Normally, I am a bit worried when asked to photograph a 5-week-old baby and get them in those great newborn sleeping poses – but not so with Dasha. Her mother assured me that she was a good sleeper – and she wasn’t kidding! Dasha slept throughout the session better than most week-old newborns. And mom even brought some cute hats and headbands to use as props.

I love the little bubbles that formed in her rosebud lips while she slept. And as you can see, baby Dasha is just as beautiful as her mother.

There is something so divine and peaceful about a sleeping baby. Once she was done crying, Collins fell fast asleep – even the pounding and sawing of a major renovation next door didn’t disturb her.

Newborn Sage (love that name!) has had quite a lot of exposure to the arts already. First, his mom did yoga throughout her pregnancy and then soon after he was born, they wanted him photographed sleeping atop a guitar. (However for safety reasons, that image required a bit of digital wizardry.) And of course their dog Leo had to get in on the action too.

I’ve been doing yoga for over 12 years, and I’ve yet to even try a headstand. So I was sufficiently impressed when my client Melissa did one during our recent photo session while she was 8 months pregnant.  She also did a full backbend. And while she has only been practicing yoga for 2 1/2 years, it’s important to note that she was practicing yoga well before she got pregnant. (HINT: Do not try this at home!) Melissa said she wanted to do something healthy for herself and the baby during her pregnancy, so she decided to go ahead and get her teacher certificate, which she completed when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant. And because her son sort of went through it with her  - he didn’t really have a choice, did he(!) – he got an honorary teacher certificate too!

Thanks to Nirvana Yoga in Grant Park for allowing us to do our photo session there. http://nirvanayogaatlanta.com/

This Thanksgiving was particularly special for me because my sister Judy and my niece Sabina came for a visit. I don’t see them as often as I’d like – they live 900 miles away – and because Sabina is growing up so fast I try to photograph her every chance I get. (Hint to Jenna: I’d also love to photograph my grand niece and nephew every once in a while – in daylight…)

This time I wanted to test a new studio backdrop and I knew Sabina would be perfect for it. Even better, she’s recently taught herself to french braid her hair while it’s wet, creating gorgeous waves when she takes the braid out. Here are a few of my favorites from our weekend session. I know it’s a cliche’, but Sabina is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

As the Thanksgiving holiday nears, I want to take a moment to thank all of my amazing clients. Thank You for entrusting me with capturing precious memories of your babies and children. Thank You for sharing your children with me – however briefly it may be.  And Thank You for giving me a ringside seat so I can revel in their innocence and witness their amazing transformation as they grow.

A recent session with a newborn and his big sister reminded me of the trust my clients place in me to document what is most valuable to them. Knowing that I am creating images that will become part of your family legacy is a big responsibility – and I Thank You for allowing me to do what I love.

Wishing you all a warm and peaceful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends.

Remember when you thought boys had cooties and your biggest worry was what to wear on the first day of school…when naps were a bad thing and recess was too short…when summer lasted three whole months and only skinned knees brought tears. We all know that growing up happens in a heartbeat, but that doesn’t mean your child’s innocence and wonderment – or curiosity and sweetness – are destined to become faded memories.

To preserve these precious phases, I’ve created the Time Capsule Collection – a photograph that captures your child’s personality, paired with their own words. After a short photo session, I’ll sit down and chat with your child about his or her likes, thoughts and dreams. Then I’ll create a custom “time capsule” print that combines the portrait with their words, resulting in an enduring heirloom that is your child in a nutshell.

There are only two requirements: Your child should pick out his or her own clothes for the session (the more creative or mismatched the better!) and be willing to answer a few basic questions from me about their favorite things, friends and family, and dreams. The ideal ages are from 4 to 10. You can commission just one Time Capsule session or schedule them annually to fully document your child’s growth and changes.

The Time Capsule Collection includes the photo session and interview, a 16×20 (or larger) canvas or print – custom designed with your child’s name and their own words – and two gift prints for loved ones. Sessions can be done in the studio or on location. Don’t let this amazing time in your child’s life slip away. Preserve it today – not just for you, but for your child too.

P.S. This will also make a unique and treasured gift. Call or email for more info.

There were some great costumes at this years annual Halloween studio session, but I have to say – Girls Rule! Not only were all their costumes great, but the girls each got into character and gave it their all during the shoot. The boys were cute, of course, but this year I’m focusing on the girls because they were simply awesome. We had an ice princess (in a HANDMADE costume, no less), a hippie (she’s only 8 years old – how does she even know what a hippie is?!?!), Wonder Woman and a cutie patootie who just happened to stop by with her dad from the office next door.

Four years ago I photographed the wedding of a woman who turned out to be one of my favorite brides. I was secretly hoping that we would somehow stay in touch. So I was excited to receive an email from A. in late August, telling me that after trying to conceive for four years, she and her sweet husband would soon welcome their new daughter into the world – via a gestational carrier. A. said the entire experience has been amazing. Thanks to a very kind and giving woman, A. and her husband have seen their dream of having a family become a reality. I am honored that she asked me to photograph Collins, their long-awaited new baby girl. I look forward to watching her grow.

I don’t remember how old I was when I realized that my parents had actually been children at some point – but once that reality hit, I was curious about what they were like as kids. What did they look like, what were they interested in, how did they play or dress? Thanks to the few photographs my sisters and I inherited, I have limited insight into their lives before they became parents. In my dad’s case, annual trips to the local photographer’s studio resulted in formal portraits of him (an only child) with his very stoic-looking parents. And for my mom, it was often an out-of-focus candid moment, usually of her hugging a dog or cat – which was a consistent theme throughout her life and helps explains the soft spot mom always had for animals. Another photo captures her big brother protectively wrapping his arms around her as they sit on a rock.

As most of you who are old enough (!) have probably done, my sisters and I would spend hours rifling through boxes of old photos – the formal studio portraits of our dad, (carefully encased in heavy, embossed folios), Brownie camera prints of our mom during her summer vacations and Kodachrome slides of me and my sisters standing in front of a distant landmark. It was of course great to view the prints or slides as soon as they came back from the drugstore, or to reminisce over piles of fading images – but I had no idea just how precious these photos would become over time.

The photos of my mom and dad with their parents are especially priceless because my dad’s father died when my dad was a teenager, and my mom’s father also died long before I was born – so the only connection I have to my grandfathers are my mom and dad’s stories – and the photographs.

Peals of laughter come flooding back every time I look at the photo of my mom with her glockenspiel, standing next to her brother when they were in the marching band together. And even though I know my dad was a champion violinist, I never heard him play because he gave it up before he went off to college – so the photo of him with his violin is especially poignant. And I can still picture the penny candies lined up in a row at Shifrin’s grocery store whenever I see the photo of my grandmother, wearing her ever-present apron, proudly posing inside her store. And of course me in my striped hip-hugger bell bottoms during the 70’s makes quite a fashion statement.

I don’t know if, when they were taking these photos, my parents or grandparents thought ‘these images will provide a legacy for our children and our grandchildren, and offer them insight into our lives.’ Probably not. But I think of that often, of what legacy we are all creating for our children, our grandchildren and beyond.

Nowadays, hardly a moment goes by without someone photographing it or videotaping it – and within minutes it’s posted on Facebook or emailed to family and friends. In today’s world of smart phones and compact cameras capturing compressed image files – saved only as a jpeg on a hard drive somewhere – I’m concerned about the quality of today’s photographic legacies. Will your children, and their children, have access to these photos? Will the quality of the images hold up over time, and will future technology even be able to view the images – or will they become like 8-track tapes that no one can play?

Building a lasting visual history for generations to come is a wonderful gift – for you and your children. Maybe one day your child will look at a large wall canvas of themself as a roly-poly infant and marvel at the physical similarity to their own child. Or your grandchildren will be amazed as they look through album pages filled with candid moments of their mom or dad as a child – captured during a Day in the Life session – and realize that their parents were actually kids too!