Inspiring Nurseries 2009

So, one of my closest friends is having a baby (her first one) and she's clueless about everything... As I would be! Last week, she called me in a frantic asking me how she should decorate her baby boy's nursery. "Alice, you are a creative person. Help me!"

You're in luck, Karen. I've saved some of my favorite nursery images because I knew you'd be asking. :)

When I photograph a child, I try to document everything I feel should be remembered - the way he smiles when you sing to him, his chunky legs and buddha tummy, his favorite bedtime story, his soothing luvie, and the bed he sleeps in every night. I know the love and time devoted to picking out every little detail in his room, so I try my best to help my families remember every bit of it.

Here's some of my favorite nurseries from 2009:

Jack & Will's room. Love the nautical theme (and how Will is running through my frame as I photographed his room!)



Every little girl loves pink! Avalana's modern & sophisticated room on the left; Addie's grownup room on the right.



Love the contrast in these two rooms. High, expansive ceilings in Julia's room verses Ransom's 200 sq ft Manhattan room.



I am personally a big fan of neutral and calming colors, like Knox and Brand's rooms.



And when the babies are ready to move into big boy & girl rooms, I'm ready to document that as well! As show, Jack's & Charlie's room.

It's freezing outside!

But that doesn't stop us from playing! That's why I love working with children... Put them in their element and rain or shine, cold or hot - they always have fun!

January was surprisingly a busy month! I, however, am looking forward to the cold to pass ;)

The Littlest Leddy

Last weekend, I went to Charleston to visit one of my favorite families. I've been photographing Logan since he was 11 days old... And although Logan's family no longer lives in Atlanta, that hasn't stopped me from visiting Logan and his new baby brother Connor every chance I have.

Some favorites from visiting their beautiful family last week.

Baby Conner, the littlest leddy...



I loved capturing all of his littleness. Little feet, little lips. Little ears, little cheeks. And little hands.





The whole family. In Charleston.



Love this one....



And this series.

Logan: What do I do daddy?
Dad: Give your baby brother a kiss, Logan...
Logan: I don't know how...
Dad: Like this...
Logan: Ok.
Connor: Too many kisses, family!



Another series I love. Some downtime with daddy...



And I couldn't help but post this... Left: Logan, 11 days old. Right: Connor, almost 4 weeks old...

The resemblance is crazy.

Little Miss Mobile

Mom was worried I wouldn't be able to catch Caroline's big beautiful smile because she was already 8 months old and so very mobile. I think I managed to capture a few... :)

Away we are!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts! We are currently out of the office... Tennessee the past 2 weeks, Alabama next week, South Carolina (Charleston mainly) currently!

Thank you to all of my current clients for your patience as I reply to your emails evah-so-slowly!

** Edited to Add: So, my trip to Charleston ended up being twice as long as it should have been. Bad weather, rescheduled sessions, malfunctioned airport runways, and lots of cancelled flights to Atlanta.

Tired and frustrated, I was ready to start walking home... Then, I met three of the kindest women, all strangers, who made me realize that life is too short too be tired and frustrated. Make the best of it.... Que Sera Sera.

To my new friends, Sister Mary Margaret, Elaine and Berry. May we all make the best in everything life throws us... Cheers to that!

Engineering just wasn't for me

Right before Christmas, I met with this beautiful family of six on one of the most gorgeous December days. I adored their four girls, as each of them reminded me of the relationship I had with my sisters growing up.

When I arrived, we got to chatting, and they were so fascinated that I decided to take this career path despite studying engineering in school. I find an indescribable joy when I get to know my subjects, and they get to really see the photographer behind the lens. I explained to them that Life has a way of taking you several different paths until you discover that sometimes, the right one has always been right there in front of you.

I think a couple of the girls ended up asking for cameras for Christmas...

Beautiful sisters Julia (14), Joanna (12), Faith (10) and Elle (7)...



Family of six. Delightful in more ways than one!



The leaves were just calling our names...

I realized that these girls were at such an impressionable age. How I responded to them, how I described what I did - all made an impact, although small, in where they would go in Life and what they would do. In the end, engineering just wasn't for me. And I'm so glad it wasn't...

NAPCP's December Membership Drive

Starting a new association has been a challenging and rewarding endeavor. After a launch in 2009, we have been steadily building our membership base and gaining recognition in the industry, but the "if you build it, they will come" philosophy will only get you so far. There are thousands of talented professional child photographers in the world, and we'd like to let them know that an association has been created to serve them. So, like many other organizations, we chose to do an all out membership blitz this month. And, to be sure, we're happy the end is in sight, as putting those reminders together daily is no small task!

Although the 25 Reasons campaign may seem overwhelming, we've been thrilled with the results, and are still meeting new faces daily. We've brought in loads of talented and qualified professional child photographers, seen our own members help out by retweeting and referring new folks, received strong feedback from vendor partners who will continue to provide our members with discounts, and have been sent words of encouragement by well-known talents in the photography industry at large who now regard NAPCP as an established and respected association. All of this is of great benefit to every NAPCP member.

We don't grant membership to just anyone who applies. We take a look at every applicant. Some folks are in the early stages of their business, others are more established, but all are professionals and all have something to offer or gain from the community that we are building.

Starting in January you will see a lot less of a membership push, and more of the meat & potatoes of NAPCP. The premier image competition will be launched in just a few weeks and information on this year's retreat will soon follow. And there is much more evolving behind the scenes. Ongoing are the invaluable conversations on the forum. And in all honestly, what I love the most is that your fellow members are truly sharing quality insight on everything from vendor materials to pricing to marketing.

To all of the portrait photographers out there, I encourage you to take part in this budding community. Join NAPCP today and forever be known as one of NAPCP's original - a charter member.

Today is the last day of our December Membership Drive. This is it! Apply for membership today: http://napcp.com