Christmas is soon approaching us, and before we know it we’ll be gathered around our trees, or menorahs, or candles of any kind, with our dearest family and friends, exchanging gifts, and quality time together!

This Holiday, we have a special new offering at the studio, and are only available in limited quantities until we run out of stock! These beautiful photo ornaments are a wonderful compliment to your session to have a small token on your tree, whether it be individual pictures or a your whole family on one ornament!

Offered in both antique silver or vibrant red with your choice of photograph inside, these ornaments make a wonderful addition to your order, or as a gift for grandma and grandpa!  Regularly priced at 1 for $35 or 3 for $85, I am offering a special limited time offer for sessions booked through September, you will receive one complimentary ornament to adorn your tree!

Take a look at these beauties!

Sometimes things just have a way of working themselves out!… Originally we had this session planned out the week before… the day was on and off raining… looked like it was going to burst out again any moment… but we weren’t sure when… so in a hesitant decision… I decided to reschedule hoping for better weather next week…. well like I said, it worked itself out… the day we scheduled for was just beautiful (hot!.. but beautiful!)… we started our session right at the “golden hour” with a beautiful warm sunlight pouring in through the grass and reflecting onto a nearby lake… it was just a dream land!… and not to mention I had a wonderful model to go along with it.. I just loved her “natural” look as she walked into the park to meet me… beautiful curls, and gorgeous big eyes!… a photographer’s dream!… and another plus is that we had something in common to talk about!… because it seems that she is an amateur photographer herself, and as soon as I heard that she was as excited as I was to shoot during the best time of the day, when the sun is slowly setting and letting off it’s “Golden light”… I knew this shoot was meant to be!….

Molly will be having her Bat Mitzvah soon in December, and I am positive these photos will be a great compliment to the celebration! Enjoy your preview!

Last week I got the opportunity.. and I really mean opportunity.. because these kids had such a wonderful family bond going… to photograph during one of my Petite Sessions, the most perfectly loving family! They came dressed in the cutest little outfits, and I have not had such an easier time telling siblings to “act lovingly” towards each other and kiss and hug for the camera.  Normally kids can be at each other’s throats (especially if you lived in my family!) but these guys just radiated love, and especially towards their little sister, who I felt like they almost treated her with the utmost care, like a little porcelain doll… Enjoy the little sneak peek… and hope you’re feeling as much love through the images as I felt from them in real life!

When this bride-to-be contacted me to capture portraits of her and her new husband on the day of their wedding, as soon as she told me they didn’t mind getting their clothes dirty or rolling around on the ground, I knew from the start that we shared the same artistic vision, and that this would be a wonderful session! She told me the story about how she had to go through such a long process and waiting for her husband-to-be to arrive from Albania, where he is originally from, to come to the United States to be with her.  Sometimes I ponder the power of love that can hold a couple together though miles and seas and cultures apart, and the joy they must be feeling now to finally be together.  It is such an honor for me to be able to capture such a special moment, knowing these photographs will be in their family for years to come… another moving story that the bride just told me is that she has always carried around a old photo of her own grandfather kneeling down, when he was younger, in hopes that she would find a husband just like that… little did she know she would later find a photo of her future husband in that same exact position…. which we attempted to recreate in our photosession as well…. stories like that make my heart melt…  I hope someday my photos might be referenced just like that…. to the bride and groom, congrats on your marriage, and enjoy your little sneak peek!

When you’re surrounded by beautiful gardens, flowers, greenery, birds.. you can’t help but be amazed at the beauties of nature… so peaceful, and naturally beautiful.. here are a few images from my visit to the gardens of Monet in France….

Everyone needs a break every once in a while! Yes even I do take vacations also! Actually, I love to travel! My entire life my parents have given me the opportunity to be able to travel across the globe, from Argentina, where I am originally from, and other parts of South America, to several parts of Europe. In any case, after that little history lesson, I’m sure you’re all anxiously awaiting where I went on vacation as well as a little preview of images, that I’ve been teasing you about! Well this time, I took a solo trip (sans my husband!) to Paris and Dusseldorf (in Germany) to where my mom and dad are currently living.  I’ve been to Paris several times before but never to Germany, and I was in for such a wonderful surprise at how warm and welcoming the German people were, and the beautiful architecture, clean streets, and chic shopping! I would have loved to visit around Germany some more, but unfortunately my trip was only 1 week, so I stayed pretty local to Dusseldorf, and just hung out with the fam, which is always nice and relaxing and brings me back! So without further ado, take a peak at some of the pics from my trip to Europe, and if you want to see a few more, make sure to “Friend” me on Facebook where I have several more pics to look through! oh, and p.s. I used my new iPhone to take these pics (yes I’m a Blackberry convert!) with a great app called Hipstamatic, definitely recommend it!

I love hearing about other people’s vacation stories because I absolutely LOVE to travel! This summer, I’ll be going to Europe (France and Germany) to visit my mom and dad that live there, and I am sooo looking forward to a relaxing few days, enjoying the sunshine, bike riding in the mountains, and possibly getting a little shopping done!

But enough about me… tell me about YOU! What are YOU doing this summer? Are you just lounging and relaxing at home? Why is that so special to you? Or are you going out and finding new adventures and fun locations?? Let me know!

Send me your fun vacation stories, and stories about your family, or just send me some fun pictures of you guys, and why YOUR family deserves a BEACH FAMILY PORTRAIT SESSION with me!

The winning family who sends the most interesting story/pics will get a FREE family photo session at the BEACH this summer!

Email me at info@cwrphotography.com by the end of July with your entries!

You might think I’m a little crazy for thinking about Christmas in July… well I am.. but that’s besides the point…

I do want to make sure you guys are thinking about it early though, only because way too often I see families scrambling 2 weeks or a month before, to get their Christmas or holiday portraits in at the last minute!

Well I’d like to challenge you to think outside the box and just a bit early this year for Christmas, so that you can relax and enjoy your family time when it comes around to sending your Christmas cards… cause they’ll already be DONE!… not to mention the beautiful weather you’ll get a chance to take advantage of for your portraits, and the family all together before school and activities start!

So just throwin’ it out there!… and by the way, families booking their sessions throughout the summer, in the months of July and August, will receive a complimentary set of 25 Holiday cards, AND a special Christmas ornament, if you mention to me you saw the “Christmas in the Summer” post on my blog or newsletter! So spread the word to family and friends!

This past weekend, amidst the unbearable heat and humidity, we decided to have a vintage tea party in a field of yellow daffodils! Yes, you can imagine the imagery coming out of that before you even get to the pictures! So I got to go back to the days of playing “House” and “tea party” with 3 adorable little girls that loved to dress up! Our tea party came complete with delicious baked cupcakes, adorable little cupcake-shaped cookies, “pretend” tea, a vintage table and tea set, and of course we were accompanied by Mr. Bear, and Miss. Lamb to make our tea party complete! What I loved the most about playing dress-up and tea party is that you realize what an incredible imagination kids can have and the simplicity of life for a child! Anyways, I won’t hold you any longer with my stories, because I want the images to really speak for themselves and tell their own story!

I had the opportunity to photograph this family’s 2nd child, Tessie (what a cute name for a baby!). I always love it when I get to see families grow and additions being made, because I get to be a part of it and grow with them, by creating these images that they will cherish for years to come of their family. I feel like it was only yesterday that I photographed her big sister Ciara, one of my very first “guinea pigs” in the realm of newborn photography, although it was actually just over a year ago! It’s amazing to see how not only she’s grown, but I’ve grown as well as an artist since then, and to see the transformation after having photographed so many babies since then, is so much fun! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your family and giving me the opportunity to capture your second child this time around! Enjoy your preview!