Oh Baby!

This baby girl had her three-month portraits taken today. She wore a beautiful baptismal gown that one of her doting grandmothers made for her. I've taken her mom's maternity portraits, and her newborn portraits, but I haven't seen her since she was a week old, and my goodness how she's grown. I can't wait to see what she looks like for her 6-month portraits in January.

Thanks, Dana, for bringing her today. Here's a sneak peak - including one with what you called the
"over the top" hat -- I couldn't resist!

Ballerina Portrait Contest - Semifinal #1

Our ballerina portrait mini-session event was a huge success this year - so much so that I'm still editing portraits for some of my last sessions. I photographed almost 60 kids - nearly all girls, over three days in late September and early October.

We thought it would be fun to have a bit of a contest. We will have several preliminary contests, and the winner of each will then move to the final contest. Once we have a final winner, the subject of the portrait will win a free set of Moo cards printed with portraits from their session (I get to choose the portraits to include). If you haven't seen these darling little cards, check out www.moo.com. Everyone who sees them goes crazy over them -- I carry some in my purse of my own kids to show off. A modern little brag book, I guess!

Posted below are the first six portraits in the contest (I'm going in order of when the session happened). Vote for your favorite portrait. This is not a cute kid contest - I happen to think that every child I photographed for this event is equally beautiful :) . Get your friends and family to vote! This poll will close in one week. I will annouce the winner at that point and post the next preliminary poll.

EDITED ON FRIDAY, OCT. 19 -- Portrait #2 won with 37 votes. #3 had 36 votes. Since it was so close, both will move on to the final contest.

Have fun!

Portrait #1

Portrait #2

Portrait #3

Portrait #4

Portrait #5

Portrait #6(click the photo to see it full size)
You can vote by clicking below, or go to:
http://www.polldaddy.com/p.asp?p=119525

Beautiful new family

Katie came to me a few weeks ago for her maternity portraits, and this evening, she and Michael brought their new baby boy for portraits. Newborn sessions are always fun, and challenging, and memorable, and this one was no different. Katie and Michael are both very fun to work with.

The couple let me try out something new. Many of my clients come to me for my "low key" photography - that is, low light and shadows on dark -- or black -- backdrops. Tonight I wanted to try something a bit different -- a more high-key look. They were game - so we did both - low key and high key. I hope they enjoy the results!


Congratulations to Katie and Michael - wishing you many fun times with your new baby boy.

Fun with plexiglass

I had a fun session this evening -- this little guy, who is a frequent guest in my studio, spent most of his time staring into the reflection in the plexiglass I had him sitting on. This baby's mom loves portraits of her four gorgeous kids, so she couldn't resist getting his 9-month portraits done. Luckily for her, we were able to distract him from the plexiglass long enough to get some nice portraits. Of course, is there little wonder why one of the best portraits happened before I got the plexiglass out?

Enjoy! Your proofs will be ready shortly. See you for baby's 1-year portraits in a few months!

(click the image to see it larger)

This Mom Appreciates Portraits As Art

Today I photographed a session for a mom who truly appreciates portraits as an art form. The decor in her beautiful home is a testament to that. Beautiful, black and white portraits adorn her walls. We did both studio portraits and outdoor - she has the sweetest little sofa that we took out by the pond for some creative and fun portraits. But the question is, will Michelle remain true to black and white? Or will she decide she needs a bit more color on her walls? I can't wait to find out. Michelle - enjoy this sneak peak - your proofs will be ready soon.

And thank you for choosing me to photograph your sweet, sweet little girl.
(click on each portrait to see it bigger)

Ballerina Portrait Mini Session Event -- Sept. 28-29 & Oct. 7

Don't miss out on the third annual
Ballerina Portrait Mini Session event

- a fund-raiser for the Academy of the Arts dance team. This event launched my photography career just a year ago, when I did this event as a Mom With A Camera. This year I'm a professional with a successful business - amazing what can happen in a year. Thank you to all of you who took part last year and helped to make this an amazing year for me.

This is a really fun event for me personally-- and the little girls who have been photographed in the past for this event have a great time and feel very special looking like pretty ballerinas and princesses. I've even seen a few mommies cry during their daughter's session!

We've got some beautiful new tutus -- 20+ of them! And several in our new "Fall Leaves" design (pictured above); and three renaissance princess dresses - gold in color in small, medium and large.

For more information about this can't-miss event, see the column at right.

Holiday Card Mini-Session Event

Many of you have asked about portraits for your holiday cards, so I will be having a mini-session event to help you with that.

Here's the scoop:
Dates: Sunday afternoon, Nov. 4 & Monday evening, Nov. 5
Place: My studio
Cost: $30 for the 20-minute mini-session; plus $50 for 25 cards; $95 for 50 cards; $140 for 75 cards; $185 for 100 cards.

Your proofs (about 5 to 7) will be ready about a week after your session. You will then need to tell me which proof you want me to use for your holiday cards -- 5x7 flat cards printed on high-quality paper, with envelopes. We offer a number of designs to choose from.

You will pay for your session and cards at your appointment (you may re-order more cards later if you need to). I will also create an online gallery for you so you may buy prints from your gallery at a discount (grandparents love getting portraits as Christmas gifts). You will need to choose the proof for your card by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21. Your proof gallery will stay online until Dec. 1 to give you extra time to order other prints.

Sessions are limited. To book an appointment,
please send me email at lori@centerstagephotos.net

Natural Beauty

Amanda came for senior portraits tonight. She is such a beautiful girl, and didn't have on a bit of make-up - no fair! She also seems to be as sweet and fun as they come. She wanted the outdoor portion of her session at a local sand volleyball place - what a fun and creative choice that really shows off her personality - the way senior portraits should be!

I hope you enjoy these, Amanda - choosing just a few for my blog was really hard! Look for your proofs later this week. Thank you for choosing me to document this important milestone in your life.

(Click on these photos to make them bigger).