It’s holiday picture time!… and I am busy busy shooting family photos all during the fall. Here is quick peek from a shoot this past weekend – a photo party in the park with the beautifully blonde, all-American, sweet Benson family.
Love a good close-up…
One of my recent favorites… It just says DAD to me…
And let’s not forget how all this craziness started…
These pics make me feel good. They are a reminder for what’s important in life… being silly, loving, playful, comforting, and connected to the ones you truly truly love.
xoxo – I’ll try to blog more soon!
Christa
Books and pictures are two of my favorite things, so give me a good photo book, and I’m in love! I’m a freak for good story-telling, cool design, great memories, and beautiful photographs… and my hope is that I can create an album that combines all of those things. With every book I make, I’m thinking about what it will be like to crack the book open in fifty years or so… Will it tell a story, recall a memory?… will this 6 year old remember how much she loved that darned stuffed animal, how spirited her personality was, how much joy and hope she had, how she once ran and jumped on the beach with naked enthusiasm!… I’m rambling, but I just can’t express how much I love books and how much I love capturing the essence of a person, a family, friends, lovers, etc… so you can retell the story another time, another day… to someone else, or your distant future all grown-up self.
This is a Cypress Album for Batia, a wonderfully silly girl, who I had the pleasure of spending a breezy summer afternoon with…
Here are a few spread designs from her book, lovingly handcrafted by the folks at Cypress. (The grey area isn’t part of the album, it’s just so you can see the pages 🙂
I hope Batia opens this book one day and looks upon her childhood fondly…
I think that’s one of the best gifts you can give someone 🙂
xoxo,
Christa
Pillow fiiiiight! And believe me, the mom did not hold back… lol! Here is the first in a series I shot for the beautifully blessed Coleman family. They were hosts of a very fun and successful Photo Party in LA – and it was time to give them the deluxe photographic treatment!… So we spent a couple of days together… at home, playing in bed, the backyard, the beach… and we captured tons of gorgeous, fun and meaningful moments… here’s a small peek:
Bedtime should always include a pillow fight, and cuddling…
telling stories…
rubbing feet and touching toes…
tickling…
…and should always start and end with a giggle. :)))
xoxo,
Christa
I want to be adopted by the Casey family. They were the host family at my recent Photo Party in Greenwich, CT. I am blown away by how amazing this family is… both as a unit and individually. I’m not one to gush, truly I’m not, but I’ve been known to throw around passion and enthusiasm with abandon when I genuinely love/admire/respect/etc someone. So when I tell you that I *heart* the Casey Family – that’s an understatement. To be surrounded by such kindness, humor, brilliance and cuteness is addictive. And the Casey family – Jack, BJ, Charlotte, and twins James & Will – has all that and more, in spades. Take a peek…
Six year old Charlotte is a smart girl and loving big sister. She promised not to pout during photos in exchange for a new webkinz – a fair trade.
Suddenly a pick up game broke out, and this serious slugger came to the plate…
She knows she’s good.
The twins each had his own pitching style…
Team Photo and celebration!
Now let’s huddle up and spin!!
What has eight legs and four heads?
So not only are these adorable 4 year olds riding bikes with no training wheels, they are also learning Chinese. And they are just so cute – I can’t handle it!
There is so much that I love about these two pics – don’t even get me started!
…aaaaand Good Night! Are you as exhausted as I am after this shoot?!
So this is what happens when your family hosts a Photo Party with me. My first edit of the Casey family’s photo shoot yielded 435 images that I loved!
I’m just sayin.
xo,
Christa
I’ve been traveling all over the country doing “Photo Parties” for about 4 or so years now, and they are always a huge success! in terms of families having fun, parents loving the photos, and me feeling like I ran a marathon. A Photo Party isn’t really a party per se – there is no beer, as one father asked me – lol!! I wish! But it’s a day of photo shoots hosted by one family for a number of guest families (usually 12 to 20) at a pre-determined location (either the host’s home, a nearby park, beach, etc.).
This most recent party took place in Greenwich, CT, hosted by the lovely and hysterical Casey Family (their session will be on the blog in the next few days). And even though it poured rain that day, the families were still game for playing outside. We had so much fun, captured beautiful images and I managed not to get my camera too wet!
Here are a few of my favorite moments… when we cracked up…
Ran through the drizzling rain…
Took our first steps…
Tickled each other…
Took time for close-ups…
(I love it when you see the silliness and maturity of a child just moments apart.)
We also adored and squeeeeezed one another…
Raised the roof and were amused by each other…
We ran in the rain…
And, lastly, my favorite shot… we cuddled on the covered porch with the rain pouring down just outside…
Ahhhh! so much fun, and this was my favorite photo party yet… More pics to come as I blog myself silly this week catching up on posting all of the sessions over the past few weeks: beach shoots, my recent trip to New York City, photographing the new family living in my old childhood home in NJ, and much more!…
Thank you for visiting!
xoxo,
Christa
