What Real Friendship Is Like...

It was a typical playdate, and I got so lucky to have my camera close by. I have thousands of images, but somehow these are so special and so close to my heart...they portray the essence of childhood, the real bond these girls have over toys and ice-cream, and most importantly, our daily life :) The day is never complete until an empty ice-cream wrapper is visible somewhere, and I know, it will be hard to believe, but our girl totally ignores toys. Presents she gets stay unwrapped for months until I transfer them to our storage room, but when it comes to ice-cream, she is unstoppable. She will come up with an amazing story on how great her dinner was that she ate it all, or how she was dreaming about "something cold on a stick"...So, to see her sharing her "most precious thing" (and she does it all the time) makes me feel great.

I think someone on the right wants something really bad :) Can you tell?

!!!

That is what you get for sharing - a sweet kiss

...and a super warm hug!

See, I told you, the day is not complete without something sweet on a stick :)

The Queen of Ice-Cream

If you want some, just ask! :)

Friends, big and small, if you ever have an urge for ice-cream, come over, our freezer has limitless amounts of it. Hooray for ice-cream! :)

We Are Family!

Thanksgiving is an annual American Federal holiday to express thanks for one's material and spiritual possessions. What is the most important spiritual possession one might have? Family! There is nothing more important in the whole wide world than your family. This is the exact reason why we fell in love with this family.

A couple of weeks ago we received a call that went something like this:
-Hello, this is Tony.
-Hi Tony, I am looking for a photographer to take some portraits of my family on this date. Are you available by any chance?
-Great! We are available and would love to be of help.
You get the idea, it was a regular inquiry, but what immediately stood out to me is the phrase at the end of our conversation - There is going to be a lot of us and we just LOVE each other!

Fast forward to the day of the shoot. Picture this - cold rainy day with no prospect of sunshine (according to forecast) - we are supposed to start the shoot with a game of touch football. You can imagine what was going through our head ... Once we were inside the house with our cameras set and ready to shoot we looked at each other with these huge smiles on our faces. Why the smiles? It was the "scent" of FAMILY that was in the air. Sorry, but this is the best way I can describe it. The amount of love and joy shared was overwhelming. Right then and there we knew that we'd hit the jackpot and there was nothing that could stop this family and us from having a blast together :)

The day was so-well planned out, from a hockey game early in the morning to some football, to a balloon toast...to some awesome turkey preparation (deep-frying! yes!)...to a lovely dinner.

The girls are looking at the balloons flying high in the sky right after the balloon toast

We love this simple moment between father and son that will be treasured forever.

Stephanie and the gang! This Thanksgiving was twice as special for us than usual, we truly felt like a part of your big happy family. You've touched our lives with your love and warmness (is that a word?), and for that we are so thankful! Please, keep up the good work and we hope your tradition is not going to be forgotten like some others and will stand the test of time through generations to come.
Please, enjoy this slideshow and visit the entire gallery from the day here.

Kessa in South Boston

Full write up to follow soon. For now, kindly enjoy these images :)

Maine Strobist Shoot

If you are a photographer, than you have probably heard of Strobist. If you are not a photographer, than this probably won't mean much to you, but don't leave just yet, as we have some cool images down below. Strobist is a site dedicated to off camera lighting and nothing else. In a short couple of years it has become the mecca of information about flash photography, so if you are interested in creative lighting head on over there and spend as much time there as possible :)

Anyhow, about a week ago we attended a photographers get together in Maine that was put together by our fellow strobisters (that sounds weird...) Mark, Andrew and Nate. Guys, thanks a ton for organizing such an awesome event. So, last Saturday morning me, Anna, Doug, James and Shyla rented a minivan and drove all the way to Topsham, ME for the event. I have heard several people say that they hadn't had that much fun in a long time and I would have to agree with that. It was wicked fun! Alsmost 30 photographers, a dozen models, professional make up artists, loads of awesome lighting gear...what else does a photographer need! :) Thanks to everyone who showed up and made this event a success! Can't wait for the next one. If you are interested in attending one of these in the future, make sure you check this site and check it periodically. Well, here are some images that I had a chance to edit, more to come in a couple of days.

Allison

Cody

Kessa

Ginger Cricket

Cassa

Ashley

A Happy Family: Revisited

This blog post comes right on time, because today is a big day for one of our past clients -a wonderful mommy whom I proudly call friend. We bonded the minute we met, so our business relationship almost instantly transitioned into a personal one. I couldn't be happier that our paths have crossed and we stay in touch, because I have such adoration for this family. Happy Birthday, Betina! We wish you a lifetime of unconditional love and happiness, a zillion of laughs and smiles...and may your family always stay strong and healthy!

Not so long ago we were invited for dinner and some family fun. Betina wanted us to try some Dominican food, and as it turned out, she knew all about my love for potatoes (thank you, Tony :)) I couldn't believe that she chose several recepies that included potatoes just for me, and I thank her for that! The food was absolutely delicious and we all had such a great time playing, chatting and simply enjoying each others company.

Here are some pictures that surely won't prove you otherwise :)
I hope that the next time we get together I will be able to learn some martial arts from the kids, can't wait!

JJ patrolling

Ohh, these games require such concentration, but bring so much joy !

Time to eat the cake!

I wonder what JJ was thinking about...

DiDi feels very comfortable here

What a cutie!

BFFs

Have a great Birthday, darling, I'm sure the kids have some killer presents for you :)

I love you guys and hope to see you soon! And now, Cheers :)

Alex+Maria: "The Day After" Shoot

Recently we have been getting more and more inquiries about our “the day after” shoots, and we couldn’t help but notice that these sessions are becoming more and more popular with other photographers. How does the idea of cruising around the city with nothing but time, our creativity and cameras sound to you? Good? Well, here are several reasons for having a session like this: the pressure of the wedding day is long gone - there neither are no time constrains nor is there a limit on locations - you (the bride) don’t have to obsess about keeping your dress immaculately clean, which allows for some creative posing - plus, who wouldn’t have a desire to get all pumped up again and wear a wedding dress one more time? I totally would, and I did, and I’d love to do it again :) Also, by that time you are used to being in front of the cameras and it greatly shows in the created imagery.

Just because we call it “the day after” shoot, it doesn’t mean that we have to do it the next day. The session can be scheduled at any point in time, like in this case with Alex and Maria (post-honeymoon). So, if you want to take advantage of the beautiful environment away from the ceremony/reception area, but in your wedding attire, and create some awesome images, then this session is perfect for you.
Shoot us an email @ info at teamyuphoto dot com and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you.

We shot Alex&Maria in the heart of Boston with the idea to get some beautiful images that reflect some more of their personalities, their love for each other and for our fabulous city, of course.

Mmmm...

I love the feel of this one!

Huge thanks to our friend Doug for being the best reflector holder and simply a cool photographer :) Click here to check his images from the shoot.

Behind the scenes images are to follow!