Christmas cards- 2013!

Posted on February 5, 2014 by karielphotography

I had a very, very busy Christmas card season this past year! Busy in terms of, busier than last year! Starting with three sessions when I went home to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving week, my work continued with six more sessions within a two-week period! That’s a lot considering they all needed to be edited, put on a disc, sent out and received before the second week of December (my own deadline). With everyone ordering cards online these days, it takes time to create your cards, have them shipped to your house then turn around and send them back out to family and friends hopefully all before Christmas Eve! I need to look into offering Christmas cards for my clients! All I found this year were going to be pretty pricey.

Anyways…

The following are the families I met with after Thanksgiving for their Christmas cards!

Here is the Holston family, enduring a chilly, breezy afternoon on the beach for their pictures!

Here is John, Briana and Peyton! They came to my house to be the very first family to use my husband’s ~~new~~ old Ford F1. It wasn’t running or driving yet so we had to push it into position! Then we ventured down the street to some wooded area for a little change in scenery. The day started out drizzly but since we really had no time to reschedule, we went for it anyways and made it without any rain!

Here is the Morris family! For those not aware (which is a lot of you), I have a part time job working with Dr. Cammie Morris at her dental office in Shallotte, NC. We got together one afternoon after work for a quick session with her family outside with her husband’s old truck (at least his was running and driving at the time!- sorry hubby!) and then some fun shots inside her home with the kids. And for the record, the whole “messy kitchen/baking fiasco” shot was her idea! I was just an innocent bystander! But for the record, I love it with clients don’t mind getting messy and dirty because they can make for the best pictures! 🙂

Last, but not least: (maybe saving the best for last?) my ADORABLE nephew Nate was the best little 3 month-old Christmas elf for his First Christmas photo session! He’s just a perfect happy baby all together so his daddy and I were able to do all kinds with him and he only got fussy once when he wanted a lunch break! I know he looks a little awkward in the wooden sleigh but I was picturing him being a lot smaller than he was when I bought it! He is growing WAY too fast! But he’s getting cuter by the day! I’m so happy I get to document the first few years of his life while we’re living here! 🙂

My family: the Gigueres and the Jocks

Posted on January 9, 2014 by karielphotography

Going home for Thanksgiving meant that I was going to be able to see my whole family and meet my brand new baby niece! Since I was already bringing my camera home I offered to take my siblings family pictures for Christmas cards. Of course it had to be the coldest day of the year so far on Thanksgiving Day! I think it may have reached a high of 32 that day, but no matter what we were determined to get outside and take pictures around my uncle’s beautiful home in Connecticut. We are New Englanders, after all. This might have been record times for a family session too. Lot’s of running around and hugging to “stay warm” for pictures and we were in and out in less than 10 minutes per family! Might have been the first session I did where I did not break a sweat, too!

Here’s my sister Brooke, Dan and their children:

And here is my brother Caleb and his wife Sara and their two babies

The Lake Family

Posted on January 9, 2014 by karielphotography

I met this family real soon after moving here to Southport. Jeremy works with my husband at the Oak Island CG station and we had a big cookout once we were all settled in. Over the summer our husbands played in a softball league (still trying to forget the embarrassment of that season!) and Alexis and I grew really close during those evenings. During the games we talked the whole time, made fun of our husbands a little bit, and I realized that we were basically meant to be. One day while out to lunch Alexis informed me that her and Jeremy were expecting their second child! So, naturally, I jumped at the idea of a photo shoot with them so they could have some cute pictures to announce that they were pregnant. Little did I know that once I posted those pictures they would go viral! I think that last time I checked, their announcement had over 80 “likes” and had been seen by over 3,500 people! 3,500 people!!!!

So here is the Lake family at Fort Anderson/Brunswick Town and towards the end are a whole slew of ways we posed for an announcement! Love you guys!!!

Harley kids

Posted on November 9, 2013 by karielphotography

After having to reschedule for a few weeks due to weather (I swear it’s worse than New England!) I met with the Harley family, minus the hubby, on Fort Fisher, NC. I love being able to explore all new areas of this place! Just a short ferry ride over the Intracoastal Waterway, four miles from Southport is a beautiful little spot that boasts a beautiful ocean and some REALLY awesome “twisty trees”. At least, that’s what we’re calling them because the mom and I have no idea what type of tree they are. I’m sure my husband could tell me as he knows pretty much everything.

The goal for this shoot was to get some cute pictures for Christmas cards so I brought along some candy canes- fresh from Santa in the North Pole, of course. These were the “if you’re good!” enticement to get some cooperation with the kiddos but like most young children and goofy siblings, this was a hard task. Is Karma coming back to me? When I was younger and my mom tried taking pictures of us kids or as a family it took for.ev.er. to get us to simmer down and pose nicely. Now I know what she went through! But I also know what the kids are going through. And I’ve found that it’s best to just let them be and try to capture them the best I can! Besides, looking back on my family pictures, I can honestly say that they fully represent us and the same will be for any family!

Brynn

Posted on November 9, 2013 by karielphotography

I met back up with the Austermiller family to capture their daughter’s four-year old pictures. We met at a place called Westgate Nature Park in Leland, NC and I fell in love with the location. It has been newly built and has a pretty cool playground and then a neat walking trail through the woods. There are other dirt roads and wide open fields as you walk and at the end, an awesome wooden bridge that opens to a big platform with benches.

To add to this awesome scenery is the CUTEST little girl. She was a typical little girl who just wanted to play and run around. In between picking up rocks, climbing and pulling flowers she managed to throw in some adorable little smiles and poses. Brynn is a little mini southern belle and I loved photographing her!

The MacKenzie Wedding

Posted on November 9, 2013 by karielphotography

I first met Amy, the bride, during one of my first weekends as a freshman at Westfield State College (now University). Our mutual friends forced us to meet at a party because they all said I looked more like her than her twin sister did and I should use her ID as a fake. (Don’t worry mom, this never happened!) Through these mutual friends, I became close to her and her sister even though they were two years ahead of me. After they graduated we kept in touch, even tailgating together at a Patriots game and Toby Keith concert. All three of us also have labs for ~~pets~~ children and we kept trying to set up play dates with them!

About a month after I moved down here to Southport, NC, Amy contacted me and inquired about photography for their destination wedding ceremony south of Myrtle Beach, SC. Her groom’s and her family rented an oceanfront house for the week to relax and have a wedding ceremony! With the location being just under two hours away I jumped at the opportunity to be there on her special day and give her fabulous pictures to remember their time with their closest family members. They had already celebrated with a big bash before coming down, so this was just a very small and casual beachfront ceremony.

Let me tell you folks, this is the way to go! No stress, no frills, no countless vendors to contact or thousands of dollars gone just for one day. You still get the same outcome at the end of the day minus all the anxiety of perfection. The weather was perfect, their families were awesome and bonus for them, my baby Bear accompanied me because they needed at least one lab in attendance! 🙂

Nate

Posted on September 21, 2013 by karielphotography

Here’s Nate’s newborn photos! He was such an awesome little dude throughout his whole session! He endured pictures in his nursery, outside on their screened patio, then to Wrightsville Beach, all without ever crying! He even slept through our time afterwards eating pizza at a local joint outside on a busy road! He only slept for the last bit of the evening but we made sure to get all the shots we wanted with him! Including an “after” shot from Atlanta’s maternity session on their privately owned dock!

Nathaniel’s Debut to the World

Posted on September 21, 2013 by karielphotography

There’s a whole new fad of photography out there for capturing the births of newborn babies. I hadn’t thought much about it, especially since with offering that kind of photography, you really need to be available at any time! However, with my sister-in-law and her husband expecting their first child just after we moved down here, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try out this new gig and also document a very special time in these new parents’ lives!

Nate came to the world a happy and healthy 7lbs 12oz. My guess was 8lbs, 4 oz!

I wasn’t able to document the actual birth (a C-section isn’t very interesting anyways) but I was there starting with the grandparents seeing and holding their first grand baby for the first time. That Thursday was such an exciting and special day for our family. Welcome to the world, little Nate-boo! 🙂

The Anderson Family

Posted on September 21, 2013 by karielphotography

Presenting my latest Coast Guard family with the cutest blonde hair-blue eyed baby girl I’ve ever seen! I met the Andersons at the Wilmington River Walk where the CG cutter Diligence is moored up. Erin wanted family pictures done before her husband, who works on the Diligence, went underway for a few months.

Their daughter who is just over two years old is at that stage where she just wants to go-go-go, all on her own so it was a bit tricky getting pictures done here! We tried all kinds of ways to distract her to keep her happy in one spot. One of those times though it ended with her falling and splitting open a previous cut on her knee. This ultimately meant the end of our shoot but luckily we were nearing the end anyways. We weren’t able to take our time and get portraits in front of the CG cutter but we tried a few quick ones before packing up!

Through it all, her cute little grin makes all the pictures so great and wonderful!

Atlanta & Jake – having a baby boy!

Posted on August 3, 2013 by karielphotography

I apologize in advance, I’m going to be biased in this post. I can’t help it. This is my sister-in-law and her husband and I am head over heels in love with these pictures of them! I mean, I’m patting myself on the back for the way these came out. Have you ever seen a more radiant pregnant lady?? And check out Jake’s genuine, authentic smile in 99% of these shots. It screams “I’m so excited to be a daddy!”

My favorite part; eh, no ok scratch that, I enjoyed the whole shoot. The part that warmed my heart the most was when it came time for Atlanta’s solo shoot. Jake is so proud to be married to such a beautiful momma to be! He was excited to get shots of the belly sticking out and the hands-making-a-heart shot… that was his idea!

I love these two people as a couple and they are going to make AMAZING parents. Can’t wait to meet this baby boy! A few more weeks and counting!!