A few highlights from the kids portrait sessions I did while I was out in California…

Oh Baby! Look how lovely little Miss Kiera is. Only 2 weeks old. She was such a doll during our portrait session even though we rudely interrupted her day time sleeping schedule. You see she sleeps during the day and wants to party at night with mom. But I think we did a pretty good job capturing her sleeping beauty. I can’t wait to take more pics of this beautiful baby.

Last year I was fortunate to have been able to document the first years of my friends baby’s Rocco and Stella and I loved taking every single picture. It brings me such joy to look back and see them grow from newborns, to toddlers and now little people. It all happens so fast so get it documented!

Spring is definitely here on the east coast. The temperatures are finally rising and the flowers are starting to bloom. I’m so excited to share this beautiful spring city hall wedding of Alison and Trygve.  I love that they added some traditional aspects of a wedding to an otherwise intimate and sterile civil ceremony to turn it up a notch.  Just add some cute flower girls in colorful dresses and bouquets, adorable ring bearers, excited family members, a glowing bride in a beautiful white gown and voile! A mini wedding without all the fuss. After some portraits on the steps of the supreme court building we all headed downtown to Capital Grille for a formal lunch. The staff at this restaurant we so attentive and extremely polite that I would recommend this place for an event in an instant.

Having a civil ceremony doesn’t have to be just the two of you and a judge. Why not make it into a mini wedding? Just invite some family and close friends and pick a few formal traditions. Try wearing a white dress or have the bridesmaids carry colorful bouquets and then celebrate afterwards with an intimate dinner. And of course consider hiring a professional photographer to capture all these details and moments

Even though the biggest storm of the year was brewing I managed to squeeze in a really fun engagement session with Valerie and Matt.  We had to be a little more creative with some indoor shooting, but we managed to fit in some nice outside shots as the rain dissipated for a few moments . It was actually really nice to walk around Times Square in the rain while our umbrellas turned inside out like 100 times. All the electronic marquees and advertisements were glowing against the cloudy and misty sky.

Which brings me to a good photography tip for colorful pictures. A cloudy, overcast day will actually make bright colors pop even more. So next time it’s overcast go take some pictures outside of some colorful flowers and notice the intense saturation of the colors.

It was another highly entertaining and confusing night in Brooklyn as I joined in on the birthday celebration of my fabulous friend Temis. Oh and Thomas Jefferson (the ridiculously talented Scott Bradlee) was there to pound out Yankee Doodle Dandy and Lady Gaga hits in ragtime style…JEFFERSON!

I had such a fun day with Jane, Chris and their friends and family. Jane told me she was going to surprise Chris with a white dress instead of the black one she intended to wear. Chris was definitely surprised and his reaction was priceless when he saw her walk into city hall. They are such a fun couple and looked fabulous together.

We all pilled into the van they rented and off we went to the Highline and around the West Village for some pictures. Thank goodness the weather has been cooperating!