lexington ky portrait & wedding photographer » photographing the most darling families & weddings in the bluegrass since 1999

just popping in with a hello and a peek from a session with three amazing girls & their incredible parents.  mom’s style quotient is off the charts which made this shoot extra extra fun…so was seeing them again at ballet under the stars a few weeks ago!  oh, and before i forget…i want to pass along a couple links:

an article about playful parenting i love (thank you to the author for permission to post a time bit here)

idea #4: “the cereal trick”

In their book How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish describe an approach to help kids get unstuck from something upsetting.

In the illustration, a toddler asks his mother for a certain kind of cereal, a cereal that they don’t have in the house.  Instead of arguing back and forth over the cereal, the mom tells her little one, “I wish I had the magic power to make a giant box appear!”  The authors write, “Sometimes just having someone understand how much you want something makes the reality easier to bear.”

I like to take this technique and run with it.  For example, one day our two-year-old was angry and pouting over not being able to go to the zoo that day.  Instead of trying to explain how it was too hot and the animals wouldn’t be out and we would all be cranky and disappointed, I said, “I wish we had a zoo right in our backyard.  Wouldn’t that be so cool?  What animals would you like to have in a backyard zoo?  Oh yes, definitely crocodiles.  How about giraffes?  Yes, and hippos, too!  Hey, let’s draw a picture of our backyard zoo!”

…playfully creating a fantasy seems help smooth over the feelings of frustration and disappointment that are often the source of unpleasant behaviors.  Read the rest of the article here :)

And this cute etsy shop is getting some love from some of my favorite people, including Whitney @ English Paper Co….darling return address stamps. (Is it painfully obvious how weak-in-the-knees i get over cute paper things?).  -m-

i love catching up a wee bit on blogging to share some of these fun sessions with you!  and i l-o-v-e sibling shoots…maybe because i love my own brother so much, and i love the transformation that happens from age 8 when you’re complaining to your mom that your brother got into all your stickers to what is now one of the truest and deepest friendships there is.  love you, matt!

i can only imagine how happy this trio made their parents with this *surprise* they planned for them.  their brilliance is obviously coupled with thoughtfulness :)  what a sublime pleasure!  thank you, thank you for allowing me to share this beautiful early evening with you!  warmly, -melanie-

To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. [ clara ortega ]

just a little encouragement to sit back and enjoy all that summer holds. warmly, -melanie-

summer afternoon – summer afternoon;

to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the english language.  [ henry james ]

i love anniversary shoots…since the first anniversary gift is paper, i think they’re a perfect way to celebrate! this session fell on a really incredible day – rachel’s graduation celebration (she was on her way to see wicked later)!  i feel so honored that clients choose a session with me as a way to mark these really iconic times in their lives…and all the moments in between.  this sweet couple lives right around the corner from me so i’ve had to resist knocking on their door to say ‘hey, i just made great lasagna – want some?’.  so, without further ado, the crazy cute rachel & roy…yes, rachel has *the* sweetest bike around and she picked up the most darling bunch of huge peonies prior to the shoot!

To love is to find pleasure in the happiness of the person loved. [ Leibnitz ]

P.S. If you’re a photographer in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, I’d love to meet you at the School of Photography later this month.  I welcome your questions in advance (just email me) and I’ll address them during our Q & A or work them into the presentation.

totally, absolutely, unabashedly smitten with this wonderful mom of two…she’s a rare talent with design/paper (a big melanie weakness) and couples that with incredible professionalism (and oh, how i love that combo!). i felt like this was a true collaboration…the loveliest way to create family photographs.

we find such delight in the

beauty and happiness of children

that it makes the heart too big for the body.

[ ralph waldo emerson ]