With all the cold weather, I thought I’d post a beautiful shoot that we did a few months back right here in our favorite Naples beach. Now, I don’t mean to post this so that folks in the cold freezing snow feel bad (hardly because I wish I was in that snow right now, you know the grass is always greener….)! But I just wanted to post this session because if you’ve ever thought about coming down to Naples or Southwest Florida for a visit but have been hesitant, don’t be! Just look at how beautiful the beaches are here and don’t even get me started on the colors of the sky and water! It is that beautiful….any time of the year, too! Yes, even in the dead of summer with the blazing heat!

In this session, we had the opportunity to photograph the Maschhoff family. They hail from Illinois and commissioned us to capture them being themselves here in this beautiful paradise. Ok, ok. So yeah. Our job is super easy when you have a backdrop like Naples, Florida and when you have a gorgeous family like this, but hey! We had to push the button! Everywhere we turned there was a unique spot to photograph or something beautiful to lean on…and with that light and the wonderful sound of the ocean, what’s not to smile about! We love capturing families…..and thank you to the Maschhoff’s for letting us preserve these memories. It was an honor to get the opportunity to photograph all of you…..

Tags: fine art family portraiture by Astrid
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Fall is here! And yes! Even down here in SWFL we’ve experienced a bit of a temperature drop. What a blessing after such an intense summer.

With fall starting, we are happy to introduce our first set of custom-designed holiday cards for 2009. What better time to start thinking about holiday cards for friends, family and loved ones? I know, it’s a little early, but remember how hectic things get when you wait till the last minute. I know I’m guilty of it and I end up regretting it later.

We are also happy to offer a wonderful special to commemorate our very first custom-designed holiday card sampling! Book your session by October 16th, and receive 25% off your second set of holiday cards! Sessions run 30-minutes long and can be held at any Naples-city limit spot such as the beach, a beautiful park or your home!

To set up your session or order holiday cards, contact us or call the gallery at 239.248.8354.

Already had a family session with us or want to use an image we’ve already created for you? No problem! Give us a call and we can set you up with an order of custom-designed holiday cards with your image choice! And yep! Order before October 16th and receive 25% off your second set of cards, too!

To take a closer look at our custom designs, visit our 2009 Holiday Card Gallery! We offer beautiful press-printed 5 x 7 cards in both a flat (back and front) or folded designs. Cards come with beautiful parchment envelopes. All holiday card orders need to be in by November 1st to ensure timely delivery to you. Sessions are not available Saturdays or Sundays.

Tags: fine art family portraiture, ramblings... by Astrid
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I finally put aside some time to create the canvasses I wanted of my girls from a series of portraits I shot of them late last year. I just love this series and I had them as small 5 x 7’s in a vertical frame hanging on a wall.

I felt that in this series, I was able to really capture the spirit and essence of my girls and I was itching to hang something different in my living room. So what better than portraits of the loves of my life?

I made the time and had these 20 x 30 black and white archival canvasses made. I wanted to share these with all of you. This is the kind of portraiture I love to make of kids…..especially my angels and this embodies the kind of fine art portrait work I create for my clients. Enjoy!

Astrid

Tags: fine art children's portraiture, fine art family portraiture by Astrid
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Next to weddings, portraiture is one of my very favorite types of photography. It’s kind of funny though because I’m pretty shy with people, so you would think that this kind of work would send me running. But I embrace and love every minute of it.

For us, capturing families together is really more about being a historian for our clients. We are freezing time and let’s face it, time goes by fast and we all change dramatically. It’s wonderful to go back and see what your children looked like and what your family looked like in the past and feel that tug in your heart. So for us, it’s about capturing that history and bringing it to future generations.

The Byerly’s are a fantastic Naples family that we met at a birthday party. Both Lynn and I take our girls to the same preschool so it was great to get to see a bit of this family in their natural element. Lynn wanted to capture some family memories as well as create a beautiful portrait and triptych of Claire, who turned 1. Both of Lynn’s little girls are absolutely beautiful. Having two little girls of the same age really helped because we knew what to do to keep them entertained and we knew when enough was enough. Take a look and enjoy! And don’t forget to look us up for fantastic family portraits in sunny Naples, Florida!

Beautiful Claire!

My favorite from the session. I just love how intense her little face is here!

Here’s the triptych that we created for Lynn’s wall art. These were done as modular canvasses and look absolutely incredible on her wall. I have a similar triptych of my girls and it’s really beautiful to look at every day!

My second favorite from the day. Little Claire, as any typical one-year old, is always on the go. Love the colors here!

The Byerly family in front of their home.

Claire’s official one-year portrait!

Sisters, nothing better!

The girl’s baby cousin!

The lovely Byerly ladies!

Claire looking intense with her special bucket!

Big sister!

Sisters, too!

Grandmas are the best!

A special thanks goes out to the entire Byerly family. Thanks for inviting us in and letting us capture a bit of you!

~ Astrid and Rene ~

Tags: fine art family portraiture by Astrid
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The second installment of the Kaplan’s Baby’s First Year project is here! It’s with very happy hearts that we welcome Annie Rose Kaplan to Naples! Joining the session was Annie’s sister Emily and her mommy, Melissa. I don’t have to tell you how incredibly beautiful this little girl is…just look at her mom and sister! Wow….three girls!! Congratulations Melissa and Jarred!

Girls are awesome!

Tags: fine art children's portraiture, fine art family portraiture by Astrid
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I had the distinct pleasure of starting a Babies First Year project with Melissa and her beautiful family. This is the first installment of the session: the maternity session. Since Melissa has two daughters, we decided to include them in the session as well.

I’m sure I don’t need to state the obvious, but Melissa’s little girls are absolutely ravishing! Just look at those eyes….they surely have their mom’s eyes and beauty! And Melissa had great energy and looked as fresh as a daisy at 8 months pregnant!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with our Babies First Year package, we offer a year long session, which is broken down into smaller sessions: maternity, newborn, 4 months, 8 months and 12 months. All of these magical moments are captured photographically and then custom designed into an heirloom album!

Look for our new portrait website launching soon! It will include our new galleries and plenty of information on our fantabulous Naples Babies First Year session!

Special thanks go out to Melissa, Emily, Kate and soon-to-arrive baby for letting me capture a bit of your family’s most perfect day!
~Astrid~

Tags: fine art children's portraiture, fine art family portraiture, fine art maternity photography by Astrid
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Congratulations Bonnie and Aaron! Bonnie and Aaron had beautiful and healthy baby boy, their first, just over a few weeks ago. Welcome to the world, baby Aiden Palmer Thayer! I shot Bonnie’s maternity images, which you can see just below Aiden’s gallery, and let me tell you, Aiden inherited his mom’s good looks and patience! What a fantastic little model! Not a peep out of Aiden except when he was hungry of course, but who can blame the little guy!

Aiden really found the clicking of my Nikon’s shutter incredibly interesting. He would strain to look in my direction the entire time. So he really made my job easy. What can I say….I have the BEST job passion in the world! Thanks Aiden and mom and dad and congratulations on your first baby! You are in for an incredible journey!

Tags: fine art children's portraiture, fine art family portraiture, fine art maternity photography by Astrid
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