A few weeks back I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing this wonderful family from Illinois.  They were in town on vacation and wanted some family photos at the beach.  I met them at my favorite beach in Cocoa and we had a fun session.  The weather looked iffy at times, but the weather held up beautifully and it gave us some great light.

I just realized that I’m really behind on blogging some of my recent sessions!  Stay tuned all this week for some fun images of newborns, babies, families and toddlers.

This sweetheart was soooo good to me during her newborn sesssion.  She slept like a trooper and woke up at the very end so I could get some photos of her beautiful eyes.

Isn’t this next one just the funniest.

I had the pleasure of meeting this adorable baby girl last week. She was so patient with me as we did both a studio and a natural light session! She celebrates her first birthday later this month. Isn’t she beautiful?

Happy Summer everyone! Sorry its been kind of slow on the blog lately.  I got a much needed break while everyone settled into their summer routines.  But, it was back to work this week with some great sessions.  Plus, two newborn sessions next week and a family session … so there’s lots to come for the blog!

I’ve gotten to know this family over the past 8 months because they are on my year-long baby plan.  Sweet Candice is now 10 months old and such a cutie!  We had great fun playing in their backyard oasis and getting some great portraits with her big sisters.

It’s Summer and KarenLeslie Photography is offering you some great summer savings.

Summer Savings on Session Fees

If you book a session in June, July or August 2008, you’ll receive $50 off your session fee. This applies to kid, family, newborn and maternity sessions that take place in June, July or August 2008. This discount does not apply to mini sessions (see below) because those are already a great offer in themselves. Full photo sessions can be held at the location of your choice, or in my studio.

Summer Mini Sessions

The popular Mini Sessions are back! On Sunday, June 29 and Monday, June 30th I’ll be offering 20-minute mini sessions for $199. This package price includes your choice of a wall portrait (20×30″, 16×20″ or 11×14″) and a gift print (8-wallets, 5×7″ or 8×12″).

What is a mini session? A mini session is an abbreviated version of a standard photo session: a mini session lasts only 20 minutes. It is priced so that you can get a “taste” of a full KarenLeslie Photography session at a reduced rate. The cost of the mini session is $199 (for up to 2 family members, $25 each additional family members) and includes: 10-15 proofs to choose from and your choice of 1 gift print (wallets, 5×7″ or 8×12″) and 1 wall portrait (11×14″, 16×20″ or 20×30″). I’ve given you a lot of flexibility in your final product by offering you the choice of what size you want. You also have the opportunity to purchase additional images in all of the standard sizes I offer.

Where are the mini sessions being held? The June mini sessions will be held at the Winter Park Farmer’s Market in Winter Park. We’ve got a lot of great spots for photographs at this location. In addition, you have the choice of having your mini session in the studio (its air conditioned) instead of an on location session. The studio is located just blocks from the Winter Park Farmer’s Market.

Call me today to reserve your spot at the mini sessions, or use the $50 coupon for a full session. 407.340.8088.

I only have one image to share (for now) of a really fun and creative maternity session I had yesterday.  I’m excited to get started on the edits because there are some great ones in there.  But, as a teaser (and because I couldn’t wait) here’s one that I LOVED.

Isn’t she beautiful??

When I was trying to think of a good blog post title for this session, I just thought of the one word I would use to describe this family. And, I easily came up with “happy”. What a nice, sweet family. We had a fun session at Leu Gardens last week. Mom did an AWESOME job with outfits (as you can see some of them here). I think this session is a great example of how KarenLeslie Photography provides “custom” photography for your family. Mom and I worked through outfit choices, types of photos, etc. so that she could have a session of photos that <i>she</i> wanted. She wanted a mix of the more “traditional” family poses, along with some lifestyle images. The ones I picked for this blog post are a great example of that.

I found the most fantastic bubble machine at Target (look for the new Cynthia Rowley summer line). It produced so many fantastic bubbles!

One of my favorite spots to shoot at Leu Gardens is under the giant oak tree. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is … there is always some fantastic light — and you can’t beat the drippy spanish moss in the background!

Something a little more traditional and posed, but still very much them!

This one made me smile.

And something a little more contemporary to show off the great outfits that mom brought along.

I met Grace this past Saturday at my new studio in Winter Park (more on that later).  I saw instantly that she was not only a beauty, but also a total sweetheart.  Grace comes with the kind of story I *love* to hear: she was on her last days at the dog shelter when her mom fell in love and took her home.  Grace now has the best life — has lots of love and gives lots of love.  Because of all she’s been through, she is also very shy and not too crazy about my camera and having to have her photograph taken.  But, with the help of Grace’s mom and her friend, we managed to convince Grace that getting your photo taken isn’t such a bad thing.  In fact, it often means some really yummy liver treats as part of the deal!

Meet Grace:

Look at all the beautiful freckles she has on her nose!

Stay tuned for more news on my Winter Park studio.  I’m planning some really fun stuff for kids, families and dogs, so be sure to check back!

This little cutie was so good for me during her newborn session. She just slept and slept and slept … no matter how many times I positioned and repositioned her. Isn’t she beautiful?

In the photography world, the tween or teen years are often referred to as “the forgotten age.” Mom and Dad don’t often bring the kids in to have photographs made. We see a lot of babies and toddlers, but once they hit 8, 9, 10 …. we don’t often see them. But, I have to say that its one of my favorite ages to photograph. I was really happy when this mom called for an appointment.