Sneak peeks, favorites and news from Berks County’s baby & children’s photographer, Jennifer Breton
Every February 8th, I spend a little extra time cuddling my middle child at night before he goes to bed, and I make him promise to me–swear to me–that this will be his last birthday. And every February 9th, he bounds out of bed and stands in front of me with a huge smile on his face, looking a little older and a little taller, and giggles, “sorry!”
So here’s to hoping that we’ll figure out a way to make him stop at 7, because I sure do love him just as he is. :)
In case you were wondering, I haven’t died, or been hurt, been trapped under a heavy computer desk unable to move, or lost my fingers and am unable to type. Blogging, sadly, has taken a backseat to editing and fulfilling orders during this busy time of year, but I promise that all of the adorable faces I’ve worked with this fall will soon be making their way to the blog, just as soon as all of the sessions are edited. (And in case you’re one of my clients waiting for your gallery, you will be hearing from me within the next few days–all of the sessions should be edited and available for viewing by next Wednesday at the latest.)
Yesterday, I took a break from editing for just a few moments to try to set up a few photos with my youngest (just turned 3) to say thanks to all of you in a neat and creative way, and, well, he refused. :) M&Ms didn’t even work. And hey, if it isn’t going to be fun, I’m not pushing it, so here I am, pictureless, but with a ton of thanks in my heart to all of you. It’s been a big year for me: Opening a studio (and then moving into a newly-renovated studio a few months later); studying with some of America’s best; and having, roughly, double the clients that I had last year in a major economic slump. I appreciate all of you who have hung in there waiting for galleries when I’ve been swamped and behind (e.g., the last few months) and have appreciated that I feel it compromises my artistic vision and integrity and perfectionist personality to have someone else edit my images for me, even though it would speed up the process. Those of you who have dealt with incessant gnats (still! At the end of November!) and crazy amounts of rain and wind and mud and trying to work around nap times because, even though working outdoors is unpredictable and sometimes a huge pain, it is the most beautiful place to have portraits taken, and your kids have loved it more than being cooped up inside under studio lights and told to stand in one spot.
Your kids are all very special to me. I have truly loved working with all of them. Nothing makes me smile more than hearing how they asked to play with me again the next day, and getting their hugs and high fives at the end of their sessions. To freeze the moments where moms and dads hold their kids with unbridled joy and love on their faces, and their kids to hug them and love them back just as equally. These, truly, are the moments; it’s truly an honor to capture them for you.
So thank you.
xox
Thank you SO SO SO much to all of my clients and new faces that stopped by the studio on Sunday. Each of your kids enters my heart when I’ve worked with them, and it’s always so exciting to see how much they’ve grown and changed, even if it’s been 2 years since I saw them last, or 2 months. It was exciting meeting some new kids and their parents (who I hope to photograph soon), as well, and particularly hearing about new brothers and sisters who are on their way!
The fall & holiday mini sessions will be beginning this weekend, and are completely booked for October, and possibly fully-b0oked for November. I can probably squeeze in one more client for the second week in November, and if the weather stays nice, I may extend the sessions one more week to the 22nd. If you’re interested, please let me know ASAP as I will definitely be closing my November calendar soon (though if you’re pregnant or just had a baby, I’ll always do my best to fit in a belly or a brand new baby! :)
If you’re thinking about a session for early ‘10, I’m going to be debuting a new documentary style session, and will be looking for a few special families to share a half day with you and your kids. Please keep your eyes on the blog for a special offer coming up soon after the fall sessions.
If you are waiting for your proofs, I promise to be in touch soon–things, as usual, have been busy and I am running a few weeks behind with proofing, which was just complicated by my computer deciding that it didn’t want to work quickly any longer. A new computer has arrived (if I could only find wake up and find all that I need installed on it!) and I am hoping to be zipping through sessions much quicker in the next two weeks. I am very much appreciative of your patience and understanding–thank you for sitting tight. :)
And finally, because I can’t post without pictures, I worked with two seniors (one’s a senior at Daniel Boone high school here in Berks County, the other at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon County). I was a bad blogger trying to keep my mini session and open house info at the top of the blog for a few weeks, so I was waiting to post their sessions until the open house was over. Congrats on your senior years, Sammy & Steven, and best wishes!
During January, when I’m paying $4.99 for a half pint of soon-to-be moldy blueberries to use for pancakes or serve with lunch, I think of how amazing July is, when buckets of blueberries can be bought for practically the same cost. How I wish July could be spread out over half of the year–it’s by far my most favorite month. I must confess that perhaps a little of that is probably because my birthday’s this month, but as I’ve gotten older and wish for fewer birthdays, it’s become more about all of the amazing produce that’s in season during July.
If anyone drives past my house this afternoon and smells some deliciousness coming from my kitchen window, that would be the blueberry pie.
8 years old. Unbelievable.
There’s something very special about your first-born’s birthday: I often feel like it’s a little bit of a celebration for me and Joe, too. Maybe it’s because her birthday is just 4 days shy of the date of our wedding anniversary, but on her birthday, a little bit of the celebration I soak in just for me and Joe to honor the anniversary of us becoming parents.
Still. It’s crazy she’s 8.
My sweet Ryan. May all your dreams come true. Happy birthday.
xox.
I got a cute one of all three of my kiddos. All who suffer from extreme PCS (photographer’s child syndrome), causing major aversion to lenses being pointed at them. Must have gone in remission with the promise of Easter candy the following morning. ;)
I hope you enjoy the new blog!
I keep pleading and pleading with them to stay little, but despite my begging, they keep on having birthdays.
Happy 6th, Josh! I love you, baby!
*groan* Starting the first post of 2009 with a really, really bad joke is probably not the best thing to welcome everyone to the New Year, but well, too late. :) The answer to the aforementioned bad joke is that we went to Disney World! And, if you can believe it, it was the first time for all of us–me and my husband included. (Yeah, seriously. :)
Needless to say, it was just an absolutely magical time.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a blessed New Year! I will be back to posting sessions again in a few days–lots of fresh 2009 babies making their appearances this month.
(Videographer, I am not. Well, in my defense, he doesn’t sit still, ever. Ever. Nevereverever. For real. :)
Well, except this one time. And that was only with Joe’s help.
Happy birthday Isaac!
Lori Wood Habiger of Center Stage Photography in Kansas blog-tagged me. (By the way, go check out her work. I’m the furthest thing from a studio photographer, but Lori’s really such a master of light. I happen to really love her classic–yet distinctly modern–way of photographing maternity, and also her modern series of dancers.)
The rules:
“7 Things About Me”
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 7 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag.
(So seriously, I have a writing degree, and I’m a total loss as to what to write. So I’m turning to the random word generator–God bless the Internet–to come up with topics, LOL!) Here we go:
1. My random word is “neat.”
Neat I am not. Well, hopefully, I’m neat in the “cool” sense of the word, but the picked-up sense? Unfortunately, not so much. I was going to post a picture of my office (where my lack of neatness is most evident–the rest of the house is good thanks to Joe’s OCDness), but you know what? I’m just not so sure I can display my un-neatness publicly, LOL.
2. My random word is “vertical.”
I’m 5′10″ and hate it. I know–everyone says you should just love being tall. The grass is always greener, right? :) I was taller than my mom in fourth grade, I was taller than several boys that I dated (and am only an inch shorter than Joe), I was always lined up in the back and center of school pictures in elementary school, and buying pants that didn’t look like I was waiting for a flood to occur was quite a feat until they finally introduced tall lengths several years ago. I’d so love to wear heels, but I stick out like a sore thumb in anything taller than an inch. I’m afraid I’m a huge inadvertent sloucher because of trying to shrink myself.
3. My random word is “communism.”
Pass? ;)
3.2. My random word is “president.”
I love presidential election years. Love them. I love how excited those of us who love politics get during an election year–it’s as energizing as preparing for your wedding, and I feel the same sense of let-down after the big day’s passed. The year I turned 18 was a presidential election year and I was so excited to go and cast my ballot. I’ve always made a point to see the presidential candidates in person at local rallies, and I even attended one national convention (though I was there to cover it back in my magazine writing days).
Pssst: Tonight’s debate night!
4. My random word is “audio.”
I’m a HUGE U2 fan. Huge. So’s Joe. It’s not exactly how we first met, but I think it was how we first became interested in each other. (Let’s put it this way, our very first date was to get a midnight copy of Zooropa. :) We’ve been front row (twice now), we’ve held Bono (our hands are in here):
and perhaps sadly (well, not to us, anyway!), some of these moments rank up there with us getting married and having our kids. But two years ago, me being hugely pregnant (13 days away from my due date), we finally got to meet them at a book signing in NYC, which I won tickets to:
>
Bono noticing for the first time I was about ready to pop:
Bono giving me a kiss. Jealous? :)
Being interviewed by VH-1:
While their music is huge part of why we love them so much, it’s also the band’s and Bono’s humanitarian efforts that make them even more endearing to us. Check out: http://www.one.org
5. My random word is “pavement.”
I rode my tricycle off of my grandparent’s front porch and down three steps when I was a toddler. According to my mother, this was one of her scariest moments of my childhood. For my father, I think it was the moment I was sledding at his parent’s house, on my belly, face first, and going too fast down their hill. Not knowing how else to stop (and not realizing I could just jump off), I decided to run into a tree to prevent myself from sledding into the road. Thankfully I didn’t paralyze myself. (I had a great track record at my grandparents, didn’t I?)
6. My random word is “motor.”
My first car was a 1973 VW Beetle, which was older than me. It had no heat, I had to scrape the inside window in the winter, and the motor blew on it about 6 months after I had bought it because it had an oil leak and I didn’t realize the oil lamp turning on was a critical notice to stop using the car. I had three other VWs through high school (Rabbits), finally getting two Jettas in college, and then swearing off VWs forevermore after the last Jetta had multiple problems. I now am a loyal Honda girl. And sadly, I have no pictures of any of my cars.
7. My random word is “horde.”
I’m hording a secret about my business, la, la, la. :) Well, not really since I told a couple of you, but I do have a nice addition to my business to announce in the next couple of days. Stay tuned.
I’m tagging:
A client from this past summer, April; a faithful blog reader, Diana; my BFF, Bridgette; Mike Smith of Ash Imagery (who might hate that I tagged him); and my friend Holli out in Washington state, who inspired me to start my business.