Picture of the Day

the ultimate summer portrait! - pure joy running through a sprinkler in the yard

STuFF - Sara's Totally Fantastic Finds (episode 8)

This weekend is the Children's Boutique Warehouse Sale at The Works. All the adorable clothes, toys, room decor and shoes you can find at the local boutiques, like Sugar Plum Kids, Limetree, and Wiggle are on sale up to 70% off at this huge warehouse sale.

Children's Boutique Warehouse Sale at The Works - Click the link or the image for more info and directions.

Invite your friends for a fun mom's day of the sale and lunch at Star Provisions, Figo Pasta or Taqueria del Sol down the street!

Picture of the Day

Josie

Click the image to view the slideshow.

These are Josie's footprints. After playing in the baby pool in her backyard, she stopped here for a moment before moving inside to eat lunch. I love how she left her little mark. :) Josie is an adorable 14 months old with a beautiful, light-up-the-room smile. It was so fun documenting a day in the life for her and her parents.

I don't often get to photograph pet cats because A) if my clients have pets, they are usually dogs, and B) they normally don't want to have anything to do with me or pictures. But Josie's wonderful cat seems to love Josie just as much as she loves her parents. The cat (sorry, I've forgotten her name!) was a rescue and really the first baby in the family, so it is appropriate that she gets some picture-love too. I just the adore the series of her with mom and Josie reading a book. Enjoy the slideshow!


Sara Speert - Decatur children's photographer, family pet photographer

Me, a judge?

On Tuesday, I had the honor of being asked again to judge the ImageMaker's Competition, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America annual photo competition. Students compete in local competitions to reach the national competition where I and two other professionals judged the entries. It is such a great complement to be asked to judge. And it was wonderful to see how young children and teenagers use creativity to see their everyday world. Many students wrote about how photography has allowed them to see the world in a different way and opened their eyes to new things. I love that photography has that power and that they've had that experience!

John Sharp (professor at SCAD Atlanta) and Connie Jackson (professional photographer) looking through the portfolio entries.

One of the beautiful images entered by a student.

Another beautiful entry - a dandelion.

Ethan & Eli

I met Jen and Adam two years ago when they asked me to photograph their wedding vow renewal ceremony and dinner. They are beautiful people - inside and out - genuine and truly nice people, so when Jen contacted me recently to schedule a portrait session for their family, I jumped at the chance to see them again and meet Eli, the newest member of the family.

On a side note, Jen has an amazing blog that I love reading. I subscribe to many blogs to keep up on my friends and other big-name photographers, but Jen's blog is different. For one, take a look at the description she's given to it:

Stories of the frazzled and funny days I spend living life with two boys. Read on about how I manage motherhood, marriage, faith, friendships and all the little twists and turns along the way that keep it interesting.

Plus, I love the name of it - Tales of a Southern Yankee. For all you mom's, I think you'll be able to relate to everything she writes about. So, if you do visit her newly designed blog, be sure to leave a comment. We blog people love comments!

Last week I posted a POTD (Picture of the Day) from their session. And today's the day for the slideshow. So without further ado, to-do or ago....

(click the image to watch the slideshow)

This beautiful scene is right in their backyard! How amazing!

Sara Speert - Kennesaw portraits, family portraits, Gwinett County portraits

Picture of the Day

Happy Belated 4th of July! Hope you had a wonderful weekend with family & friends. Nick and I had a great day on Saturday. We headed up to the north Georgia mountains to a blueberry farm and picked delicious blueberries. I had to sample them while we picked to be sure they were "ok." It was a great way to take a mini-vacation and do something different. And we've been enjoying them since. Blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes....

These pictures are from my iPhone. Not bad, right?

Then we headed back home. Parked the car and walked to Avondale Estates fireworks. Although we've been living in our house for 2.5 years, we never seem to be in town for the 4th so this was our first time going to see the fireworks there. Avondale Lake is just a mile away and it was so nice to be able to walk there, not deal with the car and parking, set up our chairs and join the huge crowd. And we had no idea the fireworks would be so good! The "show" lasted at least 15 minutes. And it was fantastic. The moon was just to the right of where the fireworks went off so it was a really beautiful sight. I took a few pictures with my iPhone and they looked amazing on the phone but when I downloaded them.... hmmm, not so great in real life. So you'll just have to use your imagination.


So here's the next Picture of the Day! Enjoy!

Grace

Grace and her parents are one of the lucky families to win a free portrait session from Gymboree at Toco Hill. So last Wednesday, we met at a Decatur park for some exploring. Grace is precious and so expressive. She had a great time exploring, collecting rocks and running around. Ok, I admit it; I was chasing her. :) I love the vivid colors of the authentic Chinese dresses she wore. And the image of her peering through the bay window is one that will be very special to dad. Everyday when dad leaves for work, Grace runs to the window to wave goodby as he drives away. How cute is she?!

Click the image below to watch the slideshow.

Sara Speert - children's photography, toddler photography, portraits at the park

Cole's 2nd Portrait

Last week, I visited Cole and his mommies for a second time. The first session was a blast and it's hard to believe how much he has grown since then. He looks so much more like a little boy now than a baby. He is learning to walk on his own and is definitely proud of this new found ability.

I absolutely love the picture below of Cole. He stopped for split second to rest while playing on the couch. It is such a peaceful moment and I love that I was able to capture his tranquil expression. And those eyes! So beautiful!

Sara Speert Photography - Decatur children's portraits