A Whole Lotta Kissin' Going On...

What a fun photo session to edit!  This family has a blast with one another and isn't afraid to show their affection.  I loved all the funny faces from the kids too - Hope you enjoy these previews of this lovely family!

A "Friendly" Contest!

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another,'What? You too?! I thought I was the only one!' - C.S. Lewis

And you thought you were the only one who enjoy a good contest...ha!  Anyway - rules for the contest

-Refer Plumb Photography's facebook page to 20 or more of your friends

-Come back here and post a comment below stating how many friends you referred.

-EVERYTIME you refer 20 or more friends, you can post another comment

-Winner will be chosen randomly once Plumb Photography reaches 1,000 friends!!!

Sooooo, do ya wanna know what you might win?!

The grande prize is a Petite Session (for up to 4 people), a 6month online gallery, a CD-ROM of 10 digital files of your choice and a mini accordian album (prize valued at over $150)!

Good luck and may the "friendliest" person win!!

Let There Be Light...

Sooooo, according to the amazing-ness that is my sweet, loving husband - and a lot of hard work - I have finally gotten my first attachable flash unit!  A Canon Speedlite 580EX II!!!  I am so freaking excited - I'm nearly jumping out of my skin right now - every little, teeny step might seem so trivial to some, but to me, it's just one step closer to all my hopes and dreams and goals becoming tangible!  And I know all of this about what makes a good photographer is the "eye" and the "vision" - but investing in great equipment sure doesn't hurt either!  Plumb Photography is SO extremely thrilled to be able to offer our clients even better quality photos!

 I want to show you a little of what I played around with tonight - all three of the following photos are SOOC (straight out of camera) - no editing at all. 

....this is taken in a room with hardly any light at all - only the light of the television (can you guess? Charlie & Lola of course!) and a teensy weensy bit of light coming through a blue twilight-lit door window.  the photo is a little disturbing, to say the least..

this photo was taken using the popup flash that is built into the camera.  there is nothing technically wrong with that flash, except that in most situations it will create a very harsh light, harsh shadowing, and sometimes red eye and is not adjustable at all.  this picture, as you can see, is far from good, being completely blown out and fuzzy.  

this is not necessarily the most beautiful of photos but notice the clarity in detail and how the light that's surrounding ava is a little more natural feeling.  she is still only being lit from the light of the tv and we were rapidly losing light from outside as the sun sank further down in the sky. 

my fave; while viewing in my camera and in my PC monitor, I was just astounded by the clarity and seemingly perfectly adjusted light.  it's not the best photo.....yet...but it's definately an improvement!

Thanks for taking the time to follow my journey! It is all extremely exciting for me and I feel honored to get to share it with no many people!

A Guide to Wall Portraits

If you had the choice, would you rather this hanging over your mantle....

OR this?

or even this?

The difference a 20x30-something wall portrait, or even a gallery grouping of various sizes, can make as opposed to a simple 8x10 or even 11x14 is outstanding!  To give your photos the credit they deserve, and the rooms in your house, exert a little careful thought and examination as to what size you should order.  

Large wall portraits and gallery groupings are great for making a wall really pop, creating great conversation pieces, and telling a story about a special event in your life. 

For my clients, once you receive your online gallery - feel free to contact me for suggestions if you plan on creating a gallery on a specific wall of your home.  I offer free consultations and would be happy to view the wall in question and help you with any major portrait decisions. 

For photographers, here's your chance to win the wall portrait guides by Ariana Falerni over at

Inspire Me Baby!  Contest ends August 15th, so hurry on over!

photo credits: Ariana Falerni

Building Blocks

Tomorrow I am attending a Building Blocks Conference for people working in early childhood developement & care.  It would be an understatement to say that I adore children. Even if I'm not directly working with children (which technically, as a mom, I do every single day...) I like to keep up on my education and continued learning in this particular field.  Knowing the mechanisms of a child's brain and how they development & interact with the world around them is key to owning and operating a photography business whose primary focus is children and families.  Not only that, but I'm a big fat DORK and get an absolute rush from the prospect of writing in a new clean notebook with a freshly sharpened pencil. 

And speaking of building blocks, Ava and I built the hugest tower of blocks today.  My little chickadee is growing and learning and talking 100miles a minute and I LOVE it!  I officially decided the other day to not completely throw away all of my education in child dev. and all the years of working with children and to "homeschool" Ava this year - her first year of school.  Granted she's only 2 but I'm treating her curriculum just as I did when I taught 2's at The Creative Playschool.  I will spend at least 30-40 minutes every day doing circle time, reading theme-centered books, finger plays, music, and a little bit of numbers & foreign language (spanish & french). The rest of Ava's "homeschool" experience will be based on learning through play activities, few scattered structured art/messy play, activities around the house (counting out snacks, help with laundry, picking up toys, etc) and also special activities & field trips such as storytime @ the library every other week, open preschool gym every other week, field trips with Ethan and other various errands and about-town experiences.  We setup a tiny area in the corner of our office with a little circle time bucket and a little weather chart, crayons, bubbles, playdough and other various, fun, 2-year enticing playthings.  We are super excited! 

So without any further babbling, here are some photos of our "super duper-de-licious tallest of tall tower of blocks"!

...after they all "fall down"

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." - Joe Fox (You've Got Mail)

Two's Not So Terrible....

She is the face of my business and the moon & sun of my every single day!

Two years ago today was one of the happiest days of my life - my sweet daughter Ava made her debut and rocked my world! Happy 2nd birthday to the sweetest, brightest, funniest, cutest, wittiest, diva-est, most beautiful girls in the universe!

Here she is at 1 day old and 6mos old....

And here she is at ONE years old!...

We celebrated her 2nd in style with a Hello Kitty party!

A "Pimp Your Cupcake" station ~ an idea I borrowed from Amelia Lyon

And Ava received her very own cupcake session from "mommy"

She calls herself "Viva" .... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little Viva, love mommy