Hello, dear friends! After a long two-year Covid retirement, I pulled a Stephen King and unretired. I’m so glad to be back in action. And delightfully, the first family I photographed were these fine folks who are near and dear to my heart. I’ve been photographing Laurel and Sam since they were 8 and 6 years old, and now they’re driving to school and have grown into wonderful human beings who are both way taller than me. Laurel loves reading, Stranger Things, and can sing very excellently into a spatula. Sam can solve a Rubik’s cube in less time than it takes me to lace up my Vans and is an excellent cellist who can play all my favorite movie soundtracks by ear. And then there’s Jo who loves Simon, and Simon who loves Jo. Simon (the doggo) turned 4 on the day of the shoot, and celebrated his birthday by eating a string cheese. He begrudgingly wore a party hat for 10 seconds but he side-eyed us the whole time.
And because I couldn’t come out of retirement alone, this is the very first year that Jo and I have successfully convinced Brad to juggle for the camera. We’ve tried before but Brad was resistant to our pleading. Supposedly his juggling days were long over and he was rusty (this was not the case at all). Thankfully, I think we caught him off guard this year and he suddenly found himself outside holding 3 rubber chickens. I was delighted. Jo was delighted. Brad is excellent at juggling. I hope this inspires him to restart his juggling days. And what better way for me to come out of retirement than to photograph someone successfully juggling rubber chickens after begging them to let me photograph them juggling rubber chickens for all these years! I love these guys.
I adored photographing this family last year when they were just a couple with a fab 2-year-old who ate two popsicles at the same time while wearing awesome dinosaur shoes. Now they’re a family of four! Skye and Rui just welcomed their newborn daughter Bennett into the world a mere handful of days before Tye was set to turn 3. I was on hand with them this particular weekend to help document all the family who flew in to celebrate Tye’s birthday, as well as to snap a few shots of Bennett, and Skye’s sister Ashley’s pregnancy. It was a ton of fun meeting all their family members! They’re such a supportive group of people. Skye and Rui will be moving out-of-state shortly to be closer to them all, which breaks my heart, but I’m so glad that I got the chance to meet and work with them during this time in their lives. Tye is a smart, hilarious little kid (who sang birthday songs in multiple languages while I was there!) who wants everyone to know that he’s 3. He also loves car washes so much that he burst into tears after receiving a mini one as a gift. He had a joyous birthday surrounded by those who love him, and who could ask for more? Thank you to Skye and Rui for having me in your lives these past two years, and I wish you nothing but love and success in your new home!
For those of you who keep up with my blog, you’re already familiar with my videographer friends over atBig Dog Little Bed Productions. I’m so grateful to have done a lot of branding photos for Janice and her team over the years, not just because Janice is a friend and an awesome woman, but also because she has extremely cute dogs. Like, really cute dogs. Murphy is the little dog, and he is an extremely good dog model. He looks wherever you want him to. He’s eager to please and seems to realize he’s dog modeling, and does the absolute best that he can. He head-tilts. He puppy-eyes. He lifts his chin and moves for more flattering angles. Murph will do anything that is required of him, and he’ll be proud of himself for this. Toby, the big fluffy pile of fluff, on the other hand, is a terrible model but is so profoundly and stupidly cute that I can barely function around him. He knows I love him so he ignores me, which makes me love him more. He displays a visible, near-constant eye-roll, especially when anyone hugs him. He does not want his picture taken at all and often just puts his butt to the camera and stands there. Janice’s boyfriend’s dog name George was also there and snuck in a few cute pictures as well, but again, was not up to the modeling standards that Murphy clearly sets for dogs.
When I’m not fawning over all present dogs, I am helping Janice take photos for her website, newsletters, social media, etc. We’ve worked in her office for the past couple of years but we shot in her beautiful new home this time and it was incredible! Every inch of that place is gorgeous. We shot some workin’ shots of Janice and Tyler meeting with some clients (thanks to Lauren and Emily for their modeling skills!) and some dog-hugging shots for Big Dog Little Bed’s 2020 year. BDLB does AMAZING marketing films as well as strategy and coaching for small business when it comes to content, so if you’re a business looking to get yourself more visible via video, they’re hands down who I would recommend. Also you might get to meet Toby (bring a lint roller though).
Durham small business branding photographyDog portrait photographer DurhamDurham small business branding photographyDurham small business branding photographyDurham small business branding photographyDurham small business branding photographyDog portrait photographer DurhamDurham small business branding photographyDurham small business branding photographyDurham photographer for small businessesDurham photographer for small businessesDurham photographer for small businessesBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsDog portrait photographer DurhamDog portrait photographer DurhamBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsBig Dog Little Bed ProductionsSmall business photographySmall business photographySmall business photographySmall business photographySmall business photographyBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamBranding photographer in DurhamDog photographer DurhamHeadshot photographer DurhamDog photographer DurhamHeadshot photographer DurhamHeadshot photographer DurhamDog photographer DurhamDog photographer DurhamDog photographer DurhamLifestyle brand photographerLifestyle brand photographerLifestyle brand photographerLifestyle brand photographerLifestyle brand photographerDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerEditorial business photographyEditorial business photographyEditorial business photographyDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerDog portrait photographerWoman hugging dogWoman hugging dogWoman hugging dogWoman hugging dogWoman hugging dogWoman hugging dogWoman on her phoneWoman on her phoneWoman sitting on couchSmall business brandingWoman petting dogWoman petting dogWoman petting dogWoman petting dogWoman standing in kitchenDurham headshot photographerDog portraits in DurhamDog portraits in DurhamDurham headshot photographerDurham headshot photographerDurham headshot photographerDog portraits in DurhamDog portraits in DurhamDog portraits in DurhamDog portraits in DurhamDog portraits in DurhamDog portraits in DurhamDog sitting at laptopDog sitting at laptopWorking from homeWorking from homeWorking from homeWorking from homeWorking from homeWorking from homeWoman sitting with dogWoman sitting with dogWoman sitting with dogWoman sitting with dogWoman sitting with dogWoman sitting with dog
