I am also a little panicky at the thought of having my boss with me most of the time once school is out – she tends to be demanding and somewhat controlling.  Not sure where those traits came from.    I do look forward to a more relaxed routine and lazy, fun-filled days at the beaches and parks with both little ones.

I am finalizing some personal plans, and I will announce the date/s of my August beach mini sessions (the only ones of the season) very soon.  Sign up for my newsletter for the first chance to book yours!

{Ferry Beach in Scarborough has become an insanely popular location for outdoor portrait sessions.  Just a reminder to other photographers and their clients — the boat houses pictured here are PRIVATE PROPERTY, and the dunes along the beach are protected and ecologically fragile.  Please be respectful during your sessions!} 

I am retiring…

…the green sofa at my studio.  I love it, and clients do too, but enough is enough.  I thought about selling it so I won’t be tempted to use it again, but I’m not ready to part with it yet.  I’ll take it home for now, and hopefully find the perfect spot for it.

I tried to blog earlier today, but my little assistant finds great joy in reaching up and pounding on my keyboard as I try to type.  The post would have looked something like this:

21333333333333333333//////////.  ///////////  ………….322222222222222222233 ………+++++++++++++++333333333333333

He is limited by only being able to reach keys on the far right side of the keyboard, but occasionally smashes on a letter or two.  Then he empties my desk drawer, and brings me books, and I give in to his big brown eyes.

With the exception of newborn sessions, I am booked for May, June and most of July.  Don’t let the summer slip away without reserving your date!  If I don’t die doing the Tough Mountain Challenge in July, I will be booking a limited number of family beach sessions in August.  Check back for details!

But, it really does make a difference in your portraits.  Each photographer has his/her own rules and advice on what works best for a session.  Mine are pretty simple:

• Avoid too much white – it reflects surrounding colors and light
• Subtle patterns and prints are fine, but clashing patterns and bold stripes are too distracting
• No logos and/or words, please
• Think of your entire family as wearing one outfit – coordinate without being too “matchy”
• Wear similar tones
• Unless you plan to be barefoot (which is absolutely okay), make sure shoes are presentable and coordinate with your wardrobe
• Choose outfits that you are comfortable sitting in

Pinterest is a fabulous resource for visual inspiration!  Searching for “wear family portraits” will provide enough results for you to pour over for hours years.

I hope your Mother’s Day was wonderful!  My favorite Mother’s Day gift EVER was this poem from my daughter.  I can’t imagine a greater compliment than “you make my brain pop right out of my head”.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Mother’s Day!  My outdoor Mommy & Me Sessions scheduled for last weekend had to be rescheduled (our location was too windy and cold for little ones), but I love this sequence from one of my studio sessions.

I took the month of April off, but in looking back, realize it was an insanely busy month “off”.  I celebrated a first birthday, had a visit from my beloved in-laws, celebrated a 40th birthday (not mine!), said goodbye to my grandmother, worked on another business venture, went through the grueling process of preparing our house for the market, listed our house, and then changed our minds and  “un-listed” it the next day.

{I have to interrupt this post to say if you are looking for a realtor in the Greater Portland area, I highly recommend Willis Real Estate.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about them!}

Though having a studio is convenient, and I love not having to stalk weather reports when I hold sessions there, I am really looking forward to getting outside for my Mommy & Me sessions this weekend.  When I scheduled them, I was prepared to possibly still have snow on the ground come May.  Very happy to see warmth and sun in the forecast!

Okay, this post is all over the place now.  Sorry.  A perfect example of  how my mind works.  This morning I was scrolling through the hundreds of iPhone pics that I’ve taken over the past couple of months.  I don’t keep a written journal (though I do keep notes of the children’s milestones and funny things they say), so my images are my photographic diary.  I am grateful that I can so easily and frequently document the routine moments in my days.  Being a very visual person, flipping through my pictures instantly brings me back to my emotions and thoughts of that moment.

My sweet boy turned one a few weeks ago!  I love that he is still such a snuggly baby, despite his growing independence.  He and his big sister have the most beautiful relationship I have ever seen between two children.  Their complete adoration for each other literally brings me to tears on a regular basis.  We are so, so blessed to share our lives with him.

One of the most important people in my life, my Nana, passed away a couple of weeks ago.  I am blessed beyond measure to have had so many years with her.  She was, and always will be, such a strong role model and constant inspiration to me.  Words can’t describe how much she will be missed.

{Ethel Mae Morrison Cianchette}

I have taken the time to be sad, to focus entirely on family, and to do some of the things I never do because I am usually too busy with work.  One of the other “things” I was able to spend some of my time on is a little creative venture, that I actually (almost) started before my photography business took off.  Babies, portrait sessions and life took over, and that dream had to wait.  I’m not quite ready to share the details, but I named the business long ago, after the street that my Grandmother lived on when I was a little girl.   Her home was always my favorite place, and I still dream about it as an adult.  For a little peek, you can follow me on Pinterest.

And all of that leads to me updating you on my availability for the rest of this year.   If you have already booked your newborn/baby/child/family session, don’t worry, everything will go on as planned.  If you haven’t, now is the time!  I am going to significantly cut back on my workload once school gets out, so I can dedicate my attention to my little ones.   I only have a few openings left in June, July & August.  Though it’s still early to tell to what extent, this new adventure will hopefully/likely keep me very busy this fall.  My last outdoor session will be mid-October, and it is not too early to reserve a date.

My Mommy & Me sessions in May are fully booked.  Can’t wait!  Here are some of the adorable babies I photographed last month.