It's good to be a dog....

Summer is zipping by at full speed, and we just finished a week of beautiful beach weather!  The smoke from the forest fire is still blowing, but it didn't affect our evening sessions thank goodness.

Here were two images from a session last week that made me smile.  I loved this dog, she was so well behaved and resisted the urge to bolt to the ocean during the session.  Probably helped that her dad had an entire bag of treats in his pocket ;)  She's one lucky pup, and clearly enjoyed her beach vacation....

Carolina Summer {Emerald Isle Family Photographer}

Well friends, summer is here!  Bring on the sandy toes, the sunscreen and bug spray.  

We've had beautiful weather this week and last night I enjoyed photographing these sweet siblings.  I'm not quite sure how their mother kept this little guy from getting sunburned this week, but whatever she did worked perfect :)

Enjoy some of my favorites from their lovely family...

The "C" Family {Swansboro, NC}

 One of the things I love best about my role as a photographer is getting a glimpse into other family's lives.  However, the camera doesn't lie, and it's often too easy to see tension or frustration through the lense.  It then becomes my job to smooth out that tension and create images of the way we "want" our families to be...the way we are when we are all having a good day and the world seems bright.

The "C" Family needed absolutely no coaxing on my part.  They are what you see here, a truly cohesive unit with two beautiful boys.  They are one of those families that when you are done photographing, you think "wow, they've got it all figured out."  These two little ones have been blessed to have such stellar and very selfless parents.

So enjoy these little highlights of a picture perfect family :)

 

The S Family {Atlantic Beach, NC}

The S Family enjoyed their session at Fort Macon, their little one is clearly the center of their lives :)  

What a cutie!

Little Mover and Shaker {Pine Knoll Shores Family Portraits}

This little gal is certainly busy.  At two and a half months she's taking the world by storm.  Full of fun expressions, she was a joy to photograph, and by the end of the session fell sound asleep. I'm hoping she slept all the way home to Raleigh, because no doubt she's not a huge fan of the confines of the car seat ;)  Her family has many fun beach days ahead of them this summer, she'll be surfing soon!

Isn't this just the cutest laugh ever?

Baby Wonder

Meet the most recent and wonderfully handsome baby :)  What a joy to photograph this little man, he's the cutest little two-weeker out there in my opinion.  Thank you to the E Family for inviting me to document the newest member of your family.  Enjoy all those sweet newborn snuggles!

Island Coconuts ~ Emerald Isle Beach Photography

I have no idea where this coconut came from -- I considered possibly from the Gulf Stream, just like a message in a bottle.  I momentarily fantasized about the lush tropical location of it's origin, and was actually a tad disappointed to hear the B Family announce it was there all week, left by other vacationers, uhm, not quite so exciting after all.

Unlike the non-exotic coconut, the B Family was full of fun and surprises.  I had photographed part of their family last summer, and have really enjoyed watching the children grow up so fast.  Here were some of my favorite lifestyle images from the session.

This little lady was hysterical - absolutely no fear with the big waves.  She LOVES the ocean!  It's common for this age to be a little nervous around the unpredictable waves, but not her - she couldn't be held back.

This is her big brother, after a quite large wave saturated him with salt and plenty of sand.  I think I know where his little sister learned to love the water...

S Family Portraits - Emerald Isle Photography

It was such a windy evening in Emerald Isle, but even with the girl's exceptionally long hair we "embraced the elements!"  I always do like a little wind as the evenings can get hot even on the beach, so a breeze is welcomed...this was just a tad more than a breeze ;)  The end results were beautiful and natural, and I definitely enjoyed my time with the S Family.

This little man was losing steam as the evening progressed, so I was really pleased to see his expression here - he couldn't be happier (and look at those cute little toes)...

The girl's sandy feet along with my little charmer...he was pretty comfy in mommy's lap here..

And the joy of Emerald Isle -- you can actually catch a sunset from time to time-- all that wind was worth it!