claire and all the others

I fell in love on Sunday.  And it’s OK if you tell Rusty because he won’t be jealous.  You see, I fell in love with Claire.

Can you believe those eyes?  I promise – there are no Photoshop skills involved.  Claire has the most startling blue eyes I have ever seen.   Claire was breathtakingly beautiful – and just as sweet as could be.  Her mom, Katherine,  was worried because when we started taking pictures, it was past Claire’s bed time.  But, you can see that Claire did just fine.  The only thing it took to keep her happy was 2,179 verses of If You’re Happy and You Know It!  That may be a slight exaggeration, but it was truly amazing to watch her perk up, smile and start clapping when Katherine started singing.  Somehow, my singing didn’t elicit the same response.

But Claire wasn’t the only reason I was in Surf City taking pictures Sunday night.  Katherine and her brother, Andy, wanted a family portrait for their parents.  So they decided to have a portrait taken on the beach when they were here for vacation.  Thankfully, Katherine found my website on the internet and I had the pleasure of working with them.  This family was an absolute joy and the weather was very cooperative.

Here is a sneak preview of the Mason’s gallery.  First, the entire family.

This is Betty and Jim with Claire, their only grandchild (so far).  I really don’t think Claire is starved for attention, if you know what I mean.

Katherine and Rob, with the incomparable Claire.

Andy and Tara.

And the siblings, Katherine and Andy.

I’m so glad we were able to shoot on Sunday – the first full day of the Mason family’s vacation.  You see, on picture day you have to be careful not to get too much sun.  Then you have to come off the beach early to dress up. Yuck!  Who wants to dress up at the beach?  I had warned Katherine to expect a beach bum for a photographer because when I’m at the beach I generally don’t bother with fixing my hair or putting on make-up.  But you can’t do that when you are having your portrait made.  This family cleaned up very well on Sunday – so I hope they’ve been beach bums the rest of the week!

PS – did you notice that I cropped some of the portraits as squares?  I love square pictures, and they work so well with individuals and small groups cuddled up close together.

haley and mary and grey, oh my!

Saturday found me trekking to Figure 8 Island for my fourth annual Haley beach portrait session. Sharon is the kind of person I could really hate if I didn’t like her so much. First, she doesn’t look a day older than she did when I met her 20+ years ago. And, one of her children graces her with a granddaughter about every two years. If that’s not enough, she lives on the Inland Waterway in one of the loveliest areas I’ve ever seen. But, Sharon is a beautiful, gracious, considerate friend, so I really can’t hate her. But is it OK to be a little jealous – not of her looks or her home, but of those precious grandchildren?

I was a little nervous photographing three little girls four and under. I have learned that as long as you are patient and go with the flow, everything will turn out fine. It’s so much easier being patient with someone else’s children than it is with your own. The girls’ parents kept apologizing – but the girls simply did exactly what little girls do on the beach. They ran, and played, and headed toward the ocean, then ran some more. For the first part of the session, I tried to do some posed shots. Then I stood back and photographed whatever they were doing. Personally, I love the pictures of the girls at play.

When I told Sharon that I would have the blog posted tonight, she commented, “That’s where you’ll talk about how sweet they were, right?” I’m afraid her tone was a tad sarcastic But to me, both Haley and Mary were sweet. They were just normal, active, little girls having fun on the beach. It’s so hard to believe that by this time next year, Grey will be running right along behind them. I may have to take more vitamins!

rachael

I first remember meeting Rachael when she was just a little girl.  And it seems like that was just yesterday. But something miraculous happened; Rachael grew up!  Time is just flying too quickly for me – and I’m sure for her parents, as well.  Rachael is no longer a little girl; she is a self-confident, poised and beautiful young lady.  Thankfully,  it has cooled off a little around here so it was absolutely beautiful and quite comfortable when we got to the park to shoot Rachael’s session.  And she was lots of fun to work with.  So what was supposed to be a short session, about 20 minutes or so, ended up taking nearly an hour.  I just couldn’t make myself stop clicking that shutter which means I have a lot of editing to do.  But, it’s going to be worth it because I know we got some gorgeous portraits of Rachael.

Here’s the sneak preview:

As you can see, Rachael is very comfortable in front of the camera.  She was also very cooperative – even when I made her sit on the dirty ground in her clean, white shorts.  Sometimes when I’m tired from working two jobs and editing into the wee hours of the night, I wonder why I keep doing this.  Sessions like this help me remember what it is I love about photography.  Thanks, Rachael.

the landers clan

Parents aren’t supposed to have a favorite child.  And teachers aren’t supposed to have a favorite student.  And I imagine that photographers aren’t supposed to have a favorite client family, but I do.  In 2005 the Landers family was coming to Topsail for a vacation and wanted family portraits made on the beach.  Alyson found my website and the rest is history.  I did my fourth annual session for the family last night at the New Hanover County Arboretum.  It was wonderful to see the family again.  I just wish I had the opportunity to see them more than once a year!

As usual we started with the entire family.  John and Sandra, who started it all, are front and center.  They certainly have a right to be proud of their family.  This is truly one of the nicest groups I have ever worked with.

After the large group picture, we broke into smaller groups.

I really enjoyed my evening with the Landers.  The children were so much fun to work with – and I got lots of hugs.  I just wish they weren’t growing up so quickly.  I hope to see them again next year.

tom and katie’s gallery

Tom and Katie’s wedding gallery is ready for viewing at www.elisebeall.instaproofs.com.

As I have mentioned before, to me, the easiest way to view the gallery is to watch the slideshow in each section.  You can change the speed the pictures rotate and listen to the music – or not.  Click on the music note at the top right to turn the music off.  If you see something you like, just click on “add to favorites” and you can view your favorites at one time.

The gallery will be active for 60 days from today.  And, right now the pictures are on sale!

rebekah

I am so excited – senior season is starting up again! Rebekah is my first senior for the 2009 graduating class and we had a great session last week. Rebekah wanted to shoot in town, so we headed to some of my favorite downtown locations. When we first got there it was blistering hot and the humidity was so high the air felt thick. Rebekah got out of her car with beautifully curled, long, blonde hair. Within a few minutes, the curls were gone – but that didn’t matter when you have hair like Rebekah’s.

Here are a few of the pictures we took downtown.

I love how Rebekah’s eyes match the doors behind her in the last picture. Rebekah’s a smart cookie. She knew we had to have plenty of light to show the true color of her eyes, so she didn’t complain when the light was a little bright in her face.

After shooting for a while downtown, we went to a local park where there was glorious shade and a gentle breeze off the water. So, we took quite a few pictures at the park. In fact, by the time we left it was very nearly dark.

Last, we took some pictures of Rebekah in her softball uniform. Rebekah is a serious softball player – and looks quite tough when all suited up. I think I might like the softball pictures best of all. If all the players look like Rebekah, I bet the stands are filled with teenaged boys!

I have to stop now or Rebekah’s entire gallery will end up on my blog! Did I say I’m so glad senior session is starting? I LOVE seniors!

the barkers

When Amy Elizabeth and Mike came down from Rhode Island for a week at Emerald Isle, they brought their friends, the Barkers, with them. And since we planned a portrait session on the beach, they decided to join in. We had to work fast because we had a lot of pictures to take and it was very hazy with clouds moving in quickly. Colby didn’t really want to settle down and take pictures; but what self-respecting little boy would rather sit and pose than explore? With a little bribery (Kay’s homemade peach ice cream) we were able to get quite a few good pictures of the family – and of Colby being Colby. We also got some very cute pictures of Colby on a shell hunt.

Here’s the sneak preview.

What you can not see in these pictures are the skeletons of tent frames scattered all along the beach. You see, beach goers take their tents down to the beach and set them up. At the end of the day, they take the canvas off – but leave the frames. It looks like a vast wasteland of tent frames. And, it is NOT pretty. So, I painstakingly removed all the tent frames from the pictures. Whew, my mouse hand is tired tonight!

To the Barkers – hope you had a safe trip back home. Please e-mail me your contact information so I can let you know when your gallery is ready for viewing. My e-mail is elise@elisebeall.com.

kay, jeff and the fam

Kay called me early in the summer excited that Amy Elizabeth, Mike, and Avery would be coming down from Rhode Island to spend a week at the beach. Now, I don’t want to hurt Amy Elizabeth’s feelings, but I really think Avery (the first grandchild) elicited the most excitement. Wednesday evening found me heading off to Emerald Isle to do some family portraits for Kay, Jeff and the entire clan. David and his girlfriend even made the drive up from Wilmington to be in the pictures. It was a hot, hazy night – but thankfully the thunderstorms held off.

When I first got to the condo, the family was still having dinner – shrimp and corn on the cob. This family knows how to eat! Kay warned me that Avery was a little grumpy – and she was. But, she still smiled and played with me. And when we got on the beach she was an angel.

We started with a portrait of the family.

Amy Elizabeth’s friend, Jackie, was able to get Avery to smile and laugh for her picture. I don’t know what she was doing behind me – but it worked!

Then we broke down and did lots of different groups. I can’t post an example of each group – but here are a few.

Kay wasn’t thrilled that I wanted a picture of just her and Jeff; she was much more interested in pictures of her children and Avery. But, I convinced her that her children would cherish a picture of their parents. I’m so glad Kay relented because I love this portrait. It’s very informal and shows the closeness and love they share after all these years.