The Week of the One Year Old

It has been officially "the week of the one year old." I have had three sessions this week with little ones celebrating their first birthday. All three of them were walking which, let's just be honest here, makes things just a bit more complicated. :) Complicated or not, they were a pile of fun and full of personality!

This is Caleb. All of the smiling shots of Caleb went a little something like this.
Me: Hand Caleb a noisy, jingly, plastic ball that I keep in the studio.
Caleb: Throw ball loudly onto the floor.
Me: Die laughing like it's the funniest thing to ever happen in front of me.
Caleb: Smile at me because he's quite proud of the funny thing he's done.
Me: Snap, Snap, Snap smiling photos of Caleb
Repeat...Repeat....Repeat...





My favorite:



This is Luke. I wasn't sure Luke would ever want to see me again, when about 1/4 of the way through his session he had a little accident that resulted in a bleeding and swollen lip. But Luke let me know I was still okay in his book by coming and sitting in my lap between photos. It's a little hard to photograph a kid who's sitting in your lap, but hey I wasn't complaining...I was just happy he wasn't going to forever associate me with a bleeding, fat lip!







This is Allison. I think Allison is destined to be a little diva. Why, you ask. Because she can already say "bow" while reaching up to her head to see if she has one in. She was also happiest when we placed her a the hat box and surrounded her with strands of beads. Look for Allison on the Paris runways one day...I'm sure she'll take me along as her official photographer. :)






Are you tired after just viewing all those? You can bet I was tired after shooting them all!

In other breaking UpperCase Photography news...I am now the proud new owner of this.


No, not the bear silly, the pink blackberry curve he's holding! I know, I must be the last person on earth to get one of these, but I am super excited about having email and internet on the go!! Now if I can only remember to keep it charged and with me...I think I can hear my husband laughing as I type that. :)

I am looking forward to another busy weekend of photo sessions with possibly something other than 80 degree weather, so stay tuned for more sessions on the blog soon.

They're Baaack

One of the best parts of my job is seeing returning clients come back for more portraits of their children. Hopefully, this means they were happy with my previous work. But the best part, is I get to see their little ones grow and change. Sometimes they are talking more, sometimes they have more hair, sometimes they are even cuter than their last session! This weekend was filled with returning clients and I had a blast seeing each of them again. Each of these cuties has been on the blog before so if you are an avid blog reader, you may recognize them as well!

Caleb was a gorgeous newborn who slept like a dream for his newborn session. He is now three months old and I got to photograph him wide awake and even smiling!







Madison had a studio session at three months, but we ventured outdoors for her six month session. Looks a lot like fall out there, huh?




One of new favorite family images!


If you love this monogramed dress as much as I do, you'll want to know where to get it. You KNOW, I asked Madison sweet mom. :) It's from www.princesslinens.com


Yep, another thumb-sucker--love it!


I last saw Avery at her one year session, but lucky for me, her mom scooped up the open spot I had for Sunday afternoon. She was so sweet and said "Hey" to everyone who walked or drove by during our session at Old Salem.






And what a great way to end this post. Kisses for everyone--Muuwahh!

Availability Update

Hi Everyone. In response to the wonderful growth of the business that I spoke about in the last blog post, I need to update everyone regarding my availability for sessions. I am currently fully booked through the first week in December. I really wish I could take on more sessions for holiday portraits but it just isn't possible! I have, however, started a waiting list for those who would like sessions before Christmas. I have already been able to move one family into a session spot when I had a cancellation! So if you want a session and have not already booked, please contact me to put your name on the waiting list.
Along those same lines, my session scheduled for this Sunday, October 12th has had to reschedule for a very good reason. Their oldest son broke his arm over the weekend and is in a bright green cast for at least a month! No one from my waiting list is able to take this session date so I am opening it up to anyone who might want it. If there is anyone out there who wants a session before Christmas and is available this Sunday afternoon, please email me as soon as possible to reserve the session.
Also, please keep in mind that I always allow room in the schedule to work in maternity, newborn, and baby plan babies. These are not the type of sessions that can wait, of course, so I always work them into my schedule. So feel free to contact me at any time if you are interested in a maternity or newborn session or would like to book a baby plan (3, 6, 9, and 12 months) session.
I feel very blessed to be meeting lots of new faces and many of my favorite UpperCase families this fall. I just got the first Christmas card orders in this week and I can't wait to see more of them in print. They are beautiful!
I also want to thank all of you who responded to my questions in the previous post as well. Your answers were great and I am taking all of your suggestions to heart as I plan for the new year. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! The winner of the gorgeous 5x5 album is Erinn McKiernan. Congratulations Erinn--I can't wait to fill that sweet album with new photos of Miss Avery!
And now, on to the really good stuff--new images! I have had the opportunity to photograph just the SWEETEST little boys over the past week.
I have photographed Jack's sister a couple of times, but this session was just for Jack to celebrate his third birthday. I knew we were going to have a great time when I opened my car door to hear him saying "Hi, Ms. Julie..Hi, Ms. Julie" and waving at me. I think he was excited that is was HIS turn for a session. Have you ever seen anything cuter than his doggie sweater and mongrammed turtleneck--such a classy little fella.






And tonight's family with two boys was just adorable as well. Little Owen was so laid back and a thumb sucker (you know if you read the blog that I have a "thing" for thumbsuckers...they just melt my heart). And older brother Liam was such a great conversationalist for a five year old. He told me all about his class picking out pumpkins from a pumpkin patch and when it was time to go, he blessed me with a hug. You know things went well when my subject wants to give me a hug at the end of a session!




This image I think speaks so much about the big brother/little brother relationship and about the personalities of these two boys. :)


A great family image despite the moles that were crawling around under the ground they were sitting on!


Thanks for reading--more new session images coming soon!

In Between

It's that strange time of year when it's "in between" seasons, even though fall has officially begun. You know, the time of year when you're freezing in your sweater in the morning and sweating in your t-shirt by the afternoon. This little in between time is a pretty neat time for portraits though because you can really get two looks in one. Yesterday I met little Miss Peyton at Tanglewood for her one year photos. I had not seen her since her last session when she was three weeks old and as you might expect she had grown a lot! Watching returning clients grow is one of my favorite parts of my job. We started her session at the arboretum at Tanglewood where there are still a few flowers blooming. By putting her in the white sleeveless outfit we were able to get a more "summery" look for Peyton.



Then a change of clothes and a trip to another area of the park and, voila, it's starting to look more like fall.


Can you see her pink toe nails in this shot?


Doesn't she have the prettiest blue eyes!


We even tried to accentuate the fall look by having Peyton hold a little pumpkin. As you can see she ditched it for a piece of mulch. Mmmmmm....mulch--about two seconds after this shot it went straight to her mouth. :)


Speaking of "in between," my business in kind of at an in between stage right now. I have been doing this (and loving it!) for over two years now. Recently things have REALLY started to take off and I am enjoying meeting and photographing so many new people. After the busy holiday season, I will spend a lot of time in December and January evaluating the business and getting ready for a great new year full of new things for UpperCase Photography. As I prepare for that reevaluating time period, I would like to have your help. I am going to ask a couple of simple questions and would like for you to email me your response to them. I value the input of all the blog readers so EVERYONE please take a moment to email me. To help entice you, I will make it worth your while. Everyone who emails me (just hit reply to the email that notified you of the blog post) and answers the following questions will be entered in a drawing to win a free 5x5 album with 10 images from your next session. I plan to be offering these little albums to all clients in the coming year as they are perfect for grandparent gifts or carrying around as a brag book. So if you win, you'll be one of the first people to have one! Here is a photo of how adorable the album looks (there are a variety of cover options not just this one):


Cute, huh? So to be entered to win just email me your answers to the following questions:

1. Do you prefer printed proofs or online proofs?

2. What is your favorite UpperCase product?

3. What would you like to see offered at UpperCase that is not currently available?

See, now that won't be too hard. It's just three questions and I would really appreciate YOUR input! Feel free to let me know any other thoughts or suggestions you have as well. I will notify you of the winner of the fabulous album on the blog soon.

Thank you!!