Good Morning! As I mentioned yesterday, I'll be slaving away in the studio for the next few days, so I'm doing a throwback to Halloween!Last week, many people came into my home studio all dressed up for snapshots of their costumes. But my favorites? Those were hands down the families that went ALL OUT for a theme. They were so creative and fun, and I wish I had that kind of imagination when it came to costumes!My very favorite was the family above who came as RUN DMC. Ezra had that exact shirt when he was a baby, and we, of course, never ever thought of such a funny (or easy to put together! or comfortable!) Halloween solution. Props to this family!And my next favorite goes to my neighbors who always come as a fantastic theme (Indiana Jones! Ghostbusters! And now, Star Wars!). That little Luke is so adorable!I hate to admit it, but I don't have time for internet shares AGAIN today. I will tell you that the new show Mindhunters on Netflix is fabulous, and if you need a new program in your life (and if you love true crime) this is the one for you! (Also, if you are from Wichita, as I am, they are totally getting into BTK territory!)Have a great day, you guys! The weekend is so close!

You guys! This is it! I'm finally gonna show you around our new studio!We got the couch a few weeks ago (which we are *loving*), and last week and this week have been jam packed with shoots in the new space. Tomorrow is our first commercial shoot in our tiny studio, and we're already realizing that we need more room. Soooo... we'll see how that works out.For now, we're just working like we live in an apartment in Manhattan. Every object in our space is dual-purpose (utensils double as props for shoots, for example), and I'm obsessed with looking up storage solutions on blogs like apartment therapy.But without further ado, here are more photos. We call this our "hospitality cart." We have cups, tissues, glassware, tea, coffee, chocolates, breath mints etc. Later we might add some booze for spontaneous happy hours with clients. But my favorite part is the dog bowl. Of course.No time for internet shares today as I need to squeeze in a workout before heading into the office, but I will say that I'm really pleased with last night's elections. St. Paul elected their first African American mayor, there's now an African American Trans person on the city council and Virginia made me squeal with delight. Human rights for all, I say. Have a great day you guys!

One downside of being a photographer (maybe the only one?) is that I have seventy five gazillion great images of my husband and my kid. But guess how many I have of ME with these two? Not very many.This is one of the many, many reasons I ask my photographer friends to take our family photos. And this year, Lucy had mentioned that she really wanted to get more experience with families, so I eagerly volunteered. I mean, she's amazing, right? I know. That's why she's on my team! She's SO DANG GOOD.Here are a few more. And near the end of the shoot, she let Ezra push the button and take a photo of Jamie and I. Here we are.I might need to teach him a few things when he gets bigger! Ha!Ok, but really, I need to tell you that while my holiday sessions are all sold out, Lucy is still booking families for this fall and you must, MUST, get on this! It's such a great marker for each year, and I promise it's not as painful as you think it will be! You can even book a mini-session right here.And now for your internet shares of the day:+ I loved this piece on parenting. It's a good reminder the morning after Ezra woke me up all night wanting to snuggle in "the big bed."+ These shoes are impractical but gorgeous and not too spendy, and it sure is a good thing they don't make them in my size or I would have already bought them.+ A chuckle on the streets of NYC.

Last Friday, I had a family shoot and when I looked out the window about 45 minutes before they were to arrive, this is what greeted me. Talk about making me happy! It was gorgeous!My new studio is in this building, but I shot this from across the street in the lovely park (which I will feature at another time). The restaurant below, Lurcat, has wonderful sliders and an amazing apple and cheese salad, but it doesn't open until 5, so we are rarely there. Maybe on some long workday in the future, but for now I prefer to leave the office early, enjoy dinner and bedtime with The Spawn, and then work late into the night after. Well, that's not really what I *prefer*, but that's what seems to happen.For your internet shares of the day:+ I have three great winter coats. So why can I not stop thinking about this one?+ Now that Ezra is talking more, there is so much laughter in the house. I loved this piece on conversations with kids.+ I want to make this soup asap. You had me at crispy, fried chickpeas.

Has the last month flown by or what?! I (Lucy), had such a wonderful, busy and exciting October. I got to travel to both Ely, MN and Toronto for a couple of different clients (and I *adore* traveling for work!), I shot my last wedding of the season, took a lovely vacation to the North Shore, and had a bunch of wonderful family and portrait sessions! I wanted to share a few shots from a particularly great one.Mandi was a model at a shoot that Leslie and I did for Juut Salon a few months ago, and I was thrilled when she reached out to schedule a portrait session. She also picked a wonderful location in St. Paul that had such great backdrops, the evening light was absolutely perfect, and she is just such a natural in front of the camera! So, without further ado:

Way back on Sunday, I got to photograph the Arcade Fire concert in town.This was the fifth time (that I can recall) seeing them, and as always their show was phenomenal. But this was the first time that I was allowed to photograph the band, and man was I excited!That said, their entire show is so visually stunning that capturing the first three songs from way back at the soundboard doesn't really do them justice. But here are a few of my favorite shots regardless. And here is my favorite album of theirs in case you need a soundtrack for your day. For your internet shares today:+ Amazing Halloween photos -- the garage door one stopped me in my tracks!+ If I find fifty bucks on the ground, I'll buy Ezra this amazing toy for Christmas.+ I was super excited to see Suburbicon, but the reviews have been dreadful. This poster, however? A+. 

Well, I certainly *meant* to blog yesterday! I took the photos and everything, but the day got away from me.I am under the gun for several tight deadlines this week and that with the kid and his two costumes and a school party and halloween candy and decorations and a photo studio to set up in the basement for the neighborhood... I was slammed! But I wouldn't want you to miss out on these cute costumes, so here they are a day late.Ezra went to school as Robin Hood and trick-or-treated as Spiderman. He had a ball and woke up this morning asking if it was Halloween again today, which was adorable until the tears came when we wouldn't let him eat candy for breakfast. Childhood brings on lots of feelings, but luckily he rebounded quickly.I only have two internet shares today:+ The first one is cats. I know! I'm such a dog person! So you have to trust me that these are good.+ The second is an article about choosing to be a single mom and then, um, falling for someone pretty quickly after. It made me think a lot about family and how life changes so quickly. I hope you enjoy it!

Please pardon this interruption where I use my daily blog post to sell you a fabulous dog mini-session. I try not to be so blatant about, you know, earning a living over here on the blog. But this is something I would love for you to be a part of.The new studio is finally open and ready for the masses, and I am dying to break it in with some adorable dogs. Plus? What an amazing holiday gift it would be to surprise a loved one with a canvas or framed studio image of their best friend, eh?I'm holding the sessions on Monday, November 20. I know Mondays can be tough to break out of the office for an hour or so, but this is the Monday before Thanksgiving! So if you don't work in retail or at a newspaper/magazine, it should work out! But if not, I do have a few evening spots as well, so please just let me know what works best for your day.Here is more information!

$150 gets you:• A 30 minute session for your dog• Photos taken in studio in front of a solid, professional backdrop• A minimum of five high resolution images electronically delivered that week• A private website where you can order prints, canvasses etc. 

 

Reserve your spot here.FAQsQ: Can we take photos with the family and the dog?A: No. Sorry! But the dog(s) are the main focus of this shoot. If we have extra time at the end and you want to jump in for one or two shots, we can try it. But I cannot guarantee we'll have time.Q: Can I bring two dogs?A: Yes, but then you need to order two sessions so we have time to get individual shots of the dogs and then shots of them together. Getting two dogs to sit next to each other and look at the camera is tough...Q: What if I want more than five shots?A: You're in luck! At the end of our shoot, I will show you all the images I captured, and you get to select the 5 you want. If you want more than 5, it's $10 per additional image. I'll have credit card payment available.Q: If the files are being delivered electronically, why do I need a site to order prints?A: You don't! You can have them printed wherever you want. But I'm still offering to set up the site so that if you want the best possible prints ever, you can use my vendor!