This little princess has been a Priceless Reflections by Melissa client since she was just a few days old. I’ve had the pleasure of watching her grow and the honor of documenting her life through portraits for her family. On this day, she was real trooper and full of laughs, giggles, and that batting eyelashes look that every little girl seems to master to get what she she wants.

Recognize her from the top of the Smugmug site where you view your images after the session? She’s growing up!

I’ve been blessed to photograph the “B” family for the last 3 years or so. Blessed because they’re a unique family full of love and compassion and yeah, a lot of fun. The expressions on their faces are so much fun – just look at a slice of our day.

How can you resist smiles like this?

Clients often ask what happens if we have weather-that’s-less-than-perfect for a session. A little rain doesn’t stop the Fowler family and it doesn’t stop me. Just look at what fun we had and what great images they’ll have of their time playing in the sprinkles with that crazy Melissa photographer lady.

And then my personal favorite. This is a piece of art for their home – it’s fun, it’s colorful, it’s welcoming, it’s playful, it’s THEM. No one’s looking at the camera, no one’s cheesing… it’s a real moment and it’s why I’m here.

I’ve been photographing the Fowler family since Miss G was only a few days old and splashing in puddles suits us just fine. They wanted me to come back and play the next day – now THAT is a successful portrait session!

Oh me oh my! What an incredible week I had last week, shooting literally thousands of photos of some of Cincinnati’s best and cutest families, kids etc!  From eensy weensy babies, to big kids and their parents, what a week it was!  Here’s just a sneak peek preview of some of the FUN we all had last week!

Huge SHOUT OUT and Mega-THANK YOU to Dana and Ben, who were my assistants.  Ben took some awesome shots – and Dana, as always, was the best assistant of all time!  Thank you to both of you for the help!

Without further adieu.. check out some of the fun from last week:

One of the best parts of living here in Phoenix is our proximity to all things “Western” … cowboy hats, cowboy boots, and big belt buckles.  Coming from Cincinnati… well, it’s taken some time to get used to seeing these things frequently, but it’s really cute how all the little ones get into it!

This little cowboy was SO very excited to sport his brand new cowboy hat … so during his photo shoot of course we had to bring it out for a few shots…..

Photographing this family is always a treat – whether in Cincinnati – or here in Scottsdale!  I love it when my clients from Ohio end up vacationing in Arizona, and call me for photos!  I’ve had the pleasure of photographing Caleb and Campbell for quite some time now — and with every session, I just love them more and more!  (Plus it helps that their parents are really AWESOME too!)

I photographed the twins in Old Towne Scottsdale and then we went to the Sugar Bowl (haven’t been? I highly recommend it!)…. for some ice cream and of course, more photos!

I met this charming West Side couple at the Civic Center in Scottsdale for pre-wedding portraits.

They were getting married at the courthouse but still wanted fabulous engagement-style  portraits to remember the day. They’re super sweet, so very much in love, and they made my job so easy.

Just look!

They celebrated the big event at a small Brazilian restaurant with family and close friends and I can’t wait to show them the rest of their images !

A few weekends ago I photographed a lovely Bat Mitzvah at Temple Emanuel in Tempe, and followed the party to the Kiwanis Indoor Wave Pool – talk about a FAB place to celebrate! All of the kids  enjoyed swimming and games of tug-of-war while grown up family and friends had time to sit down and catch up.  The best part about a pool party in Arizona — the weather!  A gorgeous day – sunny and 70`temps made this day a joy, from the wee hours of the morning, til the partying was done!

If you know of someone in the Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale area planning their Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah, be sure to tell them about Priceless Reflections by Melissa at 623.239.2437.

“Where’d she go?”

“Has anyone seen Melissa?”

“Hello… hello… hello… ::echo fades into the distance::”

That’s me. MIA. Missing in action. Gone. Absent from the blog. I’m so sorry!! It’s just that life and work got hectic and something had to give. Couldn’t be family. Couldn’t be friends. Couldn’t be clients. Couldn’t be the holidays themselves. That left the poor blog.

My New Year’s Resolution?  You’ll be seeing a lot more of me in 2010! (now, is that twenty-ten or two thousand ten…. the things we have to ponder!)

What do you get when you take a family of 16 from all over the United States, mix them with a venue that’s off-the-chain gorgeous (The Phoenician, in Scottsdale), and top it with a session full of laughs? You get this:

Gloria & Family…. thank you so much for making me a part of your family holiday get-together.   It was an honor and a pleasure… and a lot of fun!