"Portraits in the Park" { 2010 }

A few previews from my second annual fall "Portraits in the Park" promotion. I choose Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool again for this years settings. It's such a beautiful location! I must say though I was a little disappointed with the colors this year. I'll stick to mid-October for next years sessions. And I was really bummed that the playground was closed and under construction!

But we made the best of it and had some beautiful autumn weather and seven gorgeous families! Check them out below!

Jennifer & Joey at the Park...

I had the pleasure of photographing Jennifer & Joey at Onondaga Lake Park a few days ago. Dad even joined us for a little bit. They booked one of my Mothers Day Specials and we had a great time capturing some new memories and even a few "Mommy Moments" for them.

I'm not one for the cheesy, boring, posed portraits so always prefer to shoot kids and families outdoors on location rather than in the studio. It just makes for real and natural images and thats what I want to capture. The kids can be themselves and just enjoy the experience.

And I'm pretty sure four year old Joey was one of the fastest kids I've ever shot, lol. Just when I would get the camera up to my eye, he would take off and move on to explore something else. Thankfully I'm pretty fast too!

My oldest daughter Kayla also joined us to capture the session on video and created a beautiful montage for the family. Click here to watch their video. Mom said she cried a little bit when she watched it and to be completely honest, I did too!

Mantelli Family { BLOG }

A wonderful Holiday Portrait session on location with the Mantelli family. We walked around Onondaga Lake Park for this shoot. Such a gorgeous family, sweet kids and great weather. What more could you ask for?

A few of my faves:

"L" Family Fall Portraits { BLOG }

If this family looks familiar to you it's because I captured Tonys' Marine Homecoming a few weeks ago for the Operation Love Reunited organization. They booked me for a fall family session shortly thereafter.

We went to one of my favorite locations, Onondaga Lake Park. The weather was perfect, the leaves were golden and the family was a pleasure to work with. The kids, Irelyn & Evan are just so sweet and precious. This is a family with a whole lot of LOVE.

A few of my favorites from our session.

Ashleigh - Fall Model Shoot { BLOG }

Introducing Ashleigh! This beautiful young woman has only been modeling for two weeks. Seriously. And she was just incredible to work with. Great with her posing and needed very little instruction. A photographers dream!

We spent over two hours shooting at Onondaga Lake Park and finding cool locations. She even climbed in a tree for some of the shoot, in her heels no less!

I had a hard time choosing which images to post but here are a few. Love! Love!

Reena & Haley { BLOG }

A "lifestyle" session at the park with model Reena and her beautiful yellow labrador Haley. We had the perfect fall day for our session, although it was a little windy by the lake. Not great for the hair, lol.

Haley had a great time playing frisbee! She has so much energy and is so well behaved! She really LOVES frisbee and couldn't get enough of it.

A few of my faves from the day...

Blair Family Portraits { BLOG }

A fun, autumn family portrait session at Onondaga Lake Park. I love this family! They have been through so much together and it has made them stronger and closer. And they have more strength and courage than I could ever hope to have.

We had a great time at the park and the kids were so well behaved. I was so proud of Victor for sitting still for so long. I know it is hard for kids that age to do. He did finally get to play on the playground though.

Portraits in the Park...

My first annual "Portraits in the Park" mini photo sessions at Onondaga Lake Park were a huge success! I had so much fun and I hope the families did too. They were all amazing and I could see the love they all had for each other. I even got a hug from two year old little Jacob. This is why I love my job! Thank you so much for letting me capture some of your precious memories.

I'm already planning a few more of these mini-sessions for 2010.