Lorraine had called us to find out if we could do glamour shots for her and the staff of her physical therapy clinic. While we don’t do much of the preparation work (hair and makeup), we can set the scene and provide many of the props to do glamour photos.
This was a very diverse group, and much of the time taking the photos involved many of the ladies laughing and trying to find the right “look” for each new person who comes before the camera. It wasn’t until we did the preview, however, that we could begin to see the support and closeness for each other that these people have.
As a last shot, we took a group image, which they were going to use in their company newsletter.
Geoff and Kim’s children are always a delight to see… their youngest, Austyne, won the Most Beautiful Baby contest in 2005. She has grown up quite a bit, but is still the baby of the family.
The other children were delightful and fun to see again.
Heather and Andy have been with us for awhile, first coming to us for a maternity sitting earlier this year. When Andrew was born, we were able to get some baby pictures of the little guy only a few weeks later. He’s grown a little since then. 🙂
As Andrew grew up, we took more pictures of him. He’s a doll, and we always enjoy seeing Heather and Andy. This time they were here for holiday portraits.
Kris and her children were here last year during the holidays, and we were really glad to see them back. A little older, they became acquainted with us almost immediately and were ready for photos.
Of course, siblings will be siblings… these two were great fun.
A busy family life tends to mean that families don’t always get together when they want to. Troy, the father of the family, is a very busy minister at a nearby church and he was on a help mission when the rest of the family arrived for photos. So, we took advantage of the time to take photos of the kids, then made a family image.
You need some perspective first.
I got Shasta as a puppy. He was a bouncing baby boy when we first got him. He was very active, loved to play, but was also very smart and knew how to follow directions.
As our business grew, Shasta and our other Border Collie, Sprite, needed more room to run and play. We decided that Shasta and Sprite would be better off with a family that could give them room to run, since the room available in our home was becoming more and more limited as our business took up much of the lower part of our home.
At the time, Andrea was working for us. Her family owns a small farm which primarily raises sheep. Since they were looking for a good dog, we offered them Shasta and Sprite. Jumping at the chance, the dogs adapted really quickly and Shasta fast became Andrea’s new best friend.
Over the years, Andrea has brought Shasta in to see us at the studio. He’s always recognized us and offered himself for ear scratching. After the greeting, he always just laid on the floor and waited for Andrea.
When Andrea called us before Thanksgiving, she was very upset having just learned that Shasta was sick and she could lose him. She wanted to get some pictures done of him, and we were happy to oblige.
While there were plenty of emotional moments, we got some very nice images of Shasta, as well as of Shasta and Andrea together.
Since that time, Andrea has been given medicine and a new diet for Shasta, which has reduced the size of the tumors in Shasta’s chest. He is breathing easier and seems to have more energy. While his prognosis is likely terminal, he does have quite some time before we have to worry about him leaving.
Yes, a Thanksgiving wedding.
They had not planned to get married at Thanksgiving. Instead, all their family was going to be in town for the holiday, and they wanted to get married. They just figured on killing two birds with one stone – as long as everyone was going to be in town anyway.
The ceremony and brief reception was held in a suite on the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown. The suite overlooked the Potomac River and was just big enough for the 15 people in attendance.
A nice ceremony was followed by a champagne reception and some photos.
The couple and their family then went to the dining room for a nice wedding dinner, which probably included turkey and dressing.
This beautiful family wanted to make sure to include their new son-in-law to be (top left) in their annual family portrait. We took a few separates, but the group family photo was the one they liked the most.
We had done such a good job with Anthony’s portraits a few weeks back, that they also wanted a family portrait done for holiday cards and gifts.
Anthony was intent on informing me that he asking Santa for everything he needed. I never quite got exactly what Santa had been asked for, but I’m sure Anthony would get what he wanted.
Holly is a grandchild of one of our favorite clients, Lillian. Vanessa is Holly’s daughter. They are a lot alike. Holly is very direct, knows what she wants, and gets things done. Vanessa does that too, but as a ten year old the whole thing is on a different scale entirely.
In the picture below, Vanessa just leaned onto her mom’s leg and it was a favorite shot by everyone.
Vanessa by herself is kind of a force of nature. She doesn’t slow down much. But she is also very bright… we look forward to a third session with her and more.
