Suman Family

I met the Suman Family at their home in West Melbourne last week for some family pictures. The two little boys were so cute and 18 months apart just like my first two children are so it really brought back some memories for me. With part of the family in town from Jacksonville, I could tell they were happy to be together for the weekend. The challenging part with any toddler is attention span- as you can see we used various tactics...

rides...


cookies...

And saving the best for last, the lollipop. This is not the first time I've had the honor of witnessing a child's first lick (thanks to the stash I keep in my camera bag) Priceless!

night night!

Enigma - Ladies Night

Hey this Thursday from 5-8pm I'll be at Enigma for "Ladies Night" and I want you to come! I went last month for the first time to hang out and see my friend Shana there with Beachside Bootcamp and it was fun! For just $5 at the door, you get a raffle ticket (great prizes btw!), dinner, wine tasting, various vendors including one who does massage, and happy hour until 7pm. The flyer above gives all the details. I'll have lots of display material in case you've been wanting to see the different types of canvas, albums, cards, etc. I'm also giving away $10 credits to everyone who signs in and free 8x10 print credits to anyone who books their session that night, plus the chance to win a free session in the raffle!! Get your girlfriends together and lets hang out!
On a side note, I booked a St. Augustine wedding today that I'm so excited about since I LOVE St. Augustine! The Suman family is next for the blog and I need to tell you about how much I loved my time photographing for the Heart Gallery but I'll wait and do that later, I am busy this week with orders, First United Methodist Preschool portraits and of course Ladies Night!

The Long Family

I photographed the Long family on Tuesday at their home in Satellite Beach. Wendi and Ron wanted a fun journalistic take on maternity / family photography since we had already taken more intimate maternity photos during Wendi's first pregnancy. We started out in their bedroom (above) and I LOVE these but can't seem to get them to appear bigger on the blog, ack so frustrating!! You can click to see it bigger... Then we went to their back yard and finally out front. I liked so many of them, I decided to display them like custom album pages (or the first batch could be a fun accordion wallet/panoramic wall display.) These guys are great in front of the camera and when we brought little Davie out back it was like unleashing a wild animal! She just ran and played and we all had a great time. Maybe it has something to do with photographing friends I've had for almost 20 years but I just LOVE these! Can't wait for baby girl number two!

Senior Portrait Time!!!

Can't promise moutains in Florida! We did these in Colorado at a Young Life property!

Melanie (above) was a college senior portriat client

above example custom invitation for a Mel High Grad

I've been a bit blog-lazy lately so let me give you all a quick run down and then I'll get on to one of my favorite things - Senior Portraits! I have been super busy lately on a few business projects (stocking up on display items and samples plus preparing for my new assistant starting tomorrow) as well as the usual sessions, galleries, events, etc. I'll see the Long's tonight for a journalistic take on their maternity photos, hoping to capture some fun and sweet moments for their family of soon-to-be four. This weekend is the Tyree-Sanford wedding in Cocoa which should be super fun. Next week I have the First United Methodist Preschool portraits which was so great last year and I just love the opportunity to offer a fresh, quality experience to the realm of "school picture day." Also next week is Ladies Night at Enigma in Satellite Beach which I will be participating in this month. I'll give you further details on that later but here's the gist: $5 cover from 5-8 on Thursday September 24th = dinner buffet, wine tasting (plus happy hour if you're interested,) music, various vendors offering specials and raffle items including things like massage, jewelry, etc. Not to mention some fun "you time" so get the girls together and mark your calendars! I plan to offer not only a free raffle item but also some incentives for my current clients to come out there and bring your favorite Angel Gray Photography along as well! More on that later...

Senior Portrait season is here and I love it. I really have fun with high school seniors! Receiving your senior portraits from Angel Gray Photography will give you way more options, way more personality, custom cosmetic retouching and the opportunity for unique announcements and invitations. Above you'll find a few of my faves and if you schedule your senior portrait session and mention this blog entry you will receive a FREE 8x10 of your choice!

Holiday Photography!

It's that time of year to start planning for your holiday photographs! I will offer the Split Session Special again from now until November 1st. If you book a session along with a friend, I will go back and forth between you at the same location, giving everyone little breaks between shooting time and your session fee will be $50 each saving 1/3 your usual session fee of $75! You can share or opt for separate private galleries for online proofing. I offer all kinds of holiday cards including some examples below of custom design (100% unique cards!) Most of these here were printed as a 5x7 flat, 2 sided card on card stock with various finishes such as linen, pearl and gloss. There are also folding cards, post cards (save on postage!) and endless design options. Keep in mind that you should try to schedule your session by November 1st. We will need a couple weeks to get your proofs online and another 4-6 weeks for your order. Around the holidays we do try to speed up production but there are not guarantees outside the above mentioned time frame. So lets get going on this and I hope you're having a great weekend!

front above

back above

front above

front above

back above

front

New employee!

Well here we go with the official announcement of Coleen, my new assistant!!! I just have a snapshot of her with her puppy to share but I think we'll be doing some fun head shots of each other as a little training exercise so stay tuned (I think my pic on the main site is 3 years old, so I'm due. I might have to let go of the younger looking me for the, hmmm, more experienced version - i.e. mother of three with wrinkles and shorter hair. whatev.) Back to Coleen, she is very excited for this new position with Angel Gray Photography. Prior to accepting this position, she worked as a studio manager and album designer for a wedding photographer in CT. She is very experienced in image and product work flow as well as managing deadlines. Creatively, she has designed more albums than she can count. She will be assisting with administration and emails, galleries and album design and eventually assisting on weddings and portrait work. She is very excited to start and we hope this will be the beginning of a great relationship! Seriously, I'm hoping Coleen will not only increase the efficiency of Angel Gray Photography (making things even better for our clients) but I'm thinking that with her help I could start watching occasional TV again, or go to bed before 1am! Grey's Anatomy is back at the end of this month! No pressure Coleen!

Joel and Jenn's Wedding

I had the pleasure of photographing Jenn and Joel's wedding last weekend at Central Baptist Church in Melbourne, then the reception at the Indian River Colony Club in Viera. They had a beautiful day and were obviously overjoyed to be married. As Jenn was getting ready she definitely won the award for "most tearful bride" I've ever photographed. It was very, very sweet! We photographed their engagement out on Melbourne Beach a few months ago which you can see here. Happy honeymoon Joel and Jenn!

Sunset, the Colony Club

Allie

I shot Allie's senior portraits last week in her aunt's backyard on Merritt Island. We had some very tricky weather conditions but since she is going back up north soon for her last year of high school we wanted to make sure to get these done. Thankfully we had some dry weather in the beginning and when it started to rain it was coming down lightly so I stayed under the cover of the boat dock and we got creative with a cute umbrella. I love senior portraits for a few reasons but especially because it is such a turning point in a person's life. They are about to step into the future they've spent the last decade talking about and setting goals for. The future their parents have wondered about and prayed for since those late nights in the nursery rocking them to sleep. For most graduates, college is the next step and I know for me those years hold many of my favorite memories - so its just exciting! I hope these highlights will capture for Allie and her family this crossroad in her life.

My 4 y/o daughter was laying in bed last night waiting for me to tuck her in and said out of no where: "I'm going to be a candy-taster when I grow up." This is a big step from her former goal of becoming a princess; I think there's more of a business angle here. Best wishes Allie, whatever your plans may be!

The Albuerme Family

I was flattered when Lisa called me from Palm Beach County, Florida to schedule a family session. She had found my work online and although I am available for travel she decided to make the trip up with her family. After rescheduling once, we met last Sunday evening. It's a little complicated when people are traveling to make sure we have good weather and that they don't waste the trip! This was a close one! The Albuerme's were a little late getting here so we were pressed for time with the sun setting as well as the impending thunderstorm! I am so so thankful we had enough time to get some beautiful shots and get off the beach just before the storm. The older boys will be heading back to New York soon (Manhattan!) so this was our last chance. I asked them if they prefer the city or the beaches and they were quick to reply Florida! What a fun family with four boys and all of them sporting very nice haircuts from their father (a barber in Boynton Beach.) Enjoy!

Silver ocean is one of my favorite things.

Oh what a sweetie!!