Max and Lily of Max and Lily’s Closet

Max and Lily, for whom the fabulous shop Max and Lily’s Closet was named, took a morning to model for me. They were such sweet kids they were a blast to shoot. Max was, I admit, not into it at first but he ended up giving me one of the few images I titled something more creative than “IMG_5674″ or “Girl with Hat 2″.

The Unbearable Lightness of Boyhood

And the beautiful Lily…

And the pair of them…

And some questions…

Tell me about Max and Lily (the people).
Max is a charmer! He is very smart and certainly ahead of his time. His first word was “WOW” and he would say it in response to EVERYTHING! Carrot..WOW, Wind in his face…WOW, kiss on his cheek…WoW! The way he said it was soo sweet, just a long, bright eyed, WOooooOW! That pretty much sums him up even to this day!

Lily is just a complete sweetheart! She’s a little artist through and through…very creative and sensitive. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is always looking for a cuddle! My room is full of little love notes from her! She is just a complete love bug!

What do they say and do that utterly charms you?
Oh gosh! So many things during the course of their lives have charmed me. Right now though, Lily will spend hours making cards for all the special people in her life! All very personalized and heartfelt. If you get a card from Lily there is no way you can have a bad rest of your day! Listening to Max strum an original on his guitar is just heaven to me.

What are your hopes and dreams for them?
Firstly, I hope I don’t “mess” them up! I’m pretty sure that is a pipe dream as we all end up “messing” up our kid’s in our own special way. I just hope that they grow up in touch with their feelings and confident in who they. Mostly, I hope they feel secure in the world and touch it in their own special way!

What is the best part about motherhood for you?
It would be so hard to nail one thing as “the best” down. There are so many great things about motherhood. The creation of a person followed by the molding of that person into the type of people you would like to be surrounded by all the time…that truly is priceless. Watching that all come to be is amazing!

What is the most challenging part of motherhood for you?
100% the most challenging part of motherhood is managing Max and Lily’s relationship! The other day while I was in the shower and I heard them bickering in the other room, it occurred to me that they are like an old married couple stuck with each other and I am their live in marriage counselor!

How did you get the idea for Max & Lily’s (the store)?
I love consignment shopping! To me, the best part has always been the thrill of the hunt. There is nothing better than coming home with a unique toy or a super cute outfit, especially when I found it at a fraction of the retail price. Not having a consignment store in West Hartford was kind of a bummer. One day in December, I was having breakfast at Moe’s and a store in the plaza was available. My first thought was this is perfect for a consignment store. I inquired about the space the next day and found it was already rented. The idea really stuck with me though and a week or so later I found an even better space on Park Road. I believed in it so much that I didn’t waste any time and even though I had no retail experience (degree in Microbiology) I went for it.

When did you open?
We opened March 1st and moved into our bigger space 2 doors down in the middle of June!

What is the most satisfying thing about running a consignment shop?
Soomany things. Many of which I never would’ve expected. Firstly, I love that we are recycling and offering this service in West Hartford. Secondly, I love the thrill I get when something really great comes in and I know there is a person who is going to come in and find it and it’ll make their day! Mostly, I love the people! I am amazed everyday that I remember everyone’s name and where they are vacationing or where their kids are going to camp this summer. I also love when something comes in and I know just who to call that will love it. I feel so connected to the community since opening the store and I love that the most.

Do you have a funny anecdote from the store you can share?
When we had first opened a woman had brought in what she though were her kids outgrown items that she had asked them to round up. She ripped open the bag and dumped it on the ground (we don’t usually accept items from garbage bags but it was like my first day accepting) and out comes an entire garbage bag full of underwear and other under-garments. It was a horrifying moment when she realized she had grabbed the wrong bag and quickly collected her things and returned home for the actual bag. That cracked me up.

Also, we have a dress in the store that has been bought, worn for a special occasion, and re-consigned 3 times. It may be pink but it is also very green.

There have been so many heartwarming stories as well, I feel like after only 4 months in business I could write a book about the warm fuzzy stuff.

Any advice from the trenches of working motherhood?
Being new to working motherhood I consider myself more of an advice taker than giver. One thing though, if you’re going to bring your kids to work with you make sure you bring along snacks….lots and lots of snacks! I won Wolfie over with wheat thins. My kids are not that easy. The other day Max requested Duck and Shrimp for lunch.

Thanks!

Girl with Parasol

Gorgeous Children | Avon Children’s Photographer

This was one of those childrens’ portrait sessions I was really grateful at the end it wasn’t my kids because there is simply no way I couldn’t have every single one of these. It was s fun mix of film – love that film look – and digital for these. I adore working with film and am always thrilled to have a client who appreciates the special feel of a film portrait!

Of course, my kids never actually cooperate like this. Mine aim more for the “running away from the camera as fast as my legs with shoes on the wrong feet will go” look. Since if they consistently gave me portraits like THESE my house would be wall-papered with photos perhaps I should be grateful.

Moments to Remember at Photography Sessions

Now and again things happen at photography sessions that make one laugh, though usually not until a bit later after a glass of wine or two. A small sampling…

1. I was doing a very casual portfolio building shoot of a friend’s 3-month old son at my house on my back deck. She took her glasses off to get some pictures holding her child without the specs and my own child grabbed her glasses, broke them, and dropped them under the deck. We had to fish them out (or rather, I did, as she really is basically blind without her glasses) using a hook AFTER we located where they were by peering through the wooden boards at the assorted dead leaves below. Finding patterned brown glasses in dead leaves with almost no light is, well, interesting. I told her to let me pay for new ones. Did she? No. They are STILL taped together and that boy is 18 months old now. Every time I see them I feel glasses-guilt. Lesson learned: don’t ever try to do even the most casual shoot with your kids around. This just doesn’t end well.
2. I did a maternity session for one woman and was doing a set of rapid fire pictures, one after another, of the same pose. When I went back to proof the pictures, as I flipped from one to the next, I realized I could see the baby shifting around inside her womb and causing her abdomen to change shape. I’ve also had a woman have contractions during the shoot; she was a trooper and hiked all over West Hartford Center – in high heeled boots – pausing only briefly during contractions. She admitted she hoped the walking would bring on full labor. No such luck. I did, however, once have a mother go into full labor about 5 hours after our session.
3. Babies pee on my ALL THE TIME. It’s just part of the job and one reason I wear very casual clothes to shoots. Only once, however, did I manage to actually catch an arc of pee in the air when I pushed the shutter RIGHT as the baby peed. If this happens to you I will add a complimentary 4X6 of that shot for you to tuck away until your child’s wedding rehearsal dinner when you can add it to the slideshow of cute childhood pictures. This will be payback for the sleep deprivation.
4. At a wedding I once, camera gear hanging from my neck, jumped down a river bank to grab a blow-away ketubah that the wind had snatched and was attempting to introduce to the water, not 15 minutes after every single person in the family had signed it. This was not in the fine print of “How to be a wedding photographer.” I’ve also helped a bride into her dress, which eliminated any sweet “the bride getting dressed” shots but ensured that she actually DID get zipped into her dress.

Ridiculously Adorable Little Boy

People ALWAYS want to know how to dress their kids. Little boys in tank-tops and jeans are about as cute as it gets. It gives them the freedom to show me the bugs they find (and, err… your kids will probably end up dirty after a photo shoot with me – best not to plan a fancy dinner directly afterward) and to sit in the mud or climb a tree. Of course, I’m perfectly happy to send a girl in a linen dress into the mud too but there is just something about a little boy in a simple shirt and jeans that evokes timeless childhood innocence in a way that ties and button down shirts just don’t.

Lovely Young Woman

SUCH a beautiful girl. This young woman was one of the models at a workshop I went to recently and she was just amazing. I love getting to work with girls this age. They are so self-possessed and just hovering on that paper thin line between childhood and adulthood and over the course of a session you can see them go back and forth between the two.

My OTHER Gorgeous Senior Rep

I have two beautiful young women who volunteered to be my senior reps this year (or, rather, next year). This woman is SO much fun. She hardly stopped laughing the entire session and has SUCH a gorgeous smile. And, really, how can you not love someone who brings a Buddha to her session? Thank you for being just such a delight to photograph; I should have your goodies out to you soon!

Gorgeous Girl Child and Workshop Ramblings

I went to my first photography workshop this weekend and I’m still recovering. The other photographers were awesome and I ate brains.

No. Really. Jen Snyder, who is my long lost dork twin, ordered “lobster with sweet breads” at dinner the first night. Sweet breads are brains. Who knew? She didn’t, and neither did I. They taste like garlic.

Back to the photographers. Summer was so much fun. She does some of the most beautiful color newborn work I’ve ever see and she can get joy out of the most recalcitrant child. Leiba was the coolest, most inspiring wench imaginable and Zoe, who organized the workshop, shoots the most beautiful scenes and intimidates the hell out of me because she is just that good. As for the teacher, well, I am Cheryl Jacobs‘ crazy stalker and some day she’s going to find me living under her porch so I can pluck every last bit of knowledge from her brain.

Brains. Mmmmmm….

So, we took a lot of pictures – go figure at a photography workshop – and this particular child was one of my favorite models because she was such a bit of mischief. And those freckles!

I call this one “Her Ladyship Sits for Her Portrait.”

Expect more of more kids as the days go by…

My Beautiful 2011 Senior Rep

After a slew of babies I got to go out and shoot a teenager the other day. No NO. With a camera. Sheesh. And she was GORGEOUS. We’d had to reschedule once because she had a driver’s test that, in classic DMV style, had not happened on time. But, thanks to the reschedule, we got to go out during the gorgeous light of the end of the day.

Senior rep is a good gig. I get 1 or 2 high school seniors to model and they get brag books, 411 cards and discounts on prints as well as referral cash for every session they send me. I have one more rep to shoot this week and then it’s onto full on senior portrait season.

Oh, wait… you want to SEE this beautiful young woman. Oh. Well. I suppose I could manage that…

Just My Little Dude

This child is almost four. This is hard to believe. My last picture of him at this spot he was reaching for the wind chime and couldn’t actually reach it. Now, older and taller, he is closer to the chime and a little further away from being my baby.