A Sunny Mini Session for Noah Robbins
Spring and summer mini sessions in Pittsburgh’s North Park.
Love working with this family - young Noah and his adopted parents Michaela and Dave Robbins. They wear creative and colorful outfits and are always a feast for the eyes to look at. The positive energy radiating from these three is contagious!
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Leanne Elliott and her family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Have you ever seen a 9-months old baby smiling and looking at the camera for all 30 minutes: no tears, not even a trace of dissatisfaction, just a pure bundle of joy? I now have! It’s Leanne Eliott’s little son. We were able to create so many photographic memories for this family, what you see here is just a small fraction of their gallery. :-)
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Noah Robbins and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
It was the second time I photographed Noah Robbins, his parents Michaela and Dave. It was great to re-connect with them again. Noah made great progress and looked strong, happy and handsome! This time the family came with the grandparents, all dressed in themed, beautifully created costumes - Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, John Darling and Mr Smee. We had a blast creating a story for their family album.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Spencer Kingman and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Spencer Kingman brought his family fully prepared for the inclement weather, armed with five umbrellas in case of the forecasted torrential rain. We got lucky and had a blast creating group and individual portraits for all the family. Love their outfits in jewel colors - a perfect way to look gorgeous in any season.
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 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 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.
City Break in Savannah, Georgia: October 2021
I’ve always wanted to visit Savannah, in fact since childhood when I read about it in a few books, but when we moved to America, there have always been more famous sights to see: New York City, Grand Canyon, the Niagara Falls, California, Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and so on - a very long list of all the beautiful national parks and cities in the US
City Break in Washington DC: October 2021
I finally have time to go through our vacation photos! Here are a few from the city break to Washington, DC, back in October 2021. We just wandered around our favorite spots: the French bakery Paul, the National Mall, and a couple of hidden gardens we keep discovering with every visit.
We visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I think it opened just recently, so we were curious to see what was inside. The Soviet Union/Russian section was really well-represented and we learned something new as we’d hoped. We had a very interesting conversation with one of the volunteers who all but gave us a private tour of the features in the astronaut suit.
And the crown jewel of the Washington, DC, visit was the hockey game at the Capital One Arena. The Washington Capitals played the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Caps lost… at least cameras were allowed and both Dmitry and I clicked away during the pre-game skate and even the game itself.
A Fall Foliage Family Session for Aizhamal
“I loved the photos - beautiful and natural at the same time.”
~ Aizhamal I.
Family Mini-Sessions: Jessica, Dan, Max, Luca and Lila
“They are so great! Thanks so much for your beautiful work.”
~ Jessica P.
Sarah’s Family Portraits
Most photographers offer a rain date in case the weather isn’t ideal for perfect sunset photos. What if your family’s schedule is so packed that there’s no space for an alternative date and it’s pouring with rain on the shoot date despite all “sunny” weather forecasts? I have a whole collection of photoshoots when we seriously considered postponing the session, then went ahead regardless of the “lemons” the universe gave us and made beautiful, bright, and colorful portraits just because we felt like it.
Carol and William’s 55th Wedding Anniversary
I love photographing extended family sessions as I strongly believe that grandparents play a huge role in the lives of their grandchildren.
Alima’s Family Session
“Karina is full of amazing ideas and if you are not sure what to do for your photo session, she will give you clear guidelines and suggestions so you won’t be lost.“
-Alima H.
Lifestyle Snow Portraits for the Wall
As far as winter photography goes, fresh snow ranks second only to the Christmas lights. It’s so light and clean and beautiful, like in a fairytale. Is it too cold to pose in a fancy outfit? Who cares! Put on a warm coat, hat and gloves and get the most out of the day.
Family Portraits in the Snow
As far as winter photography goes, fresh snow ranks second only to the Christmas lights. It’s so light and clean and beautiful, like in a fairytale. Is it too cold to pose in a fancy outfit? Who cares! Put on a warm coat, hat and gloves and get the most out of the day.