Mango Street Photography

i vividly remember the moment when we found out that our friends allen and mandi were expecting because i teared up thinking about what amazing parents they were going to be. their love for each other and their commitment to the Lord is undeniable, and andrew and i both are so thrilled for them as they enter this new stage of life as parents. it was a huge treat to meet landon and to document the beginning of his life. enjoy a glimpse~

i loved that landon was awake when i arrived as it gave me a chance to catch these fun expressions!

their home is so cozy~

i love this one of landon sleeping on mandi.

baby feet need no caption.

we ended the session in landon’s nursery…

baby yawns. one of my favs.

i love that landon is totally chillin’ out in this shot. and notice the sweet initials hanging over landon’s crib. mandi made them, and i thought they turned out so well–love the creativity!

until next time~

one of the many things i love about my job is that every day is different. each family i photograph has a personality, background, and story that is their own. i so enjoyed getting a glimpse into alex, lyuda, and roman’s story as they are still in their first year of living in the states after moving from ukraine! in fact, they took andrew and i out to dinner after their session (thanks again, guys!) and shared about their time here in america, and they even (very patiently) taught us some russian phrases. there is something so amazing about hearing another language, it gives me goose bumps. maybe it’s the simple reminder that the world is so much bigger than my circle, but i think there is also something tremendously wonderful about the beauty of language. back to the session. since roman was about to celebrate his 2nd birthday, this session was all about him and capturing life at age 2. enjoy a peek~

one thing i learned very quickly is that 2 year olds like to be on the go. roman definitely kept me on my feet, but i had a blast!

at some point, i think every little boy dreams of driving a train~

roman had such a great smile. when he was having a great time, everyone knew it!

i love that this picture shows roman holding onto both of his parents–such a picture of the partnership and teamwork that goes into parenting.

~

thanks again, guys, for everything! for sharing dinner with us and for giving us a glimpse into your story. we loved it!!

so this session was especially a treat for me because it was with one of my best friends from high school. when we met in 10th grade, we lived within walking distance and, thus, carpooled everywhere we went. i will never forget riding around together in my first car–a ‘73 datsun 240z. no air conditioning. my window that didn’t roll up. my door that didn’t close all the way and rattled constantly. and, yes. the holes in the floor boards so big that we could watch the road beneath us. i don’t know how we made it through those hot georgia summers, but somehow we did. we have tons of great memories together, but i will save those and fast forward to life today.

bev is now married, has an adorable son and lives in florida, but when they planned a trip up to atlanta recently, they scheduled a session to capture their family in their current phase of life. i’m so glad they did.

you know i love when a family chooses a setting that has meaning to them for their photos. well, this first location is a spot that jeremiah, bev’s husband, has great memories of visiting as a child. how fun to bring his family back years later.

the day was extremely overcast, but it kept the heat off of us!

even though you can’t see her face, i feel like this pic is so beverly.

i’m pretty sure it was at this moment when i realized i wasn’t looking through the lens at just another client and said, “oh my goodness, beverly!! you’re all grown up!!”

after a quick drive and wardrobe change, we arrived at location 2: the marietta square. i shoot a lot here because of the variety of buildings and textures, but it was particularly fun to be here since it is a special place for jeremiah and beverly. this courthouse is the spot where they got married, and this is the first time they have been back!

it was so hard to narrow these down for the post–i think bev is such a radiant mother.

i thought this was so cute–johnathan chowing down on jeremiah’s ear.

thanks again, guys! i had a great time spending time with you~

welcome to the beginning of a new week. last night i told andrew, “i just can’t wait to go to work tomorrow!” since i work from home, i have been trying to set boundaries between “work time” and personal time. on weekends, other than shooting sessions, i want to be present for andrew, if that makes sense. being a photographer is my dream job, so i sometimes forget that i need to take some time off on the weekends, but it is always good to refresh and recharge again before another monday.

well, i had 2 fabulous shoots on saturday morning, so i have been itching to get to the photos (hence, me excited to “get to work” this morning!). i have quite a to-do list to make it through today, but i will leave you with a photo from the weekend that caught my eye this morning.

i’m actually headed out in a bit to shoot another family session, but look for more from this session to come soon! enjoy your monday~

rewind to my second grade year and you will find a little version of me sitting enthralled with my teacher’s rendition of the characters of strawberry girl or another of the many books that she read aloud to us at the end of each day. mrs. demar was one of those teachers who was an easy favorite. well, fast forward amost 20 years, and you can imagine how thrilled i was when her son contacted me about doing photos for him, his wife, and their sweet boy. we met up at a local park and enjoyed watching the very expressive calvin, who i need to add was an amazing trooper for such a little guy. enjoy!

i’m loving this old tree~

we did lots of photos of the 3 of them interacting together, but let’s be honest. with a face like this, calvin stole the show.

in this one and the one below, calvin is playing airplane with his mom, liz. so fun.

evening sunlight is a beautiful thing.

so is a mom and dad who love playing with their son.

david is such a great dad! i love calvin’s pure joy here.

liz loving on calvin.

father and son~

and we’ll end with some serious cuteness.

i had a great time with you guys! thanks again for a wonderful evening~