This is the fourth consecutive Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session for Dea and Chris. I photographed their wedding a few years ago and 2 years after that I photographed their lovely baby girl, whose photos are some of my all time favorites. Last year I photographed their new addition to the family, a baby boy. I look forward to their session every year because I get to witness and document the growth of their children and family.

The Chinese character for “good” (?) composes of a “girl” (?) on the left and “son” (?) on the right. Dea and Chris have this “goodness” not only because they have a daughter and a son, but because they really are a wonderful and fun loving family!

I totally enjoy photographing them because they instinctively know how to let it happen naturally without a fuss. They invite me into their life as a friend for the duration of the session and trust in my ability to capture the truth of their characters and family dynamics. This total trust and willingness on their part to enjoy the process have always created memorable and distinctive photo keepsakes.

These photos are not mere recordings of the changing face of a child, but the emerging character development of a little human being. I feel truly lucky to witness the transformation of their baby girl into a little princess and now seeing their son from a new born into a toddler!

Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side of New York City.

Click on the slideshow to see more images from the family portrait session in Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side of New York City. Be patient while slideshow loads…

Click here see a Lower East Side Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session.

Can’t believe that it’s been almost 2 months since my last blog post! I have good reasons for this long absence. I have been busy shooting weddings! To relax after a long day of shooting and relieve my eye strain from sitting in front of the computer working on images; I have taking up guitar learning. It’s been a long time desire of mine and I am glad that I finally put down some good money for an acoustic guitar and lessons on DVDs.

There are couples of things against me as a guitarist; I have short fingers and can’t read music. So don’t expect me posting my playing anytime soon, but I must say that the regiment of practicing the basics, getting my short fingers to wrap correctly around the notes and producing a decent sound relaxes me and shows me once again that it’s possible to learn anything if you apply your time and energy to it.

Johann Sebastian Bach once said, “It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is to touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.”

If you want to be good at anything, keep on practicing. If you want to be a good photographer just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. That’s it. That’s the secret. We become what we consistently do and practice!

I don’t know what kind of guitarist I will be, but I have  improved since I started my first lesson. I can now play the C and G7 chords that were giving me so much trouble that I was thinking of getting something to extend the length my index finger or getting a guitar for kids. Patience, perseverance, and persistent will always overcome any obstacles.

As a photographer, I can tell you that once you mastered the technical skills, then all you need is to combine it with feelings to give your photographs life. Without that personal touch chances are your photos will never go beyond technical and into the realm of art.

I am hoping that my guitar learning and playing will one day help infuse my photography with a new dimension of light, sound, and rhythm.

There are 2 posts I am excited about writing and sharing with you soon and they will give you a peek into why I am the luckiest photographer in the world; so stay tuned!

What is the typical age of a ring bearer? The younger the cuter! Must he be old enough to understand the importance of his role? No matter the age of the ring bearer, the rings are usually kept in the safekeeping of the best man. The trick is getting the ring bearer to walk down the aisle. More often than not; the shy younger ring bearer will stop after a few short steps and begins to look scared.

Don’t worry mommy is waiting at the end of the aisle with the arms open and candy in her hands.

As humans we tend to gravitate towards a preference because we are creatures of habit; so when someone asks us about our favorites we are excited to tell all.

What’s my favorite piece of equipment? Well, if you know me or have plenty of free time on your hand to read through my blog posts, then you’ll probably know my answer. “I have no favorites and/or preferences”!

I apologize for the let down, but let me explain. I’m a person that doesn’t like to be pigeonholed. As I have learned from Takuan Soho’s, “The Unfettered Mind”: the placement of the mind in a sword fight is very important; if you put your mind and attention on a specific spot you will be cut by the sword. When you focus on the tree, you will miss the forest. When one falls in love with a favorite piece of equipment or a favorite style, one may no longer see other beauties or opportunities; this is very good for a marriage but not great for photography.

I will not limit myself to one lens; so in my arsenal of lenses, which are the eyes of my cameras, I have a long range telephoto zoom which is like a high power rifle for a sniper; I have a mid-range zoom which is like an AK 47 for running and shooting; I have a short-range zoom which is like an Uzi for spraying at close distance. I also use prime lenses which are for stealth and low light shooting. (I’m not a proponent or opponent of guns; this is just a visual analogy). Without a preference I can tell a story with a broader range of possibilities, but I would shoot a wedding with a point and shoot camera if that’s all I am given. As a photographer, I aspire to be consistent in the quality of my work; which will not only require a technical mastery of my tools, but also a flexible creative approach to each subject that appears in front of my lens.

From the following slideshow; can you find the long, the short and the in between shots?

For those of us that have been in wedding photography business for over 10 years; we know by now that it’s not a get rich quick profession. Getting a Krispy Kreme franchise will probably make you a millionaire much quicker. Then, what keeps us in the business for so long?

There are many reasons and one of them is definitely appreciation. It makes us feel so good when we get to do something that we love and at the same time make people happy. Personally, the appreciations from my happy brides and grooms drive me to continue to create and to improve my art.

The ultimate sign of appreciation is the repeat referrals we get from our totally satisfied and loyal customers. This appreciation keeps our business going; we are a referral base and word of mouth business!

We are humble and grateful to the brides and grooms who keep referring us to their friends; therefore, we want to give back to our loyal customers by rewarding them with our Modern Lifestyle Portrait session. We appreciate your business and referrals. We will not be here without your support. Thank you!

Today’s photos are from Janet and Howard and their two lovely boys. We did not have the honor of photographing Janet and Howard’s wedding, since we were already booked when they inquire about our services; but we have since photographed their sister, Amy, and brother, Jimmy’s weddings and will soon photograph Janet’s friend, Lauren’s wedding.