This is just a sneak peek from this year’s Rock The Shot fundraiser for Campia Gymnastics. Thanks to all the amazing athletes who showed up and worked hard to get the perfect shot. I am so amazed by all of you.
During this summer I had the pleasure to work with one of my clients, Lydia McLaughlin, to capture her family portraits. You might know Lydia from her time on the Real Housewives of Orange County or her amazing fashion and lifestyle blog www.oclydia.com . Lydia recently wrote a blog post about her session with us and I thought I would share it. We have been photographing Lydia since she was a little girl so it was very special to me that I was able to meet her boys and husband and to catch up with her parents. She’s also a jewelry designer. You can check out her jewelry line at www.lydiamjewelry.com
Here’s the link for her post about her session with us.
Source: family photo shoot
When I met Alex Pretty he was 10 days old. But I started making plans for Alex long before I met him. Raymond and Janine, Alex’s parents, had called me to plan their maternity and newborn sessions. When we met, Janine expressed that their portraits needed to feature their wharf that Raymond’s father had built them. Mr. Pretty was fighting cancer and while he was fighting cancer he was building their wharf. This wharf is really special to them.
I am sure that most of you know that my mother is fighting cancer so when I learned this about Mr Pretty I immediately started thinking about this sweet little baby. I am always so excited to meet these little babies. To photograph these first precious moments of family life. To see all the joy of new life for those around. So before I met Alex I started thinking about how important it was to capture portraits with his grandfather as soon as possible. I started talking about including Mr Pretty and all the grandparents in some portraits with Alex. Raymond and Janine thought it was a great idea so we left with a plan to make it work around Mr. Pretty’s chemo schedule. Not long after Janine got in touch to let me know that they were able to arrange for both families to join them for a family portrait. This day came and Mr Pretty was feeling great. He was happy and enjoying himself. Janine’s parents joined us and so did her sister, Jennifer. Raymond’s mother was there along with his brother and sister. We had a wonderful session and they loved all over each other. Alex was the centre of everyone’s attention. You couldn’t wipe the smile of Mr Pretty’s face. When we were finished we all exchanged hugs and wished each other the best. Everyone was able to get together again and come to view all of the portraits we captured. They selected their portraits, one of which now hangs in the stairway in the main entry of Raymond and Janine’s home. They can look at it first thing in the morning and on their way to bed each night.
Sadly, Mr. Pretty wasn’t here to see little Alex’s first birthday portraits we captured on the wharf that his poppy so lovingly built him. He passed away on June 2, 2015. When he was laid to rest Alex’s little curl that you can see on the side of his head in these family portraits was placed in his hand.
If you have lost a loved one you know that there is nothing that anyone can really do to make it better. I know that people treasure their portraits more once they have lost someone. People tell me this over and over. I have experienced it myself. I know that Mrs Pretty treasures her family portrait, loves being able to look at her husband’s face on a day that he was so happy, so proud. That day was a celebration of family. Alex’s family. All of his immediate family members are in this portrait with him. He was only 8 months old and will not appreciate these portraits for a little while. But I hope that when he is a big grown man with a family of his own these photographs are some of his most precious treasures.
I have reached out to some families that I have worked with to get permission to share their stories. Thank you to the Woodrow’s and Pretty’s for letting me share theirs. I am so grateful that I was able to be part of something that is so fundamentally important for preserving Alex’s heritage.
We would like to take a moment to thank you all for being part of our lives. This was a roller coaster year with some major highs and some major lows. We have celebrated and stressed, laughed and cried. But what makes it all worthwhile is the love and support that surrounds us. Thank you all so much for being there to share our lives. We are so grateful that we can count our clients as our friends. May your Christmas be the merriest and your 2016 be better than your wildest dreams. Thank you for letting us capture such precious moments in your lives. Here’s to you and to all of the joys and adventures that are around the next corner.
One of my personal joys is watching kids grow. It’s incredibly fast and a little heartbreaking but certainly one of the treasures of my life. I have been part of our photography business for 20 years now and I am starting to notice that I have been part of capturing full lives of memories. This year I got to photograph Katie Vardy as a high school graduate. We have photographed Katie and her sister Leah for their whole lives. My dad photographed their baby portraits and I met them when they were a little older, around 3 and 5 years. Gail, their mom, sent along some of the photographs from their collection and I put it together so you can see them grow. Of course I hope that I get to meet their children and eventually capture them at all stages of their lives. Leah and Katie, it’s been a wonderful treat watching you girls grow into the amazing ladies you are now.
