It is always great when someone trusts you a second time to agree to sit before you, be vulnerable and allow you to test studio light.
Love these images I made with Natalie 3 weeks ago.
Runaway Series with Shauna
Life at 7
My daughter celebrates her 7th birthday tomorrow and I took the opportunity to “interview” her and see what life as a 7 year old is like plus share photos from her birthday shoot. She wasn’t as chatty as she normally is but it is interesting to see how her interests have changed over time.
What interests you now?
Make up, New York City & Cooking
What do you love about Philly?
The zoo especially the petting zoo.
What do you like about school?
Pretzel day
If you could be any animal, what animal would you be?
A cat.
What is your favorite place you have traveled?
Puerto Rico!
If you could give something to everyone, what would you give?
Food
What do you hate to eat?
Peanuts!! I like peanut butter but I hate eating the nuts.
If you could grow up to be famous, what would you want to be famous for?
Dancing & singing.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Flying so I don’t have to walk.
Soulful Lifestyle Portraits - Brandi
As I mentioned in my Personal Branding The Soulful Way post earlier this month, I love photos that reflect my client’s lifestyle and values. A few months ago, I took some photos of my friend Brandi of Brandeye Home at her home and around her camper, Lucille Jean. Brandi loves all things home decor, flowers & plants and trips with her husband in their camper so I tried to capture a bit of who she is. A select few are below.
Soulful Headshots: Christina
“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” - Brené Brown
Sitting for headshots or any type of portraits is an exercise in Courage. Courage in showing ourselves to the world especially in an authentic way. It is sharing a bit of ourselves.
Last month I went to New York and met with Christina, a storyteller who helps innovators translate their believes and passions into powerful brand stories. I was humbled that she trusted me to take her headshots and I was inspired by her presence and confidence in herself. Please check her out at The New Quo.
Here are few of the photos we captured during our short time together at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Soulful Lifestyle: Bency
A few months I did a shoot with one of my readers, Bency, who wanted to celebrate her spiritual and physical transformation. She believes in "treating others in our lives with infinite compassion ... and taking time to get involved and being there for others." Please check out Bency on IGand her yoga classes in the Philadelphia area.
A few photos from the session are below.
Lifestyle Branding Photos with Jenny
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a couple hours with Jenny Friedman, a dietitian focused on kids with autism. Please check out her instagram feed where she shares tips and tricks for getting kids to try new foods and nutrition tips for kids on the autism spectrum.
Jenny’s soulful way of being and love for food was inspiring and I had to share some of the great photos we captured that day.
4 Soulful Ways of Being This Thanksgiving
"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."
-Meister Eckhart
In our day to day, it is sometimes a struggle to focus on our blessings and not get into a pity party around what we do not yet have or achieved. Regardless of our circumstances, there is much we have (tangible and intangible), so as we head into Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, here are a few ways to show your love and appreciation this week.
Thanksgiving morning instead of sending generic thanksgiving greeting via text etc, share something specific that you are grateful for eg " I am thankful for your help with X this year", "I am thankful for your constant support" etc.
Be intentional about spending time with family. Put the phone down and listen to grandma talk about "the good old times".
At thanksgiving dinner, take photos of your family especially those you don’t see often. Take group and individual photos with your phone or camera, then print several and send them to your older relatives. If you download the Shutterfly App, all prints from the app are free.
“If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.”
-W. Clement Stone
Consider purchasing a box of food to feed the less fortunate. Giant Supermarkets have these prepackaged boxes that can be purchased for $10 which are then picked up by Philabundance and given to families for the holidays. Ari saw them at the check out 2 weeks ago and of her own doing, used her pocket money she earned from helping me on shoots, to buy a box. Proud mama moment.
When purchasing items on CyberMonday on Amazon, make sure you are using the Smile Amazon url to make purchases. In Smile, you can designate your charity of choice and 0.5% of price of qualifying products goes to that charity. You can use Smile Amazon all year round. If you are looking for charities to support, I am affiliated with 2 great Philadelphia youth organizations, Play On, Philly and beGirl World, both of which can be supported via Smile. Also don’t forget GivingTuesday.
Invite someone who may be alone to join your family for thanksgiving. Many of us are lonely, especially the “strong” ones, so keep friends in mind who may be living away from family and can’t travel for the holiday. Invite them to dinner or bring them a plate after.
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
-John F. Kennedy
Have a wonderful and safe thanksgiving friends.