Fourever Golden

 Introducing little Ms. Brooklyn! 

When Brooklyn’s mommy reached out to me a couple of months back regarding a photoshoot for her golden birthday, I was beyond ecstatic! There’s nothing more exciting then photographing a little doll for an upcoming birthday. No offense to any little boys out there, but let’s be real here...us girls like to have fun and we pretty much run this photography thing.

This vision all came to life with just one photo we stumbled upon on Pinterest and from there everything else fell into place. When I visualize a Golden Birthday...it’s royalty, glitz, and glam!

Ms. Brooklyn appears to be shy when you first meet her, but it didn’t take long for her true personally to shine through. With many kids her age they tend to give those fake cheeses smiles, but it wasn’t too hard to make her laugh and her mom became an amazing assistant.

Some children her age have a time limit on how long they’re going to be cooperative and it’s not easy having some person you barely know with a giant camera in their face. 

However, as you can clearly see from these photos I came prepared with balloons, glitter, and confetti which are the magical ingredients for a good time taking photos.

It was a beautiful and perfect morning. I had such an awesome time taking photos of her. She is hilarious, asks tons of questions and is at that perfect age of wonder and curiosity. It was completely hysterical watching as she just pushed her mother’s buttons so effortlessly while having the time of her life playing with glitter in her own little world. But this works for me, because I enjoy photographing kids and capturing true candids of them being themselves. 

A Crown for a True Princess! 

  

And let’s not ever forget...details...details...details

And look at this candid photo of Mom being my perfect assistant. Natasha is all about details herself as she makes custom cakes, cupcakes and an array of different desserts. Go check out her Instagram account at Cake-NV

Times up...Brooklyn is officially done with the both of us! 😄

Happy Birthday Brooklyn! 

Wishing you the Best Golden Birthday! 

And I hope you will always stay FourEver Golden!

There's this Girl...

So, there's this Girl...and she calls me Mom, and I am so unbelievably proud of her...

Today is my daughter Ismiah's 8th grade Virtual Graduation Day. 

This school year was by far not at all how we imagined for her 8th grade year. For months, prior to covid-19 we spoke about going dress shopping for her 8th grade formal.  She was excited about making memories with her friends during trips and special gatherings. There were so many things already planned and in the works, even with her being a Dazzler and dancing competitively. However, never in a million years did any of us see this coming. I tried my best to comfort her and reassure her that we are blessed to be healthy and together, and in time this will pass.  I tried to shed light that she will go on to make new memories in High School and that it doesn't have to end here.  However, I had to remember that she's just a kid and to to her something was stolen that she would not be able to get back...

No, not toilet paper, but her 8th grade rites of passage that many of us were able to enjoy.

Virtual learning was a big adjustment and struggle for her, especially because she truly enjoyed going to school.  Like so many other kids, she missed her friends and those special teachers. She hated trying to teach herself and was becoming very frustrated being quarantined...she just wasn't used to doing nothing...and she longed to be free!



Ismiah is the perfect definition of a well rounded student. She has thrived and pushed herself even with so much on her plate. She has maintained being on honor roll for all 3 years at FIS, while attending dance classes 3 days a week, CCD classes, field hockey practices, student counsel, being President of National Junior Honor Society, and participating and volunteering in countless other activities. Additionally, she even helps me with her crazy little sister, yet, still makes time to hang out with her friends and bake her beloved treats.



There are no words to really express how proud I am of her, or how blessed I feel that she belongs to me. Her laugh is a little loud and annoying, but her smile is contagious.



She is my drama-mama who marches to the beat of her own drum. She wears her heart on her sleeve, which worries me for risk of people taking advantage of her, but she's strong and smart.



She's the type of kid that asked for a stitching suture practice kit for Christmas, because she wants to be an oral surgeon one day. She knows what she wants and I love it, and my God, she does want it all.





There is such an unbelievable fire within her and I know she is going to do amazing things with her life. I can't believe my baby is going into High School. As a mother, I am worried and excited for her. I wish time would slow down just a little bit, but its been amazing watching her grow into this beautiful soul.

Ismiah, I love you more then you will ever know my sweet girl.  My wish for you is that you enjoy every minute of High School, because it goes by way too fast. My promise to you, is that I will always be there, every step of the way, whenever you need me and even when you don't.

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You are Berry Special!

A little over 6 months ago I took photos of a little special baby and her sister in honor of her half birthday. Her Momma had her own plans on what she wanted for the photoshoot, but I had inquired if she would be interested in doing a strawberry bath, and of course, she loved the idea. It wasn't until after we completed the session that we came back to my house to setup.



Baby Jenevieve wasn't in the best mood, but who can blame her...having your photos taken for two hours isn't the easiest job in the World. However, she quickly did not mind once we placed her in the tin bath and she saw the strawberries...

 Those poor berries did not stand a chance...

 I have to say that this was one of the most funniest things I've ever shot. This session went nothing how I expected it to go. I figured she would bite one of the strawberries and then maybe examine it, so I could get shots of her face expressions, but nope...she just devoured them. She was so into it that she kept tipping over and freaking her poor Mommy out. 

She is the cutest little doll and these photos are nothing short of how completely adorable she really is. As a photographer we are always trying to capture the best moments or expressions, so while these photos were planned, they did create such an awesome memory. My wish is that her Mommy can look back at these images and remember this exact moment. 

Her Royal FiveNess ~ Inaya's Birthday Photoshoot

Over the past couple of months there's been so many photography sessions I've done that I'm dying to share...especially to give you guys an idea of what you would get if you booked a photography session with me....

Every year I take photos of my kiddies for their birthday. Its become a tradition...especially with Inaya because she is my youngest and was born after I started learning photography. My older daughters photos are pretty much all from Picture People and JCPenny's. Nothing against these companies, because at the time it was great and convenient for me, but on the other hand, I've always felt that the photos were very limited.

I've been taking photos of Inaya since birth, and you can tell she's a photographer's daughter because she knows when its time to take photos I don't play...I'm all about trying to get that perfect shot. However, just as she knows me, I also know her...and there's a time limit of how much I'm actually going to get from her. It ranges from 30-40 mins....more towards 40 mins if its warm weather and I'm letting her do her own thing. Well of course, it was 60 degree this Monday, but as soon as I took her out the sun quickly began to set and it felt like the temperature dropped 10+ degrees along with it. She was miserable and I was a witch, but my poor little girl sucked it up and we got some amazing shots in that small window.

Along with Inaya's Birthday photos, there's always been a theme around it...and this year is no exception, especially because she turning the Big 5....

Side note....Shout out to my dear friend Kristin who helped me create this design for Inaya's cake for her party on Saturday. She does amazing custom work and you can check her Instagram account at graceandjoykreactionz or her Facebook account at withgraceandjoy.

Her Royal Fiveness theme could not be more perfect for this little feisty Princess/Monster in my life. She is the true definition of "my Joy and my Pain". She knows how to push my button like no one else, but she also has this amazing ability to make me laugh even when I'm upset at her.  She has this insane personality that can go from 60 to 1000, but she's always on point with things. She's a clown but even when being serious can make you laugh without intending to. I think she would be an amazing lawyer when she grows up, because for a little person only turning 5 years old, she does make a lot of valid points when something isn't right to her. I absolutely adore this little human more then she will ever know. I can't believe she turns 5 today, as it feels just like yesterday she was born. It is hard to even imagine a time when she wasn't here with us....our little cherry on top. She is also the best cuddlier, and every single morning when she wakes up, the first thing she says is, "Momma, can we cuddle".....I pray she never wants to stop cuddling with me....

 Her smile and laugh is infectious. 

Lots of photos of her holding her crown just like a true Queen...but in reality its because its really big and heavy...LOL!

 

 This is her real smile...melts my heart! 

 And...this is her cheesy smile. She works best when telling her to say "Yes", and actually you can get most children's true smiles by telling them to say "Yes". #FunFact...it always works for me and many of the moms I've worked with are usually amazed.

 Love this one! 

 Oh so Serious....

Her signature pursed lips...when she's up to something and is trying to hold back a smile. 

My Happy girl!

 Thank you so much for checking out my post and my little princess's photos.

Feel free to comment below and let me know your thoughts. This is pretty much what a one hour outdoor session looks like with a little one. I took about 200 photos, and these were the best ones that I personally loved. Inaya's dress and crown are both from amazon. 

Newborn Session with Baby Vinok

I was really excited about this session, because it had been a while since I photographed a bouncing baby boy.  Lately, my little clients have all been girls, so this was a nice change. With any newborn session no matter how many days young, you never know what you are going to get. These little humans are so unpredictable no matter how small. His mother Charmi was a little worried because he was already over two weeks old, but Vinok was the sweetest little baby and a dream to work with. I absolutely adored him and would have totally snuck him into my camera bag and brought him home for Inaya, but I don't think Charmi & Kathan would have been too happy about that. 

With every Newborn session I think its important to capture the baby with something memorable so as they grow there is this item you own that you can compare them to. Some people use keepsake outfits, stuffed animals, but my personal favorite is using the parents wedding bands.  For years to come this photo will always be symbolic and holds such a strong personal meaning for the parents and the child as well. 

  We also used Charmi's basket that she received as a gift from her baby shower. 

This is another awesome idea, because as he continues to grow they can take photos of him perhaps sitting in it and one day show him that he once fit in this little tiny basket. 

What made me laugh about Vinko is that he loved to keep his little hangs right next to his face. No matter what I did, that's where they would end up. I asked Charmi if during her ultrasounds if his hands and arms were like this and she confirmed my suspicions. Its such an adorable little trait of his. 

 Vinok rocked his session. He allowed me to change his clothes and move him around and just went with the flow. The only downside is that he did not want anything to do with putting him on his belly or trying to do a froggy pose.  He wasn't having it, but still didn't cry, he just gently showed me that he was running the show and put himself in the cutest positions, though, of course, with his hands and arms right next to his face. 

 This bear photos is one of my absolute favorites! 

Little details are so important and ones that we sometimes forget to get. 

Just look at all that beautiful hair! 

These little babies grow so fast and change every day. I love capturing the tiny details!  

 Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little toes! 

Could not post photos of Vinko without including his awesome parents. 

They are head over heels in love with their beautiful son. Even awake he is one amazing Baby and so alert. One of my favorite moments was just watching Kathan feed him and just stare at him in admiration. This is such a sweet little family and I wish them a lifetime of happiness together watching their son grow. 

 Gorgeous new Mommy with her Beautiful Baby Boy! 

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