We decided to do her latest session in Hartford City Hall after her mom saw how amazing it could be after a recent shoot I did there for a workshop! And man did City Hall and Dana Lauren play nice together! It was so refreshing to see this place in a different, non bridal light and photograph there for a completely different reason..!

Go Hartford!!!!

This super cool shirt was from a Hartford landmark… Japanalia! 

WHAT!!!

Dana and Kathy! Next time let’s cap this off with Happy Hour… I always have such a blast with you ladies!

XOXO

The type is a big part of what Addy does, and it was a nice visual as well…!

Even the hallways of her studio space proved to be a sweet little spot to photograph.

We then segued over to Will’s space, on Gillette Street in Hartford. What a gem of a house… it had so many cool architectural details!

Who knew shooting in a basement could be so much fun??

Love these two shots!!

Addy and Will, I am so excited for your full on Hartford wedding this Spring!! Congrats!

XOXO

Check out Miss Jazzy’s shots of my family!!! I just adore them… they are a record of our fun, and amazing day with those that I love most in the whole wide wide world. Thank you, Jazzy.

Look at Dave’s feet.

Me and my Jack Bibbs. My first born, my little guy. Well, not so little any more!! This kids got a heart of pure gold.

Nothing warms my heart quite like seeing these two snuggle in!!

One of the many things about my hubs that I love is his obsession with hats. But mostly of making us all wear them..!

In between shooting us, I shot Jazz!! How stunning is she?????

At this point in our sunny day Julie is texting us that there is a tornado watch and severe thunderstorms coming our way!!! Yeah, we can see the clouds rolling in!! Check out the sky color OMG! Next to my little pickelpuss… wow.

We slipped in to the fields since Jazzy really wanted to get the kids in the flowers. So I made a … pit stop of sorts… and all of a sudden I hear this loud noise…and I’m like whaaaaaaaaat…. it’s the pouring, crazy time rain swooping in!!! I heard it before I saw it, as it hit the trees behind me I RAN yelling for Jazzy and the kids to run to the car quick like bunnies!!!! wow. when the rain it it was the craziest thing!!!

So the hubs aka Doppler Dave (a la Mike Romano) kept vigilant watch on his iphone and the radar and convinced us to stay and wait it out! We were meeting one of my childhood friends’ families here as well to snap some shots of their OMG can you say adorable kids and didn’t want to throw in the towel just yet. So so SO glad we stayed! A call from a frantic Paul McNerney sealed the deal and he and Krystal were leaving Buttonwoods and headed into the most amazing sun on route 2….!

I have shots like these from my childhood- my pops was an amazing photographer- and I am a BIG fan of the scrabble dabbleness that is childhood! The knee socks! The bug bites! The stained shirts!

This picture couldn’t be any more me and Dave if it tried!

yes.

Not to be outdone by his wife and her Nikon D3s or anything… Doppler Dave hits up the scene with his iphone!!

Here is the kids’ impression of what a sunflower looks like!

What strikes me the most about this picture isn’t how adorable Kieran looks bawling… I mean come ON! It’s the way Jack and George both are looking at him with the exact body language!!! To see if he was ok…

But for real.

I met their Daddy when he was his daughter’s age here!!! Jack, Dominique and I were all in the same class way back in the first second grade split class!!!

Here is his super cute family!! Miss Alicia is just the best, and I am so so glad you and your family made the trek out!!

So last night I had a shoot with my good friend and super talented beauty artist DD Nickel. Because she is as unbalanced as I, and we just needed a shoot that was for nothing else but for us! Let me set the scene: I had to almost cancel, as I had an incident in a hot tub that pretty much laid me out for the day! I napped and rallied and made it down to New Haven and DD’s studio where the light was quickly fading… we had another shoot location in mind that wasn’t going to work out, so I had to think on my feet… my favorite way to do it, for those of you that know me

So here we are at a highway underpass… because yes, on top of this it was raining off and on…! That is just how I roll baby! The color palette was to me, absolute perfection, I couldn’t have made it better if I tried to paint it myself! Yay for painted over graffiti!!!

So as an homage to myself, on my 21st birthday, to just admit who I am and embrace it!!

Here is where we were… Very high end, natural light studio

I like to get kinda close…!

Big thanks to DD, Stephanie, Jessica and Renee for everything!!

XOXO

It’s nice when the vandal work with you, you know? S for Sarah M for…. well you get it

I really was feeling the colors here!!

Seriously these two are so photogenic and snuggly, I had the best time with them!

Here’s to a happy, relaxed delivery!!

XO

Catherine and Scott have been married a long time and decided that they wanted to celebrate their anniversary in September with an anniversary shoot. Back when we got married (I have been married 11 years) wedding photography was VERY different! So as a nod to the changing times and just flat out wanting some new photos together to celebrate their time together, we did our shoot!

And here they are…..

We talked about adding things to the shoot that were special to them, and so you will see things here and there…. and they are meaningful to them!

The light in this place was so incredible… I love the images I got from here!!

blooooooop!!!

Cat is so freaking beautiful!!!!!

Love how we ended the shoot with this image…. go Cat for suggesting it

Cat and Scott, thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me to show your love and respect for each other- it means more than you know!!!!

XOXOXO

Joined together by our Mom’s quirky love of Queen Anne’s Lace, and love of design and abandoned buildings and color, and old books and well, everything cool….! Here is what we decided to do on a beautiful fall day in New England…. Now I can’t say where we shot this since we were not supposed to be there but I can tell you that this is prooooobably the place where I got this raging case of bronchitis that just won’t. go. away! boo!

onward and upward my friends!!! Just see for yourself how super hot these two are!

There were textures and there were TEXTURES!!

ni-CHOLE!!!!!!!!

And then there was this whole, super cool yellow room?

And then the floor was missing, right. Now it looks like there was light but man oh MAN it was daaaaark! But! I have the ah-may-ZING Nikon D3S.

Yes I do! And I have been pretty quiet about this camera of mine (some of you may remember when I first got my Nikon D3 a few years back, there were trumpets and lightning bolts and singing involved!!! well, in my head at least!) But now, there is an OPERA going on in my head, like ALL the time. ALLllllllll thhhheeee tttiiiimmmeeeee.

tech specs: ISO 4000 / 60 mm lens / f 2.8 / 1/125

Not a typo! ISO FOUR THOUSAND. oh it gets better. wait for it.

In addition to my amazing clients, there was just so so much beauty everywhere

Yes! YES!! There were TOO ferns just growing all up in the middle of the floor!!

And despite these beautiful little pockets of light it was DARKY MALARKY!!!

tech specs: ISO 5000 / 24 mm / f 2.8 / 1/50 sec

This room was one of the darkest, I know it doesn’t look it- but here I cranked my camera all… the….wayyy (that was for you Rebecca)

ISO 12,800 / 24 mm / f 2.8 / 1/50th sec

this place was full of crazy little things! and kinda scary, I am NOT gonna lie!

if handwriting could be scary, this IS, right???

another ISO 5000 shot. yes, my camera is bowing.

Some spontaneous jumping on the bed….that was all ni-CHOLE!!

this room was INSIDE!! This has to be why I am coughing like a sad, tired old car on its last wheels, right before it gets thrown in the junkyard

I LOVE this shot of Tim!!

And these final two images were also shot at ISO 12,800 / 56mm / f 2.8 / 1/80th sec

ni-CHOLE and Tim- I CAN”T WAIT for your wedding!!!

I love you guys!!

XOXOXO

OK, on to my point… Many of my CT photographer friends know and love Paul and Krystal of Studio Foto…. how could you not?? Well, their 10-10-10 wedding is reaching epic proportions and to say I am excited, but most of all completely honored to be the photographer for their wedding is beyond anything I could probably even verbalize. It’s quite an honor.

(I am curtsying now in appreciation of this)

But really. These two.

For. REAL.

Those of you that know Paul, know that everything comes with a story, or has some hidden meaning! So underneath his flasher coat he had this awesome bike belt!!

lovity love LOVE

Yes. They were tired by the end of our shoot! Not sure why…..

A heel kick and a donkey named Nestle! Does it get any better????? yeeeee haaawwwww

There just so happened to be these baskets of colorful tomatoes at the Golden. Lamb. Buttery!!!

And 10′s are always appreciated

as is a little do-si-doing your partner!!

and! Willy Wonka socks!

And braids! And yellow baby tomatoes!!

this was allllll them!! COME ON

WHATEVER!!!!!!! Be thankful that I kept my commentary to a minimum, I am in just in such a state over here!

Paul and Krystal, I can’t WAIT for your wedding and all that it will bring for you both!!!

Thank you again for trusting me to be your photographer it means more than you know!!

I love you both

XO

Riddle me this: how many people know someone who doesn’t like their wedding photos- for a variety of reasons. No dissin’ on the photographers who shot them, times have changed- maybe it rained?(I mean, I love the rain, but not everyone does!) Maybe you had to book a venue you didn’t really love? Or envisioned having your wedding pictures taken someplace totally different than where you were really able to?

So instead of just nodding and sympathizing with them about it, I am interested in doing something about it! Like, creating a package for this in order to give people what they wish they had the first time around!

The big question for me- and reason why I have put off this post for so long- is- WHAT DO I CALL IT??

Well, as with much else in my life if I can’t get to it I will delegate this out, so why not now?? Help a sister OUT!!!

Here’s the 411: Come up with a name for this package – it’s not a Day After Session or a Trash the Dress, but something new and fresh and catchy and appropriate- and win a shoot, whatever it ends up being called- for FREE by ME!!!

I will only choose a winner if it is a name that I love, just to be clear- but- I may ask everyone to vote in case I can’t decide!!

Post your entry in the comments- deadline IS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10TH!!

My assistant studio manager , friend and fellow photographer, Rebecca Hales and her husband Jared were married 6 years ago. I saw their album. It was…. vintage? ish? it’s not what they really want now and have been wanting to re-do their wedding photos. And then I went to dinner at this absolutely amazing place in Brooklyn CT- called The Golden Lamb Buttery and just knew I had to go back there to shoot! And YES they totally have weddings there!!! What a great space with over 1,000 acres of rolling fields and a barn that just makes you feel like you have fallen deep into a time warp!

Styling here done by my BFF’s in the industry- you know ‘em, we all love ‘em!!!!!

Fashion courtesy of none other than The White Dress by the Shore

Beauty and hair by the amazing Catie Bane of Dana Bartone & Co.

Floral art, because yes, it is in fact ART!! by Tony of Datura a Modern Garden fame!

This bouquet here by Tony was made of herbs, and could literally have been eaten!!

Her gown was Augusta Jones, and it was beautiful!

These two were so fun, energetic and willing to do anything and go anywhere we asked

If I weren’t there shooting I would be frolicking in these very fields with nary a care in the world!!

In the photo on the right you can see the first two leaves of fall, twirling down from the sky!

Hello? 1920 called!!

Jared looks like he is from a different era too!

Max is always around to photo bomb, and we love it

Like I love this!!

Total non sequiter here! Like a cat in a sparkle factory! I saw the geese hanging out peacefully and just had to see if Max would run full tilt in a suit across the field to scare them!

Score!

Maybe it was because I knew I would get this shot coming back? Maybeeeeee

Small outfit change up here… Keep in mind that Tony took Jared’s hat and bedazzled it with flower stuff! How perfect is it now??

Thank you to everyone who came on our shoot- The Scobey’s, Sara from Growing Tree, Tony, Susannah and Max- because we know how deep I like to roll! I had so much fun and can’t wait to play again!!

BIG BIG special thank you to Miss Katie at the Golden Lamb!

XOXO

Wait, let me pinch myself. Sometimes it’s too good to be true. Well pretty much all of the time it’s too good to be true. This I know more than ever when we are all together laughing, cooking, and chatting and the kids play effortlessly and the time flies by faster than fast and then pretty soon it’s too dark to see our hands in front of our faces. To say I am thankful would be an understatement. For this I am so grateful.

Okay, no more run-on sentences for YOU! Only photos!!

The one and only photo I have of Carla’s family. Hope I don’t get fired for that…

The adorable Rebecca and her sweet hubby Jared!

Kim Romano (Mike’s wife) and their baby boy, Aiden. With blankie.

The woman who keeps us all sane – Dominique and her cute hubby, Rick.

The Chapman’s of the White Dress by the Shore fame!

Candice of Event Jubilee and her sweet hubby, Mike!

Tony from Datura: A Modern Garden and his beautiful wife Aryn and the boys.

At the end of the day Mike Romano set up his lights and took some ridiculously amazing photos which I am sure he is going to post any day now (wink, wink). I threw his pocket wizard on my camera so I could catch John Locke (aka Chris Slater, my hubby) posing with Carla. So, anyway, this light set up was courtesy of Mikey. Thanks Mike!

Love you all!

xo,

Katie