Welcome Aubrey
A big congratulations to Gina, who you may remember from the maternity session last week. Last night she welcomed little Aubrey into the world!
Picture provided by a friend of the mother.
Week 21 Yellow | I Heart Faces
This weekend I had a lot of fun taking Lacey’s headshots, and her blond hair is my yellow in this week’s I Heart Faces “Yellow” challenge. But the color that really pops is her super blue eyes.
Now go check out the rest of the sunny yellow entries over at I Heart Faces.
Gina’s Expecting | Central Massachusetts Maternity Photography
Gina is one of my coworkers, and she is expecting her first child, a baby girl. She’s anxious, but we all know she’ll do just fine. She’s had plenty of practice with her stepdaughter, even coaching her cheerleading team to the championships. Her stepdaughter, Valerie, is an absolute crackup. Her antics made her parents smile and my job easy! Here are some of my favorites from the session. Gina, you and your family are beautiful and we are all waiting with bated breath to meet your little girl!
Katt | Central Massachusetts Teen Portraits
Katt is a fellow community theater actress, and this girl’s got chops! She’s gorgeous, funny, and very talented. Some of her latest roles have included Anne Frank and Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. For this session, we headed over to Moore State Park in Paxton, MA where we took advantage of some beautiful rustic mills and bridges and gorgeous light that bounced off of a waterfall. We had the best time, and this girl does not have a bad angle.
Weight Watchers Weigh In | Week 5
I joined Weight Watchers and attended my first meeting 5 weeks ago. Part of me feels like I should keep this a secret, because part of me feels like I shouldn’t need a program to eat sensibly and keep the weight off, or worse, what if I fail at this like I have with other programs. But before my brain thinks, the big mouth part of me spills it. And I think this is best. Spilling the beans creates accountability, and it makes friends and family aware, which will hopefully lead to support in social situations.
Sadly, I have to admit that I already stumbled a bit. The first few days I tracked and did very well. Then the weekend showed up, tech week for Romeo and Juliet came, and I slacked. It was still in the back of my mind, so I was more concious about what and how much I ate, but I was not diligent. The next four weeks I weighed in every other week, managing to eek out a .8 lb loss each time.
Last week I headed to a new location, one just up the street from me, with renewed sense of determination. I am sick of this cycle I’m on which does nothing but leave me depressed and loathing myself. I’m paying for this program, I’m going to make it work for me. So I got very friendly with my tracker over the past week, successfully tracking most of my intake for 6 out of 7 days. I felt the hunger pains, but I was determined to succeed.
Yesterday I stepped on the scale, praying I didn’t gain. Praying that my focus and diligence would pay off.
“You’re down 1.8 pounds. Good job,” the receptionist said, sticking the printout to my book and handing it back to me with a smile. “Have a good week.”
1.8 lbs…in one week. 3.4 lbs so far!
“Thank you,” I said back, and added a silent ‘I will’ in my head.
Week 20 Flowers | I Heart Faces
This week over at I Heart Faces the theme is “Flowers”. This shot is from the session I had with my sister while she was home from school. The beautiful yellow flowers provided a sunny background for her natural beauty.
See more flowery goodness over at I Heart Faces!
Makeup Tips for Your Portrait Session | Photography Session Tips
You’re excited for your portrait session; you have your outfit planned, your hair style in mind…but what about makeup? You want to avoid caking on layers, but can the real you shine through without a shiny forehead? How much is too much? How little is too little? Relax, breathe, and use this as a guideline to achieve a natural look that’s all you:
It’s not all about makeup – Keep hydrated, avoid excessive sun exposure, and get your beauty sleep the week leading up to your session. The last things you want are puffy eyes, sunburns, and general sluggishness in your expressions. Nothing provides a better base than a solid skin care regime. Start with clean, moisturized skin. Allow the moisturizer to be absorbed before continuing.
Apply a foundation primer – This will even out the texture of your skin and help fill in fine lines, acne scars, or pores. Some brands offer color correcting primers if your skin tends to redden or be dull. Let the primer set (about 30 seconds) before applying foundation.
Apply liquid foundation or tinted moisturizer – If you have great skin a tinted moisturizer is all you need to even it out and prep for makeup. If using foundation, use an oil-free liquid or creme foundation, and BLEND!!! You may miss the line of demarcation a slightly-off color leaves around your jaw or hairline, but the camera won’t!
Stay away from shimmer – On camera, shine from shimmer bears a striking resemblance to oil. Use a matte bronzer that is only slightly darker than your skin tone. Avoid shiny lip gloss. Stick with matte over pearlescent eye shadows. The exception? A dab of champagne-colored eye shadow in the inner corner of each eye will brighten and widen them.
Keep color shades fairly natural – You want the focus to be on your natural features, not the color of your eye shadow, blush or lipstick.
Eyes: Neutral shades like beige, soft brown, soft pink and peach “pop” the eyes, and won’t look dated or trendy.
Cheeks: Use a bit more blush than you normally would, and choose a fleshy tone that enhances and brightens, not overwhelms, your features. Soft pinks, rosy and peachy tones will do the trick.
Lips: Pale or nude-colored lips won’t translate well on camera, so pick something soft, bright, and medium in terms of shade and depth.
Mascara is a must – Eyes pop when given a great frame. If you’re experienced with eye liner, then a thin line in brown or black will help. If you’ve never touched a liner before, never fear, wiggling your mascara brush at the base of the lashes will create a similar effect.
Touch ups – If you tend to get oily, or if the day is warm, oil-free blotting sheets are great to have in your purse to combat shiny spots.
Be YOU - These guidelines are meant to help you create a look that is you, enhanced. If you’re not comfortable, it will show in your photos. If you never wear makeup, then stick to very natural colors that will serve to even your skin tones and combat shine. If you wear makeup daily, stick to your look and just amp it up here and there.
Week 19 Celebrating Mom | I Heart Faces
I feel very blessed that my mom is one of my best friends. There’s nothing better for a girl than knowing she can share anything with her mother. I can only pray that if I have a daughter someday that we share a similar relationship.
When I saw this week’s challenge, I automatically went to this maternity session with a coworker. I love this shot of her, her stepdaughter, and if you look really closely (with an ultrasound), you can see the little girl waiting to make her debut. This is my friend’s first child, and this shot captures the quiet peace and expectations they have.
Now go show some moms a lot of love over at www.iheartfaces.com
Week 17 Smiles | I Heart Faces
I’d forgotten how much fun I have with my mom and sister. Yesterday we had a girls day out at the Massachusetts Horticultural Center, and the laughs never stopped. Long story short, ‘Swan Lake’ now makes me giggle.
Though I certainly can’t explain our crazy sense of humor, the beauty in my sister’s smile needs no explanation.
There are lots more smiles over at I Heart Faces so go check them out, I dare you not to smile!
Caitlin Sneak Peek | Central Massachusetts Portrait Photography
I had a phenomenal day with my mom and sister (home from Scotland) yesterday. Girls Days Out soothe a part of your soul that I never realized existed.
Here’s a sneak peek of the shots from our session:
