NC Children’s Photographers Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Charlotte Family Photographer

04 Sep

Weddington, North Carolina Child Photographer | Growing

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph one of my 2012 newborn clients for his first birthday! I just love watching my little clients grow and photographing them with their families. This one year old man was just adorable and astounded us with all his words and we loved watching him walk, giggle, and play with his parents. And seriously, how adorable is his tuxedo shirt?

Enjoy!

Weddington, North Carolina Child Photographer Carolyn Ann Ryan photographs an adorable little man

30 May

Charlotte, NC Child Photographer | First Communion

Cherry Blossoms and Communion Portraits just seem to go hand and hand. For this sweet girl’s Communion Portraits, I met her, her older sister and their mother at Roosevelt Park in Edison and we found a few beautiful cherry blossom trees to line our backdrops. I love all of the expressions and personality of this giggly girl that you can see in these photographs.

Believe it or not, it was a rainy day, and was even drizzling as I drove to the park for the session, but the skies cleared briefly and a beautiful portrait session followed. After formal photos of this sweet girl and her older sister who received the Sacrament of Confirmation this year as well, the girls changed for a fun and casual portrait session together.

Both girls loved being models for the afternoon.

Enjoy!

14 May

Marvin, NC Child Photographer | Cuteness

I love watching my little clients grow. I’ve been photographing this family since their older little man was just a tiny newborn baby. And last year, we welcomed their second little guy. It was so wonderful to meet my clients at Historic Richmondtown in Staten Island once again this Spring to photograph their oldest child’s 3rd birthday portraits along with Easter portraits of both little guys.

During our consultation, their Mom and I talked about how much we love Janie & Jack outfits and I just can’t resist a little boy in a hat, so Mom made sure to get some adorable little hats for these munchkins. Their outfits were just perfect for the day, the season and location.

While we were wandering around Richmondtown in Staten Island, I noticed a few new buildings. These new additions are part of the set for Boardwalk Empire which occasionally films in this area. We loved incorporating the buildings into our photographs.

I hope you enjoy the irresistible cuteness of these little brothers and I can’t wait for the little man’s 1st birthday session later this year!

Enjoy!

Marvin, NC Child Portraits Brothers Marvin, NC Child Portraits of Brothers by Carolyn Ann Ryan

22 Feb

North Carolina Child and Family Photographer | Favorite Fridays – Trendy Ties

As a North Carolina child and family photographer, I often find adorable, little online stores for clothing for children, as well as cute props and accessories! My latest find is this adorable online store, Trendy Ties!

As you might imagine, they make adorable ties and bowties for our favorite little men! But now they also make cute little skirts for our favorite little ladies, as well as matching hair ties! I just received my order today of a sweet tie for my son in the Spring Blue Gingham with a matching skirt and hair tie for my daughter for Easter. I cannot wait to photograph my children in their coordinating set, and will definitely share photos when I do!

These sets will also be adorable for your children for your Spring Family Portrait Sessions, so I recommend checking out their site and placing your order soon, as these are custom made.

For today’s Favorite Friday, I wanted to introduce my clients, fans and friends to Trendy Ties, as well as let you know that I have a special coupon code that I can share with clients. So, if you are a current or past Carolyn Ann Ryan Photography client, and would like to place an order with Trendy Ties, then please email me at carolyn@carolynannryan.com for your special coupon code.

Enjoy your weekend!

11 Sep

Charlotte, NC Child Photographer | Tiny Tuesday – “Someday we’ll tell you what this all means . . .”

On a rainy day in August, and we traveled to Jersey City and spent the morning at the Liberty Science Center. But upon leaving, we found the sky had cleared, and I wanted to visit the Central Railroad of New Jersey historic train station located inside Liberty State Park. It was a short drive from the museum and I knew the kids would enjoy seeing a view of the NYC skyline up close.

But when we got out of the car, my husband and I quickly glanced over and saw the Empty Sky Memorial. Of course, we immediately remembered that day 11 years ago, and our hearts grew a little heavier.

We first ventured into the train station and looked around, and then returned outside to see the skyline again. I have a bunch of images that I love from that afternoon (I’ll post more tomorrow), but as we turned to head back towards the car, we decided to walk through the beautiful Memorial standing tall between us and the parking lot. It was so elegant and peaceful. It deserved a quiet respect. As my husband took my smiling three year old son’s hand and began to slowly walk through the Memorial, I heard him whisper, “Someday we’ll tell you what this all means . . . “.

I paused for a moment with my daughter. In front of me I saw a man with a heavy heart, clutching the sweetness and innocence of childhood right at his side. When I saw their reflection in the side wall, I had to capture the moment. And yes, someday we’ll tell our children what it all means, but not just yet.

Today’s Tiny Tuesday post is in honor of all of those who lost their lives, especially the heroes who gave their lives to help save others.

10 Sep

North Carolina Family Photographer | Ocean Daydreams

Earlier this Summer, I traveled down the Garden State Parkway to meet old friends for an extended family portrait. I was contacted in December by a friend from elementary school that was looking to purchase a gift certificate as a Christmas present for her mother. She knew right away that the ideal time for family portraits would be during the family’s annual vacation in Long Beach Island in the Summer.

It was a special treat to be reunited with a childhood friend, her mother and sister, and also to meet their entire family – husbands and children. The weather was perfect and we began shooting right outside their vacation home before we journeyed down to the beach for extended family portraits as well as sweet moments with all the cousins having fun in the sand. Some of my absolute favorite images are the ones that capture the giggles behind silly moments with a family.

Here is a little opportunity for you to remember those lazy days of Summer . . .

Enjoy!

15 Jun

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer | Happy Father’s Day!

“A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.” ~Author Unknown

For all of you amazing Dads out there, I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with lots of hugs and sweet moments with your children! Enjoy your day!

06 Jun

Marvin, NC Child Photographer | My little girl . . .

Marvin, NC Child Photographer | My little girl . . .

It’s hard to imagine that first grade is almost over. It’s even harder to believe that my little girl is not so little anymore.

During a school vacation day around Memorial Day weekend, I took my daughter out for her own fashion portrait session. We did a couple of different outfits, sparkly headbands, and more. It was our own mini-styled shoot.

Here are the many faces of my sweet, sometimes serious, but mostly giggly, goofy, and curious little munchkin. (And feel free to add your own descriptive words like stunning and beautiful, too!)

17 Apr

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer | Published! {The Indie Tot}

Isn’t it just fitting that my first published family portrait session is with one of my absolutely wonderful clients that I have been working with for the last two years!

Today I have been published on The Indie Tot blog featuring an adorable Fall family portrait session in Historic Richmondtown. Everything about the session was just wonderful – the weather, the location, the family, and the giggly smile of their adorable little man.

Check out The B Family on the The Indie Tot here and please don’t forget to show them some love and comment on the post!!

About The Indie Tot: The Indie Tot features the best of the best for kids! We love the people who excel at creating great products for children – whether they’re handmade, eco-friendly or simply of awesome quality.

09 Apr

Waxhaw, NC Child and Family Photographer | Family Life is . . . .

If you visit and read my web site, you’ll find that I describe family life as “sweetness, love, craziness and chaos all rolled into one.” Well, that statement comes directly from my experience with my own family – my kids, my nieces, cousins, and more. Sometimes you have to embrace the craziness and chaos and just have fun with it.

I love taking Easter Portraits of my kids and my nieces, and I typically hunt for the perfect Easter outfits for my kids. But taking portraits of my own children can be quite entertaining. But I absolutely love the images we made yesterday. The craziness, chaos, sweetness and love are all here. It was completely nutty, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Enjoy!

PS Special thanks to my cousin, Billy, for his willingness to participate in the chaos.

Outfits:

Shannon – Dress: Gap Kids. Headband: Kids Kuts in Westfield
Jack – Shirt, Pants and Hat: Janie & Jack

31 Jan

Charlotte, North Carolina Children’s Photographer | Tiny Tuesday – Expect the Unexpected

What happens when you ask two adorable little girls to gather a pile of leaves and throw them in the air? Sometimes, even the subjects in your photograph don’t know what to expect next.

I loved everything about this session with these two beautiful little girls. The older sister has such a gorgeous smile, beautiful eyes, and she just seems to light up in front of the camera. The younger sister is full of spirit, energy, and a complete bundle of fun!

I also loved the colors here – their mom did a fantastic job with these adorable outfits. While the outfits are completely different, the colors pair nicely together and just pop against our late Fall backdrop.

So, these adorable girls gathered their leaves as requested, and stood really close together ready to toss them into the air. The older one threw her pile up in the air immediately after the first image was shot and honestly before I was completely ready.

But the little one waited just a few seconds more and tossed her pile a little lower (therefore partially in her big sister’s face) – catching her sister completely off guard. And then, this little munchkin was so excited with the leaves raining on their heads that she just starting giggling and running circles around her big sister.

The bottom picture captures a moment of sheer happiness and also one of surprise. What I love most about the images though is how much they made their Mom giggle when we sat down to review them together. Even to this day, everytime she sees that second image, she chuckles remembering the moment. We didn’t expect what happened, but it makes us both smile (and laugh) to remember that feeling of happiness.

26 Jan

Charlotte, NC Photographer | You Can’t Win, If You Don’t Try

Last year, while I was attending WPPI in Las Vegas, Animoto was sponsoring the “Animoto Pro Success Story Contest”. All you had to do was swing by the booth and answer a few questions on video about how you use and why you love Animoto, and one person would be chosen to be featured in an Animoto ad. I had been using Animoto to create slideshows for my clients for about one year, and they always did such an outstanding job helping to convey the emotions and story behind every session. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for a Mom to tell me that it brought her to tears (or her parents, her husband, her neighbors, or her friends).

The contest itself sounded very cool, and although I figured a bunch of awesome and amazing photographers would be lining up for this opportunity, I decided to take a chance. Who knows, right? You definitely can’t win if you don’t at least try, and the opportunity sounded so exciting.

A few months later, I received a phone call from Animoto that I had been chosen to be featured in an ad that would run in Rangefinder and Professional Photograph magazines! Are you kidding me? Their ads so far have featured Kevin Kubota, Vicki Taufer, Scott Bourne, Jeff & Allison Rodgers and so many other wonderful people in the photography industry. And now I could count myself among them? Really?

It took time for me to believe it was really true. We spent some time discussing the plan for the shoot and Animoto’s own Justin Camerer (photographer & software developer) agreed to do the session right in Animoto’s offices. The tech geek in me (that spent 11 years doing software design) was really excited to visit Animoto’s offices and get to know their amazing team. In all honesty, if I still worked in Technology, I would want to work with these guys.

One of the things I love about Animoto isn’t just their awesome slideshows, but I love working with vendors that support photographers and provide education for our industry. And everyone I’ve met from Animoto has been incredible. Their slideshows have amazed my clients, and I still get so excited each time I click the button to produce a new slideshow.

I’m so excited to share a few images from the photo shoot and announce that the ad was published in Rangefinder and Professional Photographer magazine this January. I’m so grateful to Animoto for this opportunity and can’t believe my name is listed in the drop-down on their site along with a ton of top photographers that I admire. Thank you!

Special thanks to Justin Camerer for the portraits and Lindsey Jones for hair/make-up. I loved working with both of you!

30 Dec

Marvin, NC Family Photographer | Fun in the Fall

It’s time to post another session from earlier this Fall. I love clients that keep coming back and giving me a chance to see how much everyone has grown. This is the third year that I had the pleasure of working with this family and capturing adorable moments with them. This year, we chose to meet at Memorial Park in Millburn, NJ, and I was very happy with the different backdrops available at this location.

I love working with families that know how to have a great time together. While the older children were a little more quiet and reserved (and truthfully, just really mature for their age), the little guy definitely showed his true colors and brought out the giggles from everyone else. He just loved playing it up for the camera, too! Can you tell? And everyone had fun when they were asked to play and jump in the leaves!

Enjoy!

19 Dec

Weddington, NC Children’s Photographer | Days to Warm Your Heart

It was mid-October and around 80 degrees, and I had a portrait session scheduled with an adorable family of FIVE boys. Yes, five absolutely wonderful little men. I know their Mom was nervous about the session, not just because she wanted adorable pictures, but she had purchased long sleeves and corduroy pants for them to wear for their holiday portraits, and now it was 80 degrees and the perfect weather for shorts. But, her guys proved she had nothing to worry about.

It wasn’t the sun that warmed my heart that day, but it was the sweet smiles and unbelievable cuteness from these little men. The older boys were so polite as they asked questions about my camera equipment, and helped me carry items as we moved from location to location in Historic Richmondtown. And the little guys just completely stole my heart with the twinkle in their eyes. I know everyone that knows this family would agree that their parents are doing an incredible job raising this family.

Here is a sampling of the images we made that warm October day.

15 Dec

Marvin, North Carolina Family Photographer | Time for some cuteness!

I posted on Facebook yesterday that I have 17 sessions that need to be added to the blog all the way from October through now! 17! It was an incredible and amazing season and I just loved all the time I spent with my clients capturing the cuteness. Even the chaos was fun. I really loved every minute of it.

I just received a comment on my Facebook page from a wonderful person that was excited to see all the cuteness. So, here is the perfect start for sharing cuteness! This gorgeous little lady has been a client since she was just a few days old, and now she is almost two. And she gets more adorable each time I see her.

Enjoy!