Becoming a mom I realized even more so, how quickly children's demeanor can change. They can be happy and bouncy one minute and the next minute they can be like take-me-to-bed-NOW. With the unpredictability of parenting, I decided to permanently add Short 'n Sweet family sessions this year. They are thirty minute sessions at one location and so far they have been a hit with families bearing small children! The Phelps family is no exception. The kids had SO MUCH fun adventuring all around the South End of Wrightsville Beach but you can tell they were crashing toward the very end. *Cue the eye rubbing* But as soon as the kids thought as I was leaving, they actually opened up a little more and starting hugging each other and playing with each other more so I was able to get some last shots that were oh-so-sweet. (Kids sometimes don't cuddle voluntarily just FYI haha!!) Mom and Dad have done an amazing job raising their son and daughter if their attention span was held by a complete stranger for thirty minutes!! What a perfect sunset session by the sea. Thank y'all for trusting me to capture this sweet family milestone.

Okay. Look at the photo of this beautiful lady below and tell me if you believe me when I say that gorgeous lady is a wife, grandmother, mother or stepmother of all these children. YES, honest to goodness, that is the deliriously happy truth that is Becky. She and I used to work together over graphic design projects until her recent retirement. She realized that for a couple hours only, that her entire family would be under one roof and that I lived in the same town of her vacation destination so she called me up to make sure this rare moment was captured...even if it was at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on a hot August day. It. Was. Worth. It. All the babies. All the snuggles. All the sweat. It made it that much more gratifying to capture the sweetest family at Figure Eight island in Wilmington, NC. So grateful to the Mitchener and Moore families for making my photographer and mama heart swoon.

I'm officially a mom because I LOVE family portrait sessions more than ever. Whenever I do portrait sessions involving young children, I am constantly invigorated and eager to figure out new ways to engage children with their parents. With all the distractions from nature, it can be quite the feat!

This Rumiantcev family trekked all the way from Seattle to visit the mama's younger sister who is a Wilmington native. The sister gifted this family a photo session in Wrightsville Beach because they couldn't get photos last year due the pandemic. Levy, the little one, hadn't been to the beach much yet so naturally, she was not letting her feet touching that strange gritty stuff. WAY too new and bizarre. 

We used a few tricks: The mama's sister was the familiar voice for this sweet girl so aunty was behind the camera saying hi, jumping up and down and making everyone laugh. Then eventually we also used the classic bait trick. We stood her on the firm sand and had the parents step back and convince her to walk toward them. She did it! By hours end, Levy was comfortable with the new nautical scene! I felt so accomplished to witness these small steps toward mama and dada. *Heart swells with happiness*

So grateful to meet the amazing Rumiantcev family that shared the sea sky with me. They have the most beautiful blonde headed, blue eyed daughter that rocked the most precious curly-headed pigtails. Don't just take my word for it, check our their sunset session below.

​Here's evidence of the sweet and proud sister loving on her niece throughout the session.

The Holmes Family decided to do a little beach get-away from their home in the city and rented an AirBnB condo at Shell Island Resort, located at the very North end of Wrightsville Beach. Sarah and Tom loved it so much I think they told me they extended their stay! What a compliment to our tiny but beautiful beach town. I so enjoyed this sunset beach session with them. Their 2-year old daughter was a delight to capture along with her little sister inside her mom's belly! I told Sarah she must get some maternity photos because she was looking like a model in her flowy white dress, sun-kissed skin and long luscious locks. Tom kept things so fun by constantly playing with his daughter which made for some sweet candids.  What a gorgeous family. Thank you three for sharing this perfect summer evening with me!

​After becoming a mom, I feel like it’s a thing that mamas rarely get their photo taken with their children so this was the sweetest Mother’s Day gift for Lynn and her three beautiful kids ♥️ Thank y’all for getting up at the crack of dawn for this fun sunrise beach session in Wrightsville Beach, NC!

Well let me preface this whole blog post with one thing first: This sweet and beautiful family fed me homemade rice crispy treats right when I walked in the door, so you can imagine how much fun this shoot was for us. They didn't even know I was pregnant and having a major sweet tooth craving so they hit the nail on the head. But no, their amazing baking skills are not why I love the Spruill family, I've actually known them for years. We actually did a family shoot four years ago so it was so wonderful to see how grown up the daughters were and how each of them have blossomed into their own person despite being so close in age. The ages of the sisters ranged from 17 to 14 if I remember correctly. The youngest two are twins! 

We did a fun mixture of groupings throughout this evening beach shoot- starting with a flirt session with Mom & Dad, then we did some photos with just the sisters, then each of them had their little moment of fame before going into full-family photos that even had grandma included. All the generations. It was the most stellar rhythm for this family shoot that took place in front of their Nags Head beach cottage. So thankful to know this family and look forward to many more! 

Isabella had an amazing thirty-minute senior grad photo session in front of her family's beach house in Old Nags Head, North Carolina. She embraced her confidence with the perfect blend of humility and beauty. I was so impressed with how she moved throughout the shoot with such grace. When I was a senior, I definitely had the socially-awkward concept locked down to a T.  Isabella however, is a young woman that knows how to show off some pearly whites! Congratulations you gorgeous thang!