Can you believe it’s almost September? Today is the last day to save $175 dollars off any session between tomorrow and December. That is $100 off your session fee, and one free digital file, which is perfect for Christmas cards, baby announcements, etc. You can book a full 90 minute session for the price of last year’s holiday mini-session. Call or email me by midnight to take advantage of this offer!

More information on pricing can be found under Details/Services.

Finally, here’s a peek at one of the sessions I am working on this week.

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ONLY TWO MORE DAYS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EARLY BIRD OFFER! Good for ANY session from September to November! More information under Details/Services.

Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk. ~Susan Scarf Merrell

I used to dream of having four (or more) of my own kids. For now, it’s all I can do to keep up with the two I have, but I do love when I get to hang out with a bunch of rambunctious siblings. This mom apologized for the craziness of her crew, particularly as it was in those restless last days of summer break, when I saw her a couple of days after this session. There was no need. These kids had me jumping, but I loved it.

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It has taken a while for us get this session together. I was so glad to finally meet these three generations of ladies.  The youngest is named after the oldest, and they all three have a sweet calm about them.

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Trying out the  First Day of School outfit last night.

pro·duc·tive –adjective
1. having the power of producing; generative; creative: aproductive effort.
2. producing readily or abundantly; fertile: a productivevineyard.
Productive refers to a generative source of continuing activity: productive soil; a productive influence.

I have been looking forward to the start of school with the thought that I was finally going to start being productive again. But, today, the day my firstborn starts Kindergarten, I realize that this summer’s productivity was never to be judged by the size of my inbox, the backlog of photos to edit, or the home improvement projects to be completed. This summer WAS productive, if not as structured as I had hoped. But I am not as structured as I often wish I were, so once I again I am reminding myself to cut myself and my family some slack and be proud of what we did. Our mantra for the summer, after all, has been “MORE THANK YOUS, LESS WHINING.” It came from a parental lecture to CM, but has turned into a relevant goal for us all.

This summer, we accomplished…

CM mastering tying, and even double knotting, her shoes.

VC singing her ABCs, counting to 10 (when she’s in the mood), singing songs, especially Mary Had a Little Lamb, over, and over, and over…

CM reading. Always reading.

CM swimming with confidence, finally!

Sisters playing WITH each other. Telling each other stories, dressing up, playing pretend, coloring, running, kicking balls, telling secrets, swimming, running through sprinklers, building castles out of sand, or blocks, cardboard boxes, or bedsheets.

CM did her first cartwheel, and dove to the bottom of the pool for the first time.

Riding our bikes on the street, as a family.

Lots of Band Hero on rainy or too-hot days. (I now know every word to three Taylor Swift songs, CM can mumble her way through American Pie, and T can always guarantee us a good score on Every Rose Has its Thorn)

VC’s first time tubing, and CM’s first time in her own tube. She was so proud.

Hosting family and friends. Visiting family and friends.

VC turned two.

VC working on potty training.

A bedroom makeover that is 90% complete. A bathroom makeover that is 40% complete. No one except me complaining about the ugly mess and annoying inconvenience of either.

VC moving from the crib to a bed. CM moving up to the top bunk she’s been wanting for years.

T passing the halfway mark in his grad school program, and juggling a particularly busy summer with work, and still making the time to ride bikes, go swimming, put the girls to bed every night, and get engrossed in the World Cup.

We got family photos taken, and NOT by me!

Me keeping everyone busy and active enough so that the girls (even the 5 year old)  would be ready to take sanity-saving naps in the afternoons. Sometimes I would join them.

Me squeezing in a few hours of work, here and there. Just enough so I didn’t feel l was neglecting it, but not so much that I let myself forget it was summer break.

Here are our First Day pics. T had to leave early this morning, so he left CM some flowers and a very sweet note that she was proud to read all by herself (with a little help).

It was a great summer. I’m looking forward to a busy fall.

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ATLANTA FAMILIES, I will be up your way September 30 – October 3. This is a great time to go ahead and get photos for the holidays! Take advantage of the current early bird offer, and BOOK TODAY as availability is very limited.

This is the last week of summer at my house. I’m parts nostalgic, relieved, content, exhausted, and excited. I’m not kidding myself. Here in Florida, we still have many more days where the weather makes the beach, pool, sprinkler, and an endless supply of popsicles completely appropriate. It’s just that now we’ll have to squeeze that in between school, soccer, gymnastics, holidays, work, etc.  Now that I will regain a few daylight hours to myself, I will be re-focusing more of my attention on work, and encourage you all to take advantage of the $175 savings that is available through the end of August! Please note that there is now an added incentive to book on a weekday, which is especially convenient for those with very little ones not yet in school.

Looking through my personal photos from the summer made abundantly clear what I already knew, that just like most of you, I take the majority of photos of my family in our day to day with my phone! Here’s a collage of what I captured over the last few months. It seems they are all about my girls or food, or my girls with food! The top left image is from the first day of summer break. The bottom right is from this morning. Everything else is in no particular order.

I love those. But, it makes me realize that I need to take more photos for me and my family (the reason I started to take photos, after all).  And it also reinforces how happy I am that I FINALLY got it together and had a fellow professional take family photos of the four of us. More on that soon!

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Book ANY type of session for this fall (September through November) with me BEFORE September 1 and get $100 off session fee, PLUS one digital file. I realized after posting the original offer that last year’s holiday sessions included the file. I didn’t want to give something only to take something else away, so I made the change. This is great opportunity to plan ahead for holiday cards, presents, babies getting ready to be born…

In order to qualify, I will ask for a 50% deposit and a  tentative commitment to a date and time. For information on pricing, roll over the Details tab above, then click on Services.

The summer seems to have flown by, and the year’s end will be here just as quickly! I can hardly believe these photos of my “baby” were taken just two months ago, and this weekend we’re getting ready to pack away the crib. Ouch. My chest just tightened a little bit.

As the wise Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “This time like all times is a very good one if we but know what to do with it.”

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If you are one to plan ahead, you’ll love this. If you are not, you might be encouraged to change your ways, at least this once.

Anyone who books a Fall session (September through November) with me BEFORE September 1 will get $100 off their session fee.

Fall has been my busiest season in the past, with so many wanting portraits for holiday presents and cards, not to mention taking advantage of the cooler temperatures. Just like all of you, in addition to work, my time in the fall is FULL with school, sports, holiday and other activities so it is a great idea to plan ahead. In order to qualify, I will ask for a 50% deposit and a  tentative commitment to a date and time.

For those of you who took advantage of my holiday offer in the past, this means you could get a full session for the same price of last year’s mini-session.  Whereas the mini-sessions tend to be geared more towards getting “the” image for the Christmas card or Grandmother’s gift, a full session is an opportunity for us go farther and get a wider variety of images, in addition to that great group shot.

And because I hate to post without an image, here is what my calendar from last October looked like. If you want to get on it for this year, you better claim your spot now! For investment information, scroll over the Details tab above and then click on Services.

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For this family, the baseball field is a second home. So it was a natural location for their portraits. We braved an impending storm, and a not-thrilled to be photographed ‘tween, and managed to squeeze a fun session into their busy as usual day. This group had such a great dynamic about them. They are a team unto themselves.

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Next up in my People I Admire series is Jennifer Jones, the energetic and generous mom of three, wife, and owner of R. Roberts Gallery in Avondale.

Honored in 2009 as an Outstanding Alumna of UNF, Jen is passionate about giving back even while she works tirelessly for her business and her family. What I love about Jen is that she is so positive, encouraging, optimistic and yet real. She acknowledges challenges yet looks for possibilities. I always enjoy talking with her and getting her perspective on art, business, family, and the intersection of the three. Jen reminds me that focusing on relationships is the key to surviving, and succeeding, in both business and personal life even during challenging times.

It was a joy to photograph Jen’s three beautiful kids. Each of them has a distinct personality which I hope I captured. We met at a friend’s riverfront condo which provided colorful, amazing backdrops to these equally colorful kiddos.

To find out more about R. Roberts Gallery:

Located in Historic Avondale

3606 St. Johns Avenue, Jacksonville FL, 32205

904.388.1188

http://www.rrobertsgallery.com/

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I will share longer posts about each of these, but I had to share a few images from recent sessions to show why I LOVE what I do and the amazing families I get to work with.

We squeezed in the above session just before the skies opened up. With the one below, we were not so lucky. We did manage to get a few good shots in anyway, which I will share soon. In the meantime, here is a grainy, rain spotted, little gem. I love how this family made the best of the situation!

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

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