Category Archives: My Life

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Naples, Sanibel, Captiva, Marco Island – This photographer gets around!

So…well.. oh em gee…when was my last blog update with session images? Wait. Don’t answer that! This has been one CRAZY busy summer both with regards to lifeXpressions work and my family. Where do I start? I guess I’ll start with a recap the events of my summer then round it out by posting some of my favorite recent session images. This post is going to be jam packed with photos but should you want to see more, don’t forget to visit our Fan Page on Facebook for more of my favorites and some funny outtakes too!

We added a new member to the family, meet our newest lovable Golden Retriever – Roxy! Sandy (our other golden retriever) is being a very good Momma to the new addition and everyone just loves her to pieces. Take a peek for yourself, can you blame us?!

Olivia (my not-such-a-baby-anymore-little girl) decided to try her hand -or would that be feet?- at Dance Camp over the summer and had a blast! Michelle from the I Love To Dance Studio was absolutely wonderful to her. Olivia is hoping to continue with her dance classes on the weekends now that we’re back in school. I reluctantly admit that even I have been found bouncing along to the Jonah’s Brothers with her. Shameful I know but dang those songs are kinda catchy!

Nick (my middle guy) decided to take up Tae Kwon Do at Tae Kwon Do United over the summer and both of them have elected to pursue this sport after school. Nick is gearing up for his first belt test and very proud of his accomplishments so far. Olivia will be joining him for her first classes soon and well, we’re just kinda hoping she won’t ‘share’ her new found knowledge on her brother at home. That child can be awfully sneaky though! hehe

I said my goodbyes and I love yous to my oldest son who traveled to New York to start college this year. Yes, I cried. LOTS. I’m not ashamed to admit it. In fact, I still get a little teary just thinking about him. We protect them, love them, cherish them…then they learn to speak and we can’t wait for some peace and quiet but when the time comes to say goodbye it’s just never that easy. I’m very proud of my handsome young man though and I am certain he is going to do wonderful things in the great state of New York! In fact, I’m already planning a trip to visit him this fall so he can show ME all the sights for a change. :)

I’ll share a few snapshots from the day he left, grab myself some tissue, then come back to finish this post.

*sniff*sniff* Okay. Drying my tears again. Let’s get back to the reason you visit this blog, session highlights! I wasn’t kidding when I said “this photographer gets around”, I’ve been to almost every beach between Fort Myers and Marco Island over the summer with several sessions at my favorite beach in Naples and on the beautiful Sanibel and Captiva Islands. When I wasn’t up to my elbows in sand and salt water I was photographing the overwhelming number of newborns that came my way this summer. It certainly has been busy, but tons of fun too. See for yourself!

And that’s a wrap folks! Thanks so much for stopping by!

*thud*

The Photographer Gets Photographed

Terrilyn-105I know, I know, it’s been REAL quiet around here lately. I promise I’m not avoiding you my precious blog. As soon as things quiet down a bit and I get these last holiday orders shipped and proofs online I promise to spend more time updating you with featured sessions from this past holiday season. In the mean time, I thought you might enjoy looking at another very talented photographer’s work, my friend Heather Skau owner of Catch A Star Photography was nice enough to drive down to my neck of the woods and take on my family for our very own session. No small feet I tell ya, photographers children are not the most cooperative when it comes to getting their pictures taken, they know ALL our tricks. Still, she somehow managed to rock it!!

After the year of trials and tribulations we’ve overcome; Rob’s heart scare, my surviving cancer, it just seemed very important to get out there, have a great time and prove that we are fighters. Rock solid and standing strong and determined to live our lives to the fullest! Heather you managed to captured so many wonderful moments for my family; our love for each other, a little romance, some definite sass and even a little of my crazy side that my clients know so well. Who IS that crazy lady chasing her kids through the fountain?! ha-ha Seriously, I can not thank you enough!

Click to watch the whole slideshow…

And a few of my personal favorites…Terrilyn-130

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Happy Halloween!!!

Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!! I am so behind in blog posts…typical holiday season madness around here. I will get back to the sneak peeks and featured sessions once I get caught up on all of the outstanding sessions still waiting for holiday delivery of their portraits….in the mean time I thought I might be able to hold you over with a few more pictures of my kids getting ready for Halloween and the trick or treat candy coma soon to follow! Ha-ha!! Feel free to send in photos of your own children to us and we’ll be sure to share them in a future blog post! I just adore seeing all the kids in their costumes enjoying the magic and mystery of Halloween. Maybe it’s the artistic side of me that so enjoys the opportunity to be free spirited, letting your creativity sour and your heart sing – just being free to be YOU – well, that ALWAYS makes me smile!!

So, while you patiently wait for your proofs, sneak peeks and featured sessions here are some photos of my children preparing for the upcoming holiday….

Pumpkin carving….

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Nick kinda looks like he’s waiting for something to jump out and bite him eh? haha Yeah, can’t say I blame him, they are kinda slimy! heehee But the shot of my oldest helping my youngest carve her pumpkin – PRICELESS. <sigh>

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Okay, now some fun photos of my guys all decked out and ready to beg for candy…. :D Olivia has graduated this year…a mere princess will no longer do. Oh no. She is now the QUEEN. hahaha

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Looking at these photos I’m not sure if I should be worried or not, I mean she is truly beautiful and I don’t think that’s just mommy eyes talking!! Still, on the other hand, her big brother does have a certain fascination with automatic weapons that will surely scare away most would-be suitors. So in the end I’m not sure yet which scares me more…the would-be suitors for Olivia or the military minded Nick…

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Ah, there’s my guy. I know, he’s going to be TEN soon so sweet looks for Mommy are kind of out of fashion but I just adore that grin!! A big thank you to the U.S.M.C. for Nick’s authentic desert storm uniform provided by the amazing marines at Camp Lejeune, NC. You guys were awesome!!

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Good morning! I hope everyone had a fantastically creepy Halloween! I thought I’d pop back in to share one more Halloween capture with you all. Trevor (my oldest) had the honor of being our treat-passer-outer this year. Our house was the spooky hit of the community! Spooky sound effects playing on the outdoor speakers, fog billowing from the front entry, creepy spiders, unearthed bones and even a psychedelic laser light show playing on the garage door. We had a blast seeing our little scene come to life or would that be death? In any case, we knew we did a pretty good job when our neighbors kept asking if they could take photos in front of our house with Trevor.  Ha-ha!

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A Rare Glimpse | Estero Senior Portraits Featuring My Guy

I was reminded by a good friend and client not long ago that I haven’t shared photos of my own children on the blog for quite a while. I think the reasoning behind that is two fold; first there’s Facebook! I share so much of my life with my friends & family on Facebook sometimes I feel like I’m repeating myself when I post on the blog. I forget that there are people out there who <gasp> aren’t Facebook users. I know right!? It’s kind of shocking to me too.

Secondly, my kids tend to hide run avoid the camera. I don’t know why. Okay, perhaps the years I spent practicing my craft on them might have possibly caused them to become a little camera-phobic.  That’s just a guess though. The little ones aren’t quite as phobic but then, they’re little. I can bribe convince them easier than I can my oldest. With Trevor my photographic access is typically limited to special occasions (and sneak attacks). I lucked out big time this year since his birthday is tomorrow AND he’s graduating high school this year! I was actually able to get a hair cut (yes, it was longer!) and a whole photo session out of him and I didn’t have to remind him of the TWELVE HOURS of labor pains I endured to bring him in to this world more than a couple handfuls of times. Score!

So without getting too mushy I’d like to show off share my completely amazing, talented, generous, compassionate and totally cute son, Trevor!

I love you to the moon and back kiddo. Always have, ALWAYS will.

xoxo

- Your very proud Mommylifexpressions photography senior portraits in estero florida

lifexpressions photography senior portraits in estero florida

lifexpressions photography senior portraits in estero florida

And it just wouldn’t be making memories if we didn’t include our golden girl, Sandy. :)

lifexpressions photography senior portraits in estero florida

lifexpressions photography senior portraits in estero florida

Out Of Office Until Monday April 19

I’m excited to be heading to North Carolina with my dear friend and colleague Connie Groah of Barefoot Photography We’ll be working together on a commercial assignment capturing training images for the Marine Corps Civilian Police Academy at Camp Lejeune. This should prove to be a fun and challenging experience for us both. Check out the scene from Camp Lejeune below, doesn’t that look like an incredible location!?!urban-mout-training

All calls will be returned after I return to the office on Monday, April 19th. I’ll be working hard to get the proofing galleries online for those who are still waiting just as quickly as possible upon my return. In the mean time Kelly promises to keep the blog hopping with Sneak Peeks from our recent sessions, make sure you give her some comment love because we’ve got some truly wonderful stuff to share with you all!

Sneak Peek { Slices of Life } | Natural Portraits In Lush Naples Gardens

First of all I want to thank all of the wonderful families who joined me at the beautiful secret garden in Naples last week. It was pretty hot and sticky out but I have to say, the Slices of Life mini sessions were a fantastic success! Proofs will be online by October 10th unless we’ve made other arrangements. We had so much fun and captured so many fantastic images, I’ll be popping in to share sneak peeks throughout the next week, keep checking the blog for yours!

I have to share a little secret with you all, when I schedule a day of mini sessions like this I get so incredibly nervous before the big day. I worry that I’ll have a major camera malfunction right before the first client shows up or maybe all of the sudden neither of my cameras will turn on! Oh gosh, maybe I’ll run out of funny things to say or worse yet my brain will suddenly stop functioning altogether and I’ll have a creative meltdown with no ideas flowing between my head and my camera. I know, I know, it sounds silly but having so many different little personalities to work with during such a short time, one right after the other… *whew* it’s scary! Of course the moment I pick up my camera and start playing around with the children all of that fades away. I think that’s how I know I’m doing what I was meant to do, being a photographer I mean. I absolutely love being in the moment, making little faces light up and capturing those perfect moments in time.

I’d also like to take a moment to publicly thank Kelly, my wonderful assistant. GIRL, YOU ROCK! Thank you SO much for all your help! She was right beside me the entire time – melting in the heat, grabbing gear as needed, holding massive scrims over her head to keep the sunlight hitting where I wanted it to be and not where I didn’t. Not to mention having to be my comedic side kick for a few of the tougher nuts to crack. <grin>

When I wasn’t barking orders and making her hold large awkward things over her head for extended periods of time I let her play with my back up camera a little bit to capture some of the behind the scenes fun. I thought you might get a kick out of some of the strange spots I end up in trying to get ‘the shot’.

…like in the middle of a stream on a 12 inch rock…lifexpressions photography family portrait session, fort myers florida, on location photographer, naples beach photographer, naples newborn photography, sibling portraits, sanibel beach portraits

… or peeking out from behind the bushes to surprise you (yeah, I’m tricky like that sometimes) …

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

… I think the end result is worth it though …

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

… some little ones just show up to the party full of smiles and ready to go …

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

Don’t I have the most beautiful clients? <sigh> Stay tuned to the blog, more sneak peeks are coming soon!


lifeXpressions photography voted The Best of Fort Myers 2009

*toot* *toot*

We’d like to interrupt your regularly scheduled blog surfing for a little tooting of our own horn…

lifeXpressions photography best of ft myers award

Lifexpressions Photography has been selected for the 2009 Best of Fort Myers Award in the Photography category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.


THANK YOU! I am honored.