Laurel Highlands Portrait Session | The Marmo Family|

Up next on the blog is another family from our Laurel Highlands Mini Sessions in Pennsylvania. This adorable family of three took time out of their holiday on Memorial Day to meet up for a quick shoot at Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg, PA. Meet the Marmo Family!

Could these guys be any cuter? Dad, Mike, is rocking that sleeve, Mama, Angel, has the biggest and brightest smile and their sweet baby girl, Penelope, is full of character. In fact, this little gal had the sniffles on the day of their shoot but still showed up smiling and making kissy faces at Mama and Daddy.

We met at Twin Lakes because I just love the variety of florals that are available there during the Spring. We ran across mountain laurels, rhododendrons and even hibiscus trees during our trek through the park. Spring sessions are all about capturing those sweet moments amongst the gorgeous flora that Pennsylvania has to offer and this session was just that. Angel and Mike took turns making funny faces at Penelope to try and make her laugh. They threw her in the air and gave her a ton of hugs and kisses.

After a short drive to the other side of the lake, Angel pulled out this sweet baby blanket with pretty botanicals on it and we gave Penelope her stuffed mouse toy so I could try to capture a few of just baby girl. I love how the stuffed mouse will forever be in these photos. It not only helps put a timestamp on Penelope’s age but it will forever be a memento of her favorite play toy. Because trust, she was not letting that mouse go once we handed it to her.

We ended the Marmo Session by just letting Mommy and Daddy love on their little girl. Daddy sang some pretty creative songs and Mama tried not to laugh at his version of the lyrics. Though she had a runny nose, Penelope gave us all the smiles she could and was such a trooper throughout the entire shoot. Mommy and Daddy tried their best to get little P to give us her signature “kissy face”. But, no such luck. At just over 30 minutes, baby girl was done and that was a ok with us. As you can tell, we had already captured a ton by then. But…

just to make sure we knew she was done, Penelope stood up in protest and let a few big fat alligator tears roll down her sweet cheeks. Though terribly pitiful and a little heartbreaking, these ended up being my favorites from their session. Why you might ask? Because just look at how cute she is. Even with a frown on her face, this kid just might be the cutest babe ever.

Huge thank you to the Marmo Family for trusting me to capture this sweet memory for you. I hope to see you all again soon. Play dates for Lucy and Penelope soon?

 

To book your unique family portrait session, email therustienailhead@gmail.com. My job is to document your moments, big or small and I aim to hit the nail on the head every time.

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Laurel Highlands Mommy + Me Session |Tiffany + Isaac|

Gosh, it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks at the Norris household. We just got back from our annual Memorial Day trip to Pennsylvania to visit with our northern family and friends and to say that our trip was a rollercoaster of events and emotion is an understatement! My shoot calendar was full of Spring Mini Sessions and I have been working hard to make sure you get a glimpse at them all! First up, the most adorable Mommy + Me Session! Meet Tiffany and her baby boy, Isaac!

Tiffany’s Mama, Anne, reached out to me a few weeks before Mother’s Day in hopes of gifting a Mommy and Me Session to her sweet daughter and I was happy to oblige. We got the details worked out just in time for my arrival in the Laurel Highlands. Anne had informed me that Tiffany and her husband had spent a long time praying for their sweet boy and had continued to pray over him after his arrival. Baby Isaac arrived nearly 8 weeks before his due date. Weighing in at just a little over 3 pounds, Isaac would spend his first few weeks of life in the NICU.

As you can see, Tiffany was blessed with a blue eyed, spirited baby boy and though he was officially a premie, this little man has really made up for that in the past year! He is a little chunker with an adorable personality to match. After seeing him interact with his Mama, I can adequately guess that he is, in fact, a Mama’s Boy.  He was constantly loving on her throughout the shoot.

We had a few hiccups with timing because of the impending thunderstorms that plague this particular part of the country. In fact, when they showed up, it was pouring down rain so I told them to jump in their car and wait it out. Luckily for us, the storm only lasted 5 minutes and we began shooting right after. I crossed my fingers for a rainbow but alas, we would just have to shoot in the most perfect light instead. I promised Tiffany that the overcast skies would be beautiful and the captured moments reflect that delivery!

I had so much fun meeting this couple and their sweet boy and I hope to see them again soon. It is these families and their blessings that create the joy in what I do as a photographer and I am so happy that they thought of me to capture such a beautiful milestone! Oh and last, but certainly not least, If you see Isaac this weekend, make sure to wish him a Happy 1st Birthday! Maybe give him a hug from me too!

 

To book your unique Mommy + Me Session, email therustienailhead@gmail.com! I would love to help document your miracles and the revolution of Mamas out there living that candid motherhood rising life!

Meet the Grasmick Family!

Hey guys! I know, I know. I have been blowing up your timelines with all the Portrait Sessions from my last trip home but seriously, they all turned out so cute! In fact, the family featured on the blog today scheduled their session one day prior to the actual shoot. Totally impromptu and completely adorable. Meet the Grasmick Family!

I was introduced to Colby through our mutual friend, Kelly, and we immediately hit it off. Once she found out that I was a portrait photographer, she asked if I might be able to fit her family in the next day for a quick Mini Session. I told her to be there by 5:30 and we would make it work! I love having the chance to shoot an new client while in the Latrobe area.

Little did I know, Miss Colby just so happened to have recently become Mrs. Grasmick. She married a childhood friend of mine, Dave…aka “Doobie”. He had played football for my dad as a kid and in high school, his cabin was the place to be on a Friday night. I was so excited to see that Doob had settled down with such a lovely lady and even more excited to find out that they had recently had their first baby.

To celebrate their little guy’s 1st Birthday, we headed to the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at Saint Vincent College. They have a small pond located on one of the walking trails and Mama Bear thought it would be cute to put Baby Dean in a fishing hat and give him a little pole. Seeing that Baby Dean isn’t the best walker yet, I was worried we may not be able to get a photo of him holding the rod but sure enough, this baby boy was over the moon once we put the pole in his tiny hands!

After throwing his hat in the water and hamming it up for the camera, we headed to the Lochry Block House to snap a few photos of this Mama and her boys. After surveying the grounds for that perfect light, I made sure to get individuals of both Miles and Dean with their sweet Mama.

And, then it was Daddy’s turn for photos with boys! While Doobie lugged the baby around like a football, older brother, Miles, helped by tickling Baby Dean and making funny faces at him. The boys were perfect. Not too smiley, not too tough, just the right amount of boyish charm in each photo. I mean, look at those blue eyes!! Colby better watch out, her little guys are going to be a lady killers!

I can’t stress enough how beautiful this backdrop was. The flowers are so vibrant in the Laurel Highlands this time of year. I didn’t want to do anything too girly because of the boys but I did want Colby to have a few classic images in this collection so we headed into the adjacent garden. I told Colby to just love on her baby boy. Baby Dean was wiggling and dancing around in her arms the whole time. He was all smiles for his Mama.

I stood back for awhile and watched them all together as a family. Colby, the carefree boy mom, and Doobie, the first time Dad, are just about the best contrast. It may be that they have boys and Moms and Dads of boys tend to be a little more lax about getting dirty but I think it’s also just their personalities. Both Colb and Doob are loving parenthood. They have figured out how to give each child the right amount of attention and how not to sweat the small stuff.

Their love story isn’t half bad either. They met on the street at the 4th of July parade in downtown Latrobe and a few months later, they headed back to the same spot to get hitched. Colby’s son, Miles, stood by and smiled as he gave his Mom away to his new step dad. Simple, sweet and absolutely perfect.

Yeah, so you could say that these two seem to have it all figured out. Or at least, they look good while trying to figure it out. Doob rough-houses the boys while Colby sits back and gingerly smiles at her new husband with their children. If I had to guess, I would say that their chance encounter in front of BC Kenly’s just might have been destiny playing its’ hand.

We worked our way from the garden to the big red barn located near the entrance. Miles climbed up on Doobie’s shoulders for the photos which I thought was such a great touch for the photo. From their simple wardrobes to the genuine smiles on their faces throughout the shoot, you can see that this session was a piece of cake. We were in and out of the park in less than 30 minutes; just a family of 4 taking a walk around the park. It was an absolute pleasure meeting and spending time with the Grasmick’s and I hope to have many more chances to photograph this family when I am in the area.

To book your unique Portrait Session or to inquire Pricing, Packages and/or Travel Mini Dates, shoot me an email at therustienailhead@gmail.com. I would love to hear your vision and help bring it light!

Visiting Daddy’s Alma Mater: Saint Vincent College

Hey guys! I am so excited to share this particular Portait Session with you all because I have waited far too long to photograph this adorable family! These sweet babes, Jake & Elliana, were one of the first sessions that I ever did. Elliana wasn’t more than a month old the last time I had these 2 in front of the lens and I am so pumped to see how my work has evolved since then.

If you don’t know them, it is past time you met the Greece Family! Tony, his wife, Emily and their two adorable kiddos are my first cousins. Tony is a local school teacher and Emily is the girl you go to when it’s past due for a new hair “do”. Just this past year, they moved into a new home in Latrobe, PA and I wanted to help them decorate their house with new family photos.

We chose to set up the shoot at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at Saint Vincent College mainly because Tony graduated with his masters here not too long ago but also  because the scenery here would make the perfect backdrop for their shoot! Located just off of Route 30 in Latrobe, this place around sunset is a gorgeous stroll.

I wanted to get the “Family of 4” shots done first simply because kids have no patience and I wasn’t about to test the patience of two small Greece children. We set up the first image along the driveway into the Reserve. The flowers are in full bloom this year and the image would look perfect with the Cathedral in the background.

After running around in the flowers for a bit, we managed to make our way down to the big red barn located near the entrance. Since the little ones have the shortest attention spans, I figured I would start shooting the individual portraits of Elliana first and boy, is she a ham! This girl was sniffing all the pretty flowers and showing me all the pretty bracelets she had worn for her shoot. Though chalk full of giggles at first, this Mama’s girl made sure we knew who runs the show!

After snapping a few photos of Emily and Elliana in the gardens, we headed to the back of the barn to snap a few of Tony and his little guy, Jake. I was thinking of different Father-Son poses when my little buddy suggested that he sit on Daddy’s shoulders. With the barn in the background and my little buddy squealing “Angaweena!!!” to get my attention, the moment was picture perfect.

Like most Family Sessions, my sweet cousins wanted to focus on the kiddos but I always make an effort to get a few good pics of Mom and Dad together. It’s almost like after kids come into the fold, couples forget that their love story should be documented too! But, I wasn’t about to let them get off scot-free. I made sure to get a few photos of Tony & Emily posing “prom-style”.

We made our way down to the historic Lochry Block House and snapped a few more of the whole family together in the adjacent garden before we decided to head for a walk around the paths in the park. We passed a small pond and marched our way towards the Observation Deck all the while catching up on life and what we’ve missed since my last visit home.

It was so nice to catch up with them. But, even better spending time with the little ones. I feel so lucky that after all these years, Tony and I have remained close. Like most cousins, we have this shared history of family dysfunction but beneath the surafce of forced family interaction, Tony, Emily, Russ and I have formed this genuine friendship. When they got engaged, we got the call. When we got engaged, they got the call. When they found out that their family would be expanding, we heard the news of Jake’s arrival first. Through a flood of Facetime tears, I met Jake just hours after he came into this world and when I found out they were expecting their 2nd baby, I immediatey bought my plane ticket to be there when Ellie was born.

During that visit back home, I had the great pleasure of photographing my new baby cousin for the first time. She was so perfectly pink, just the prettiest baby I ever saw. She had big blue eyes and the tiniest little toes. I couldn’t of imagined then but later that day, Tony and Emily would honor me by asking me to take on the role of being Elliana’s Godmother. Cue the ugly tears guys.

We ended this shoot by wrapping up quickly and heading to the Red Brick for pizza with our friends and family! I am so thankful for any time that I get to share with these guys especially because our time together is few and far between since I am in Texas. Tony, thank you, for being such a great role model and constantly encouraging me to chase my dreams. I’ve always looked up to you and I am so happy to see all your dreams coming true. Emily, thank you, for being the best addition to the Greece Family. You are kind and God-fearing, ambitious and graceful. I could not imagine a better match for my big cousin! Jake, thank you, for dubbing me “Angaweena” and for just being the smartest cookie in our family. You are one crazy little guy who always knows how to put a smile on my face. And, Elliana, thank you, for reminding me that life comes full circle. You remind me so much of another sassy little girl we all used to know. Though we miss her everyday, you help keep her memory shining bright. You are a light in the world little girl and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.

For more information on how to book your Family Portrait Session, please contact me through email at therustienailhead@gmail.com and I will provide you with our Pricing and Packages! If you would like to book a session or to inquire about our Fall Mini Sessions in the Laurel Highlands and our Travel Dates, just give me a ring at 724-216-8185 and we can get you all in the books!

Garden Party with the Foley Sisters

Hey guys! I am just getting back from another whirlwind vacation home to the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania and I am so excited to share a few sneak peeks of the Portrait Sessions that I crammed in during my visit. My first session was a long overdue play date with my younger cousins, Kaylee and Ryan! Their Momma is my first cousin and we have been trying to work her family into my books for months now!

We decided to meet at one of our family’s favorite restaurants, Rizzo’s Malabar Inn. In fact, Russell and I had our Rehearsal Dinner here. Settled into the quaint, country farming community of Crabtree, Rizzo’s has grown and evolved over the last 75 years from a small sub shop during the coal mining days into a fine-dining establishment with a massive banquet hall and outdoor patio!

After initialing launching Bar Rizzi, the company chose to adapt the space to fit the needs of their clientele. They turned the Bar into a Banquet Hall. Weddings, company meetings, baby showers and many other events have graced the adjacent ballrooms but the staff still felt like something was missing. Just this year, Rizzo’s chose to add on an outdoor ceremony site, a gorgeous water feature and they even added a Fireworks Package for those who book the space.

Because these little girls have a Daddy with a major hookup at Rizzo’s (He’s one of the longtime chefs!), we were able to sneak out onto the property and use this location as our shoot site! I must say, Rizzo’s has done a fantastic job with the space! The pergola is simply decorated with Boston Ferns and the water feature was exquisitely designed making this site a perfect backdrop!

We spent the first half of the morning frolicking through the freshly planted flowers and practicing our best dance moves! Kaylee was her usual self; quiet, reserved yet silly and polite at the same time. From the time that she was little, she was always good at taking direction and this shoot would be no exception. She patiently waited for instruction and followed them meticulously. You could tell that she has come into herself over the years. She knew which side was her “best” side and which smile was her “best” smile. She has become quite the little lady and I am so proud of her for being so responsible all the while maintaining her childlike wonder!

Ryan, on the other hand, is Kaylee’s opposite. She is crazy and wild and has a short attention span. I guess that’s the way it goes with sisters. Ryan is constantly moving. Whether she is exploring a new place or telling a story, there are always a lot of ideas running through her little mind. She told me all about her summer plans and how NOT excited she was to go back to school in the fall.  Ryan is a handful, in the best of ways. Even when she was a baby, she could find a way to keep the whole family in stitches. We are kindred spirits in that sense and I am so happy to see that someone else on the Miller side of the family, besides me, got the “wildchild” gene.

We ended our shoot by jumping in the water. I had promised them in the beginning that if they were good, I would let them get dirty and play in the water feature. Both girls were so excited when I told them it was time to make “Martha Washington” hair! They built houses with the rocks they found in the riverbed and even tried to climb into the massive water bowls at the base of the fountain. We ended the shoot by drying them off and giving them both their first photography lesson. I let each of them have a turn at taking a few photos! I loved getting to spend some time with my baby cousins and I look forward to seeing them every time I come back to visit!

For more information on this location or how to book your next event at Rizzo’s, head to www.rizzosmalabarinn.com. And for information on how to book your Portrait Session or to learn about our Pennsylvania Travel Dates, shoot me an email at therustienailhead@gmail.com.

Donovan’s Christmas Shoot

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the most amazing opportunity to hang out with a few of my favorite people and help them work out a surprise for this little guy’s Grandma! This Christmas, Donovan and his aunt Casey had the idea to surprise his MeeMaw with some good old fashioned portraits. After months of waiting for the right chance to pull this off, we managed to pick a perfect time, light-up night in Ligonier, PA. The diamond in Ligonier has served as the epicenter for this quaint town in the hills of Pennsylvania since the days of George Washington. A long sought after attraction, Fort Ligonier, brings thousands of visitors  to this serene town in the mountains each year. And their Christmas display is something out of the movies. Actually, this very scene is found in many a movie including the recent holiday hit, The Coopers. Check it out folks!

As Casey and I discussed her vision, I knew that this would be the best place to start. I even brought my sisters along to keep Little D in a good mood! Though I won’t lie, he seemed pretty excited to be a part of the photos, an uncommon trait found amongst even the littlest of fellas. With his friend Elfie in tow, we made our way from the Gingerbread House to the Letters for Santa Box and finally onto the tree in the gazebo! It was perfect. Donovan smiled and giggled and when he started to wander, my sisters were just the right thing to pull him back into the shoot. They were directing him and posing him. I literally love that this business of mine is slowly but surely becoming a family business. Seeing my sisters work so hard to produce the image they want is a reminder that they have so much of me in them. Poor girls…lol

After we finished up at the Diamond, we made our way to Rolling Rock Farms for a few pictures near a creek and up to Linn Run State Park to let the kids run at the playground at Adams Falls. Casey was so sweet and had though of everything. She had brought reindeer ears, an beautifully colored blanket (that I just might steal) and even a wreath with a big red bow. This shoot was definitely all about Christmas but you can totally see the family undertone in these images. Though a usually shy kid, Donovan was totally into being a part of the photo shoot. He loved his outfits and kept telling me how comfortable he was. Which is huge because it is so hard to dress a kid so he can run around and play and look good enough for photos too.

This shoot was a complete team effort. Casey had brought things to keep this guy smiling and had dressed him in a way that allowed him the freedom to play. My sisters were essential. They were singing songs and tickling him. Having them there totally took the shoot up a notch. It was perfect. From the way that Little D wanted to surprise his Meemaw to the fading leaves of fall, this shoot was full of Christmas cheer!! And we hope you are too! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone here at The Rustie Nail! We hope that 2017 brings you loads of love and laughter!!

For Information on how to book your unique Portrait Session, shoot me an email at therustienailhead@gmail.com. Throughout the month of December 2016, I am offering $150 Mini Sessions in the Dallas Fort Worth area. These sessions include a 45 minute session within DFW, 15-20 Digital Images delivered in an Online Downloadable Gallery and Print Release. Perfect for Christmas Card Photos, Surprise Holiday Proposals and even Gifts. You can buy this deal for a limited time as a Gift Certificate in 2017!