My photo made it onto a book cover!

After an incredible amount of research and application of her endless and amazing creativity, the wonderful author, J. Courtney Sullivan, has completed her latest novel, The Cliffs. I’m excited to have been the fortunate photographer she selected to take her back cover portrait; shown above. If you’ve never read any of Courtney’s books you simply must. She has a talent that one can only dream about. I wish her amazing success with this book and may she release many more as well-written and engrossing as this one. For me, this was a really fun project. Courtney was not big on the fanfare of a formal photoshoot. So we had to plan a more relaxed setting to make it work - and as it turns out a mutual friend hosted us (and others) for a summer afternoon getaway - where the opportunity presented itself for me to take a more natural shot in a relaxed setting.

If you need a portrait I’m here for you. I’d argue that portraits are my favorite type of photoshoot. You get to know a person on a much more intimate level and work together to overcome what can often be an intimidating process. The photo itself often takes far less time than making the connection and lowering the defenses that come with having a camera pointed at one’s face.

Happy Holidays to you!

I’m still recovering from all the activity of this past holiday season. It was so fun and as I’m sure you’d agree…exhausting. One of my favorite traditions is to send and receive holiday cards. While it can be a lot of work to plan and prepare during a hectic season - for my family it is an important opportunity to reconnect with dear friends close and near. Jazzing up your holiday card with a professional photo might seem like a lot of effort - but it’s really not - and… it’s worth it. There are lots of side benefits…for starters, we’ve created time capsules for both of our kids that they won’t open until they are teenagers. We purposefully add cards from each season to their capsules so that when they finally open their treasure troves in the years to come they can reflect on great moments over the years. So we want them to look good. Planning for your card doesn’t have to be a chore…nor does it have to wait until the last minute either. I typically experience (and welcome!) a big uptick in photo demand in October/November. But remember, if you plan you can capture great and relevant photos at any event at any time of the year. So let’s make next year less hectic for you - ping me and let’s plan yours. I’d love to help! :)

The Tighes

This photo was taken in the early fall after the birth of their third wonderful child. While it was intended to be a general new addition shoot we purposefully included the warm colors of the holidays (the red) on the baby and neutral tones elsewhere to contrast the gold and green colors of the card in time for Christmas.

The Maxwells

The Maxwells took advantage of the warm colors of September to schedule a family shoot to welcome their new addition. The color scheme they chose reflected fall but was also appropriate for a fun and engaging holiday season card that reflects their personality - that they then used to re-announce their adorable baby to friends and family far and near during the holidays.

Welcome Home!!

I am the lucky documentarian of this family’s growth over the past few years. I've had the opportunity to capture welcome home shots for both older brothers. So the introduction of Baby A to their comfy south shore home was a big deal for the boys and their parents. They were so excited and full of energy!

In shoots like these one needs to come prepared and ready for a limited amount of focus. Even if you’re planning to spend 2-4 hours with a family you’ve really only got a short window to harness the energy of young kids. These two were a dream for about 45 minutes and real troopers there after as we coaxed them into smiling. It was such a fun shoot - one where we as a group managed to pull off some very good photographs.

Photoshoots can be quite stressful for parents. You’re probably operating on limited sleep - and maybe your kids are too - and you’ve got to organize your crew for what can be a decent investment. So here are some of my tips to prepare for the event.

• Get some rest if at all possible

• Pick simple and uniform colors

• If at home - think ahead for the best lighting - time of day and rooms - natural light makes such a huge impact on the quality of photos

• Find yourself a photographer who is willing to be flexible. If you’ve not slept, the kids haven’t slept - maybe its best to postpone a few days.

• If you have specific ideas in mind be prepared to share them with your photographer proactively - what images come to mind? Remember this is your memory - trust your photographer but don’t hold back if you have specific images in mind. Be prepared to describe them so your photographer can experiment with you.

• Have an experimental mindset - it may take a few tries to get the right shots, lighting, mood etc. Its often good to slow things down and enable everyone to regroup.

• Most of all - have fun - easier said than done but its so valuable to have the right mindset on photoshoot day. There’s simply no guarantee that everyone and everything will go as planned. But that’s why I’m here.

My job as the photographer is to bring a calming structure to helping you achieve your photo goals. You’re hiring experience and quality. To that end I like to come prepared, flexible in terms of approach and experience to help you to achieve a great memories. I find its really important to engage the kids where they are and find opportunities to capture them at their best through a fun and engaging approach. Heck if I have to roll around the floor so be it! :). At a point or two through this shoot things definitely got a bit unwieldy with a 3 week old, a 2 year old and a 3 year old. But we made it happen. It was so fun - and the results were fantastic.

Cotton candy anyone?

I don’t know about you but I love the nostalgia of a good carnival. On a recent trip to Maine, we ran into a carnival in the town of Biddeford. Carnivals really come to life at night time and this one was no exception. The food stands and trucks were particularly interesting— outstandingly nostalgic. The cotton candy - or candy floss (as we call it in Ireland) - was no letdown. I took this shot while we were standing in line to get some. There’s so much going on it tells a multi-layered story of choice, anticipation, and the richness of life.

Three wise dogs

My eldest daughter is learning to ride horses. She’s getting quite good at it. We were lucky enough (after a two-year wait) to get her into Canton Equestrian. That’s her in the background climbing up onto Molly, her horse friend. This past visit, while we were tacking Molly in prep for a ride, I noticed these three dogs meandering around the place. They were hilarious - yet importantly very calm around the horses. As my daughter was preparing to ride I observed this hilarious moment and simply couldn’t resist capturing them in action as they lined up behind their owner. Whenever you can, include those four-legged family members of yours in your family photos. I know from my own experience and that of my kids, that they are incredibly valuable memories to reflect upon when everyone is older and times have changed.

Sass'n around Kennebunkport

We spend a lot of the summer traveling around the region in our RV. If you’ve not tried it I highly recommend it. The experience for the kids is a total blast - outdoors, new towns, campfires, smores... This past month we stayed in an awesome campground near Kennebunkport. We had dinner and ice cream in town and explored the beauty of what is a truly quaint location. As we were walking around I was trying desperately to capture a shot of my two kids. They were not complying. I tried all my usual tactics and nothing worked. Then, when I least expected it they both decided it was time to let me shoot and I was able to capture this gem of a picture. It pays to be patient…

Sunset, rain, and moments

I love Airstream camping with my kids and with that comes regular exposure to the outdoors at dusk. On a recent trip to western Mass (there are some awesome campsites in range of North Adams btw), I found myself at the pond a stone’s throw from our camping location right at the golden hour with my little maniacs. It had just rained and the light was beautiful. Opportunistically, I had my Leica monochrome camera with me and was able to snap a really fun shot of my youngest daughter who was willing, as ever, to deliver one of her cheeky poses for me, this time with one of her favorite things - a delicious apple. It turned out to be a great pic - and the experience just reminds me - over staging a shot (ie., over-preparing either background, pose, hair, makeup, etc) can often distract from the essence of the memory. That’s not to say that all staged photos are bad - they are a necessity of photography and often quite artful. But to me, when it comes to family - the photos that truly hold value over time are the dynamic-in-the-moment ones - where everyone is truly living their experience. That’s why I try to carry a camera with me wherever we go and quietly scan for background, lighting, action, or moment. You never know when it’s going to pop.

Welcome baby!

I really enjoy newborn welcome photo sessions. They are incredible moments in the journey of a family. Yes… tiring, wonderful, exciting and sometimes stressful too. As a result it’s my job to bring ideas, structure, a sense of timing, and a thoughtful calm approach to each session. Helping new parents to capture those precious early moments is privilege I’m truly grateful for. Those little nuggets don’t always comply though. So it does take some planning and flexibility. Planning around naps is a art as making sure the wee one gets some good rest pre-session makes it go smoother. Picking simple, neutral colors for the parents is often the best strategy.

And wherever we can including other family members - sisters, brothers, four-legged friends - can make photoshoots even richer and more dynamic.

Here are some of my top tips for preparing for your newborn photo shoot.

• Think color - consider a consistent color scheme across all subjects.

• If you can - groom - hair, eyebrows, beards - we’ll likely be in tight for close-up shots.

• Rest rest rest - if you all can. Especially baby.

• Location - home, the local park, how’s the natural light?

• Assume we’ve got about 30-40 mins to capture the best shots before baby needs a break.

• What props - cuddly toys, blankets, or others - can make the shots even richer?

• Have fun in the moment! And don’t forget to smile! :)

Birthday time

Life moves fast. I can’t believe how fast my kids are growing. When it comes to celebrating birthdays it seems like a race to have the most impressive party. Bouncy castles, Elsa and Anna, face painting...you name it. And before you know it the party is over and everyone’s gone home. We go out of our way to make sure all the bits and pieces come together - pizza, take-home bags, the cake, but we often forget the one thing that ensures we have the best memories years down the line - the photograph. With the proliferation of smartphones, we have access to quick snaps. Some turn out great. But it’s all too easy to take average shots. We can, though, capture that memorable moment in a way that stands out in a memory book that we can look back on in our later years. If you can’t get a photographer to take pictures here are some tips to make sure you get the best pics on your phone.

• It’s tempting to make our kids pose for [all of the] the photos - look for the action shots - the dynamism of the moment can create an energy that makes the picture stand out more over time.

• Use portrait mode on your iPhone to create a sense of depth - especially when you’re outdoors. This places emphasis on the specific action or moment isolating faces, smiles, etc.

• Edit your photos - iPhones, offer a variety of post-processing capacities - for example - making photos black and white can add a completely different texture and tone. Exposure, brightness, and contrast edits can go a long way to make a photo really stand out.

• Cropping can cut out a lot of background distractions - use it wisely.

Happy celebrating!

Shootin' in the dark

I really love nighttime photography. It wasn’t always that way though. For the longest time, it made me nervous. I was worried about camera shake, blur, or even conceptually how to best capture the moment in such low light situations. Then one day I saw some photos taken by an old colleague and inspiration of mine and boom - I had a new perspective on shootin’ in the dark. Recently we took our first family trip (yep first) to Disney with the kids. I carried my camera with me all day every day. Outside of taking the usual snaps of the kids I didn’t find too much to inspire me to shoot. Then, magically (yep pun intended) the whole place came to life as night fell. The colors, the rides, the holiday lights - transformed into a magical world of color.

Night shooting - especially around the holidays - can be incredibly fulfilling. Capturing family events, holiday parties, and or activities like tree lighting can really boost the warmth and memories of the experiences you are living in that moment. One of the fantastic things about low-light photography - if done right - is you get to achieve some really interesting dynamics in your photos. For example, motion blur can be a really powerful method for creating inviting energy in your shots resulting in incredibly artistic outcomes that you can proudly hang on a wall or use to complete your yearly Holiday card. Don’t shy away from it. Lean in - you might be happily surprised with the results you get.

Executive Time

So many of today’s executive portraits are, well, straight-up predictable. They are typically shot with overt lighting, white-washed or standard backgrounds, and forced poses that don’t really end up reflecting the personality of the individual. In my view, the goal is to get to the heart of the leader - to express their personality, values, and essence - and to illustrate that in a single photograph.

As a software exec myself, I get it - you’re busy - there are far more important things to accomplish. So it’s tempting to rush through the process and “get it done”. However, I propose an alternative: to know and spend time with your photographer - relax during the process. Discuss the setting, light, and desired result. Trust me, it’s worth it. In this case, a picture does speak a thousand words. There’s a clear return on investment.