October 26th Minis

Oh hello winter, where did you come from?! Do you know it was 26 degrees on Saturday morning?! 26 is FREEZING and the wind did not help the cause BUT the show went on and we had a wonderful morning of minis!

Ashley & Ryan 

I started the morning with Ashley and Ryan, high school sweethearts who've been dating for 9 years! Yup, you know you are wondering the same thing as me and of course I asked, "Really, what are you waiting for?" 

Ryan got a little flustered and Ashley was cracking up, a question they've heard a million times. They've been ring shopping {and house shopping} and Ryan promises it is coming soon! We had a good giggle over that conversation and even threw in some talk about engagement and wedding photos :)! We had a great morning. Ashley is a teacher and Ryan is in the elevator business {now I know who to call if I'm ever stuck in an elevator}. Ryan is also part time crabber so he was in love with the water as a backdrop.

I have a soft spot for fur babies so of course I feel in love with Lucas, their their Newfoundland. 

Mason Family

Meet the Mason family, Vicky, Dominic, Reagan, Lucy and Avery! Aren't they an adorable family of 5?! As the morning went on it continued to feel colder and windier!  The Mason family arrived bundled up in winter coats and dressed in layers! We encouraged the girls to play tag which was working... until Lucy fell and scraped her knee {tears}!!! She made a full recovery and we were able to make our way around the park despite the frigid air!

Reagan and daddy share a moment on the playground! THIS is a perfect example of an amazing capture that happens when you are "just being" a family!

Lucy, the middle girl is full of energy and a little bit of sass! She had a mind and agenda of her own.

Reagan, the oldest Mason girl has gorgeous golden curls and a beautiful little smile. She was a bit more shy and stuck close to mommy most of the morning.

Avery spent most of the morning watching everyone and trying to keep warm in someone's arms. Her favorite part of the day was this people mover playground piece. 

Almeida Family

Meet the Almeida family, Karen, Brian, Alex, Aaron and Amanda! You would've thought the weather was warming up as the morning went on but the wind picked up and it was bitter cold for our session. 

Alex and Aaron were fine with the weather and had fun exploring near the water but poor Amanda was sleepy and freezing. 

I don't remember what they were talking about but I love this one, their expressions are priceless!

Aaron the explorer and adventurous soul flaunted his baby blues all morning!

Sometimes a girl just needs her mommy and binkie!

Luckily, we snuck a few great shots in before she totally melted down! 

Happy Sunday friends! Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog!

Larkin Family

Meet the Larkin family, minus daddy, Madeline, Isabella and Ava! Daddy was having a "moment" so he decided not to join us for photos this morning!

Ava is a smart, sassy, silly little girl! Ava once was a sweet little first grader in my class and I've had the pleasure of working with this lovely family over the past few years.

Bella is a bit more quiet but she definitely has a silly side. She had poses in mind and was in search of the perfect tree the minute she got out of the car! She had a vision in mind OR she had been stalking Nikki Lee Photography FB Page haha!

How cute are these two sisters?

Fields Family Take 2

Fall is upon us, the leaves are changing colors, the air is getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. It's the perfect time of year for photo shoots <3!

You've met the Fields family before back in July, Kelly, Ellie and Carson!!!

Kelly loved the pictures so much that she decided to book a fall mini session. I cannot get over what a cute family they are and Kelly did an awesome job (yet again) dressing them for the photos! Take notes: not too matchy matchy, two in prints that don't clash and one in solids!

Carson was much more relaxed today and Ellie gave us a hard time with the smiles :)! It is so much easier being in front of someone's lens that you know and are comfortable with.

Ellie was having fun striking a pose and making silly faces all the while looking adorable in her little skirt, boots and scarf! She is a little fashionista :)!

We had a fun morning in the brisk fall air and just as before got lots of cute images:)!

Jackson Family

Meet the Jackson Family, Dawn, Greg, Cameron, Lucas and Avery! 

This lovely little family of five were busy and ready to P L A Y! 

Cameron was NOT in love with the idea of family photos at 8am on a Saturday morning but he decided to make the best of the day which involved climbing everything and anything he could. Cameron is a typical 14 year old boy, he hates school, loves cars, may be a tiny bit lazy (says dad and Dawn) and thinks the world is out to get him :)! He came around and ended up having a great time once he loosened up and started having fun just hanging out! 

Lucas, Mr. Athletic was more interested in playing football, climbing on the playground and watching the boats than he was in having his picture taken! The trick to this cute smile a simple challenge NOT to smile! How stinking cute is this little love?!

Avery is the baby! He is ALL boy and going through the "bipolar" 2 year old stage mommy says! Avery was ON THE GO and wasn't quite sure what to think about my two big cameras. The secret to this smile, daddy was throwing pine cones at him! Yup, he is all boy too because he hopped right off the swing and started chucking pine cones back at daddy and somehow poor mommy got in the mix and pine cones were flying everywhere!

Getting 5 people to look at the camera and smile proves to be a tricky task even with song and dance which is why most of my favorite photos continue to be candid moments caught when families are just being! Just hanging out together and having fun, when they forget you are there, those are the moments that I treasure and I hope that my clients do too! 

Like this kiss between mommy and daddy before they race down the slide while the three littles are chasing each other around the playground.

Or this dog pile moment when a football tackle turned into a family giggle fest! 

Mommy and Luke play on the playground, waiting for the teeter to move one way or another! So I didn't capture 100 perfectly posed family photos of everyone looking and smiling but I do think I captured this family and their life in THIS moment, today! Stay tuned for more cuteness and their family slide show, coming soon!

Christina & Miguel

Christina and Miguel had an awesome engagement shoot at Hume Winery and couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. They are getting married in 363 days {9-27-14}!

Miguel and Christina are a laid back couple who like to have a good time and be goofy. They were really nervous about the shoot and thought it was going to be "human torture." I am happy to report there were no people (or animals) harmed in the shooting and everyone actually had a blast. This has to be one of the cutest save the dates I've ever seen, I sort of have a soft spot for fur babies! Liberty and Toby were so well behaved and cooperative.

Christina is outgoing and fun. Despite her nerves about the shoot she had brought some awesome props. Miguel did not "get it" but he was happy to play along to make his fiancé happy! I loved hearing her tell "their story" while Miguel added his silly anecdotes.

Miguel is a jokester and had us laughing the entire time. He describes himself as a "schmoozer and a boozer." Really, how can you not laugh at that? I loved watching these two together. After the loosened up they were so easy to capture and they were glowing!

The weather was PERFECT for an evening at the winery which was a perfect location for an engagement shoot! 

Miguel proposed on May 5th, their 5 year anniversary in their bedroom while in PJS! They had spent the day out and about and each spot that Miguel had planned just didn't work out. His version is much funnier as he describes each stop as, "This place is CRAP. Nothing like I remembered."   

Does it get much more perfect than this?! Congrats on your engagement and best wishes for years of happiness together <3! It was such a pleasure meeting and hanging out with you both! Thanks for stopping by, stay tuned for the slide show coming soon!

Cabacar Family

The Cabacar family has a special place in my heart! They were the first family that took a believed in me and took a leap of faith asking me to capture family photos. They were my first paying customers and I was so nervous. We hit it off right away{maybe the teacher thing helped}. We became friends instantly and have kept in touch since our photo shoot :)! 

Kerri contacted me to do a surprise shoot for her husband, Brian as a wedding anniversary present! Brian is a big sports fan, Washington Redskins and NY Yankees so she thought it would be to do a styled shoot with jerseys! I might be biased but I think this is one of the coolest gifts ever and we had a blast hanging out and catching up.

Riley, the independent little man is trouble with a capital T but so stinking cute :)! He is full of personality and such a fun little guy. We played opposite day and anything that was asked of Riley, he did the exact opposite of but boy did he look cute all the while!

Bryson has grown so much although he was not willing to crack ONE single smile the whole morning!  He was taking in everything and busy checking out his new surroundings. Look at those gorgeous big brown eyes!!! 

Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for the Cabacar slide show coming soon <3!

Carbo Family

Meet the Carbo Family, Chasy, Matthew and little Matthew :)! This adorable family of three + 1 fur baby contacted me for a family session. 

Matty, is an adorable two year old who is constantly ON THE GO. This little man did not want to sit still. He spent the morning playing in the leaves, looking for monkey balls and finding sticks which he proclaimed that he needed. I had so much fun hanging out with this little family and watching them interact. 

Matty is a typical two year old boy and he did not care how much mommy wanted him to wear his cute fall outfit, he was determined to get dirty and you would've been crazy to think he was going to put on the matching orange vest! 

Lexa, the family dog joined us for our adventure at the park! She was so well behaved and Matthew walked her and loved playing with her.

Mommy's little man <3!

Daddy's sweet boy!

Fall fun outside {little can you tell that it was almost 90 degrees}! 

We had a great time exploring. We found lots of sticks, a toad and even some ducks on the pond!