A little break from the norm today….I present to you, one of my very best (and beautiful – you’ll see) friends Catherine and her adorable pup Hildy. Catherine asked me a while back if I would take some photos for her for a good cause (and certainly a fun one!) It’s called Pinups for Pitbulls and its an organization that advocates for the fair treatment of pitbulls, as many of you may know they tend to get a bad rap. And honestly, as with other breeds of dogs that have a rep for being bad, this is 9 times out of 10 a case of poor ownership and mis-treatment. I know first hand because Miss Hildy – pitbull princess- is just about the SWEETEST and well-behaved dogs I know, so well tempered that i couldn’t picture her harming even a fly!

The signature way Pinups for Pitbulls raises money and awareness is by creating a promotional calendar featuring what? You guessed it: Pinups and Pitbulls! So Catherine and Hildy donned their vintage finest, and over the course of 3 days and about 5 outfits changes, (mostly on Catherine’s part) we took some shots in hopes that one will get chosen for the calendar!

First we went for a retro Sailer vibe, can’t go wrong with Patriotic right? (And fitting as we approach Memorial Day!)

Without a third hand to help get Hildy to show her modeling skills, it was a constant pull between Catherine calling Hildy and me Calling Hildy and as you guessed, here she comes towards me!

Awwww Hildy loves her mommy…

Handshake!

This is one of my faves…Hildy looks so distinguished and Catherine, well she just looks beautiful of course! She has that million dollar smile on!

More tricks for treats!

On day two, we trekked out to Maryland to get some shots with a Vintage car. This beautiful machine was lent to us for our shoot by Eric of Eric’s Muscle Cars. It was really so generous of him given we only paid him in beer

Marylin Monroe-esque, eh?

Such a great car, and I think Catherine and Hildy make it even nicer!

To all you parents out there, if you haven’t noticed…. if your kids haven’t pulled you by your shirt and dragged you outside to play…. guess what, it’s finally nice outside!!! (Thank the LORD) Now is a PERFECT time to schedule a family portrait session – before it gets too hot and sticky outside! I will happily follow you with camera in tow (more like chase after your kids) at the park, the waterfront, a picnic, or even just in your backyard! Let the kids play and we’ll get some great shots of them in their element, as well as some great family moments with all of you!

In honor of the SUN and all things beautiful, spring-like and outdoorsy, I am happy to offer 25% off your portrait session fee if you book a session and mention this blog post!!!

And to get you in the mood, here’s a few pictures of three adorable kids hamming it up for the camera and eating ICE CREAM!

Brotherly/sisterly/sisterly love!

YUM

Yum again!

Don’t you think they should make these in grown-up sizes!? And who says you need rain to wear rainboots…

A few weeks ago as Stefan and I drove away from WPPI and Vegas to Huntington Beach, CA, eating Taco Bell and scaring the rest of the drivers on the freeway several times as we suddenly would decide to pull over for a desert sunset photoshoot, we started talking about what we were going to do the rest of the week. WPPI was all about photography…but believe it or not neither of us were sick of it, in fact we really didn’t shoot much, just listended and learned! So Stefan suggested we drive out to Irvine CA for some photos.

He was determined to take some landscape pictures of wildflowers (he loves landscape photography)….you know, beautiful, colorful fields of wild flowers that stretched as far as the eyes can see, and he assured me he knew the place to go. Well as we drove into the parking lot of the state park that consisted of beautiful rolling hills, and then started walking down the windy path we quickly realized there was…um, a distinct lack of wildflowers. But wait wait, no no, Stefan SWORE he had spotted at least ONE patch of yellow flowers from the freeway, it must be there SOMEWHERE. So he dragged me along assuring me that they were there and we would find them.

Do you see any flowers here? Nooooooooooo

Ok so I found ONE.

So here I was all…’Come ON there’s no flowers…it’s far, lets turn around’ and Stefan’s all ‘No WAY, I know there here….besides we can still get great pictures of you, and of us’. So that’s what we did. Now I mentioned already, Stefan likes landscapes. For the first few months of our relationship I couldn’t even get him to point the camera in my direction….he would be like NO I like LAND and SKY….who needs people messing up a picture!? But….as us women always have a way doing, I have shown him the light And I have to stay he impresses me with each new shot he takes. Here’s a few he caught of me that I am pretty darn pleased with…which if you know me is a tough battle to win. Sure I like taking OTHER peoples pictures…but turn it on me and I have to have full control of the situation, fully anticipating I’ll have to photoshop every last inch of it. But alas;

But that was enough of that. It was my turn! I mean if I dont’ say so myself I have a pretty ::ahem:: gorgeous boyfriend…..don’t you think?

He’s all ‘model model’ here….

But he’s really not like that….I mean he spends about 99% of his day with a smile on his face:

But I did get him to be serious a little bit longer…

The we set up the good ole tripod for some shots of the two of us together (because those are kind I like, yay)

After that we continued onward down the path and NO WAY guess what we found! That teeny tiny patch of yellow flowers Stefan had claimed he saw. Well, there it was, all 7×7 foot of its tiny little yellow glory. So of course there were lots of ‘I told you so’s’ and ‘SEE!’s….but anyway…you might be suprised what getting down low with a wide angle lens can do for a 7×7 foot patch of flowers…..Stefan took this one:

Pretty crazy right? So then I layed in them…. (felt kinda bad about that…they we a bit smushed when I got up)

So I guess all in all our little stroll through the fields of Irvine CA turned out pretty well…. Here are a few more shots I got as we made our way back…

California sure is a hard place to leave!

My good friends Rachel and Luke were kind enough to let me drag them out into the slushy snow this weekend for some photos! We decided the National Arboretum would look great in the snow, with the columns and such….and I think we were right! Rachel and Luke were very accommodating, as I made them trudge through snow in their brand new cowboy boots…(are they ok guys?) while I easily bounced around in my snow boots…. and I think we got some fun shots because of it.

Anyone who knows Rachel knows she has the most engaging and addictive laugh and smile….as soon as she laughs, you laugh too, even if you didn’t mean to, and trust me…Rachel laughs a LOT. Good thing she has Luke to bring out the smiles Check it out:

This is one of my favorites…they just look so natural and perfect together!

How about this kiss!

Luke laughs too….

You wouldn’t know this is DC, would you?

In homage to one of my favorite photographers, Jonas Peterson, (like really, check him out, he is amazing) this is a pose inspired by him:

Thanks Luke and Rachel!

A recent discovery: The National Cathedral Grounds are a beautiful and plentiful spot to photograph! In one weekend I managed to do TWO sessions there, the first being engagement photos for Nina and Hampton in slightly cloudy weather, and then the next day I met the Dweck family in sunny conditions. Well, clouds or sun, it didn’t matter, I think the results from each session show that the gardens and grounds surrounding the Cathedral are gorgeous no matter what the weather!  And as always, it doesn’t hurt to have beautiful couples and adorable children to photograph at such nice locations!

We’ll start with Nina and Hampton, a very sweet couple who are getting married in April but wanted to get some pictures done while the fall colors still were around. Even though it was drizzling when we started, they were troopers and a breeze to work with. Congrats Nina and Hampton!

Doesn’t this say Merry Christmas?

This yellow tree became a favorite spot for both sessions!

This is by far my favorite shot of the day. Nina looks absolutely beautiful and Hampton looks like he knows it!

What a cool couple:

Thanks Nina and Hampton!

Next up I had the pleasure of photographing the Dweck family. Their six year old son Shai was a blast to run around with. We chased each other, he did a few karate moves for me, we climbed trees and made monkey face….and later on threw leaves and horsed around at the playground. I think we got some fun shots in here!

The Dweck Family:

Look at these happy eyes!

This was mid-karate…

Here’s where the real fun began….mom throwing leaves:

Dad throwing leaves:

Shai throwing leaves! (And getting a little revenge on mom and dad)

Mom and dad knew how to play along!!

Shai loved to slide! Every time he hit the bottom I got this face, combined with a giggly scream!

As time went on the faces got funnier. At the end, he finally said “Can you please stop taking my picture?” I decided fair is fair

Thanks to the Dwecks and their wonderful son Shai!

- Erin