Tag Archives: Ridgewood

Photographing returning clients at Bergen County photo studio

When I started out on this photography journey back in 2008 my primary focus was on-location photography – I’ve photographed kids and families all over Bergen County. And while I LOVE on-location photo sessions I also love photographing kiddoes at my photo studio.  My photography studio is located in Ridgewood, a block away from Hohokus and very close to Allendale, Saddle River, Old Tappan and other Bergen county towns.  It is spacious and beautiful, gets great natural light AND I’ve got great snacks there!

But my favorite part of holding photo sessions at the studio (other than the fact that there is always plenty of chocolate there!) is that this is a place where kids can shine and just be themselves.  I am not a big believer in props or backdrops – so I don’t have any of those at the studio.  Instead I focus on bringing out kids true personality – I want them to be themselves and that’s what I strive to capture.  I can be super silly at my photo sessions and some kids react well to that.  Some kids are shy so I give them space and observe them from the distance till they warm up a bit.

I’ve been photographing these two for many years now – I first ‘met’ big sister A when she was still in her Momma’s belly!  And since then we’ve had a photo session once a year – I seriously lost track of how many sessions we had together.  And while now, that the kids are older, they don’t change as much as they did when they were 2 or 3, it is still pretty amazing to see how much they grow year after year and how they turn into amazing people that they are.  And getting a text like this one below, where their Grandma (unprompted, I might add) said that I captured their personalities, really made my day!

 

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Mahwah Family Photo session | Bergen county photographer

I’ve photographed this Mahwah family for many years now – for our first session James was still in his mama’s belly – and every year we try to do something different for their session.  Last year we had their family session at Secor Farms which was AWESOME and I did not know how we could possibly top those images.  Well, this year we did!   I love photographing my clients are locations that are meaningful to them – be in their house or a place where they go fishing or a downtown where they spend a lot of their time.  So when this Mom told that about a location that was very special to them I jumped on the chance to photograph them there; then she told me that there was an old red barn on the property and that got me even more excited; then she mentioned that there were lots and lots of old cars there – as I was listening to a description of this property I was getting more and more excited about having a session there.  And when I arrived there a bit before the session to scope out a place and get ready I almost squealed with joy – this was a photographer’s dream!  So many different colors and textures and cool spots!   We all had a BLAST there and the images came out AWESOME!

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Fall family photos in Ridgewood and at Ho Ho Kus brook

Family photographer has always been my first love – I just love photographing families, capturing bonds between brothers and sisters, mothers and sons, dads and daughters.  Throw in a dog or two into the mix and I am in heaven!  And while I love my Ridgewood photo studio (it is great for so many different types of photoshoots) I truly believe that no location is as perfect for a family as their family home; noone feels more at home than well, at their home! 🙂

But I also love to incorporate families loves and interests in their sessions so I was beyond thrilled when these guys chose to split their photoshoot between their Ridgewood home and a fishing brook in the nearby Ho Ho Kus where they go fishing pretty often.  This session was a blast – little sister M. a natural in front of the camera – she was silly and was hamming it up for the camera – I can definitely see Broadway in her future! 🙂  Her big brother T was not that thrilled about the idea of having his pictures taken (I get it.. it may not seem like such an exciting prospect to a 10 year old) but I brought out my love for Harry Potter and we bonded over that instantly!  He was the one kept showing me cool tricks he could do on his bike and asking me to take pictures of him doing them!

And at the end of the session when I asked the kids what they thought of their photoshoot big brother T said it was ‘good’, which I think is the biggest compliment you can receive from a 5th grade boy!:)   And as if that was not enough this Mom told me that she loved having sessions with me (these guys are repeat clients) not only because pictures come out great but because I really get kids and that’s the reason why I can capture images that truly reflect who these kids are.. And that, my friends, is exactly what I strive to do!

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Downtown Ridgewood photo session with older children

Being a Bergen county family photographer I mostly photograph families with young-ish children.  Parents want to get pictures of their newborn, babies, toddlers, little kids and come back to me year after year after year for those photos.   But once children reach a certain age – around 10 or so sessions become less frequent – kids are busy with after school activities and social lives and they just don’t change as much every year.   So while I do photograph tweens and teens I don’t do it often.  But it is always a treat when I do – it is nice to have an adult conversation with my subjects!  I believe these sessions are as important as sessions with young kids  – as they are only a few more years before ‘grown up’ children leave the nest and go to college and I think it is priceless to have these last few years together captured.

I loved meeting this family – Mom and Dad and I hit it off at their pre-session consultation.  They never had their family pictures taken and they wanted to remedy the situation before their oldest went to college.  And when I met the kids I loved them as well!  I imagine that as a teenager having a photographer follow you around and pose you in a public place may not be very comfortable or fun – but these boys did great!  They were funny and relaxed, naturals in front of the camera and very entertaining!  Mom and Dad were amazing together and I cannot get over the way this Dad looked at his wife – with so much love!

They are “in love with the photos” (their words!) and I have to say that I love the way they came out as well!  And I know that a beautiful canvas collage and individual canvases these guys ordered will bring make they smile for years to come!

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Bergen county holiday studio mini photo sessions are here!

Do you want to get beautiful professional pictures of your kids for Holiday Cards this year but realized that it is already a bit too late to do an outdoor photo session?  Well you are in luck because my FREE studio Holiday Mini sessions are here!  This promo has been very popular ever since I first rolled it out at my Ridgewood photography studio four years ago and I am excited to do it again!    So if you live in Bergen County and want to get a beautiful studio picture of your kids for holiday cards you are in luck!   I will be offering FREE holiday mini sessions at the studio for anyone who books a new photo session for 2018!  And not only you will get a photo session for free, you will also receive a high resolution fully edited digital image – for free as well.

What:
FREE 20 minute holiday studio mini session AND one FREE high resolution digital image (perfect for creating beautiful holiday cards!) when you book a new Signature, Simplicity or Milestones session for 2018
– Additional images are available for purchase at a special discounted price

When:
Wednesday November 15th: 11:30 AM till 2 PM
Saturday November 18th: 9:00 AM till 2 PM
Saturday December 2nd: 9:00 AM till 12 PM

Where:
Live Love Laugh Photos studio – 580 N. Maple Ave Suite 201 Ridgewood NJ

Fine Print :
– Mini sessions are for up to 3 siblings (no family pictures)
– Not valid for newborn sessions
– Not valid with any other specials or gift certificates

You can see a few samples from last year’s sessions here, here , here here, here here.

This year I will have some of the set ups I’ve done in the past – ‘milk and cookies’, ‘holiday lights’, ‘winter wonderland’:

In addition to these I am bringing a brand new ‘set’ – giant snow flakes!    I took Mia to the studio a few days ago for a few test shots – here they are for your viewing pleasure:

So this year leave the picture taking to a professional, book a new photo session and get ready to get compliments on how beautiful your holiday cards look:)

NOTE: This post will appear at the top of the blog while the mini sessions are on-going.  To see images from the latest family and children photo sessions please scroll down.

ridgewood-holiday-mini-sessions

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