within in the frame, not the frame itself.

  5. Photograph the whole collection on the floor. Immediately email that photo to yourself.

  6. Slide the brown packing paper under each frame one at a time. Cut the brown paper to match the size of the frame and make a quick stick figure sketch of the corresponding photo onto the brown bag (or, just take a copy of the photo that’s on the frame and tape it to the brown cutout).

  7. Use those brown cutouts to then lay out the wall, using the photo you took of the frames for reference, and taping the brown rectangles to your wall with the painter’s tape.

  8. Move your brown paper placeholders around until they feel right on the wall, being careful to leave breathing room around the frames. Consider the height of the frames as well. Do you want to add more frames later? Is there room to do so? Will little ones be able to reach them where they are currently placed and is that a concern?

  9. To figure out exactly where to place the nail on the wall, dab a spot of toothpaste on the teeth of the frame hanger, and gently place the frame where it will ultimately go, leaving a toothpaste mark on the brown paper. You can then hammer the nail straight through the brown paper, right where the toothpaste is. Then simply removed the brown paper and replace it with a frame!

When I want to update my wall, I will often add photos to the frames currently hanging, leaving the previous photo behind the new one in the frame.

2019 Fall mini Sessions Wrap-Up

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I recently held my annual Fall Mini Session Event. It was quite a day! When I arrived at Salem Willows Park I found that most of the trees in the large park had been damaged by the massive storm earlier in the week and the trees that still stood had not yet changed to striking New England fall colors as I had ordered. The nerve of Mother Nature! In addition to the End of The World appearance of the park there was some kind of video crew shooting in various spots, and a wedding being performed.

My clients, being the awesome folks they are, took it all in stride. We took advantage of the park’s beach and the lovely afternoon light resulted in some great shots. That and puppies. Pictures are always better with puppies.