Fitzwilliam: Portrait of a Child

I can tell just from being with him for two hours that he is insightful, intelligent, thoughtful, kind. And he is no doubt super cute and fun, too! His parents are extremely lucky as they have themselves a wonderful little boy who is going to turn into an amazing young man.

Here are a couple of my favorites. Meet Fitzwilliam:






















Cindy, thank you so much for having me over! I had a great time with you and Fitz, he really is an outstanding little boy! And to anyone reading this, please say a little prayer of safe keeping for Rob, Fitzwilliam's daddy, who is currently stationed in Afghanistan and unable to be present for this photo shoot! We are thinking of you Rob!!

xoxo,

Katie

Mindy and Tim: A Wedding - Log Cabin, Holyoke, Massachusetts

They say it's good luck when it rains on your wedding day. I'd like to believe that to be true because there was a noreaster the day of my wedding. IF the old saying IS true -- Mindy and Tim are going to have all the luck in the world!! Rain or not, their wedding day was still beautiful, and emotional, and heartfelt - full of family, love, and life! Enjoy!

Mindy got ready at her mom and dad's house full of great little antiques and country accents. I loved this little red chair.




The lovely and talented Mrs. Sarah Code-Croll of Growing Tree Photography shot this wedding with me! This photo is hers:


We ran outside quick while it was only sprinkling:


Then it got a little too wet so we ran back inside:






These next two are Sara's photos and I love them to pieces!




We made it to the church!


I always love this exchange! It chokes me up almost every time!


Yay! They did it!


Right after the ceremony we headed straight for the Log Cabin - but unfortunately did not arrive in time to catch any light whatsoever. So all of Mondy and Tim's portraits were done inside or in the dark. Thankfully I carry lots of little backup lighting scenarios just incase this ever happens. We made it work!

We started of inside and did some traditional formal portraits in front of the fireplace capturing exactly what we needed to but then we made our way back outside as there was a little break in the rain...










Then we went back in for one (maybe two) more shots:




And then we danced the night away! This photo makes me giggle every time I see it!












Scenes from an awesome reception:


This was my last photo of the night. Tim and his best bud:


Thanks Mindy and Tim! You and your families were so sweet and awesome to work with!!!

Be good to each other!

xoxo,

Katie

photographs are:

proof that we loved, we laughed, we cried, we lived.

proof that we were children, wore pigtails, lost and grew teeth, scraped our knees, caught butterflies and fireflies, had sleepovers, and birthday parties at McDonald's.

proof that we loved puppies that turned into aged, sick dogs, cuddled kittens that morphed into fat, grumpy cats.

proof that we wore silly hats, creative halloween costumes, fell for the latest trends, went to proms, got new cars, skated in ice skating shows, earned our orange belts.

proof that we walked in the Grand Canyon, vacationed in Florida, parasailed, flew to Ohio, spent a night in a California vineyard, went to Paris, lived in London.

proof that we wore a big white dress, cried happy tears after putting it on, trembled down an aisle with our parents and back again with our beloved spouse, and celebrated all night with our closest family and friends.

proof that we bore children, happily gained 60 pounds, had big huge crooked bellies and outie belly buttons, had c-sections, recovered, and thankfully, proof that ultimately we lost those 60 pounds too.

proof that our children took their first breath or didn't, that they sported cone shaped heads, and that they filled our hearts with an amazing and unmatched love from the very first moment we met them.

proof to our grandchildren and their children that deep love and happiness existed within their family roots, that their great, great grandmother had red hair, that their great grandfather went bald in his forties.

proof that we were held tight and fiercely loved by people that are no longer with us.

proof that people who we have lost, lived. that they smiled, blew out birthday candles, rode motorcycles, camped, breathed, lived.

proof that we existed.

xoxo,

Katie

What are photos to you? No matter who you are or what kind of photos you take, keep taking them. keep creating proof.

Here are some of my crappy old photos! But I love them dearly! Those moments make up such a huge part of what I am today.

Holiday deadlines are approaching!

Get your photo session in by November 22nd to have everything you need for the holidays!


xo,

Katie

Happy Family of 7!!

The B family is a super sweet, loving family with 4 awesome, smart, and thoughtful boys and one special, very, very loved baby girl! Check them out:







And these are the parents!!




And a couple more of the cutest baby girl ever!


Take good care, and stay warm!! It snowed in CT today!

xo,

Katie

One of my favorite pics from this summer...

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~Marc Brown



Two sets of brothers; all cousins. I am so thankful for all of them. And I swear on all that is good and holy, that we feed these kids.

xo,

Katie

Jaime and Jim: A Wedding

Jaime and Jim began their marriage under a beautiful tree on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst in late September. Then they celebrated all night long in The Red Barn also on the campus. Graham and I enjoyed our day with Jaime and Jim and the rest of their fun and loving family and friends!

Some details:




We fought for this shot as the elevator door kept trying to close! Finally, we won!


Jaime starts to get ready with the lovely ladies at Salon 241 in Northampton. I WILL get my haircut with them in the next couple of weeks!! They were awesome!




The bird cage veil is carefully placed:


Graham spent a little time with the guys and got both of these cute shots:


Before we left Hotel Northampton for the ceremony we snagged a couple of shots of the gorgeous and glamorlicious Jaime:



(This happens to be one of my favorite shots of the day)


As the ceremony began Jaime and her Dad had to walk like a mile to where Jim waited ever so patiently for her. Of all the shots I liked this one the best!





Love the moment when the freshly married couple first turns to their guests...


After Graham and I shot family photos we spent a little time with Jaime and Jim.




Here is Graham's angle:

Another favorite of the day:


Graham suggested we take them back under the tree, I love his take:


My take:

We headed back toward the barn after we finished our little photo session:


Let the dancing begin!

And the toasting too! These beautiful little cups (goblets?) had been passed down through generations of married folks on Jim's side of the family, they were a really important detail of the reception.








Hi B.C. Starr!




During the reception I like to make a point of grabbing a scene setter shot. Since handy, dandy Graham had brought along his tripod, he threw his camera on top of it and out we went to shoot! How awesome os this shot that Graham got!!??


And finally, my outdoor, at night portrait:


Jaime and Jim, thank you so much for an awesome day, you guys were wonderful! I wish you all the best in your marriage! :)

xoxo,

Katie

Jaime and Jim: Sneak Peek!

These two were married under this lovely tree...


I have their huge post coming soon!

xo,

Katie

Just a couple

I have to start somewhere - this is the first wedding of many that I have yet to post. Here are two of my faves from the day...

This wedding was shot with Carla Ten Eyck in May 2009.



And this! With the rainbows... this was one of the most spectacular American churches I have ever been in. It was St. Mary's in New Haven, CT.


Thanks for looking - however brief! :)

xo,

Katie

Images for a Cure

Giving back is something I long to do more of. I am always thinking of ways to help people while doing what I love, but the truth of the matter is that I have not been able to find a lot of time to follow through on these ideas that I have. However when I heard about what Images for a Cure is doing, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join in the cause. This past summer alone one of my friends lost her mom-in-law to breast cancer, and the Fat Cyclist whose tender, thoughtful, and hilarious blog I am addicted to, lost his beloved wife to cancer which began in her breast. And I am sure many of you out there have stories you could share with me. I am doing this for Courtney, Casey, Elden and for all of us.

Kristen Weaver, a phenomenal photographer in Florida, recently started Images for a Cure. She states on her website "On October 11, 2009, we will unite our talents to contribute one day of session fees in support of breast cancer research. 100% of all session fees collected on this date will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. We are hopeful, that with your support we will find a cure in our lifetime."

And that's where it stands. I have joined Images for a Cure as a participating photographer. Please help raise money to benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® by participating in a photo session with me. 100% of session fees will be donated and as an added bonus all prints and products will be 50% off if you participate. Lastly, I know that financially it is not an easy time to donate money and/or time. But knowing that you have given back, given hope, and given money towards this devastating disease is worth the entire expense. x a million.

So if you are interested in a session (pretty please?!) or even just want to donate a little bit please do so by going here: Donate!. Sessions and donations need to happen on (*) October 11th. *I can schedule them on a different date as well since I will be working most of the 11th.

Sessions can be for families, kids, sisters, friends, couples - you name it!!! :)

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

xo,

Katie

Happy Family: The Smith's

This session was wicked fun and I'll probably post a little more than what you see today but here are some of my favorite images from the day.

So we started inside. Meet Cookie, Katie and Jack. My little adventurous buds.


Cookie came everywhere with us. I absolutely loved it, and so does Katie.


So when we were in the woods here, the kids started telling me about this BEAR that comes around every so often. I forgot to ask their parents if it was a true story. Needless to say, I am thankful the bear was feeling camera shy.






"Photographers Note**
I am going to go out on a limb and say that every photographer has struggled with how best to pose their clients. Am I right? It's a really hard skill to master but once you have it (so I hear!) directing your clients becomes second nature . When I think of posing I like to think of natural. I don't want to overly pose my clients yet I need to direct them a little bit so there are no dead arms or awkward body positions - yet even still it happens.

For the way that I work as a photographer posing only goes for newborns and adults. Energetic, young, antsy, and free spirited kids are another story all together. And I LOVE that!! There are not too many kids in the world, that I have come in contact with, that like to pose. And you know what? I am not really a fan of overly posed kids anyway. I want to capture them just, well, being them. So in the two photos above we were just standing in the woods talking, I ask a lot of questions and I am a really good listener when stories are being told. While I am listening I put my camera to my face and say tiny little commands like "be serious" or "stay right there" or "WAIT! DON'T MOOOOVE A MUSCLE!!!" And that usually catches kids off guard enough for them to just be still for a moment with a natural look on their face. These two pics are totally against posing rules - but that's why I love them. They are real, raw and very straight forward.

You see I don't necessarily want a smile. WHAT!???! Blasphemy you say!!! Kids from like 2 years old to, like, I don't know, 22 years old have these really fakey smiles - some kids know how to fake it better than others. And that's what school photos are for anyway. I want natural, real, dreamy, thoughtful, and sometimes serious facial expressions that mom and dad know best. And if I happen to catch those real, fleeting smiles and big-open-mouthed-belly-laugh smiles - I am TOTALLY psyched! But I don't force it.

So there you have it, right smack dab in the middle of this family post. I just spilled my confusing guts. End note. :)**

So annnnyyyywayyyy - Hi COOKIE!!!!


And then we jumped:


Ahhh dreamy, I so need a photo of me and my kids like this. (For some reason the quality is not converting on the blog and it looks a little weird - kind of pixelated, right? It's totally not pixelated over here on my puter though. Hmmm...)




One big happy family!


One little lovely laying on the earth!




And my fave of Katie from the day!!!!


xo,

Katie

Mindy and Tim: An Engagement

Mindy and Tim are getting married in October, so we got together for a quick, relaxed and down-home engagement session before their big day! We just drove around our neighborhood and stopped at any place that caught our eyes. Thanks guys for just rolling with the punches and being adventurous! I had an awesome time, and I hope you did too!



Um, how pretty is Mindy? I can't wait for her wedding!


















Did you know black cows are the ones we eat? That's what Tim says...






The end!


Thanks guys, I can't wait for October!! :)

xo,

Katie