This baby is beautiful. Just the sweetest, gentlest creature imaginable. She charmed me from the first frame. We shot at the Museum of Natural History, a location that I hold very dear because I lived nearby and spent untold hours with my son playing there in his first 18 months of life before I got pregnant again and left Manhattan. Since then, they've added and updated quite a lot. We began outside at the sprinklers which were deserted because of the wind. It eventually proved too much for us, too, so we ducked inside for a wardrobe change and more shooting. What I really wish in retrospect was to have her in the buff because she has the most incredible porcelain skin- the few I got with her just in her diaper while her mom was changing her are some of my favorites. What a pleasure!!!

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I want to add some information about what I do and how I do it. I am a portrait photographer, currently specializing in children and families. When making portraits, I use only natural, available light. This means sunshine and "the light from outside" even if it's raining or cloudy. In fact, cloudy, overcast days are my favorite for outdoor shooting and even misty, drizzly days can work for beautiful, diffused light. Check my labels (on the right) for posts showing pictures made on days like these.

I do set up some of the shots with direction from parents for something specific that they may want, but I try as hard as I can to avoid posed, stiff-looking pictures. I strive for pictures that are as natural and spontaneous as humanly possible. I will tell children on a shoot NOT to smile because we all know how those phony, strained smiles look. No cheek cramps on my watch!

The thing about what I do that is the hardest to explain is that truly, what I think are my best pictures just "happen". Somehow, all the stars in the universe align at an exact moment and that toddler who won't sit still for her group shot gets up, and starts spinning around and laughing when my camera is set for another type of shot. I shoot anyway, and she comes out slightly blurry and it just looks like a dream. I may tell a big sister to close her eyes and out of nowhere, her little brother spontaneously reaches up and kisses her. A baby needs a diaper change in the middle of a shoot, I keep going, and these turn out to be her most animated moments! I think children are magical, amazing creatures and I cannot say how much I anticipate every shoot to see what will unfold. I can never say exactly what we'll get, and we can always try for any set-up, but the fact is- it's them doing what they do naturally that makes the best picture.

 You can reach me for consultation and booking at 347-782-2734.