I’m a military wife (love that man of mine in uniform), teacher, and PNW girl at heart. As a military family we have lived in Germany, Texas, and of course my fabulous home state of Washington.I have two amazing kidsI’m entering into the world of parenting a teenager this year!! Say a prayer for me!!I love to go junking and antiquing!!I’m obsessed with collecting globes and maps (I blame my parents for having us live all over the world growing up)On paper I’m 4’9 but I like to say that I’m 5 foot because ya know that extra inch makes me feel soo much taller!The more I shoot, I have found that I like to shoot with more of a photojournalist approach, telling a story as it unfolds. Everyone has a story to tell. What’s yours?Like Michele I’m a hugger (it’s in my nature to nurture :)I can’t wait to meet y’all!!

And a little hostess Q&A:

…but until then, let’s take a look at some of their maternity pictures we were *barely* able to squeeze in before baby #3 (yes…that’s right…#3) made an appearance ;-). We shot these just before Valentine’s Day and I loved that she chose those awesome red skinny jeans and that we got to tie in my favorite little heart umbrella. Don’t miss this image HERE.

His mama first contacted me about doing his senior portraits back in December of 2012. She had me at “I want to put a piano in a creek.” I told her find me a piano and it will be done. And she found me a piano that has been sitting on my porch for close to a year. I cannot even begin to tell you how HEAVY that thing is and it’s a true miracle that we got it loaded to come to my place. For one reason or another (like FLOODS and ICE), we kept having to reschedule his session, but when the day finally came, when the stars aligned and the weather cooperated and the creek wasn’t rushing and the wonderful piano moving volunteers’ schedule aligned with ours–well, it was just AWESOME! You should have seen the looks we were getting as they pushed the piano down a sidewalk and right INTO the water. People were coming in from all over the place just to sit down and say they played the piano in the creek.

But no one could play it quite like he did. Even grossly out of tune and missing several keys, he was still able to make that piano sound good. He’s quite the talented musician and I’m just so thrilled we were finally able to make this session happen for him and for his very diligent mommy. It was truly a magical day!

[To see a “snow” version, go HERE and one HERE].

Well, much to my surprise, the Ridgewood, NJ workshop sold out within days of opening for registration. (Don’t worry…we still have other dates in Texas, California, and Washington with some openings left. Along with tentative fall dates set for Perth and New Castle Australia!).

I would still like to keep with my plan, however, of featuring each of the hostesses for the upcoming workshops on my blog, so let’s go ahead and start with my dear friend Lena with Live Love Laugh Photography in Ridgewood, NJ (Follow her on Facebook):

I am Lena Antaramian, an award-winning Bergen County, New Jersey children and family photographer and owner of Live Love Laugh Photos. I am a mom to very different but equally amazing twin girls and a wife to a smart and funny man. I love dogs, books and sunny spring days. I love all types of food, dessert in particular; cooking it is a different story though. I love bags and believe you can never have too many. I am a world traveler and after visiting many countries, living in a few and meeting people from all over the place I truly believe that the world is a wonderful place and people at their core are good. I get teary-eyed when I witness emotional connections and moments – a hug between a mother and a daughter that shows more love that can ever be described with words, pure joy that is a belly laugh of a toddler, happiness on kids and parents’ faces when they are being silly together. And I feel very privileged to capture and help preserve them for my clients.

1. What makes your photography business unique to you?  Do I sound like I have a huge head if I say that ‘I’ make my business unique?  There are other photographers who have a similar processing style and technical skills but there is only one ME.  My clients get my unique artistic vision when it comes to their images and setting them up in their homes.  They have great time at their sessions because I make them fun for everyone.  They get gifts and personal gestures along the way that make them feel appreciated and cared for.  They get unbeatable customer service from me every step of the way.  And all of that contributes to the amazing experience they have whenever they book a session with Live Love Photos.
2. Best thing about being a photographer? This sounds cliché, but I truly believe that the best part of being a photographer is being able to preserve memories for our clients.  It is pretty amazing that we, as photographers, have the power to freeze time!
3. Toughest thing?  I see shots I want to capture pretty much everywhere I go and sometimes it is hard for me to stop taking pictures and just be in the moment because I always want to preserve the moment by capturing it.
4. If you could photograph anyone/anything in the world (dead or alive) who would it be and why?  All of my grandparents. Three of my grandparents passed away before I became a photographer and I never really photographed them.  I wish I could capture the wisdom and love in their eyes.  I do have one Grandfather (the older you get, the more amazing it feels to be someone’s granddaughter) and I did make it a point to photograph him.  I am thrilled that I have portraits of him that I love.
5. Why does Ridgewood, NJ ROCK for serving as a host town for a workshop? Well, for one thing, my town has the best Nutella crepes West of Paris!  [Michele: I can attest to that!] It has a lot of charm and personality: cute boutiques, amazing restaurants (NYC quality food at New Jersey prices), plenty of urban and park like settings for photo shoots.  And it is only 25 miles away from NYC!
6. If you could describe your business in 3 words prior to the Pinkle Toes workshop, what would they be? Style not clearly defined, middle-of-the-road in terms of success
7. And what about after?  Consistent (in terms of style and processing), successful, high-end.
8. Best part of your Pinkle Toes Workshop experience? I’ve learned A TON from Michele and 3 years later I still use what I’ve learned but if I had to pick just one part (and it is not easy!) it will be gaining more confidence. I attended the Pinkle Toes Workshop 3 years ago – at that time I’d had my business for two years and felt relatively confident in my work, business practices and pricing.  But after attending the workshop, and having one-on-one with Michele really helped raise my confidence level.
9. Most challenging part?  Lack of sleep:)  We were learning morning till night and while I would not change that for anything, I had to sacrifice  on sleep:)
10. Advice to anyone who attends the workshop you’re hosting?  Be ready to learn from an amazing photographer and business woman, eat yummy food, spend time with awesome people and have a great time all around!

And here is just a sample of Lena’s FABULOUS photography:

Congrats to each of these 12 finalists (up from 10; I couldn’t help it ;-)! They will receive a $100 gift card good toward a full Pinkle Toes session in 2014 or 2015 and have now moved on to ROUND TWO – now thru midnight central on March 2nd: 

There will be THREE winners:

I am pretty certain you will recognize this gang from my blog over the years. Funny enough, a few days after we finished up THIS session, I got the cutest text from Tracy:

So, I guess that was a maternity session you just did.

Aughhhhhhhhhh! How incredibly exciting that they were going to add another to their photogenic and loving little brood. They are such amazing parents and it was so touching to see how little man’s big brother and sisters doted on him non-stop. LOVED this family pic HERE and this ONE is probably my fav from the session.

Thank you again, Tracy, for this wonderful honor. I could not be happier for you guys!

Funny story: way back in June I was in the airport trying to fly out to Charlotte for a workshop. Of course, my flight got cancelled and I was a bit vocal about it on Instagram. Next thing I know, this lovely blonde walks up to me and says, “Are  you Pinkle Toes?” WHAT??? She had been standing in another line ready to board when she saw my post on Instagram! How cool is that???? It was so neat to chat with her that day and I was really honored when she commissioned family portraits a little while later. Small world 😉

Words that come to mind when I think of this session: joy, giggles, motion, dance, childhood, beauty, love, wonder, curls, dimples, jump. Thank you guys so much for an incredible session! What an joy to get to work with you in your home!!! Lovin’ this mommy/daughter portrait HERE, too. And my absolute FAV HERE.

Kinda can’t believe I haven’t blogged this session from Virginia last fall either. Kinda been dying to share THIS IMAGE in particular and I think it’s pretty fitting for today. Kinda loved absolutely everything about this session. Kinda got pretty lucky that even though we played with the umbrellas, the weather cleared up and we didn’t actually *need* them. Kinda adored her kiddos. Kinda adored mom and dad as a couple. Kinda glad we got THIS, too ;-).

This session completely embodies why it is so awesome to have your family photo session in your own home! I love that we had the opportunity to capture them…in their environment…a place where they spend their time and play together and do things together as a family. These are the kinds of images their kids will look back on years to come and say, “I remember when my daddy would play blocks with me,” or “That was my favorite book my mommy would read to me over and over.” Lucky boys, indeed! (Oh, and here’s my fav in black and white).

And even then, she was still just as quietly confident as she is now! I was so very excited to have the opportunity to capture this monumental time in her life (in her parents’ lives, too!). They have every reason to be proud of her! She’s going to do just fine out in the real world!

P.S. So my editor asked me if I’d seen it in one of the images from her session. No…I hadn’t, but I’m glad she did. What is it?