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Here are a few of my favorites from baby M’s session today! Don’t you just want to cuddle this little cutie? This lucky mommy gets to do that every day!!

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In addition to dreaming about their happiness you also imagine and hope that they will become a playmate for your older child. You picture them frolicking in the back yard while you watch them and smile. You dream about days like this, when the little one thinks that anything his/her big brother does is the funniest thing ever!! It is when I capture moments like this that I LOVE my job the most!! This is a vision of a dream, a snapshot of their childhood that they can now hold onto forever!

This took place in baby sister’s ONE year session. I always welcome parents to add the siblings for a minimal fee and after sessions like this I am glad that I do that! They were happy and playful and because of that our session took about 15 minutes and we got images like THIS!

This is a “studio session”. When it is nice out I prefer to shoot out in my yard at my Wilton home studio. I just love all the trees and the lush greenery!

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I promise to be blogging more soon but in the meantime I’ll see you on Facebook! www.facebook.com/momentsbyandrea

I even post photography tips and giveaway things like CAMERAS, Photography lessons and portrait sessions from time to time!

And because a blog post is no fun without an image, here is one of me with one of my favorite subjects, a sweet little newborn. I have the best job in the world!

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In July of 2006 I contacted Marathon Press (a marketing company for photographers) to design a website for my new business. That website served me well and helped me build my business! Five years later I decided it was time for a new look for my brand. I spent last summer working on my new logo (yes, all summer) and once I was satisfied with that I moved on to all the other marketing and brand pieces that I needed to coordinate. I got new business cards, thank you cards, bags, boxes, gift cards, folders, etc. I even found a designer to update my blog.

With a new brand, and a new blog it was time to update my website but I found myself in the middle of my busy season so I held off and just redirected my web address to go to my new blog. FINALLY a few months later I got back to Marathon Press with my updated images and text so they could put together my new website to match my blog and all my other branded pieces.

I’m happy to say that once I got them all of my images and text it only took  a few days to create the website and it is ready! It is nothing fancy, just a storefront for me to show my work and share information about my services. I’m just happy it finally reflects my new look! I hope you like it!

Check it out here: www.momentsbyandrea.com

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I can’t wait to hit my annual convention, to meet other addicts like myself (photography is an addiction for sure), check in with my vendors, find new products and learn, learn, learn! I can’t get enough! This year the convention is in New Orleans. Its been about 13 years since I was there last and I can’t wait! Can’t wait to learn some new skills but also to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Also won’t hurt to hit some of the fabulous restaurants and experience a little bit of Bourbon Street! Won’t be too much though, classes start at 7am and don’t want to miss a thing!

Interested in seeing where I’m going? Check it out…Imaging USA

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Thank you to Jeena Choi, Frank Kwei, Megan Abrahamson, John Schnefke and the one and only Skip “Santa” Heydt for their support and participation in promoting and running the event! Announced only via facebook and a couple of preschool flyers this event was a HUGE SUCCESS! Who would have thought that we could raise $900 in just two hours of pictures!  It was a MAGICAL experience that I enjoyed so  much! You know when you do something that is meant to be “good and selfless” and feel “bad” because you got so much out of it! That was this experience.

Last year I heard about this Secret Santa program through my Mom’s group and made an average donation. This year when I heard that my friends at Babycat Milkbar and Blue Star Bazaar that Santa was donating his time to come and take pictures with kids I jumped at the opportunity to participate so that we could raise money for Secret Santa. It was one of those things that just came together so naturally and coincidentally as we each were at the Milkbar the same day and the idea grew. I recently read a quote “If you work really hard and be kind, amazing things will happen to you!”. Well, here is proof positive. I think raising $900 in TWO HOURS is an amazing thing and I am thrilled!

Parents were welcome to take their own pictures or for a small donation, I would take the pictures and post them for free use via Shutterfly. Suggested donation was $10 but for anyone that donated $20 they would be entered into a raffle for a free session. Thirty two families donated $20 or more and the winner was drawn via a Random selection electronically. The winner was Rosanna Coughlin! Congrats to her! In the end I think we were all winners though. The reactions on the children’s faces to meet what looked like the real Santa in an environment that was so comfortable, nothing like the mall experience, was what made the event so special.

Oh you should have been there when Santa burst into the room at 3pm with a boisterous “Ho Ho Ho”. The looks on the children’s faces and the feeling the little girl inside me got was priceless! The warm cozy home environment of this lovely historical home (now an antique reproduction furniture store) made the experience so unique. Santa “Skips” interpretation of the big man was unbelievable! The expressions we captured on his face when interacting with the children showed how much he truly loves his “job”. The face that he did this UNPAID two hour “gig” in between two very long and paid gigs shows his dedication to the Christmas spirit and to our community! We were so blessed for his participation as of course, this event would not have been possible without him!

The feed back from the parents has been unbelievable.  I loved hearing stories from moms like my friends/clients like  Jen who commented that her six-year old said (on the way out the door) “Mom, was that the REAL Santa?”. THAT is why Skip does what he does, to keep the magic alive! In the days following the event I received several emails and facebook comments expressing what this friend said “It was a wonderful event. So much better than hitting the mall. Thanks a million for organizing!” and from another client/friend “Beautiful setting, wonderful Santa, and we can’t wait to see the photos! Thank you!”. My response.. “Thank YOU for coming and supporting the charity!”. Will we do this next year? I hope so! We’ll see!

Enjoy a few of the sneak peaks from the event. My favorites are the ones with the crying babies and funny looks on faces, just did not feel right posting the really crying ones. Also check out this lovely article written by a talented local freelance write for the Wilton Patch. http://wilton.patch.com/articles/wilton-small-businesses-show-true-ho-ho-holiday-spirit. Thank you Heather for sharing our story with the community!

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I have to say that I LOVE my job but the intensity of September to early November sometimes is so hard that I question my sanity of doing this. Thanks to my AWESOME clients who I adore, I fight through the exhaustion and power on! I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are some of my favorite images from the past few weeks.  Some were in my last post but this way you don’t have to look at both. There are many more but these are just the ones that I posted on Facebook as sneak peaks over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

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BEWARE! This first image is of MY KIDS and my son is THREE! Enough said! Still thinking about if I should redo their session or use this picture! I love personality in pictures and well that is his personality at the moment and  I love HIM!

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Last year's family portrait. Wardrobe selected for the colors in our kitchen!

First question is WHAT WILL WE WEAR? Actually, what will THEY wear! I was in the family portrait last year and LOVED it!Five years of photographing other families and making excuses for myself and I finally just did it! Best thing I ever did for our family. This portrait is something we will treasure forever!

If you are a mom (or dad) that is always taking the pictures and/or is waiting to lose weight (or some other excuse) to be in a family picture, DON’T wait any longer! Just do it! I did not lose weight for mine and I still love it! More importantly my kids will have it forever. Proof that mom really was there!I’ve heard too many stories of families who waited too long and never got that family portrait! Just do it!

OK on to the task at hand! Selecting the wardrobe! Where do we begin? Here is my thought process, maybe it will help you with yours!

1. FIRST I ask myself where will I hang a wall portrait from this session? Going to a professional photographer? You should always get at least one wall portrait! Where will you put it this year? In the past years it was my play room, living room, then it was my studio, then it was my kitchen and NOW… my powder room!! YES, the bathroom that all my friends and clients use!   I bought a Wild Sorbet Frame for it two years ago to match the decor. At the time I did not have a picture for it so I just used the best vertical shot I could find. Problem is that it is not a great picture. It is a fun snapshot but not a wall portrait! It is TIME!

Guest bathroom by the studio. Do NOT love the pic in that frame. Should not be a wall portrait, just used it to fill the frame until...

2. Now that i know the room I select colors that will coordinate with the decor of the room. Of course I could always do black and white but since I am planning ahead I might as well pick colors that really match. Fortunately these are my favorite decorating colors.  Dark grey, light grey, creamy spice color and black. I also love some shades of blue but I did that two years ago.

3. I pick a store that I love where I can buy all the kids clothes (and possibly mine and my husbands if we are going to be in the picture). In this case it is J.Crew!

4. Decide who to dress first! Normally I say, dress yourself first (pick your favorite outfit) and the coordinate the rest of the family with that. In this case since it is just the kids I am picking the girls first since they care what they where! Kylie my middle child loves girly dresses so I pick hers first. Found a lovely dark grey dress! Love that it has some texture in the flower and the skirt part of the dress. Add a head band and done! Now I need my oldest daughter. She likes pretty/cool shirts and skinny pants. Found a lovely peachy cinnamon top with some sparkle, a head band (she may or may not agree to wear) and black skinny pants. Now I need some light grey so I know I need to get Derek a light grey sweater and black pants. Check it all out in the shopping cart and see that it does look nice together!

But…WAIT! Something is missing! That peachy color is only on Olivia! Let’s find a similar color t-shirt to put under Derek’s V-Neck grey sweater! A touch of that color peaking out on Derek is just what this picture needs! Here you go! That is better!

You do NOT have to buy a new wardrobe BUT since it is the beginning of the school year and time that most of us do buy new clothes for the kids, you might as well use the portrait session as part of that new wardrobe selection! I try to pick clothing the kids can also wear to school. These are not fancy outfits they will wear just once, although that is also an option!

If you do not plan on purchasing new clothes this process can also be accomplished by going into your children’s wardrobes and pulling pieces with the colors you selected. Lay them all out on the bed or floor and make sure they coordinate nicely! Add some accessories for interest, possibly one top on one child with some pattern but try to avoid patterns on too many kids. It gets distracting.

DONE, now I just have to order it, plan those hair cuts (at least a week before the session) and schedule a time for the portraits! I always do it on a school day since my weekends are booked solid in the Fall. I also like it because I have the help of my au pair and my mom. Trust me, it is NOT easy being the photographer and the mom. If you are taking the pictures yourself enlist the help of a babysitter or family member to help get the kids to cooperate and to LAUGH and have fun so you can focus on the composition, lighting, posing, etc!

Can’t wait for UPS to show up with this order! I hope the kids like the clothes and I hope the peach color works against the color of the bathroom wall. If not, that portrait will just have to be black and white after all!

Have you booked YOUR PORTRAIT SESSION? Whether it is with me or another photographer CALL NOW! This IS the time! Some photographers are h(like me) almost fully booked already!

And here are the outfits fresh out of the box from J.CREW.

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