Category Archives: Children

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Sneak Peek { Paxton } | Naples Baby Portraits

Anyone remember these little guys? Maybe from Austin’s newborn session? Or Mason’s newborn session? Or maybe it was their session last year? Okay, my memory gets bad sometimes too but I’m willing to bet you remember the post I made showcasing their family titled: Prayers for a very special family. It wasn’t more than a few days after their Maternity session last September that their whole world was turned upside down when they learned their unborn child had only half of a heart.lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

To learn more about their incredible journey and the amazing little man I’m about to share with you, you’ll have to hop over to their family blog, The Wild, Wild, Wests. There’s simply no way I can do justice to their story but I will tell you this, having known this family for about four years now I know, without a doubt, that if anyone has the faith, strength, love, and devotion to weather the storm and end up on top it is them!

Without further ado, allow me to introduce Paxton David West…lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraitsKeep fighting Paxton, we’re praying for you and your family. <3

Featured Session | Avery at the Secret Garden

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Avery is a beautifully charming little lady whom I’ve had the pleasure of photographing several years in a row now. I have to say, she just gets cuter and cuter every time we meet! We had a great time exploring the beautiful secret garden in Naples and as a result captured some truly lovely images. In fact, when it came time to share a sneak peek from our session together I simply couldn’t decide which images to share so, instead of sneak peeking a few, I’m just going to share her whole session!

Click the play button below to see Avery’s lifeXpressions session at the Secret Garden.

Sneak Peek { Slices of Life } | Family Memories Captured In The Secret Garden

I think one of the nice things about the Slices of Life mini sessions is that they give someone who hasn’t had a full session with me the opportunity to sample what a lifeXpressions session is all about. This was the case for the first family I’m sharing today, allow me to introduce Lexi & her beautiful family. Lexi is only 8 years old but already has more personality than most of the adults I’ve met in my 30some years. What a hoot she was, she had ME laughing almost the entire time! Lexi’s Mom has seen the work I’ve done for her sister’s family over the years but for whatever reason hadn’t had her own lifeXpressions session yet. I’d like to think that she’s starting to wonder why on earth she waited so long. <grin> ifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

I don’t know about you, but as the mother of an 8 year old myself, when I first saw this next photo I got a big smile on my face and sighed. Nothin’ beats a little unprovoked snuggle, especially once they reach the age where they think they’re “too big” for snuggles. <sigh> They grow up way too fast. Thanks for coming out to the mini sessions guys, I hope we meet again soon!

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraitsI’ve got one more lovely family portrait session to share before I close this post. Anybody recognize this handsome little man? Hmm, maybe not, Liam has grown quite a bit since his debut in the Big Book of Babies. Gosh, come to think of it I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s grown more than 4 inches just since our session this past February. Almost 4 years old already and such a clever little guy.

Liam’s Mommy understands how fast time passes and how important it is to document your life with photos. She booked a spot in the mini sessions not only for updated holiday photos to send to friends and family, but also as a gift for Liam’s nanny who has been taking care of him for years. What a sweet gift! I’m only sharing one of Liam, his Mommy and his Nanny all together – I certainly don’t want to be responsible for spoiling any holiday surprises!lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

Sneak Peek { Slices of Life } | Enchanted Gardens and Beautiful Family Portraits

Hello, hello! Back again to share a few more sneak peeks from the recent Slices of Life mini sessions at the Secret Garden in Naples. I guess you could say I’ve got quite a history with the first lovely family I’m sharing. Mom found me when she was looking for a Naples photographer for her maternity and newborn portraits more than four years ago. I think it’s safe to assume she liked the first two sessions since it wasn’t long after those she signed the girls up for the JOY program and with that, three more sessions for the girls that next year. :)

The girls are getting bigger now which means they don’t need me around quite as often, fortunately Mom does still call each year for updated family portraits. It’s always such a treat to see how much they’ve grown and changed in just one year.  They’re certainly becoming beautiful little ladies, of course that’s really no surprise, just take a look at their gorgeous parents…

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

Just BEAUTIFUL girls!

Next I’ll share with you another totally adorable sibling pair that I’ve been photographing for quite a while now. Eli & Avery first stole my heart on a beach session in Naples more than 2 years ago.  Avery was so sweet, she kept bringing little flowers to her big brother. The next year Mom invited me to their home for a totally fun “pajama party” style holiday session. They had a blast jumping on the bed and looked completely adorable in matching plaid pajamas. You might even say we had too much fun, I remember Eli was sad when the session ended. The little sweetheart didn’t want me to leave, so cute! When Mom called to sign them up for the garden mini sessions this year I was so excited to see them again and of course they are just as cute as ever!

Although this year I think a little stranger anxiety was setting in, inititally they were a little shy. Even my super-dooper-cool cow glasses did nothing for them. So what’s a girl to do when the cow glasses fail? Why stand on her head to get the shot of course!

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

I have to fess up, I didn’t really stand on my head and take their picture, I’m good but I’m not that good! Although I did literally take this photo upside down and backwards while shooting between my legs. That might have made a great outtake shot for Kelly to capture for the blog but honestly, I think at that point she was too busy pointing and laughing at me. Imagine my own surprise when I saw that the picture actually came out nicely composed and in focus! Perhaps I should shoot like that more often? Give ME fake smiles will ya?? I think not! <grin>

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

Sneak Peek { Michael & Addison } | Estero Sibling Portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

I met Michael and Addison for a little adventure at one of our beautiful state parks here in Estero. The weather was hot and sticky but that didn’t stop us from having a good time. Addison was a little shy at first, Mom says that’s pretty typical of her with strangers. I admit I was a little worried about my ability to capture her sweet smile, she was one tough cookie! You know what they say though, if all else fails, let them throw water on you! haha Yes, shooting me with water was the key to her happiness. *giggle* Oh well, at least I was able to make her smile and, hey, it did manage cool me off a little bit in the process! Oh and I have to say, for the record, Michael, you are one AWESOME big brother dude! I totally love the way you look after your baby sister and always try to make her happy. You rock!!

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

Featured Session (Graham Family) / Fort Myers Beach Photographer

Here’s a fabulous Featured Session to kick of your Sunday – the Graham (extended) Family from Texas!  I had the pleasure of joining Terrilyn at this session which took place on Fort Myers Beach.  It was a BLAST!  This family really knows how to have fun – Grandma & Grandpa too as you’ll see below :)    They all had great personalities and really enjoyed being with each other – which shows.  After we were done, one of the boys jumped right into the ocean – clothes and all – LOL.  We had a great time with you guys and hope to see you again soon!

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Sneak Peek { Trevor & Anthony } | Naples Child Photographer

Recently I traveled to Naples to photograph these two cuties. I’ve had the honor of photographing Trevor several times now, one of his previous sessions actually on the blog if you want to take a trip back to March 2008. Funny, I remember it like it was yesterday – he’s such a fun little guy. This was my first opportunity to meet his new little brother, Anthony. I have to tell you, he was every bit as charming and full of personality as his big brother.

With Trevor being just three years old and Anthony right at that 6 month mark, getting some wonderful shots of the two of them together was … well … a little bit of a challenge. Let’s face it, when you’re three years old you really don’t want to just sit and hang with your little brother. Especially when there’s a big blue swimming pool not five feet away. Bribery wasn’t really working, compromise seemed to work well with him though. What was our compromise you ask? – I let Trevor help me take a picture of Daddy and Trevor would let me take a picture of him. Oh and lemme tell ya, it’s not easy to have two heads looking through the viewfinder. *giggle* I think he did pretty darn good though eh? :D

Naples child and family photographer, lifeXpressions photography. Fun family portraits.Naples child and family photographer, lifeXpressions photography. Fun family portraits.

Naples child and family photographer, lifeXpressions photography. Fun family portraits.

Dad was such a good sport and Trevor, of course, ate it up! I love surprises ya know? It’s so much fun to capture moments like the one above because no one is expecting it and Trevor’s HUGE smile was most definitely worth the effort. With that in mind, we decided a little impromptu swimming might be good for everyone.  Look at those eyelashes…color me jealous!

Naples child and family photographer, lifeXpressions photography. Fun family portraits.

Naples child and family photographer, lifeXpressions photography. Fun family portraits.

Naples child and family photographer, lifeXpressions photography. Fun family portraits.