Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Andrea D’Alessandro and her large family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Andrea D’Alessandro presented me with a special challenge that day: to photograph her extended family of fifteen. They did a great job of dressing in one style and the children were incredibly cooperative, so we had plenty of time to create a few of all family portraits, photos of just the kids, every family individually and even a fun time running around for the little ones.
And of course, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens are gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies look menacing.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps - Mother and Daughter
Winter Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA.
Mother and daughter were wearing navy, beige and burgundy colors, perfect with the remaining golden fall foliage in the background. They both looked gorgeous and were incredibly easy to work with.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Zach Reed and family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens look gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies are threatening with rain any minute.
Love how Zach’s family played with the earth colors in their outfits. I personally have a weak spot for light dresses combined with cowboy boots. So fitting for winter and just gorgeous!
City Mini Session for Crela Frye and her family
Mini sessions in the City.
Some shoots look better in black and white. Pittsburgh’s signature yellow bridges are spectacular but sometimes you just want to focus on the emotions, not the surroundings and thus black and white perfect.
Winter Mini Session for Rufa Akhmedli
Winter mini sessions.
Rufa Akhmedli wanted a bunch of portraits to use on her Instagram account. They had to look different enough, as if taken on separate occasions. Rufa brought 3 charges of clothes and I was amazed how quickly she changed into yet another gorgeous outfit within the allocated 30 minutes still keeping her poise.
Winter Mini Session for Victoria Detweiler and her new husband
Winter mini sessions.
Victoria Detweiler booked a session for all her extended family but it was so cold that day that the rest of the siblings chickened out.
I always say that the brave and stoic get it all. Victoria’s session turned into a romantic shoot with her new husband who went along with any idea I came up with on how he could say “I love you” to his young bride in a silent photograph.
I wish all the happiness in the world to this sweet and beautiful couple.
Fall Mini Session for Shannon Brady and her family
Shannon Brady wanted this session to be an 8th birthday present for her elder son. Love how they thought through all the little details of their outfits and how naturally they settled into suggested poses. We got quite a lot of color into the background on that cold November day.
Fall Mini Session for Briana Honrath and her family
It was pure joy photographing Briana’s family: 2.5-year-old daughter Aurora, husband Marc, his mother Pat and two friendly labradoodles Leonardo and Arnold. It was mostly chaotic but also organized, if you know what I mean. They certainly came well-prepared for the shoot and I just love the results of our mutual efforts.
Fall Mini Session for Casey Platt and her family
Casey was looking for family photos with her husband and her two little girls: 2-year-old Ella and baby Olivia. As always with photo sessions involving young children, we went along with the girls’ moods and impulses. Thus having given up on ideal backgrounds or elegant poses, we captured plenty of genuine smiles, hugs and kisses. The images below were Casey’s favorites.
A Fall Foliage Family Session for Aizhamal
“I loved the photos - beautiful and natural at the same time.”
~ Aizhamal I.
Mini-Sessions: Casey and her dogs
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”
~ Roger Caras
High School Senior Portraits for Lily
“Thank you for Lily’s senior pictures - they are great!”
~ Denise M., mother
Family Mini-Sessions: Jessica, Dan, Max, Luca and Lila
“They are so great! Thanks so much for your beautiful work.”
~ Jessica P.
50th Wedding Anniversary and family photo session for Carol and Mario
Happy 50th wedding anniversary to Carol and Mario! What a wonderful way to celebrate the day with all the children and grandchildren.
A 10-min fall mini-session, natural light only
I needed to do a 10-min fall mini-session photo challenge, natural light only, any place, any time. So I asked my favorite model in the world to pose for me in our backyard. It was raining really hard this week but there was a short window yesterday when we could go outside and do it. Love these impromptu moments.