Senior Portrait Session :: Catherine's Mini Session

When Catherine's mom contacted me with a request for senior portraits a few weeks ago, I was ready to apologetically say my portrait session schedule had been filled for November~ but then she said something that quickly made me change my mind. Catherine's father has been struggling with serious health issues and since the summer her mom has been consumed with traveling back and forth to Johns Hopkins for appointments. We worked out a plan to meet for a mini session to ensure Cate would get a great image for the yearbook, and plan to complete her full portrait session in the spring before graduation. This girl has a natural beauty that just radiates from within her. And I love the color of her shirt...really brings out her eyes! She rides horses and plays violin, so there should be lots of ideas between the two of us~ I can't wait to see what we dream up! Check back in the spring for more...

Baby Portrait Session :: Baby O. @ 1 year

Wow! It's hard to believe little more than a year has gone by and Baby O. has gone from a teeny, helpless babe to an on-the-go, all-boy, catch-me-if-you-can toddler. Looking back over the past year I think it has been amazing to see the transformation in his images, both in his physical changes and in my photography. We are both moving out of the baby-step stage as we continue to change, learn and grow!  It has been such a privilege to photograph this little guy's first year of life for my friends, Joy and Doug. This was an unusually warm November afternoon, as we laughed and enjoyed this little one while he explored... I love his newly found wonderment of the world~ checking out EVERY leaf and twig with such curiosity and hearing his definitive, deep-voiced "No" response to any question he was asked made me giggle (including when he really wanted something.) For those of you with little ones this age, enjoy these fleeting moments while they last!

Family Portrait Session :: The Jerrehians

The holidays are soon upon us and these blog posts are going to get shorter and shorter as I try to keep up! Here is another great family~ if you've been following this blog since the spring, you may recognize Kim from an April blog post about a fundraiser I photographed for Pillows-of-Love.  Kim and her staff are very excited about a new development~ they recently opened a volunteer center in Palmyra. After juggling schedules a bit, I caught up with Kim, her husband Greg and their two sweet kids for a portrait session in Hershey on a lovely November afternoon last weekend~ here are a few of my faves from their session. Check out the kids' beautiful eye color!

Family Portrait Session :: Ritter Family

This past weekend we finally had some beautiful weather for photographing outside after many weekend washouts. I am trying to get caught up on blog posts while processing orders and finishing galleries from the sessions the past few weeks. The holiday season is truly in fully swing here!

Here is another family I just love~ Heather is a dear, dear friend of mine (we have been friends since the 7th grade!) and she holds a special place in my heart for the many ways she blesses others. Although she has been a person of faith as long as I've known her, recently she has felt challenged to really turn her life over completely to the Lord~ body, mind and spirit~ and it has been awesome and inspiring to listen to and watch her transformation. She and Dave have three wonderful boys who are, well, ALL boy! The older two are involved in sports and the little guy is just plain happy to tag along and discover whatever adventure lies ahead. They are a fun bunch and we had a great time hanging out at a park near their home. Here are few of my faves from their session!

Senior Portrait Session :: Molly

I have been having entirely too much fun lately with these seniors. I'm trying to pace myself but it's hard not to work on images when everything works out perfectly~ the setting, the lighting, these teens who are 10x more beautiful than I remember any of us looking at 17!

Molly is a senior at Palmyra High School and we were blessed to have use of a beautiful property where her dad has done much of the stonework with his masonry business. And to top it off, our prayers were answered with the ideal kind of day for this location~ overcast and calm. Molly has a sweet, gentle personality and I think it's fitting that she is considering pursuing a nursing degree after high school. I loved her choices of clothing, especially the houndstooth jacket and the bright blue tee with the colorful scarf... fun accessories like these add something special to a senior portrait. I think there are a few images here that might be my new all-time faves~ feel free to leave a comment on your faves too! Enjoy!

Family Portrait Session :: New Kids in E-Town

Nicky and Christ moved here this summer from the Chicago area with their three active kids and two dogs. These kids were a lot of fun to work with~ (maybe it was all for show, you know~ how your kids behave better for everyone but you?) but really, they just seemed to get along so well and were just plain enjoyable to be around, with some silliness and teasing thrown in. Nicky contacted me several months ago with some specific images in mind, and we were all set for the session a few weeks ago when she called a few hours before the session with an accident report~ the youngest kiddo had tripped into a wire and narrowly avoided a serious injury to her eye. Thankfully she was okay and we still had a perfect day last weekend~ complete with gorgeous sunset light.  Here are a few of my faves of the kids' images and I promise, Nicky, there are some great ones of the whole family that will be in your online gallery. Enjoy!

and my personal favorite~ check out that sunset light~ love it!

Senior Portrait Session :: Reed

Photographing seniors has quickly become one of my favorite types of portrait sessions. Reed, a 2010 grad-to-be from Palmyra High School, and his mom met with me for the first part of his senior portrait session and we had fun tromping around one of my favorite rustic locations near Elizabethtown on a nearly perfect fall morning. Rustic, as in I was pretty sure the cows we could hear just over the hill would be showing up to join us any minute.

Reed plays soccer for Palmyra and his team is currently in the district playoffs. Later on the day of this session, he assisted the game-tying goal against Northern High School that lead to Palmyra's 22nd win this season (no losses.) I asked him if he ever gets nervous before a game, and he thought for a second and said, "Um, no. Not really." Reed plans to continue his soccer career beyond high school and has Drexel on his list of possible college choices. Check back in a few weeks for some more images of Reed as we plan to meet and capture some soccer pics as well.

Pet Portrait Session :: Bosco

About a month ago, I got an email from Kari asking for information on family portraits. At the time, I had already decided to limit my fall schedule~ but something she wrote caught my attention and I knew I'd have to make an exception to fit this session in to a full schedule.

Kari and her husband are new parents of their now four-month-old daughter, but their first 'babies' are their two dogs, Ellie and Bosco. Bosco is a Jack Russell terrier, and he had recently been diagnosed with cancer~ they were told they have a limited time left with him, so I met Kari one morning last week to have a mini portrait session just for her and her furry little buddy. It was a calm, beautiful fall morning and Bosco was trying to figure out why we were allowing him to go beyond the normal backyard boundaries...but as long as there were treats nearby, he was more than happy to comply! Thanks, Bosco for being a super-cool puppy model, and Kari, I can see why he's so special to you.

If you have a special pet (or pets) in your life, be sure to give them an extra hug or scratch-behind-the-ears today.