Emma and Natalie {Fairfield, PA Portrait Photographer}

In light of the near-ending holiday season, I thought I'd share some Christmas portraits that I took for two, very cute, little girls.

Emma and Natalie are cousins and have been taking Christmas pictures together for a couple of years. When Ian, co-worker, good friend and Emma's dad, asked me to take the Christmas pictures this year, I was very excited! I love working with cute kids!

Natalie wasn't too thrilled about having her picture taken, but Emma was hammin' it up. Despite a few meltdowns, I think we were able to capture quite a few good portraits...

We had some great props to work with! Fireplace, Christmas decorations, sleigh, presents, big rocking chair, Christmas tree...

Emma hammin'.

Cousin pulling cousin.

This is the little girl who threw few fits. Definitely wouldn't be able to tell from the cuteness in the next few...

Ian jumped in to help Emma decorate the tree.

Big red chair, fireplace in the background and a present to open. What a perfect Christmas scene!




Emma and mommy reading a book.

Great smile, Emma!

Merry Christmas {DC, MD, PA, WV, VA and Beyond Photographer}

Check out what Anne (my boss at Liberty) got me for Christmas...

How cool is my Snuggie!?! I usually sit at work with a space heater running (even in the summer - some people blast the air conditioning), but I think I'm going to retire that space heater, and I'll be saving the company money by cutting down the Marketing electricity bill.

Go Steelers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year TO ALL. Thank you to my friends, family and JFP clients for making 2009 great! I cannot wait to see what 2010 brings!

Coolest Pictures Ever! {Carroll Valley, PA Photographer}

I've been having a ball of fun taking pictures at Liberty over the past few days. The winter snow storm this past weekend brought nearly two feet of snow to the mountain and with fresh powder and blue skies, it's been a photographer's dream.

Some of my best pictures from the past few days (OK, past five days), however, came from the day before the winter snow storm. There wasn't a whole lot of fresh powder around, but there were beautiful blue skies.

Now for my favorites...

I recently read a photographer's blog post that shared one "secret" for shooting into the sun. I started closing my aperture (making it smaller and allowing less light into the lens and camera) and got this...

I closed my aperture a little more, exposed for the sun, and got this...

Totally looks like I shot it at night, right? OK, maybe not at night because of the blaring sun, but it still creates an illusion that there could be some nighttime involved. I always try to include the sun in my pictures so every new technique to add to my bag of tricks is so exciting!

Now who'd like some portraits in the snow? I'm dying to get out there again! Happy Snow Days!

Keri and Ryan: Bridgewater, VA Lifestyle Portraits {MD, PA, VA, WV, DC Photographer}

At the end of November, I made a special trip down to Bridgewater, VA to shoot three portrait sessions. All three portrait sessions in one day, that is.
First up: Keri and Ryan.

Keri and Ryan were just married this past July and were in search of some updated portraits as a married couple. I was so excited that they were interested in a fall session. I had not gotten enough of the beautiful fall leaves and colors come November so I was itchin'!

We met up at a public golf course in Bridgewater with lots of sun, colorful leaves and the crisp fall air in our midst. It was a lovely session!

A favorite. Look how cute they are.

Gotta love a shoe shot!

Ryan loves to golf so Keri suggested we bring a few golf props into the pictures. LOVE this one!

Keri and Ryan brought even more fun props! A picnic basket, wine bottle and wine glasses. SO CUTE!

And yet another fun prop - their dog!

Keri invited her sister Rebecca and her boyfriend Dustin to join the session...

Sisters!

Very Vogue. Very GQ. At least those were my motivational words when setting this one up. :)

Laughing on que - awesome!

So natural.

I love the emotion and playfulness of this image. I think Keri and Ryan said something kinda funny to spark those smiles...

LOVED playing around with the shadows that day. The sun was so bright and so harsh, but we made it work.

This wall and door were perfect for a group shot!

Keri and Ryan - thanks for having me! It was a pleasure shooting you two on that fabulous fall day. Rebecca and Dustin - thanks for joining us!

Rounds two and three of my portrait session day in Bridgewater coming up next...