Family Portraits: Viktoriya, Darren and Carter at the Greensboro Bicentennial Gardens

I met Carter (and Viktoriya... and Darren!) a couple weeks ago back at baby Vida's first birthday. Viktoriya said she'd tried having portraits before, but none of them had quite the candidness that she was looking for, so I was very excited when she contacted me to set up a shoot.

We decided to meet up at the Tanger Family Bicentennial Gardens in Greensboro, NC. I'd never been there before, but fortunately Viktoriya and Darren had plenty of locations in mind, and the weather was just as beautiful as they were!

Kisses for mommy!

High-five, Daddy!

Family Portraits: Nicole, Zoe and Joseph on UNC Campus in Chapel Hill, NC

Nicole contacted me shortly after seeing some of my photos on UNC's campus during our recent snow/ice storms. As a former graduate, she thought it would make a perfect setting for portraits with her daughter, Zoe, and son Joseph!

It's hard to believe that just a couple days prior to this, the entire place was covered in ice! I was even still lacking power at my house, so it was nice to get out and do something. After taking a handful of posed shots, we took a casual stroll around campus. I let them lead the way and hung back to snap the candids - but Zoe and Joseph were more than happy to smile for the camera!

Everyone was having fun posing with their favorite trees... it's interesting to see how the personalities reflect!

We circled up to the Old Well so Nicole get get a portrait by herself there.

Everyone refreshed themselves with a fresh sip of water before we parted ways to enjoy the remainder of the beautiful day! Thanks to Nicole, Zoe and Joseph for having me out!

Birthday Party Shoot: Alex's Surprise 40th in Durham, NC

I'm very lucky to have a career that also supports my photography hobby! My extremely sneaky and creative boss managed to put together a huge surprise birthday party for her husband Alex's 40th birthday party - and invited me out to capture the day.

Some of Alex's family and friends had traveled from halfway across the country to be there, so needless to say, he was stunned when he walked through the door!

Alex went through the brief hellos, but with lots of children running about (including my boss and Alex's son, Drake), cake quickly became a priority... and Alex seemed quite as excited about it as the kids! ;)

The awesome cake maker and mutual friend, Kim, of Kimmie Kakes, was also in attendance with her husband and lovely daughter Genny.

And another appearance from Jesika, Justin and Larkin (from our maternity shoot back in January).

Fun for everyone! The pinata was creatively filled with candy, plus mini bottles of alcohol wrapped in bubble wrap for the older "children".

Richard got in a fight with a beer bottle... and did not win. But have no fear, duck tape fixes all.

Children, true to their emotions!

Happy 40th, Alex!!