i am so thrilled to have met the ratner's, and grateful they chose me to document this stage in their life. their sweet boys, max and ezra are almost identical in age to my two boys, and spending a saturday morning with them was very similar to the energy i would find in my own home with my family. 

i love the images as a whole, and am having a hard time chosing only a few to share, so if you'd like to see more, you can click HERE to view the slideshow. 

and, i have to share this very sweet and lovely note that alisa sent me:

"Dear Carrie, Wow...I don't even know where to begin! This slideshow is so beautiful, special, spectacular. The music is lovely. You are so talented. I am so glad i found you! I love the photos, they are so rich and say so much. I can't thank you enough. I can't wait for our next event or family photos. Also, let's keep connected about any letterpress stuff. Warmly, Alisa"

alisa in an artist, and works out of this very cool modern shed - inside she has a gorgeous vintage letterpress.

i wrote a post here awhile back about flora & henri childrens clothier. i love this clothing line so much, it's european sensibilities. both of my boys pretty much live in simple clothing - boden, american apparel tees/tanks, flora & henri (when on sale), and dagmar daley are some of what they roll around in daily. my oldest boy, finn (4) loves his converse and flip-flops and my youngest, harrison (3) has such chunky feet that he pretty much lives in his umi shoes, or barefoot which you just can't beat. 

i have so much to share with regards to all the above shops, will post soon. in the meantime, this is part of a design for a summer campaign sent by flora & henri earlier this summer. how great would this dress be with a pair of converse?

 (c) flora & henri children's clothier

this is another session i loved that never was blogged. enjoy :).

our summer campaign will be in effect for only 5 more weeks!!! here is the original summer campaign sent out in june, i can't belive it's already the end of july....CRAZY!

awhile back, i asked my good friend and talented photographer, bonnie tsang, to shoot some photos of me with my boys, finn & harrison. the plan was to make a book of these images and wrap it up as a special gift for my husband on father's day. we surpassed the date over sicknesses etc, but recently took some time to go up into the canyon with bonnie and have her document the boys and i together. it is so rare that i am actually in a photo with my family, since i of course, am always the one behind the camera. we, as a family, do realize the importance and relevance of family images and commission photographers once yearly to shoot us together - i absolutely live for these photos and my heart skips a beat every time i walk past one in my home. i often stop and stare at them and am so grateful that we stop and take time out to record our life together.

bonnie, i am forever indebted to you for documenting this afternoon for us. thank you. xo

these little mini sessions we added this year have been so fun and super popular! the last 2 months were booked out before i even had a chance to blog them (current clientele always have 1st pick). so, our august mini sessions will be held on saturday, aug 22 @ 8:30a, 9:30a, 4:30p and 5:30p. they are 30 minute sessions and a total blast!! call or email to book your time, they will go FAST. our schedule doesn't permit for mini's in september, but we will announce a date for OCTOBER mini sessions next month!

a few months ago, i headed out to the desert, well to the viceroy in palm springs actually. a little slice of heaven. my good friend, kelley and i had planned this trip since the beginning of the year, and to say we were ready for this trip would be a bit of an understatement. for forty eight straight hours, we relaxed, we swam, we reclined on beautiful chaise lounges in the sun, we ate AMAZING food. and we relaxed some more. we shopped at boutiques like the lovely trina turk boutique and trina turk residential and lunched at the parker. yes, heaven. everything was effortless and unplanned and it happens to be one of my most memorable and treasured getaways. 

and then she turned the camera on me.  

isn't this the sweetest. it is a small-scale version of our summer campaign, designed by kelley at pink dot press. kelley is on a lifetime retainer with urban baby for all things design because she is GOLD. 

these limited edition summer sessions always book up quickly, so hurry to get your date on the calendar. we also have a few dates open for our regular summer sessions!

i am giddy with excitement this morning after hearing the news last night that i'll be signing lease papers on my new studio space. i've always preferred working from my home office, with my boys being so little i just wanted to be nearby.  and i made it work, with some great help and healthy dose of humor mixed in. it wasn't always the best scenario since constant interruptions aren't the best for productivity, but it just comes with the territory.

now that my boys are a little older, and my growing business is outgrowing the space here, i decided to start the search for a studio space where i could work from p/t and also use as a client meeting space. i actually started looking in fall of '08, but the logistics were always tricky. it had to be a space that esthetically worked with my brand, somewhere that was within 10 miles of my home, a place that wan't too big, wasn't too small, and wasn't a million dollars per month.

i have always been open to sharing a space, and open to the logistics that come with that. so, when i was presented with an opportunity to share a space with a group of incredibly talented creative individuals recently, i was beyond thrilled! it's a modern building, open floor plan, 5 miles from my house, and the scenario just could not be better, really. the space is perfect for a client meeting area and office area where i'm anxious to get my productivity back without interruption! increased productivity means working less hours and spending more time with my family. 

i'll keep you posted on all the details, in the meantime i've been working on decorating the space which sends me into a frenzy of excitement. the meeting space has an exposed brick wall, polished concrete wall, painted wall and concrete floors. i love the idea of clean, crisp furniture mixed with light wood pieces to add an organic feel. let me know if you have any great ideas, i'd love suggestions!

just a few ideas for starters:

for starters, lucy is one of my absolute FAVORITE girly names. love it. and this little lucy was such a dream. we shot this session at one of my boys favorite hang-out spots, and little lucy was keepin' us on our toes! this lovely family has recently moved to austin, tx  so i'm gonna have to schedule some texan sessions just so i can see this sweet little face again soon!

international goodwill ambassador, liya kebede, is also founder of lemlem - an irresistible children's line of handmade clothing. jcrew has partnered with liya to offer select lemlem pieces at crewcuts.

expensive? yes. but absolutely amazing. what i love most about these bohemian chic pieces is that they are purely simple with amazing detail. paired with some converse, jack purcell's or wellies is perfection in my book!

i was fairly certain i had blogged this session, but after doing some research, i  realized their are several sessions that have gone un-blogged. gasp! i'll fix that right up.

i photographed these sweet boys about 3-ish years ago and it was amazing to see how they've grown into these two young boys. having two boys myself, i knew just the right lingo to get the party started. they were such a blast to hang out with!

this is andrew. those freckles just kill me:

elliott = one of the cutest little boys on the planet. hiding behind his "fort":

tickle fight in full effect:

i love andrews face in this shot:

and, the sweetness that is elliott:

this is just the beginning in regards to my posts on jcrew. this picture is the epitomy of summer - sprinklers, palm springs, laughing girls, cute clothes. every time i see this photo i smile hugely.

{image, copyright jcrew}

oopsie. yes, i am THE worst blogger. i'm really sorry, please forgive me. for the upcoming week, i have a slew of blog posts for y'all. it really is just about making the time to do this blog thing, i'm going to try to be better!

now, on to luke. we shot this session in old towne pasadena - tons of charm wrapped up in this little town!

he wanted to start off the session by shooting me. shooting him. his tiny camera was amazing:

and, because he's my little homey, he warmed up real quickly and showed me his 2 missing front teeth:

well, and he got an ice cream cone which made him super happy:

i don't know what it is about this image, but i just love luke's face:

he's a pro:

i had an AWESOME shoot with this little dude last week, he killed it. the image below is from our last session in fall '08. i've been photographing him since he was a toddler, and it's been amazing watching him grow up!

images from our last session will be up shortly ;).