The Shah Family all met up at Topsail Beach for a reunion week on the beach, and I showed up to find a big, high-energy family ready to play…

Brother, sister, and all the wind blowing in the right direction.

This is one of those fabulous moments – simply a gift to a photographer. She didn’t like the feel of her underwear, so she decided to get some additional fresh air, and I had the wonderfully good fortune to be standing in the best position for the shot!

Sometimes the family portrait is the photograph…and sometimes it’s those little moments that are really the focus.

Beach play!

Discovery with grandmom :)

They may have been borrowed shades, but they suit her. And she KNOWS it :)

How can I not end on this gorgeous photograph?

I had a wonderful 4th of July week at Wrightsville Beach (did I mention that I’m finally catching up on the blog??!) – and it was fitting that I started my sessions with the Koehler family. I’ve had the great experience of photographing them several times throughout the years, and our very first session together was three years ago, at Wrightsville Beach! Back then, they were only a family of three, but they’ve expanded and only improved :)

The two brothers, in a nearly impossible moment of coordinated stillness and attention!!

One of my big favorites!!

Sweet, handsome Cameron.

(once again, stay clear of my little girl. you are far too cute.)

Daddy has a very Serious Job, but he’s also in possession of some great goofy faces…

Their friends were at the beach, too – this is what I saw when I whirled around to see how they were making the Koehlers laugh!

Brother & Sister :)

I love super wide angle lenses and getting REALLY close… This is one of those moments where people feel the invasion of their personal space. I’m actually standing quite near them, but the lens allows me a lot more real estate than most people know!

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a…

Nicole and Trey were from opposite worlds – he from Duke and she from UNC. The longer I live in Chapel Hill, the more I get what that means!!

They now live in Houston, where Nicole is in management and getting her MBA and Trey is an orthopaedic surgeon. I was so pleasantly surprised when I met them – they are not only two very gorgeous people, but they are so fun and easygoing and smart, a genuine pleasure to be around in an everyday situation, but even more so on the day of their wedding.

I love the “getting ready” part of the wedding – whether it’s at someone’s home, the church, the cabin of a yacht, or the Presidential Suite at Washington Duke, there’s always an awesome sense of excitement and anticipation…

And Nicole was so emotional, laughing & crying at the same time:

Dr. Trey was seriously all smiles. This is one very happy groom…

How I do love the little faces in their fancy clothes!

Duke Chapel, no where else around here quite like it…

The ceremony was full of wisdom, love and such affection.

I can’t decide which of the two following images is my favorite – the giddiness over signing the official document or the one where he’s looking at her with that expression: Look how smokin’ hot my WIFE is!

We had some fantastic sunshine…

Over to Duke Gardens for some beautiful light…

We went to Cameron Indoor Stadium for some very fun, more athletically-inspired shots – I thought the sign out front said it all on this amazing day with all the people they loved:

Did I mention that they were high-energy???

Their reception ballroom at the Umstead was strikingly created in red, gold & creams with such great lighting design:

The lounge area:

First dances….

How slick was this mother/son dance?

And then everyone got into it…

Trey delivered the most incredible toast to his wife. He’s a pretty incredible public speaker, and this expression on both of their faces spoke to how meaningful his words were.

I mean, seriously, I couldn’t find an angle that didn’t work for them…

I’d wish you luck in your marriage, but I cannot imagine what you’d need it for – Congratulations, Nicole & Trey!!

I technically returned from Wichita this morning, arriving home around 1am after a whirlwind 2 1/2 days of shooting. I had the great pleasure of photographing The Gorecki family again, as well as a few of her wonderful friends and families.

I met The Goreckis through the beautiful spa they own, Healing Waters, which is actually located right next to our studio (across from Southpoint Mall). I love their spa services!!!

I had photographed their North Carolinian spa here for their marketing team, and I was able to photograph their more established Kansas spa this past weekend, in addition to their awesome new product line, PureMD.

I am still cataloging all the images I just shot – but here are a few fun photographs from another recent shoot, just a couple months ago.

Sweet little Ocean resting on Papa’s legs:

This powerful image of Ireland printed so strikingly as a mounted metallic foil print:

Big sister Alexis, shot with filtered natural light to really show off her soft complexion:

A sweet moment between mother & child:

The two sisters – Ireland was just cracking up at this reverse game of peek-a-boo!

This was an hysterical end to our shoot, Ireland’s very dramatic display of exhaustion. She just popped her pacifier in, dropped to the cushion and sighed heavily with this great gesture of weariness…

Claire and Kalli came into the studio at 12 months old, and I got such a kick out of photographing them in their full twin adorableness. They were so high-energy and just plain fun, not to mention ridiculously adorable!

A couple 5-series framed pieces of each girl – Kallie first…

Then Claire…

These two were absolutely in love with their blankies – serious obsession time. When their mommy brought out the blankets, they lit up like little Christmas trees and immediately dived into them..

(those bloomers were also a great cheat sheet)

An awesome photograph of mommy & her girls – I love this one….

We designed a very cool portrait book of the twins, the cover & back:

And a few choice excerpts…

Just have to show more Blankie Bonanza…