Maine Family Photographer {play together}

Meet S (aka Mom), J(aka Dad), M(aka big son) and C(aka little son)... the most fun family I have had the pleasure of photographing.  Watching Mom and Dad with their two boys was such a pleasure, they obviously loved to play together and they are so involved and so present in M and C's lives... these are two very lucky and loved little boys.
M was a bit, shall we say hesitant, to meet me at first. He wanted nothing to do with photos and spent a good 20 minutes peeking at me from around the side of the house. Busting out my best cajoling moves did nothing to break his tough "don't want to" exterior... my good friend Pez however eventually did the trick!
Well Pez and a little alone time with Dad.

Meanwhile C was happy as a clam playing in his sandbox...I would be too if I had one of those cool digger, bucket loader thingymajigs!

Once M started to come around we tried getting a few family photos, always the hardest to get with young children, most turn out something like this...
...and that's OK because isn't that exactly what life is all about with two small boys?

At this point C was having fun with Dad and pretty used to me and my camera, M however was still a bit hesitant and was pretty OK with telling me " I just don't feel like pictures right now"... that was until I asked him what his favorite words was. His face lit up and he yelled at the top of his lungs "buttcheeks!" and laughed like a fiend! And all was good from that point forward... I jumped around yelling "stinky buttcheeks" or "who has stinky buttcheeks?" (I have no shame when it comes to getting smiles from reluctant kiddos) and it worked, I think we're pretty much best friends now. :)
Besides yelling buttcheeks at the top of his lungs M also enjoys playing pirate, I am right there with him, I mean any chance to break out the ARrrrrr and the YoHoHo and I am there!
Of course C had to get in on the action so we went to their secret pirate hideout to look for invading pirates coming in from the high seas!
Then back to the ship for one last sail before our next adventure!
Then we were off(remember these are two busy little boys) to the field next door to learn all about blowing dandylions!
I LOVE this photo, the look on Dad's face is priceless, and I can still hear the laughter of the two boys as they implemented their plan!
Let's end on another of my favorite photos, a hug between brothers. Awwwww

Thank you so much S and J for sharing your home and your children with me, it was so much fun!

xoxo ~liz

PS Paul and I kept turning to each other and yelling "buttcheeks!" all weekend long and we thought it was equally as hysterical as M did. LOL

Maine Fashion Photographer {veronica & betty}

All week I have been hinting at a secret project I had been working on and today I get to reveal what the secret project is!

You may remember Emery and her fabulous jewelry from this post.... well she has been up to some more creating and I got to photograph it again!

First let's meet Emery owner of the amazing Etsy shop Veronica & Betty... don't you LOVE that name?

Here is what Emery has to say about Veronica & Betty
"A stylish bright, bold collection of handcrafted couture womens dresses and handbags. These playful pieces will bring a pop of color to your wardrobe. My designs are made with high quality materials with an emphasis on fabulous fabric designs & color."

You want to see what it's all about now don't you! Let's just start with this amazing dress.

Beauty and talent all in one amazing lady.... that dress she is wearing, yeah, she designed that, no biggie just whipped it up in her spare time. Actually that dress she custom made for the New York Times best selling author of the Ghost Girl series, Tonya Hurley. If you have a tween to young teenage girl in your house or if you are a tween to young teenage girl, go and get yourselves all three of these books and why not check out her website too!

Want to see more of what has been affectionately dubbed the "ghost girl" dress...

I mentioned the jewelry too, right? Here are a couple shots of what it looks like on.

Oh and look it's my beautiful daughter Lilia and her equally beautiful friend Nettie! Love these girls and love that they are willing to model for me.
 It was windy and not all that warm the day we had decided to do the shoot, the girls were rockstars, I will have to bust out the outtakes in a later post so you can see just how cold they were.

These dresses are amazing and look great layered with jeans or leggings or all on their own.

She also makes this fun totally functional and stylish bags.... and let's face it who doesn't love a pretty bag?!

The Veronica & Betty line also offers tops in gorgeous fabrics that are just perfect for pairing with jeans.
Emery knows just how to pick colors and patterns that are fun and bold but totally wearable...both Lilia and Nettie are very fair and often cannot wear such bright colors but these just look amazing on them both! And of course Emery with her beautiful olive complexion looks amazing too, in the same print as my very fair skinned daughter.

I always look for versatility in my clothing, I want to be able to wear it for as many seasons as possible and to as many different occasions as possible. These shirts and dresses are perfect for going out for the evening or going to the grocery store. AND what I love most you can pair the shirts or dresses with a cute cardigan or jean jacket and you can easily wear it in spring or fall and without the extra layer these are gorgeous summer pieces. Win/win!

How much do you want that grey dress? I think the fabric is perfection and another great thing about these dresses... anyone can wear them size 0... size 14, no problem, they are made to make all body types look amazing!
I have to take a little break right here and just say, these are probably my favorite photos of Lilia and Nettie together, both girls are getting ready to graduate from 8th grade and I truly hope that their friendship will last them through a lifetime.
And cute clothes don't hurt. :D

So there you have it, the super secret project of the week, that was really more Emery's than mine.
Don't forget to check out her Etsy site and grab yourself an original Veronica & Betty.

xoxo ~liz

Maine Fashion Photographer {lilia}

I am working on a super secret project that I will reveal to you all soon... for now I can share this one photo. :) I cannot wait to show you all the rest, you are going to love this!

xoxo ~liz

Maine Senior Photographer {kaydie}

Kaydie has agreed to be a Senior Model for me, representing the class of 2013!
Being a Windy Hill model she gets to be the very first senior session for her class.

We spent a very chilly 45 minutes out on Main St. taking photos. I love our quaint little town with it's picturesque Main St.

You can see the evidence of the actual season up there on the sidewalks, all that white stuff sprinkled around on the ground is salt... Kaydie was a superstar and pretending she wasn't actually freezing her heinie off!
See....she looks like she's hanging out in beautiful 70 degree weather, not 30 degrees and windy.
We even saw peeks of spring.... the magnolia tree in the courtyard has big old buds on it and will be blooming before we know it!
We found this red door where the local mexican take out used to be...perfection!
Just hanging out on the fire escape... you know a typical day in the life :P
You know another thing I love about Main St.? My studio! We decided to leave the cold and wind and go enjoy a bit of sun and warmth for a few more shots in the studio. :)

Thank you SO much Kaydie... you are amazing!

Class of 2013(that's you Juniors!) book now for you senior photos, most deadlines for yearbooks are much sooner than you might think and my spots book up fast in the later summer. Book between now and the end of March and receive a free set of wallets! If you know Kaydie ask her about her session, she might just have a little something for you!

If you are a Junior from a high school other than Lincoln Academy and want to sign up to be a Windy Hill Model contact me for more information. Windy Hill models get a mini session as well as their full session free and can earn their entire senior collection for free as well!

Maine Children's Photographer {waiting on spring}

It's that time of year where we all I stare wistfully out the window willing the buds on the trees to grow, and the grass to green, and for the love of all that is good in this world for the mud to dry up!  It's always this last stretch of winter, heading into early Spring that seems eternal to me. But Olive is here today to give us me hope, to remind us me that the birds will sing, and the sun will shine bright and warm on our backs once again.

Thanks Olive I needed that!