RSVP Deadline for October Portrait Days Extended

We've extended the deadline for October Portrait Days in Piedmont Park. Contact us by this Wednesday the 17th by phone or email to schedule your appointment.

Appointments still available on:
Friday, October 26th, 10am - 5pm
Saturday, October 27th, 10am - 3pm

Join us for beautiful and fun portraits of your family, kids, baby or hubby. Stay after your portrait is complete to meet other families and enjoy some food and drink. It's guaranteed to be a fantastic time.

Call us at 404-966-7272 or email us at sara@saraphotography.com to schedule your appointment.

Chocolate Chip Cookies for a Chocoholic

I was checking email at Yahoo today and when I logged out I was greeted by this beautiful picture of the most scrumptious looking chocolate chip cookies.


The title of the article declared that this was THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe. So what else is a chocoholic to do? I clicked for more. Since I know that I'm not alone in this love of anything chocolate, I thought I'd share the recipe. As soon as I have a chance I plan to make these and see if the rumor is true. If you decide to make them, let me know how long they last in your house. :)
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Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Published: January 1, 1996
Cook's Illustrated.com

Makes 1 1/2 dozen 3-inch cookies

These truly chewy chocolate chip cookies are delicious served warm from the oven or cooled. To ensure a chewy texture, leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool. You can substitute white, milk chocolate, or peanut butter chips for the semi- or bittersweet chips called for in the recipe. In addition to chips, you can flavor the dough with one cup of nuts, raisins, or shredded coconut.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/8	cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
12	tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1	cup brown sugar (light or dark), 7 ounces
1/2	cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1	large egg
1	large egg yolk
2	teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 2	cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

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Interesting about breaking the dough ball in half and reforming it. Never seen that before in a recipe.

Patrick's First Birthday

On Monday, I visited with Sandra, Roger and Patrick again. They chose to document Patrick's first 18 months with the Growing Baby Portrait Package which includes three portraits. So for this second portrait I met them at their house. Patrick has grown quite a bit since I last saw him and if I'm not mistaken, I think he remembered me. Ok, maybe not, little one's don't have much of a memory for their favorite photographer who comes once every 6 months. :) But he did seem to take to me. I know that my kids like me when they are in the middle of playing with their toys or climbing the stairs and turn to look at me and wait for the "click."

Patrick was full of adorable smiles. He wasn't afraid to show off those cute new teeth. And as with most kids his age, he had a couple moments of tears. Although many parents don't exactly want to remember their kids being sad, I do love capturing those moments as well as the happy ones. I think they really express the range of emotions that they experience every day. As we get older, I think we still have those same feelings, but we aren't as apt to share them so openly. The few shots I got of him crying are so intense and emotional that I just love them for their rawness.

Anyway, Sandra and Roger are going to have a ton of pictures to narrow down for the framed collage they'll be receiving at the end of the portrait series. The 9-image collage is a wonderful way to take three photos from each portrait and display them as a series.

Here's they're slideshow...

White dresses galore!

My parents arrived last Wednesday for an intense 4 days of wedding stuff. Florists, wedding coordinator and my favorite, dresses! We got so much done, well more like thinking about all the possibilities and narrowing down the immense options to what will work best for our October 2008 wedding.

I think I may have scared a few of the bridal shop owners when I said I wanted something completely non-traditional. I'm not a strapless, poofy dress kinda girl, so it was kind of a challenge to find other options. But after three bridal shops, Bridals by Lori, La Raine's and Kelly's Closet, I had found 2 dresses that I absolutely love. Either one will be gorgeous and totally comfortable, which was number two on my list of must-have's. I am still trying to decide...

I met two fantastic florists who came highly recommended - John at Twelve, and Susan at Little Sparrow. They both had amazing ideas for flowers and decor and I am so excited with all the options. Suddenly I have all these ideas for the way I want guests to feel when they enter the ceremony and reception and I know that both florists would be able to do an unbelievable job.

The other exciting thing that happened this week was some more major advances in the kitchen remodel. We now have countertops and they are amazing! It's unreal how much the kitchen changed once they were installed. It actually looks like a functioning kitchen now and with the newly installed cooktop it is completely functioning. Yay! Our first dinner on the cooktop was ravioli. Tonight, popcorn is on the menu for a late night snack. With the countertops came the sink and fancy extension faucet which we love. Nick actually loves the faucet so much, he posted on his new blog about it. I'll post some more pics soon of the latest additions.

Countertops and the 'rents

Today is a big day. The kitchen countertops arrive! The countertops are a seriously welcomed addition to the kitchen remodel. Since mid-June we've been under construction and I am so excited to have counters to prep food on and even just pour a drink on. Once the countertops are in, I get my cooktop so hello to spaghetti and eggs! Not together, that would be gross.

In this pictures, the bare wood at the front is our new breakfast bar. As soon as the countertops are in, I plan to slide a bar stool up and start demanding a drink from bartender Nick. I hope he'll oblige.

Plus, this evening my parents arrive for a long weekend to do some wedding stuff. Florists, wedding coordinator and DRESSES! So excited to try on dresses! After being engaged for 9 months, you'd think I'd already been, but I really did hold off on any planning until about a month ago. This I think will be the most fun part of planning the wedding. It will be a girls-day-out on Saturday when my mom and Nick's mom come with me to some shops and we grab lunch in between. I just read in a bridal rag that wedding gowns sizes fit smaller than normal clothes. How does that make sense?! Why would dress designers want to upset their customers by making a size 6 wear a size 8? Ok, ok, I won't look at tags, but seriously!

My face on Facebook

I recently joined Facebook and have been loving reconnecting with so many old friends. In the first few days, I "re-met" a friend from college at the University of Rochester who had just that week moved to Spain. Hadn't been in touch since graduation so it was really nice to catch up. It's hard to believe that next year will be my 10 year reunion at college...but that's another topic for another day... ahh, depressing!

Anyway, if you're on Facebook, be sure to look me up and send a friend request. I'm already so addicted and I love adding friends to my network!

Britton, Mike and Addison

I photographed engagement portraits for Britton and Mike a few years ago so when they called me to photograph portraits of their 14 month old, I was so excited for the opportunity to document their growing family.

Poor Addison is teething so she broke down in tears periodically through our portrait, but holding dad's car keys made everything better. The funniest photo from the day is toward the end of the slideshow. Addison sits on the floor holding the keys and touches her hand to her face as if to say "Oh, there they are! I thought I lost them!" Precious!

View the slideshow below.

A DVD of this slideshow is available if you click the icon on the show.
Thanks, Britton, Mike and Addison!

Best of Atlanta.....AGAIN!

WOW!!! We're jumping up a down and off the walls!!!

We were voted in Creative Loafing Atlanta for 2007
Best Established Visual Artist (2nd year in a row)
Best Photographer (first winner in this new category)
Best Local Visual Arts Website (www.saraphotography.com)

Thank you to everyone who voted for us. It means so much that our clients and friends took the time to support us...sometimes twice and three times.

We'll be sure to post the beautiful and precious awards soon.

For those of you who found us through CL's links, visit our main website at www.saraphotography.com to see our portfolios and learn more about our award-winning business. :)

Introducing "Portrait Days" in October!

Announcing the first "Portrait Days" at Piedmont Park...

October 26th and 27th

Join us for fun and casual portraits in the park with your family, kids, baby or hubby at a fantastic discount.

No need to stress at the last minute this year to get your family's holiday card done. Have fun with us on Friday or Saturday, choose your holiday card design and paper and we take care of the rest. How simple is that?!

When: Friday, October 26, 10am - 5pm and Saturday, October 27, 10am - 3pm

Where: Piedmont Park, we'll send detailed directions when you set your appointment

How long: 30-minute session per family

Who: You and your fantastic family! No pets please.

What to wear: Solid colored shirts and jeans, OR Halloween costumes!

How to sign up: Click this link or call us at 404-966-7272 to schedule your appointment. Deadline for signing up is Oct. 12th.

Investment: $200 for 15-20 images delivered on your personal Preview Website for 30 days, and fifty (50) 4.5x5 holiday cards with envelopes ($150 savings!)

Studio Hours for Friday, September 20

We will be closing early tomorrow in observance of Yom Kippur. If you need to contact us after 3pm on Friday, September 20th, please send an email to sara@saraphotography.com or leave a message at 404-966-SARA(7272) and we will be in touch as soon as we reopen on Monday.

Thanks!

Elizabeth, Matt and Elle

I met the most adorable family on Saturday. Elizabeth, Matt and Elle live right nearby in Decatur and we had a wonderful time capturing some precious and funny moments of 8 month old Elle. There is so much love in this family and it definitely shows in the photos.

There were so many great moments that day that it was hard to narrow them down for the slideshow. Some of my favorites were when Elle would periodically throw her arms up in the air and everyone would yell "Touchdown!", the tender moment when Elizabeth nursed Elle in the nursery (for Matt and Elizabeth's eyes only) and Elle's laughter as Matt held her upside down and put her on his shoulders.

Thanks again for sharing your moments with me! See you soon.

Enjoy the slideshow below!

Studio Hours

The studio will be closed on Thursday and Friday in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

If you need to reach us, please send an email and we will respond upon our return.

L'Shanah Tovah!
Happy New Year!

Rockin' the Piano at Age 1

I have to thank my client, Andrew Horowitz, for referring his friends to me. A birthday gift certificate turned into one fun morning. Ryen and her parents are so great! Beautiful home and even more beautiful little girl. Ryen just celebrated her first birthday and she was so happy and full of energy when I arrived. As she got accustomed to me being there, she forgot all about me and had a great time playing with her teddy bears, reading with mom and snuggling with dad. I just love capturing these moments! Be sure to check out the piano-playing pictures in the slideshow. I think she's a virtuoso. :)

Thanks so much for a fun morning!

Top Secret

I'm going to share some super exciting news soon! I am so anxious but I'm not going to let it slip... :)

One of the best parts of being a small business is that I can take comments and feedback that my clients give and make instant changes to better serve them AND I don't have to consult a board of directors to do it. This latest news has been on my mind for a bit now and I am now able to follow it through.

Hmmmm....what could it be?

Check back here for all the juicy details!

Vacation in Asheville, NC

Back from vacation and what an amazing time we had. Nick and I headed up to Asheville, NC last weekend to celebrate my moms big birthday. It was to be the first time that the six of us (Mom, Dad, bro Jeff, new sister-in-law Kathleen, Nick and me) vacationed together and I was so excited. We managed to do so much in a short amount of time and still it felt so relaxing. There's something so great about a break in routine and the view - well, that was one of the best parts.

We rented a house in the mountains which was perfect for our size group. It was so comfortable and the extras were amazing. Hot tub and a hammock overlooking the mountains, a huge flatscreen tv in the living room and combination tv/dvd/vcr's in every bedroom. This was our view from the deck just outside the living room. I shot this just before a storm hit so the haze really illuminates the distance and ridges. How great would it be to have breakfast every morning looking out onto this view?


On Tuesday, we headed out to find some waterfalls and learned that there are hundreds in this area around the Blue Ridge Parkway. So beautiful...


Jeff and Kathleen. Yay, their one year anniversary!


Mom and Dad enjoying the waterfall from a small distance. I think that finger in the airs means "I see you taking a picture of us!" :)


And this is how I got down to the water. Notice the death-grip on my camera. :)


As we headed out the park, we stopped at the visitor center and saw these hummingbirds chowing down on nectar. Where did that saying, eating like a bird come from anyway? Every bird that I've watched at a bird feeder is eating like it hasn't eaten in a week! It's so fascinating to watch hummingbirds stop in midair and then change direction. Hard to capture with the short lens I had, but you can still see the speed of their flapping wings. There's a second perched on the feeder in the front.


We got back to town on Saturday and got up at 6am on Sunday to get to the Atlanta Jewish Festival at the MJCCA Zaban Park. It was the best festival yet! So many nice people and for the first time, they moved us out of the smoldering tent outside into the air conditioned gym. So much better, especially when they had to force everyone inside when the weather service announced a thunderstorm warning.

"You Should Be Dancing..."

Last weekend I second shot with Ben again. I enjoy the change of pace when I second shoot because I can get a little more creative since I don't have to concentrate so intently on getting the necessary images. That's Ben's job! It allows for a bit more freedom which in turn leads me to be more creative when I'm the primary photographer. Plus it's always great to work with another talented photographer and bounce ideas off one another.

We photographed Maria and Nick's wedding at Peachtree Presbyterian. If you've never been to PPC before you would be blown away by the size of this place. They literally have so much land (and they're building on more across the street) that you have to call it a "campus." They have their own gym, three chapels, a Sunday school and so much more.

So I spent some time with Maria and the girls while they were getting ready. I love this moment with her mom.


The glass doors to the Ladies Parlor were really great. So I thought I'd take advantage of the unique design and place Maria right in the middle. This image is so timeless to me.


This special moment of Maria and her dad walking up the isle is so graphic. Even all the prayer books are lined up. Maria's dad later got so emotional during the father-bride dance that he shed some tears. So sweet...

Just after the ceremony, Ben and I photographed Maria and Nick in front of the huge chapel windows. I love the softness and femininity of this image.


Nick's nephew was so adorable. All throughout the day, he was such a ham in front of the camera but I managed to snag this shot while he looked at a picture of his mom on their digital camera.



And this was CLASSIC. Nick must have been practicing since age 8 because when "You Should Be Dancing (Saturday Night Fever)" came on, he tore up the dance floor with every shake, thrust and boogie that John Travolta styled. He had everyone rolling on the floor in laughter, especially Maria.


The beautiful cake. Love flowers on a wedding cake. So rich in color and texture.


And this was PRICELESS... During the cake cutting, a crumb fell down Maria's dress. Take a look at Nick's quick response. He dove right in there! What a moment!
Thanks Ben!

Cabinets, Oh Cabinets...

Super excited about the cabinets! We worked through the weekend, got all the Sheetrock hung and then 6 wall cabinets. It's coming along great and I'm getting really anxious to get everything done. Once we got the two cabinets up on the right wall, we noticed how slanted the old ceiling is. We thought that maybe our level was off, but no, it's the ceiling. It's an old house so we can't be too mean to it.


The green on the walls is the Sheetrock, not paint. Haven't yet decided on the wall color but definitely something bright.


This week we'll continue with the base cabinets including a huge lazy susan corner cabinet and a breakfast bar.

Rock it, Sheetrock!

The remodel continues... On Wednesday, we went to Lowe's to get the insulation and Sheetrock. Sheetrock is heavy! Especially when the two pieces are still joined. I managed to help Nick load up 7 sheets and as we finished up, an employee came over to offer help. Funny that she showed up as we were loading the last piece. Anyway, she says to me, "You're strong! I can see that you're a do-it-all-your-own kind of girl! Even your hair looks nice." HA! So sweet and a total boost when I was feeling exhausted. :)

Ahhhh, beautiful Sheetrock...

Here are some pictures of the kitchen in its raw look. (The new look this Fall) Nick is still running all the electrical and phone lines, but since this picture, we managed to finish the far wall and put up some insulation on the long one.



Yesterday all the cabinets arrived! Wooohoo! And they look beautiful. Never thought I'd love a cabinet so much. I'll post some more pictures after this weekend of hanging cabinets. After all the DIY shows, now I finally get to see them installed in person and actually help too.

My 16 hours in Rome, GA

On Saturday, I headed to Rome, GA with Ben Vigil to help him photograph Jenna and Bobby's wedding. It was the longest day I've ever photographed! We started at 8:30am at the salon with the girls (all 8 bridesmaids), moms and grandmas. And we photographed the bridesmaids' luncheon at the Victorian Rose Tea Room, the wedding at St. Peter's Episcopal Church and the reception at Coosa Country Club. At midnight we took our last shots as they exited the club through a wave of bubbles. It was a beautiful day and we even managed to avoid the rain while we photographed group portraits inside the church.

Here are a few of my favorite shots.

Thinking Outside the Box for Weddings

I photographed a wedding vow renewal ceremony in March for Jen and Adam. Jen recently converted to Judaism and they decided to renew their vows with a Jewish wedding ceremony with their closest friends and family. The entire day was just perfect - intimate, relaxed and meaningful.

Instead of creating a traditional wedding album, which they have from the first time around, they opted for a collage of photos that they could hang in their home and look at every day. I am so ecstatic with the way it turned out; I'm going to have to make a second to display in my studio!
By choosing a collage, they were able to put together a series of their favorite photos that tell a story of the day, including pictures of their parents and their adorable son, Ethan. Sometimes it can be impossible to choose just one outstanding photo to enlarge for your home, so this is a great option. The collages can be customized to match the colors in your room, your personal style and any number of images.

The frame just makes it look polished and complete. (If you look closely, you can see my reflection in the glass. HA!)