The Sweet Life

It's amazing how a baby changes everything:)

I recently was privileged to head down to a quaint part of town.  I'll be honest, I've always been a suburb girl...I know that we went a little extreme now, with living out in the boonies, but neighborhoods and cookie cutter houses have always been homey to me.  Therefore, heading towards the city, I wondered how I would feel in this new element.

Well, let me tell you...this family has found an oasis.  Looking at the sweet house from the road, I was in love.  The textures and outdoor setting was so tranquil and nice...and then...and THEN...I was welcomed into their home...and oh my...

The incredible decor and way that everything flowed from one room to the next.  I literally could have just toured the house and soaked in their keen sense of design.  It was simple, yet contemporary...it was that fun "wish I would have had their creativity and spunk before I had my children" thought, that came into my head! 

They have lived the dream and now they've added the sweet icing to the cake!

Now, of course they had their first "baby"...but, he has taken quite well to their newest arrival.



As always, I wanted to capture all the tiny details that "oh so soon" get replaced with toddler cheeks and toothy grins...

At the same time, I wanted to keep with their unique sense of design perspective...thinking of artwork on the wall and commemorating this special time in their lives...



This little guy liked to be awake and was incredibly strong for such a young one...It's always a pleasure for me to photograph families as they are...pictures are always different with each session because each baby has their own unique personality...I want that to shine through:)



I can't express enough how honored I feel that people (who hardly know me I might add), allow me into their home and hand over their most precious possession for me to photograph.  I do not take that responsibility lightly. I feel so fortunate to meet incredible families, like this one:),  where I get to see from the start, their newly made unit!  Thank you again:)  Life just gets sweeter:)

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Poison Ivy....it was worth it:)

Crazy post title huh? Well...believe it or not...even though I've been itching and using bleach, alcohol, tecnu, and even deoderant to rid myself of the awfulness of poison ivy that I managed to contract while positioning myself in crazy locations for a photo shoot...the pictures we got were well worth the "uncomfortable-ness" for a few days:) I'm here for you people:) 

We had been rescheduling this shoot for nearly a month...it seemed liked everytime we were on our way to the park to get some "cousin time" action, the heavens would open up and just dump rain on us...so much so, there were times I couldn't even see out the windshield...

However, we finally found a day and we made it worth while!!

I think there is much truth to the saying that "Cousins are those childhood playmates that grow up to be forever friends" It was very evident with this family :)


The two sweet girl-cousins loved being "twinnies" at the end of our shoot...They had to get on their matching shirts and everything!


I love how they just all work together and genuinely enjoy hanging out with each other!


This is what family is all about...how incredibly fortunate these sweet kids are to have parents that go from a sibling childhood to an adult friendship..where they make the time and effort to make sure that their kids make those heart connections that will follow them through their growing up years as well. 


I feel so honored to have been able to meet these sweet kiddos...and their sis-in-law moms who not only make time for the kiddos to get together, but time for themselves together as well:)  What an awesome family!!!

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Returning Friends

There are hundreds of photographers around this busy metropolis of Columbus...the business is saturated...which means that families have their "pick of the litter" (so to speak) when it comes to having someone "photo-document" LIFE for them.

And even though I know that every photographer has their own style and way that they see life through the lens... I would be silly to think that there aren't just a few (wink, wink) that are fairly similar to me:) 

Now, before you go thinking..."good grief, what is she saying, is she TRYING to talk herself out of a job or what?"  I promise to get to my point here in just a sec.

What amazes and humbles me is not only those that may see my work on a website or even on a friend's wall:) and contact me for a session...BUT,  those that keep coming back...they get in touch every 6 months to a year with the expectation of hanging out and getting new memories.

I am honored...

to say the LEAST...

I don't take it for granted...I never have guaranteed perfection or even promised that I'd even look "pretty" for you when I meet up to take pictures...and yet, so many of you make our time together so incredibly FUN and are so very REAL...I am just blown away by the awesome folks I get to meet and even become friends with:)

This family came to me again this year...I couldn't believe how much everyone had changed and it just does my heart glad to be able to "record" that for them...

I really do try to make sure everyone feels comfortable and at ease during a session..but this sweet family spun it around on me...they asked about ME and laughed and talked and shared and flattered me with compliments, I"m tellin' ya, my spirits were soarin'...I felt like I was meeting up again with long lost friends. 

I don't know what it is, but I have been so incredibly blessed with THE BEST clients ever...





I think I've mentioned a few times before that I have all girls...can I just tell you AGAIN how fun it is to hang out with the boys sometimes...:)

I love their speed, energy, curiosity and sense of humor...he kept me on my toes and I LOVED IT!





Thank you again for coming back:)  I so loved seeing you all again!




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Blessings Times TWO

We've been blessed two years in a row now with FANTABULOUS (is that a word?) teachers as we started this new redistricted school.  However, I am beginning to think that whomever has my 2nd born daughter as a student is bound to get pregnant before the end of the school year...BEWARE 3rd grade teachers...she's coming:)

Mrs. O wears her heart on her sleeve.  She is generous and kind, speaks her mind and is REAL with her students.  I think that's why they adore her...she's like a Mom...they know when she means business and they know when she's ready to have fun and above all, they know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are loved beyond belief!!!

I was so honored, once again, to be able to photograph a new arrival.  This time the newbie was a little sister...It's life changing for Mom and Dad when the first baby arrives, but when number two comes along, it rattles the world of big brother or big sister, tpp. 

This big sis has done just fine though:) She was all into wanting to match and wear hair flowers with her new little sister:)


You can already tell that she's going to show her the ropes and love on her every step of the way!


However, she's not going to give up special time with Mommy...I think that's the hard part with your first two...just learning that balance and figuring out even later on, that you even parent differently for each child...


Mommy certainly gets to enjoy some quiet time with her new daughter as well, though...it's those moments...where you become overwhelmed with gratefulness for the gifts you've been given...

Each little eyelash and raspberry bubble....


We had fun dressing her up in little bows and ribbons...I'm sure big sister will continue to "help" in the area of "dress up" as well:)



All in all...both sweet girls are going to grow up wanting to be like Mommy and wanting to marry their Daddy:) 


Thank you for letting me come and spend time with your family!  I so enjoyed watching the sisters interact and just imagining how they will continue to get closer as the months go by!  Congratulations!!!

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Super Moon

Last night the moon was SUPER:) 

Well, that's what everyone called it...it was just because it was incredibly bright and the closest it's been to the earth in 2387473.000789acb783 years....or something like that..

Anyhoo...I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take some pictures...

Here's where knowing how to work your camera in Manual is a great help...

Let me see if I can walk you through what I did...

First of all, I thought, "Hmmm, it's really dark out here, so I probably ought to lower my aperture down to the lowest setting and slow down my shutterspeed really slow too..."  I also fiddled with my ISO to let in the most light...Using all those settings to my "advantage" I wanted to try to soak up as much light as I could (remember, I'm thinking that it's pretty dark and a flash is definitely not going to reach the moon!)

This is what happened...


Do you see it?  I was right in thinking, "umm, it's dark outside, so I need as much light as I can get..."  the problem is that I was pointing my light sensor right at the bright moon...which is sorta like pointing it at a flashlight...it just blinds you...So, I lost ALL the detail of the moon...

I got some cool clouds and that reflection off to the right...but it basically looks like a giant glowing circle in the sky...

Soooooo...I dialed up my aperture back up, I sped up my shutterspeed and tried to meter right on the moon...I didn't want as much light this time...I wanted to get a quick shot so that I could freeze those details as the light was traveling...well, the speed of light :)

Here's what I got this time:

This time, I got the shadows on the moon, but gone were the clouds...gone were the hazy dark blue/black skies...everything in the background went to pitch black...because, by upping my shutterspeed and aperture, I wasn't allowing that powerful light into my camera sensor for a long time...therefore, I got to "freeze" the detail on the subject, but I lost the other details that were surrounding...

What's a girl to do who wants the best of both worlds?

Well...I just used my Click It skills in photoshop and combined the two pictures:)


to those that have come to a Snapshop Class, I hope this sheds a little bit of "light" on this situation (no pun intended:)  Have fun experimenting:)

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Look Who's ONE

Well, hello there handsome:)...

Yep...I'm lookin' at you cute stuff:)

It's not everyday that you reach your ONE year mile marker!
I met him and his Momma at a nearby college campus and we were able to get him in all his G.Q. cuteness in order to commorate this milestone:)




We waited a week or so in order to do the traditional cake smash as well.  And, with his Momma being a FANTABULOUS cake decorator...well, you just couldn't go wrong with this one:)




thanks for letting me celebrate with you!!!

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How can I reach you?

The best way to contact me is either through Facebook Messaging or emailing me at ctphotomemories@gmail.com

I can't wait to hear from you!
"Teach us to number our days, (savor the moments) so that we may gain a heart of wisdom" ~Psalm 90:12

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