| Sarah + Brandon |

Meet Brandon. He is a smart, easy going guy, that just happened to fall in love with the girl next door....literally. That girl was Sarah. She told me that one day he asked her to go get ice cream. Not knowing that Sarah was from Cincinnati, Brandon took her to Graeter's, which she admitted to me, immediately won her over. And that was the begining...

I first met Sarah a couple of years ago when she became a teacher at my yoga studio.

When you first meet Sarah, one of the things you can't help but notice about her is her infectious smile. She has one of these smiles that really does light up a room. I suspect Brandon feels the same way as throughout our session he was constantly finding ways to make Sarah laugh.

When Sarah and I met to talk about doing an engagement session, we talked a good bit about possible locations. Being the middle of January and the fact that there was a good four to six inches of snow on the ground did present some challenges. Then Sarah mentioned that she and Brandon were getting ready to move into a new apartment, which to me seemed like the perfect the place to do the session.

I mean what would be a more perfect setting to show a couple starting their journey of their lives together, than in their own home?

I'm going to be totally honest here. I love their space....the light, the tall ceilings, the architectural elements. There was so much there to work with that I felt like a kid in a candy store.

See what I mean?

Despite being cheering for opposing teams, the Sarah and Brandon are pretty committed football fans. And with football fans being hardy by nature, I was able to convince these two to sneak out side for just a a couple fun shots in their beloved jerseys

Finally, for being such good sports, I decided to give the couple and extra special treat. We went for ice cream. I know. I know. Ice cream in the middle of January? Well, after all this was the place were it all began. And the rest as they say is history.

Congratulations again Sarah and Brandon. I can't wait for your September wedding.


-Crystal

Faves and Raves

Just to share with you a little known fact. I use three different professional labs to print all my photographs. There are certain things about each one that I like. They all deliver great quality. And even though they all offer variety of products, I've found that each one has a specific line of products that only they offer.

Recently I decided to order some samples to test out some of new items offered by one of my labs. I'm so excited to share with you these new products that I think will soon appear in the price list.

Stand-outs

Can I just say I love love LOVE this product? I know it's not for everyone, but for the right image is just perfect. Like this image of Miss Bianka.

I've been wanting to order a print of this image for quite a while now, but couldn't stand the thought of matting and framing this in a traditional frame. I wanted something that would stay true to the simple minimalist feel of the image. That's where the stand-out mount is perfect.

The photographs are mounted to an 1½" rigid backing designed to be either hung on the wall or sit on a shelf. I haven't decided where to put this one yet. I'm taking suggestions.

CD's and Cases

The next product I wanted to see first-hand was the custom printed cd's and cd cases.

I ordered this sample from Rachel's Four Generation session. I was so pleased with end result that I thought I'd surprise her with both the disk and the case.

Happily, I received the following note from Rachel:

It arrived today! They are beautiful. The CD is even gorgeous. Thank you.

Yes, indeed. Both the stand-outs and cd's/cases have won me over. I'll be adding these to the price list soon.

Four Generations

This story begins just before Christmas when I was contacted by the sweet Rachel. She and I first met a couple years ago when she was planning her wedding in Yellow Springs. She'd asked me to make her a silk wrap to be worn at her wedding. Now, Rachel had more exciting news. She has a new baby girl named Violet.

Rachel wanted to do something special for her grandmother for Christmas, so she thought it might be fun get her mother and grandmother together to do a multi-generation portrait.

So on a grey and chilly winter's day, I got to spend the afternoon in this bright and cheerful nursery, photographing these four lovely ladies.

Little Miss Violet was on the verge of coming down with a little bug, so no big smiles from her but was quite the little trooper nonetheless.


Is this not the cutest baby's room? Rachel's mom, Kathy is an amazing artist, and she painted the mural in Violet's room. You can see more of Kathy's work at her website, www.kavooom.com


Actually, this previous image is one of my favorites from the day. I caught this sweet moment after we had officially finished. Rachel was trying to console a very tired baby, while another caring mother looks on. Kathy told me later on that this one was one of her favorites too.


I thought I'd end with this image. Although Rachel originally intended this as a gift for her grandmother, I'm sure Violet will one day realize that it was also for her.