November 2, 2023

Holly Springs Family Photographer

Just a normal, lovely day photographing this family in Holly Springs. Surrounded by sensational skulls, beautiful bats, sublime serpents, spirited skeletons, gorgeous gourds, and breathtakingly “restored” babydolls, I set about photographing this family with all the whimsical trimmings of the Halloween season. The kids went on a hunt for the elusive seasonal pumpkin eggs, containing treats and occasionally cash. The family decorated their beautiful black tree, adorning it with vomiting jack-o-lanterns and zombie unicorns, all while being watched over by a charming 8′ skeleton who eternally places a giant eyeball on the tree top. Melanie and Ryan celebrated the season by opening a box of “aged” cereal that they were letting ripen until the exact right moment, and grimaced with what I can only assume was sheer delight as they ate hardened bites of expired food from ~2018. Their cat Chloe participated by dressing up as a bat and modeling in the most adorable way in front of a black tea set. Finally, a killer clown emerged with an enormous, glimmering pair of scissors and chased everyone around – presumably to give them free haircuts, how nice. I love this family and their love for Halloween, which continues to live in all of our hearts 365 days a year. And always remember, if you can’t summon the flames directly from Hell, store-bought is fine.

8' skeleton hanging an eyeball on a Halloween tree

Cat walking past couch with a Creepshow blanket on it

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October 27, 2023

Cat+Mitchell // Greensboro Family Photographer

This was my second time visiting the incredible Greensboro Science Center for a shoot with Cat and Mitchell! They’re members there and their kids are obsessed, so it’s a great place to spend the day and explore. I love this family. They’ve been close friends of ours for a long time, and we’ve known their kids since they were babies. And their kids are INCREDIBLE. They’re both really sweet and silly and insane and I love them. The youngest said she would “only be taking pictures with silly faces” during this shoot, and she did not disappoint. In fact, I think one of the few normal pictures she took was when I said, “Look at that llama made out of tinsel,” and she then ran over and posed and smiled politely with him. Smiling politely the rest of the time is not really her thing – her thing is mostly making weirdo faces and being the most excited child in the history of excited children. She also loves Halloween. I think we’re the same person. Her older brother is also very excited but in a slightly more reserved way, as evidenced by his extraordinary professional posing abilities. Can he walk over to a dock and put his hands in his pockets and pop a hip like a 1993 JC Penny’s catalogue or an ad for Dawson’s Creek? You bet. Can he find a turtle statue and sit on it in such a way where it looks like it’s a presidential campaign photo? Absolutely. Meanwhile, his sister is fake vomiting off the same dock. I love them so much.

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October 17, 2023

Lindsay+Rishi // Chapel Hill Family Photographer

Aww, you guys. Last time I photographed Lindsay and Rishi was in 2019 when they were pregnant with their first daughter. Now they have two insanely cute daughters and are back in the area after several moves in the last decade, one of which was abroad. Lindsay and I kept in touch during those times because I became quite internet-attached to Bogart, her cat, who I had never met in real life but felt like I knew in my soul. And while I unfortunately never got the opportunity to meet Bogart, I now have finally met Roxie, their dachshund, who was just as impressive in person as she is online. In fact, even more so, because this is the very first dog in my entire 38 years of life who I’ve ever seen truly beg. Like, sit on her hind legs, stand up, put her paws together and move her hands back and forth beg. Like a little circus dog. The best part? Lindsay and Rishi never taught her how to do that – she just came that way. And now, all these years later (Roxie is a dignified senior), she still does it. And it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It was so much fun to photograph this crew in their home and looking for treasures on a walk (their daughters collect these treasures in a treasure box in the garage, which is a beautiful group of perfectly preserved deceased butterflies, cicadas, feathers, leaves, pinecones, grasshoppers, etc). And another Familiar Dolls cat doll may have made an appearance towards the end…#shamelessselfpromotion.

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