Hiring a professional photographer can be scary. It's usually a fairly large expenditure. It requires time to prepare and a couple precious weekend hours to execute. It can be stressful too, because you never really know how the photographs will turn out. But what if you could have a no-risk photo session?…

I photograph a lot of children. Babies, toddler, preschoolers.. and plenty of older kids/teenagers as well. My one main goal for a portrait session is to capture the person I'm photographing in a natural and relaxed way.. which can often be difficult for several reasons. For children, in particular, it's challenging to arrive in a new environment and feel at ease with essentially a total stranger…

But there are certain things I do which guarantees a real smile or a calm expression. Things YOU can do as well when you photograph your own children…

This is the third year I've had my Greenwich CT Studio. It's one of my favorite places, mostly because I got to decorate the entire space myself. It's not a big area, but the three South-facing windows and white walls really light up the room. The one thing I've noticed over the years is that my Studio (and interior design style) is a bit simpler than a lot of other photographers. I, for one, can't stand clutter. I worry about safety.. and I hate spending frivolously, so everything I've purchased for the Studio over the years has been meticulously researched and planned for…

Here is the biggest mistake people make when purchasing frames for their photographs: they determine the size of the frame based on where they want that frame to live in their home. Sounds pretty logical, right? It is.. until you realize that you probably won’t be living in that house forever. People move (every 7-10 years on average), and they take their stuff with them. Which means that perfectly sized frame will soon have to fill a totally different spot…

Every day, I look for little extras I can include in my business to make my service just a little bit better. Now, I'm very selective about this because if I start throwing everything and the kitchen sink in for free, I will have to raise my prices to cover the additional cost. The things that are included with each session make the biggest impact on the final images. They are almost essential to the process, but a lot of the time photographers will either not take the time to do them, or won't include them for free…

Matching clothes is the easiest way to dress a family for a photography session.. which is why I tend to steer clear of that approach. It’s a lot harder to coordinate - to make sure each family member retains their unique style while also looking good as a unit. And that’s one of the biggest reasons why I do on-site styling for each and every one of my portrait sessions. My clients typically don’t have to worry about this stuff, but it still helps to know what I’m looking for (after all, everyone has to bring in options to being with!). So here are some guidelines and some tips based on my experience…

No matter how long I have been doing photography as a business, there are still a few things I do right before each and every session. Now, this is outside of the regular "get all the equipment ready" step, which usually happens way ahead of time. This post is all about that time between when I arrive at the Studio (about 1 hour before the session is scheduled to begin) and when I have to be ready to photograph my clients…

Most of the parents I work with want photographs of their children smiling. That's completely understandable! We all want to see (and remember) our kids happy and laughing. But sometimes by focusing so much on getting a smile in a photo, we forget about their non-smiling face. A calm peaceful look can be just as precious. An intense stare shows strength and character. And features that are at rest are just as important to remember as a toothy grin…

As a photographer, I meet Moms who are celebrating new milestones, all the time. They are having their first baby, starting a new chapter in their career, making the decision to stay home with their kids, celebrating a new decade, their marriage anniversary, or their children's Birthdays. It's amazing how fast time flies by. And often, we don't pause to truly celebrate those milestones.

With Mother's Day coming up, it's the perfect time to talk about some of the benefits of having a portrait session as a way to do just that...

It happens at every single family photoshoot. Often, parents ask me to capture that elusive photograph of their family together, looking at the camera. Or an image of all the kids together, smiling.. and looking at the camera. As you can imagine, the "looking at the camera" is the hard part...

I have a variety of clients. Some families I see every year and some I meet only once (more on that below). I also have clients who get family photographs every 3 or so years. There's no right or wrong way to do it.. and the decision is a highly personal one for each family. So how do you know which one is right for you?...

Last week, we had a huge snow storm that took down trees and killed the power to many Westport neighborhoods (Greenwich area was thankfully mostly spared). My house ended up not having power for over 24 hours...

A Mother & Daughter photoshoot is perfect for girls who are growing up (and aren't being photographed as much) and for Moms who want to celebrate their beauty and confidence. It's all about the girls, and the woman who spends every day taking care of them...

Let's face it, getting ready for your family photoshoot can take some work.. and the night before is especially important. This is when you really prepare for the next morning, and a handful of items are especially critical...

There's a lot of shopping going on this time of year! Everyone is buying presents for their friends and family.. which makes me think quite a bit about the amount of money we all spend on things we don't really need...

It feels like it's officially winter! My family took the opportunity this past weekend (first snow of the season!) to get our Christmas tree. I also finally ordered our holiday cards. Being a photographer, it's my own family that gets forgotten about when it comes to photographs, especially this time of year...

There are a few business types out there that don't require a big monetary investment to start. Photography is definitely one of those. A lot of people have expensive digital camera equipment already, so it's a very easy transition to start charging friends for photos.. and viola! you are now a professional photographer, right? 

Every time I think about the families I photograph, I get this amazing feeling of warmth and gratitude. I am so thankful to have this job and to be able to work with some of the BEST families in Fairfield County. And that doesn't mean that all the kids I have in the Studio are super well-behaved. And it doesn't mean that all sessions go exactly as planned with nothing ever going wrong. All of those things happen, ALL the time.

Halloween was absolutely AMAZING! I loved seeing all the adorable little kids in the Studio, wearing their costumes, and posing for the camera.