Amanda's Modern Glamour Session

When you have eyes the color of the sea and a confident and badass attitude, the possibilities are endless. Not to mention the fabulous and varied wardrobe she brought along - it was so fun to photograph someone who knows how to smolder so well. Here are several of my favorites from her session.

To schedule your own glamorous portrait session, click here! I can’t wait to get YOU in front of my camera!

Campfire Mini-Sessions are Here!

I haven’t done mini-sessions in years, but I had so many people request it that I started to consider it, and then, I had an idea - CAMPFIRE MINI SESSIONS.

Fall is my absolute favorite season, despite being deathly afraid of spiders and severely allergic to ragweed. If you see me flailing around outside in the fall, you might wonder - did she walk through a spider web? Is she having a really severe ragweed-induced allergy attack? The answer is probably “c. all of the above.” BUT, I love the falling leaves, apple cider, pumpkins, and Halloween (which also happens to be my birthday!). I love the warm colors - the oranges, browns, and golden yellows - the chill in the air, and pulling my beloved boots and scarves out from the back of my closet.

I wanted to take some images with a campfire for my social media post announcing these sessions, and since my sister and brother-in-law have a great fire pit in their backyard, my unbelievably cute niece adorably obliged. (Also, before anyone says anything - her mother was just out of frame, so she was never alone while wielding a pointy stick carrying molten marshmallows. SAFETY FIRST, especially when sassy kiddos are involved!)

I originally thought of campfire portrait sessions last year, but hadn’t figured out a good location. This year, the answer seemed obvious; Tall Oaks! I decided to have these sessions at Tall Oaks because it’s a really special place to me. I grew up going to church camp there every summer, there is a bench in front of the dining hall dedicated to my mom, who was a camp counselor there for many years, and I got married in the open-air chapel there. I’ll be donating 10% of each session fee back to Tall Oaks, as a very small way to show my continued gratitude for its existence. If you ever want to donate to a place that is really important and special to a lot of people, click here.

Here are a couple of images from my wedding in 2010 that WERE taken at Tall Oaks! (Photos by Aly and Dylan Schenk)

Each session will be 20 minutes long, and there will be graham crackers, Hershey’s bars, and marshmallows to roast! There will be pumpkins, cider, and plenty of s’mores to go around! I encourage you to stick around after your session to enjoy the treats and the beautiful setting. Sunset is a little before 7pm that night, so keep that in mind when choosing your time. After dark, I will use artificial lights to ensure clear images, but they will still have an “outdoor at night” feel to them.

Each session includes 5 digital images you choose from an online gallery, and 25 foil-pressed holiday cards. There will be at least 2 different options for cards, and I will bring samples to show you on the day of the sessions. If you need more than 25 cards, you can purchase more!

Click here to book your spot! Don’t wait - there are a very limited number of spots.

Alex's Adoption Session

I have been so excited to post about this session, but I had to WAIT.

I had to wait for a court date, because this session marked a very special celebration: the finalization of Alex’s adoption by her foster family.

That is NOTHING compared to Alex’s wait. 2,065 days in foster care.

I wanted to be sure to document her beautiful spirit and the amazing connection she has with her family. Her joy at the thought of finally being officially adopted was tangible! I focused on getting some images that really showed Alex’s personality - she has the prettiest smile!

I know there is no way to make up for things like not having baby pictures of Alex, but much like baby pictures, these images mark a new beginning for Alex and her family.

Watching the girls together made me so happy - they acted just as all sisters do - smiling while their parents were watching, then picking on one another the second they weren’t.

Because of the reasons that people have photos taken often have to do with life-changing, big events, I often feel lucky to be included in these moments, but this was a new and emotional experience - documenting the culmination of so much time, energy, love, and devotion was an honor I had yet to experience.

Congratulations to Alex and her family!

Jordan's One Year Portrait Session

When Jordan’s mom told me the theme of her birthday party, I instantly had a vision of what I wanted to do for her first birthday portraits.

The theme? Breakfast at Jordan’s, a play off of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. 

My mind instantly went to Tiffany Blue for a backdrop, with Jordan wearing black and a little tiara and maybe some pearls. Bonus: her mom ordered a onesie with her name on it, pearls printed on it, and completed the ensemble with a poofy tutu and tiara.

The tiara only lasted for a couple of shots because, well, you try putting a tiara on a one year old who doesn’t want it there and let me know how that turns out for you.

Jordan has the most beautiful eyes. They are big and shiny and BLUE. Even when she wasn’t smiling, her eyes just lit up.

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For the second part of her session, her mom put her in a frilly, HOT PINK dress. She got out a pair of sparkly high heels (for mom, not Jordan) and Jordan was absolutely entranced by them, which was really sweet. Why was it sweet? Because they were the shoes her mom wore down the aisle to marry Jordan’s dad! 

Photographing toddlers has its challenges - you can’t reason with a one year old or bribe them (not that I would ever do that…!) and you are subject to their moods and whims, but Jordan was a delight to photograph - again, THOSE EYES - and I loved her birthday party theme and the moments we caught with her mom’s shoes.