Princeton House Photography

Internet, meet Tucker

princetonhouse — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:40:00 +0000

There’s not a lot of back story about Tucker, so I’ll try to make this interesting, but it’s likely to be kind of a boring story. I don’t think it’s much of a secret (if one at all, haha) that I am a dog lover. It’s kinda obvious when I see a dog and my voice gets so high-pitched that only the dogs can hear me. I grew up with dogs, they have always been part of my life, and I just love them. The end.

I’ve been in a bit of a personal rut lately. Feeling a bit overlooked, invisible, and just generally unimportant in several avenues of life, which – come to find out – stems from within (imagine that?) I don’t say this to gain your sympathy, but rather to show you where I’ve been, and how we ended up here. Have you ever just felt like you wanted to do something, with no real good reason, and barely a solid supporting argument to back it up? But – you just want to?

I wanted a second dog.

I had no good reason, I just wanted to. At the end of the day, I managed to come up with a strong enough argument to get Jeff on board with the idea… But right from the beginning, it was fairly obvious… this was my ship, I was the only one sailing it, and I had no idea whether it was right or wrong. I just wanted to.

We went to the shelter just to look, and less than an hour later, Tucker was in the car coming home with us. We had no collar, no leash, no food dish, nothing to feel even slightly “prepared” for this change. We all just wanted to.

It’s like that quote…. Sometimes you just take the leap, and you grow your wings on the fall……..

The first two days I kept thinking to myself “did I make a mistake?”

It was a little stressful at first, we adopted him on a Monday night of an incredibly busy week of work & kid events, we had no plan, no idea what was going to happen, or how it would happen… But everyone just sorta shifted and adjusted, and though we are still working out some of the kinks – it’s been pretty much exactly what I imagined it to be, maybe even better. I can barely even believe it myself…

Tucker is two, he’s been in shelters his whole life, and was transferred from Kentucky, to Indiana, and then finally to New Hampshire where he’d been for four months before we found him. I still can’t believe he’s been overlooked for so long, he is incredibly sweet and playful! He is fitting right in with the chaos of this life, I trust him fully with the kids, and I am pretty sure my favorite part is watching he & Echo play… It looks like a vicious battle, but tails are wagging like crazy the whole time…

So, there it is. Princeton House East has a new furry family member… Just because I wanted to. And, ya know what? I have zero regrets about taking this leap... Sometimes, you just want to, and you do, and it turns out pretty rad. The end.

Evie – 3 Months Old!!

princetonhouse — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:27:10 +0000

You know the expression – time flies when you’re having fun! It had hardly felt like the blink of an eye when I was back to shoot Evie’s 3-month session in her families’ beautiful home. The winter months in New Hampshire make it challenging to bring little ones outdoors, but lately I’ve developed a love for shooting these sessions inside, with everyone just sorta following their normal routines. It’s an awesome feeling to show a family how beautiful their routine is, through my eyes, and my lens…

Pretty incredible how fast they grow!! And as their journey continues, I am excited (and honored) to be along for the ride See you again soon!!

poetry | NH Photographers blog circle

princetonhouse — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 01:37:25 +0000

Hi All! So, this months theme for the NH Photographers blog circle was poetry… I decided to pick a favorite poem – Where the Sidewalk Ends - by Shel Silverstein, and set it to photographs… Growing up, the Shel Silverstein books were always my favorite because they were light hearted and fun, silly, and sweet, and I always imagined reading them to my children someday… To this day, this is still one of my favorites, and I hope you enjoy the photographs I chose to accompany….

Please follow the circle along by clicking over to Lisa Louise Photography for the next entry in the circle!! Can’t wait to see the rest!!

Need help deciding?

princetonhouse — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:22:06 +0000

Hey Clients…. This post is for you guys, and THIS IS SO RAD I can barely contain myself (it’s the small things.)

Even though the base of my packages is digital files, I am still more than happy to assist you in getting those files printed and up on your walls! With your USB flash drive, you will receive a signed print release that includes both local, and online recommended options for printing. In addition, I do offer printing services through a professional vendor that I am partnered with and I always encourage you to consider letting me do all the leg work on prints larger than 16×20, so that all you have to do is hang and enjoy. I really love seeing what you all do with the photos once our session is over…

Because, your family is art. You created it yourself. So why not show it off in your home?

So now onto the reason for this post… I recently downloaded a business tool on my iPad that is going to be WAY fun for us to play with together! If you are a visual person (like me) you probably have a hard time envisioning what the photos from our session will look like on your walls… Now, I can show you!!

Using sample room images, I can show you a collage of canvas prints, or framed prints (with and without matts), and we can mix and match collages in a matter of minutes, with just a few quick taps… Check out a few samples I just tossed together…

Still not visual enough for you? How about using your actual house?? I’ve been wanting to put together a collage of my step-sons playing sports in our den for a while now… So I gave it a whirl… The app has a built in ruler that helps you scale the room properly. You literally just snap a photo, measure something in the room (I measured the couch) enter in the measurement, and then you’re ready to start playing on the wall!

It’s also handy to see the different sizes and how they will look in your space… I’ve had so many clients order an 8×10 only to realize it was so much smaller once they got it up on their wall. Larger prints make such an impact… Here’s an example:

And, if you are still unsure, and want time to think it over, I can email the picture to you right from the iPad. I seriously love this! Such a simple and fun tool.

If you are a past client, and need some help getting your photos up on your walls, send me a message and let’s pick a time to play! OR, email me a photo of a wall in your home, and I’ll send you back some ideas.

Silhouettes | NH Photographers blog circle

princetonhouse — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 14:47:03 +0000

I have to admit, I was a little overly excited about the silhouette theme of this months NH Photographer’s blog circle! I’m a bit of a silhouette junkie, and it’s always fun to shoot these when the right opportunity turns up! A couple years ago I set out to learn how to shoot these kinds of images, and ended up with this silly photograph of my husband in a field near our home (please note, muscles may or may not have been enhanced per his request… I’ll never tell...)

After that, I was hooked. While shooting some engagement photos for my best friend and her husband, the sky was perfect, and we shot this image, which to this date, is still one of my absolute favorites!

Most recently, in anticipation of this blog post, I knew I wanted to try to get some sunset silhouette shots during our vacation in Maui… Once our group reached the top of the Haleakala Crater, I was SO EXCITED to give it a try…. Here’s some of the fun we had up there…

But my love for silhouettes doesn’t stop there… I’ve been known to shoot these kinds of photos even with my iPhone on occasion…

Thanks for peeking in on my silhouettes… Keep the circle going, and continue on to Michelle Heath’s blog: Michelle Heath Photography to see her silhouette share!

Winter Maternity Session

princetonhouse — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:16:16 +0000

This adorable family came to me by way of a past client, and I was elated when during the planning of our session while chatting with this gorgeous Momma to be, I learned that not only was she totally game for an outdoor winter maternity session, but she just happened to have this amazing forest IN her back yard. She casually mentioned that it had trails, and stone walls, and thankfully we were emailing at the time, because I think I died about 17 times over how awesome it sounded…

These guys were SO fun to spend the morning with. I love this job for so many reasons, one of them being that meeting new people is really fun, and getting a front seat view into another family’s lives is pretty much magic….

You know what else is magic?? The light in those woods… Check it out:

I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting the sweet little guy that was in that belly, and let me just tell you - you won’t want to miss that photo share, so stay tuned. Jaimie, Jeff & Reed – thank you for opening your home to me! You guys are the best, and I can’t wait for more sessions with you later this year!

a decade

princetonhouse — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:41:03 +0000

So here we are… ten years in with this one…. How is that even possible? How has it possibly been an entire decade? All of the cliche things that could be said about time passing too fast are true when it comes to your children… One day, you are doing absolutely any-ridiculous-thing to hear that brand-new baby giggle again, and then you blink and here you are…

I still remember holding her for the first time. Smelling her sweet baby smell… Feeling that transformation within myself. Becoming a Mother. Her Mother. She took my breath away…

Normally, I spend a lot of time reflecting backwards on my children’s birthdays… But when I look at these pictures, I can’t help but look forward a little bit, as within them I see the glimpses of a young woman waiting to shine. Her baby face is thinning away… Her features are maturing… Her friendships are deepening… She no longer wears pig-tails in her hair… She no longer hugs me goodbye during school drop-offs… And it’s all ok, it’s all part of the journey, it’s all part of the growing process… It’s beautiful yet it’s heartbreaking at the very same time.

She still takes my breath away.

Beautiful girl, go easy on me in this next decade. Remember that watching you test those wings will not always be easy for me. Remember that no-matter-what my love for you is the reason I may hesitate to let you go, but that when you do, I will wish for nothing but the most amazing flight…

For now, though, I will still sneak my hugs in, I will still enjoy every moment of our conversations while I tuck you in at night, and I will never stop doing any-ridiculous-thing to hear that incredible laugh.

You may not be mine forever, but I am forever yours…

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl.

Baby Evie

princetonhouse — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:12:08 +0000

Just about nine months ago, I got a text message from my friend Amanda, letting me in on a very exciting secret. It was the kind of news where you can not stop smiling ALL DAY, and you literally want to stop strangers in the street to tell them. We texted back and forth for the duration of her pregnancy, we exchanged pictures of Toni Braxton when the Braxton Hicks started kicking in, and then finally, while I was out shopping one afternoon, I received a text with the very first photograph of Baby Evie at the hospital, and I think I literally scared the living daylights out of everyone who just happened to be shopping at TJ Maxx that day with my enormous squeal of joy.

You know what’s equally as amazing as becoming a parent? Watching your friends become parents. No joke. My heart BURSTS for them, and how could it not… Just check out how precious this little girl is…

**The above image is a composite of two images. Baby is being held upright by Dad’s careful hands, which were then edited out of the end photo. I like to disclose this information so that no one at home tries something similar without knowing.**

Amanda & Brad… Holy SMOKES, I am so happy for you guys. Not only are you guys awesome friends, but you’re going to be amazing parents, and I am so grateful to have spent the day with you taking these photographs! It will truly be a joy to watch Evie grow!

XO!

rush hour – personal project part 2 of (at least)12

princetonhouse — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:13:49 +0000

Have you ever played this game? It’s a puzzle game where you have to move the cars around to let one car off the board, and you can usually only move them in one exact pattern – which takes a lot of time and patience to figure out. It makes you think… It also has a tendency to frustrate Mr. Keegan, as can be seen on his face in some of the pictures. When I heard him in the other room getting frustrated, I decided to see if I could help…

And then I realized – what a great opportunity to continue with my New Years Resolution of getting IN the pictures. It is not always easy to get the camera focused correctly when I am not operating it myself (I hope I will get better at this as the year progresses.) But even though I am not in focus in some of these, I love that bright light spilling in, the togetherness, and the quiet moments of sitting and thinking that we captured… The high-five at the end was just the icing on the cake…

Love this little guy.

Fall recap

princetonhouse — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:07:46 +0000

WOW!! It sure has been a busy couple of months… The holidays came and went in a big blur of busy. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with some amazing families this fall and early winter – It was my busiest “busy season” to date, and I am so excited about the year to come! Without further adieu, here’s a look at some of my favorite photos from the past couple months…

I feel genuinely lucky and so thrilled to have worked with such wonderful families in 2012, and can’t wait to continue the journey in 2013!