I love travelling!
In October I went to visit my sister’s family up in New York, and met with a beautiful family. With my children 15 and 13 now, I truly realize how fast they grow. I wish I took more pictures of them growing up. But for now I’ll settle for taking as many photographs of other happy families as I can.
Love and light!
Family photo session are my absolute favorites! I love seeing and capturing genuine connections, love, joy and happiness that floats in the air when a family comes to have their pictures taken.
Always dressed up for the occasion, and with neat hair, soon enough my clients get their clothes dirty and their hair messy. I love it this way! I believe that the children should run free and play with whatever they, dirt and water included.
This beautiful family resides in lower Westchester county, NY. Both parents, Victoria and John, are native New Yorkers. To me that sounds almost as exotic as “native Muscovite”, and even “native" Houstonian”, something very rare these days. But I think this feeling is wrong. People that are born in New York, stay in New York. Because as I realized just now, New York is - beautiful.
From the luscious parks that stretch for miles to the glass and stone buildings that go up for hundreds of feet, it all comes together beautifully in a unique and endlessly diverse city that is New York.
October in New York is exceptionally giving. Cool weather, yellow leaves, wildflowers, chunky sweaters, scarves, woolen coats – a Texas photographer’s dream come true! Plus, you can count in an ocean, Hudson river, sand, cliffs, giant tall trees, apple orchards, fire pits, old castles, tiny roads, moss-covered bridges, boat rides in Central park… I just want to move to New York and never look back.
These three sisters were a joy to photograph. With their energy, cute matching dresses and long hair, catching the wind and sunshine, they roamed the New York Botanical Gardens freely like the nature itself. Laughing, jumping with joy, chasing each other and the sunlight, picking flowers and rocks from the pond, getting dirt stains on the white tights – a short story of their childhood unfolding right before my eyes.
Two weeks ago something very unexpected happened - we became a homeschooling family. Once again.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I like the flexibility of having a child learn at home, at his own pace, taking as many breaks as needed. I like that at any given moment we can take off and go out of town to explore new towns, and beat all the weekend crowds at popular places. I also like the fact that my alarm doesn’t go off at 6am anymore! We discovered some homeschool groups in the area, and my son, 13 now, instantly met new friends, and overall, he is much happier than he was while attending his Junior High.
He signed up for Homeschool Theatre classes, dance classes, PE classes, and history classes at a local Natural Science Museum. But everything else, I will have to figure out on my own…
Math, Language, Science, High school diploma... I know that a lot of people homeschool through elementary school, some do it through Middle school, but most kids go back to public schools for their last 4 years. I really need to buckle up, find a good curriculum, and start giving formal lessons to Tim. Thinking about it is a bit unsettling though. So, as Scarlett O’Hara once said, I will think about it tomorrow!
Today was a homeschool day at a local farm. And even though Tim is a bit older than regular homeschool crowd, I thought I would take him and my 3 year old daughter, and we would go have some fun. And it was good day. Hay ride, giant slides, rope swings, pedal cars… Everything was perfect until the clouds disappeared, and the day turned into a regular Texas summer day. Hot and humid.
So at that point we got up and went home! Life is great. Kids are happy. The air conditioner is running. I have a wonderful dance class at my gym that I take twice a week. Dancing is good for your soul. And I’ll leave it at that.
PS. If you have any input on homeschooling, please share!
When the Fall comes around and the weather is cooling down a bit, here in Texas we start planning trips to the ocean. Because in summer it’s just too hot! I fill up my car with camping chairs, sand toys, lots of water, foos for the day, pack up my giant 20 feet long kite and we are off.
But not so many families are willing to do a one-and-a-half-hour drive for a family photo session. Some children are too young and restless to sit in a car that long. So often we opt out for a nice park in the city. I will be taking my own kids for the beach very soon though!
The family I worked with last just became a family of five. Or, should I say, seven, taking two dogs into consideration? Beautiful mom and her beautiful baby took my breath away. Both delicate and strong, just as their bond, they lit up the photos with their own inner light.
I love taking family photographs. There is always so much happiness around, child’s laughter, hugs, genuine smiles. I feel like all of that for a brief time becomes a part of me, too. Like I am not just a witness, but a part of their family, and it’s a big honor and a big responsibility! I need not to interfere, but to notice everything what’s going on around me. Need to make sure all sweet and delicate looks, gestures don’t go unnoticed. To make sure all the love is seen and kept still with my camera for the family to remember and enjoy in years to come.
In a couple of weeks, I am taking a trip to New York, NY, and I am thrilled to see the city and the Fall colors! I have a couple of family photo sessions scheduled, but mostly I am planning to take pictures of my beautiful sister and her tree children. She is not a native New Yorker, but lived there for the last ten years and knows the city by heart now. So I am going to see all the best city spots, and will bring back to Texas the best possible photographs and memories. Stay tuned!
Smiles and sunshine and twirly skirts… All what the girls like! Taking pictures of moms and their children, both boys and girls, is pure joy to me. Nothing beats to see the special bond between a mom and her child! Watching them smile to each other, see gentle hugs, catching all the silly faces kids make, chasing after running squealing kids always makes my day. But more important, it makes such great memories for the parents. Childhood doesn’t last forever and we only get to keep what we could preserve – small pieces of their carefree days of pieces of paper. An album, a photo book, maybe a large canvas or a metal print on your wall. I love that we can freeze the time this way.
When scheduling a mommy-and-me session, please follow these guidelines. Make sure your child is feeling well. Bring some snacks and water, and a change of clothes. Especially if we are doing the photo session close to water. Think about your child’s favorite toys, and bring them along (1-2). I will bring something to entertain her too, don’t worry. It’s just better to have more options, than less!
We will play some simple and silly games to make your child feel safe and relaxed. Whenever she feels comfortable, we will start taking pictures. I will gently guide you through the session, asking you to do simple activities with your child, making sure she enjoys it. My goal is to make your time with me special and fun.
To make sure your photographs are worthy to go on your walls, I like to make sure that colors we use to make the pictures go well together. Neutral solid colors are the best to complement green background (if the photos are taken outdoors).
Long flowy dresses are perfect for twirling and running around, they help to create effect of movement, motion, to help the photograph look truly like a frozen moment of your life.
From large city parks to small hidden gems in the suburbs - Houston scene is definitely holding many treasures for a photographer.
My favorite parks for family sessions are Hermann park, Brazos Bend park, Terry Hershey Park - all of them offer a lot of wooded space. I am still to explore the Memorial park. In 15 years living in Houston I've never made it there!
With this beautiful family we opted out for a small community park, because driving for a long time with a tiny baby is not always a good option. The kids enjoyed running around and playing, and I - thoroughly enjoyed their company!
In about ten years these photos will turn into priceless memories kept alive displayed on your walls or in a photo album. Time passed but not lost.
Handsome Dad, delicate like a flower Mom, and their little cherub completely took my breath away! I am glad we decided to have the photographs taken at home - it’s always much easier on younger children. Eric was very excited about a new clicking device in his house (my camera) - he is just as curious as he is delightful. We played, we giggled, we walked around the house together, had lots of hugs and kisses. All the way ‘till it was time for him to go take his power nap.
I hope to meet with him again some day to see how much he’s grown!
