This family was the first of my NJ mini sessions a few months ago (yes, I am painfully behind on my blog). Tina and I worked together once upon a time, and were pregnant with our first two kids at the same time (when she got pregnant with her daughter, I may or may not have plugged my ears and pretended not to know -though I did have fun snuggling her when I took her newborn pictures). It was great to meet up again.

It was super fun to see the whole gang together. This session was a mix of First Communion, Baptism, and family. Which was perfect. What a beautiful family too. The boys are definitely boys and made me laugh the whole time. They just wanted out of their suits and to be able to run around. They were great sports about everything.

Boys being boys. 🙂

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

The first of my First Communion mini’s started off with this beautiful family. When I first decided to offer Communion mini sessions I left it up to each family to decide if they wanted to bring a change of clothes for after the Communion portraits. That way we could take some super quick family pictures at the same session. I think it’s so important to get updated family pictures so I try to offer it (and nudge families towards it) as much as possible. 😉 I was very happy when they tok me up on my offer and showed up all dressed nicely for some updated pictures.

I adore this shot. What a beautiful family.

Then it was time to change Joey to get his real portraits done. What a little stud. He knew exactly what to do and made this whole session very easy.

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

I’m taking a quick minute to give a personal update (even though I know I am about 4 sessions behind on this blog; I’ll catch up I swear!). This weekend my we celebrated my son’s First Holy Communion. It was a very special, fun, and hectic day. Alex, in his typical fashion, was not at all nervous about this day. I remember as a kid when it was my first communion I was a ball of nerves. Not my kid. Cool as a cucumber. In fact, walking into the mass during the processional he was all smiles and waving to family members. All the other kids were stoic or reverent. My son would’ve stopped to shake hands if he could have. That’s not to say he wasn’t taking it seriously, because he most certainly was. He was just THAT excited.

Then, minutes after receiving his first holy communion, I snapped this shot. Which is so emotional to me. I know my kid, and in this moment not only was he praying, but I know he was also releasing his nerves. Alex can put up a great front, but mama knows how he ticks.

OK, back to the day. Being a photographer, this day was WAY more stressful to me than it should have been. I needed to have GOOD seats. And not just any ‘good’ seats. I needed to be seated in the center aisle, on the end, and on the left (since the boys would be on the left side). Since no flash was allowed I knew I needed to use a long focal length that allowed me to open up and not jack the ISO way up (have I lost you? Sorry). Oh, and then I wanted to be able to run along to the side to get an action shot of him actually receiving the communion.

So yea, my goals were completely rational and doable.

Except it was a FULL ceremony. Naturally.

I didn’t want to be obnoxious and block any parent from doing the same thing I was doing, so I talked to a couple friends before the ceremony started and planned to jump into the pew with them to snap pictures of our kids. But then at the big moment I couldn’t find where they were seated! Because that’s how these things work right? Thankfully I found my son’s classroom aides who allowed me to squeeze into the pew with them to snap my pictures of the actual moment. Which I am grateful for because I LOVE having the actual moment and his reaction to it documented. Talk about special.

Let’s get started.

Since I have ants in my pants I was able to grab some pictures of the kids lining up to walk into the mass. My little man is so used to mommy having a camera in his face that seeing me at the key locations during his ceremony was in no way a surprise to him.

Guess who spotted the family?

Lining up for the big moment

THE moment. And I got it.

Oh look, mommy is here too. 🙂

After the ceremony we snapped a couple pictures with his friends, but didn’t hang around to take our formal pictures. It was midday without a cloud in the sky and so crowded that I decided it was better to take pictures near our house. Besides, I had already taken Alex’s formal portraits so I wasn’t going to fight the crowds for bright, squinty eyed pictures. If it was a cloudy day I might have made a different choice, but this worked out best for us.

A couple of Alex’s formal portraits.

And then day of with nonno and nonna

Our little family

Then it was time to party!

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

What a great outdoor family session! Meet the Gas family. Which also happens to be my best friend and godson’s family. This session came about after I noticed the old pictures they had hanging in their house. Not only have I as a photographer come a long way since those images, but the kids have grown so much since then! Plus they’ve even had a new addition to add to it! So I insisted on a updated session. We decided on a date and time and that was that. Of course, if you asked mom and dad how easy it was to get four children four years old and under ready to go out in that morning they might not agree with my declaration about how easy this was, but we made it happen. And I am so happy we did, because I really love how this session turned out. It was a little cold, so I tried to go as fast as possible. All the kids were troopers and I rewarded them with some m&m’s when we were done. 😉

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

I love getting calls for lifestyle sessions. They usually are so relaxed and natural for the family, especially the child or children. This little doll took about 5mins to warm up to me, but then her little personality just bloomed. She was a sweetheart and so beautiful to photograph. Plus, being in her own space meant she had all her toys and comfort items right at her fingertips. I absolutely loved this session. The lighting was perfect and the family was as sweet and beautiful as can be.

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

Meet sweet little Musa. He was 8 days old when I met him for his newborn session. He was such a sweet little guy and was very tolerant of meeting me and having his picture taken. In fact, he was probably the most alert 8 day old I have ever met! He was awake for half our session, but not only was he awake, but he was focusing his big beautiful eyes on me and the camera! We all know with newborns they can only see what’s right in front of them clearly, so the fact that I was standing far above him and snapping away while he focused on me was pretty cool.

I also loved incorporating some lifestyle images in (and of) his nursery. And what a cool nursery it was! Dad painted those blue zig-zag stripes himself.

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

Really lucked out this day! The snow was a steady fall and made for a great session! We went to one of my favorite locations in Easton PA and everything combined made for a perfect backdrop. I’ve been looking to get some “tween” girls in my portfolio, and I’ve had my eye on Lexi since last year when her younger brother played baseball with my son. Finally got my hands on her, and was lucky enough that there was (shock!) some snow falling that day. I love this age. Still young, but with hints of growing up. Lexi was a natural in front of the camera and we had a super fun mini session. She was even brave enough to take her jacket off (while wearing short sleeves!) for a couple quick captures. Those, of course, are my favorite from this session. Mom and younger brother jumped in for a few family portraits too. 🙂

How gorgeous is this girl?

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

My son is receiving his First Communion this year! It’s exciting and a big deal and I’ve been getting questions about taking portraits of other children receiving theirs as well. So I decided to offer First Communion Mini’s! It’s a great deal and a great way to capture nice images of this special day. Contact me for more info or to book your session today!

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

Meet newborn Francesco!

I am always so grateful when families call me to do a newborn session.

This little guy was only 8 days old when I photographed him. What a little rock star! He slept through most of our session and posed perfectly for me. I even got him in the froggy pose! He made my job as a photographer easy for his session. At the end he even opened his big beautiful eyes and gave me some personality. Of course, that personality meant “I’m done” but that’s ok! After how wonderfully he slept for most of the session, no one was mad when he decided he was done.

I even convinced mom and dad to get in a couple pictures. I always find it very important to capture the new parents with their newborn at that moment in time. You’ll never get it back and they grow so quickly. And hey, I’m already there anyway right? 🙂

Thank you for stopping by! If you like what you see, be sure to like Teresa G Photography on Facebook
Facebook fan page to see updates and view my new sessions! And leave a comment letting me know you were here!

Let me introduce little (actually, BIG! 😉 ) baby Zachary. This little man was only 7 days old when I got my hands on him, but he was a big, little guy! So sweet and with such a personality already. He actually smirked at me! I like to think he was saying “sleep? Me? Nah!” (and probably a few other things really). He was definitely not sleepy, but the few minutes of sleep he did give in to was more than enough. He really was a pleasure to photograph. Plus, he smirked at me! I love sass. It melts my heart. 🙂