He’s Holding You

I’m starting out with one of my favorite “artsy” pictures from this New York City lifestyle photography session with Sara and Dan. Their sweet dog was extremely camera shy. Here, she’s hiding under the table.

Lots more pictures below!

Here’s my next favorite artsy picture. So cute!

If you know Sara and Dan, email them to see their awesome slide show!

When Brad saw this picture, he said, “Mom, isn’t that cliche? A picture of a bowl of fruit? Standard still life, don’t you think?”

“Aha!” shouted I, “But no, it’s not standard at all! My ’still life’ portrait has some real life going on in its background! I call this Still Real Life.”

To which Brad replied, “I see that now. How clever of you.” (Difficult to impress the 15-year-old these days.)

I love beautiful black and white images of mothers and babies, which brings us to the reason for the title of this post, “He’s Holding You.” When my son, Gregory, was little, and wanted to be held, he would reach his little arms to the sky and say, “Hold you?” Sometimes, when I’m really quiet, I can still hear his voice calling me. It’s such a soothing sound to hear a little voice say that.

LOVE this one too! Classic!

Do we all crawl up to the crib and peak at the baby sleeping? Er, uh, NOT sleeping?

Love the graphics in this picture.

Pudgy hands are so photogenic.

Milk bubbles!

Tickling moms make for smily babies.

Sara — you’re gorgeous!

And look at those handsome men!

Their Manhattan kitchen is so cool. I mean, who has a window above the kitchen sink? Nobody has that! Side note: Dan told me that they get a bit of a “Friends” view out that window: a neighbor across the street that is less than discreet. Ahh, Manhattan living is so interesting. Oh, and check out the dog! She is always wherever her family happens to be. Adorable!

Perfect place for baby’s bath. (In terms of awesome natural light, I mean.) So maybe the neighbor is just paying it forward, no?

He was fixated on my Pocket Wizard.

Ok, if you’re not a photographer and you haven’t had the pleasure of “the sermon on Julie’s radios,” you might be wondering what a Pocket Wizard is. It’s a radio that tells my off-camera flash to stick a magic window whenever I say POOF! I need some beautiful window light…HERE.

We, apparently, are not thrilled with the wearing of this cute little hat.

I love all the little mid-street parks that have been popping up all over Manhattan.

This one is near Madison Square Park.

Sara and Dan thought it would be cool to get a picture of them with the Flat Iron Building in the background. They are planning to move to the burbs at some point, so having these shots of their Manhattan life will be a really nice thing years from now.

I thought it would be cool to get a picture of everybody’s feet, but — CAPTION ALERT — what do you think the caption ought to be for this shot?

Love the calm serenity of this shot. What a beautiful dining room. And notice — the chairs are pulled out, waiting for you and me to stop by with a pumpkin latte.

After the bath, there was, of course, some drying off with the fave hooded towel.

I remember those little baby brushes. Brad had one of those. Awwwww. That was so long ago for me.

Sara and Dan have this awesome huge canvas of flowers in their living room, which made an interesting background for this shot.

LOVE IT!

I love their apartment.

Dan was sitting in the background as Sara was giving the baby his lunch, and Dan was asking, “I should move out of the way, right?” But I said, “NO! You’re great right where you are!”

Love the little inquisitive lips.

Sara’s aunt made all the pillows and drapes in the apartment, and wow, they are amazing! Great job on that! Can you do my house next?

Love this shot in Madison Square Park. That park was so crowded that day. Hard to get a shot of just my people, and the dog wasn’t allowed in the swing area, so Dan had to stay out too. Bummer.

I love how the baby’s shape is echoed by the shape of that sycamore tree in the background.

This photo shoot was very special to me because while we were shooting in Madison Square Park, we were treated to a concert of contemporary folk music, putting me in a mental place, artistically speaking, that I usually don’t experience at photo shoots. The artist on stage in the photo above is Lindsay Mac. After I got home that day, I looked her up, and downloaded a couple of her albums, and fell in love with her style. I highly recommend her music, which includes a heavy dose of intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics, laced with undertones of her primary instrument, the cello. I’m so happy to have been in the park that day to hear her perform live. What a wonderful introduction to an artist! Can’t wait to hear what she comes up with next! Click here if you’re interested in learning more about Lindsay Mac’s unique music.

As I was packing my gear, Sara and Dan’s friends, Meaghan and Mike, came over to hang out. I did a lifestyle session for their family a few years ago and I can’t believe how big their little boy is now! Wow! So great to see you, Meaghan and Mike! It’s also cool because Sara’s session was a baby shower gift to her from a bunch of her girlfriends, Meaghan included.

Sara and Dan, I hope you love your slide show! I think it’s one of my all-time best!