April 14, 2023

Raleigh Family Photographer

I’ve been photographing Katie and Cameron since 2012 somehow (?!) and I am forever grateful to have clients I’ve known for 11+ years! Katie’s become a good friend of mine as we’ve bonded over our love of cats together through the years. She has a strong love for animals and she and Cameron have Tuna (gray kitty), Chevy (black doggo), and Birdie (brown doggo) together, all of which are the sweetest little creatures! Now Katie and Cameron also have two kids – Grayson, who I photographed back in 2018 when he was little, and Finley, who is the latest addition. Grayson is an extremely happy-go-lucky kid. There doesn’t seem to be anything that phases or bothers him. He is just genuinely happy, smiling, and laughing constantly. He’s super active and loves climbing and wrestling and playing with the dogs, and he’s just an overall great kid. Finley is like a smaller child-version of myself. Totally and completely obsessed with cats. Has wild, untamable hair that’s always in her face. Cries easily when overheated. Likes to pick wildflowers. She is amazing and fierce and I can’t wait to see what cat-related business she starts when she grows up. Together they’re a super sweet sibling duo with incredible parents and I’m so lucky to photograph all of them again at their home. A big thanks to Katie and Cameron for sticking with me for 11+ years. That means so much to me and I appreciate and love ya’ll!

Raleigh family photographer takes pictures of family on couch at home

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November 21, 2019

Katy+Jereme+Lucy+Sammy // Family Photographer in Raleigh

When I spoke with Katy over the phone before their portrait session, we got along quite well and talked for a long time about things totally unrelated to portrait planning. And Katy and Jereme are super funny people who have the same sense of humor as myself, so I was quite excited to meet them. And Katy was really talking Lucy up, the way you might talk about someone you’re trying to set your friend up with. “She’s really funny, you’re going to love her.” And she’s her mom and stuff, so naturally you’re going to think your kid is funny and that everyone will like your child (I think this about my cats), and I like children and I was sure I would at the very least like Lucy, BUT SHE WAS RIGHT, I DO TOTALLY LOVE HER. I think my jaw literally dropped open when I saw her. First of all, Lucy has the habit of staring very stoically at people in a quite serious way (which I was warned about ahead of time) but it is SO funny because she has the most INCREDIBLE EYELASHES that I have literally ever seen on ANYONE and this just makes her look so adorably cute that it is instant love. Like, I’ve never seen eyelashes like this. Ever. Well, maybe not in person because she is 100% like that guy that plays Richard on Lost that everyone thinks wears mascara on both his upper and lower lashes but actually just looks like that. It’s incredible and she will never need mascara or eyeliner ever in her life.

In addition to having beautiful eyes, she alternates between extremely serious expressions and THE CUTEST SMILE AND LAUGH that reveals exactly two bottom teeth and is seriously heart-melting. Someone get this girl an ad campaign stat. She loves both her mom and her dad, but I’m not sure I’ve seen any baby look at anyone the way this girl looks at her dad, which is also heart-warming and adorable. Her hobbies include chewing on plastic ducks, hanging out with her very good dog Sammy, waving like the queen as she walks her cart around the house, hugging her narwhal stuffed animal, mailing envelopes to her birthday party (THE CUTENESS), and being generally insanely cute. Her parents are in the medical field, and Lucy is named after a 98 year-old patient that Katy took care of. Grab the tissues and observe the cute.

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August 12, 2015

Claudia+Ron+Layla+Reagan are back!

It is with great love and enthusiasm that we induct Claudia, Ron, and Layla into the CSP 3rd Timers Club! We’ve had three sessions with these two amazing dog parents and their pups. Layla, the golden Golden Retriever, has been with us from the beginning with her brother Canela. When Canela passed away, Layla and her parents adopted Reagan, the white Golden Retriever, who is now being inducted into the CSP 2nd Timers Club. ;) The dogs are so excited when they greet us that I’d like to think they remember us, which I think also might be true because Layla is very good at posing for us at this point. She sits where she’s supposed to, looks at the camera, kind of dog-smiles, and then either looks like she’s falling asleep standing, or it’s her version of the Tyra Banks “smize,” I can’t really tell. Reagan is still learning about cameras and modeling, but he can tell you all about his purple dragon toy, and repeatedly give you his paw when his parents go out of reach for reassurance (either for himself or for me, I also can’t tell).

Claudia and Ron, the humans in this story, are two of the most wonderful and gracious people we’ve had the pleasure of working with. And it is truly an honor to photograph them for the third time. That means so much to us and is such a huge compliment that I can’t even adequately describe it. It’s just nice to see the same people over and over again and to have our work trusted and appreciated. We really love these guys, and we love their dogs, and we love how kind and gentle they are to their dogs (and to us!). Also, we love Claudia’s accent, so that doesn’t hurt either. Happy 10th wedding anniversary, Claudia+Ron! And here’s to many, many more. :)

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