Charlotte NC Child Photographer Archives - Charlotte Family Photographer

10 Apr

Classic Charlotte NC Family Portraits – National Siblings Day

As you may have heard, today is National Siblings Day and I love taking a few moments on this day to share some of my favorite portraits of siblings from the last year. Siblings are your instant best friends, biggest supporters, shoulders to cry on, and they will be a special part of almost all of your childhood memories. And yes, they are also the people you will likely fight with the most, but regardless of the fights, teasing, or competing, they are the people that will always be there for you when you need them. They will be in your biggest cheerleaders in life, and even your defenders should you ever need them.

There is just something amazing that comes with being and having a sibling, and it is definitely something to celebrate. It is unconditional and everlasting.

Having a sister myself, I have always loved the song “Sisters” featured in the movie White Christmas. ‘Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters . . .”

While many of these are classic portraits of siblings, I think the last image at the bottom may be one of my favorites showing the silliness of siblings working together in opposite of their parents. That image was not posed or requested and was just a natural moment from an adorable family session.

And below, here are some favorite images of my family members. On the top left is my four beautiful nieces, which my daughter jumping in. On the top right is a photograph from a family party showing my father with his eldest brother along with my aunt and my mom. The brother two images highlight the sibling goofiness and friendship of my own two children. The bottom left photograph was taken by my talented friend, Annette Goodman, from Annette Goodman Photography during our family portrait session last year.

26 Feb

Charlotte Child Photographer | National Tell A Fairy Tale Day

Today, February 26th, is National Tell A Fairy Tale Day! So, to help inspire you to tell your children a fairy tale this evening, I dug through my photographs to find a few that just might have a story behind them – but I challenge you to decide what that story might be and share it with your loved ones this evening! Have fun and enjoy! And feel free to come back and comment here with your fairy tale ideas and let us know which image inspired you! We would love to hear them!

Charlotte Child Photographer Fairy Tales Charlotte NC Child Photographer fairy tale 2

23 Feb

Charlotte, North Carolina Photographer | All in the Details

Charlotte, North Carolina Photographer | All in the Details

There are days that we have so much going on that we get wrapped up into the tiny details of life, work, or school. But sometimes, it’s nice to get wrapped up in other tiny little details. It’s nice to take a moment and focus on the details of the tiny little people occupying our homes. Just look at their hands, eyelashes, cheeks, eyes, lips, nose. These details won’t be tiny for very long. Take a moment today to enjoy the tiny, little details.

11 Feb

Charlotte, NC Child Photographer | Chocolate Dreams

Growing up, Chocolate Milk was one of my favorite foods. It was my breakfast before school (nutritious, right?), and I’d have a glass when I arrived home from school and another before bed. I do wonder how my parents allowed to occur. I’m pretty sure I drank about 5 glasses of chocolate milk per day between the ages of 12 and 18. I had even decided that when I grew up, I would have two dogs – both Chocolate Labrador Retrievers and I would name them Nestle and Hershey.

Well, I don’t have the dogs yet. But this is what happens when a family photographer that doesn’t cook much takes a food photography class at the NAPCP Retreat with Lauren Carnes. I needed to practice what I learned, so this was the easiest scene I could create and one of the first that popped into my head. My glasses of chocolate milk never looked this pretty when I was a kid. And I am pretty certain my children will be requesting to recreate these images this weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Milk Bottles: Target

Valentine’s Day Decor and Candy: Target

Food: Hershey’s Syrup and Reddi-Whip Whipped Cream

21 Jan

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer receives International Awards at WPPI Competition

Charlotte, NC | Award Winning Family and Pet Portraits

I am beyond thrilled to announce that Carolyn Ann Ryan Photography recently earned four Silver Awards in the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Second Half 2015 Image Competition . Each year, I submit a handful of my favorite images to the top Image Competitions in order to have my work reviewed and critiqued by some of the most talented photographers in the industry. And I’m not alone in this effort as thousands of entries are submitted by photographers around the globe and every entry is critiqued and scored by the panel of judges.

I’m ecstatic to have multiple images recognized by the judges, and with these awards I have earned the title ‘Associate of WPPI‘. All of the images below were created during portrait sessions with my clients, and I am truly honored and grateful to have had the opportunity to create each of these images. Whether photographing an adorable family of six or a family’s new puppy, I have truly loved being a part of each of these moments.

Charlotte NC Award Winning Family Photographer wins silver award from WPPI

Together is All We Need

Charlotte NC Family Portrait Photographer Award Winning Cat Photograph earns silver award from WPPI

Lost in a Sea of Green

Charlotte NC Family Photographer Award Winning Mother and Son portrait wins silver award from WPPI

Sharing Secrets

Wanna Take Me Home?

28 Oct

Charlotte NC Family Portraits | Focus on the Moments

One of my favorite wedding photographers is constantly reminding photographers that photographing a wedding isn’t about capturing and documenting the shoes, rings and table cards, but it’s about capturing the moments of the day. I think the same can be true in family portraits. It isn’t about photographing a styled session and showing photographs of children holding berries or pinecones (while I will admit these can be beautiful images and wonderful accents to a gallery), but it’s about documenting a family together for an afternoon. It’s about the squeezes and hugs, the way they look at each other, the giggles and laughs, and the stolen moments of pure adorableness. And it’s about remembering the couple of hours they spent together just enjoying each other’s company and being happy. But sometimes, my favorite part of these sessions is remembering the moments that triggered that perfect giggle or smile and what might have been happening behind the scenes to create those seemingly perfect moments. If the viewer of the photographs only knew how we did it. Because yes, maybe the giggles were generated by the tiniest family member singing a song about poops while the family walked together holding hands. As you can imagine, that might just cause the rest of the family to crack up with real, genuine laughter and for me – it becomes the perfect moment. I just love those moments. They are my favorite.

16 Oct

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer | Beauty Multiplied

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer | Beauty Multiplied

I really have a special place in my heart for families that have four girls. While I also love families with 1, 2, 3, 5 or more girls, there is just something about the magic number 4. Maybe, it’s because my only sister has four beautiful daughters and my nieces are some of the most awesome kids I know. There is something so amazing about their sisterhood and friendships – words can’t even describe it. It is so evident in the way they support each other in everything they do. And well, my sister is the equivalent of a superhero in my eyes. I absolutely have no idea how she does all that she does, and in the midst of what could be chaos for some, has created an incredibly loving and crazily fun home and family.

And so, I have a crazy amount of respect and love for parents with four daughters, and I have so much spending time with their families and seeing the family dynamics. This family was no exception, and I saw the same crazily awesome feeling of sisterhood existing in this four beautiful girls, and it was such a pleasure to spend an afternoon with them. But I think all in the family would agree, that the littlest munchkin absolutely STOLE.THE.SHOW! We just couldn’t stop giggling at the amazing and sometimes hilarious expressions she provided. It became evident that she just didn’t love sitting in the grass, especially as she would hold her legs up in the air while Dad was trying to sit her down. And then, she just kept us smiling throughout the day. These images not only gave us beautiful photographs for wall portraits and holiday cards, but we were also able to create the most perfect Thank You card for the littlest first birthday party!

I hope these make you smile today!

18 Aug

Marvin, NC Photographer | Back to School Portraits

Marvin, NC Photographer | Back to School Portraits

Tomorrow will be the first day of school for my oldest child. As we relocated from New Jersey to Charlotte, North Carolina earlier this Summer, tomorrow’s Back to School brings excitement and a little nervousness. We are entering a whole new world tomorrow, including the world of school uniforms. We were so excited that we couldn’t wait for the official first day (tomorrow), and took advantage of last night’s beautiful light to capture these Back to School Portraits.

Wishing this girl a wonderful day tomorrow and can’t wait to hear about all her new friendships and the adventures that await her this year.

Mom Photographer Tip: Some of the best smiles and giggles from our brief session came when a fly buzzed my ear and I jumped around in a circle trying to get away from it. I’m sure it was an amusing and entertaining sight and I’m happy it wasn’t caught on video. My daughter thought it was hysterical! But that is definitely something that can be faked while photographing your own kids that is bound to bring a few giggles.

19 Mar

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer | Waves and Curls

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer | Waves and Curls

From the moment I stepped out of the car, I melted for her red hair and those tiny little waves and curls. Then came the smile with just a couple of little teeth and it made me giggle. And it’s no wonder that her parents are just mesmerized by this tiny little person in their life. She was curious and silly and happy and filled with sugar and spice and everything nice. I just couldn’t get enough of those grins and giggles.

She’ll melt your heart too.

Charlotte NC Family photographs taken by Carolyn Ann Ryan Photography for family's first portraits Charlotte NC Family Portraits for first birthday

23 Feb

Charlotte, NC Child Photographer – Communion Portrait Season

Westfield NJ, Child Photographer – Communion Portrait Season

Thoughtful. Beautiful. Thankful. Peaceful. Loved. These are just a few of the words that came to mind when I was processing the images of this young lady on her special day. I was lucky to be able to capture some of these images in our studio, as well as outdoors. I can’t help but think that she and her family were also feeling some of the same sentiments, as well.

Communion season is almost here (and hopefully warmer weather to go along with it), so don’t forget to book your child’s Communion Portrait Session or a full family Portrait Sessions and we can also capture your little one in the Communion dress/suit on that same day!

21 Feb

Childhood Photographer Charlotte, NC – What are you wishing for this year?

If I asked this question right now, most people in the Northeast would answer with warmer weather, sunshine, Spring, Summer, etc.

Have you ever wondered what a child was thinking when you asked them a question? I just love the sweet expression in this first photograph when I asked her “What are you wishing for this Christmas?” You could tell there was a long list running through her head, and her eyes twinkled and sparkled with happiness as she thought about Christmas morning.

The rest of the session was filled with happiness and giggles as we spent a beautiful afternoon in the Fall enjoying the outdoors. Here’s hoping your wishes come true this year.

19 Jan

Future Charlotte, NC Family Photographer – The Road Ahead

Getting ready to move to Charlotte, NC

Carolyn Ann Ryan, Family Photographer from NJ, gets ready for relocating to Charlotte, NC

As we have been packing away the holiday decorations (and yes, we are definitely delayed on that task), the reality of the next six months is sinking in more and more – and our upcoming move to Charlotte, NC is almost here. If you are a subscriber to my monthly newsletter, then you probably already saw the news a few months back that my family and I will be moving to Charlotte, NC in June 2015. My husband is being relocated for his job, and so while we are excited about this opportunity, we are also going to miss our family and friends in NJ, and I will certainly miss my wonderful clients.

I’m definitely a sentimental person, and therefore with each holiday and milestone, I can’t help but realize that this is our last Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s in our NJ home. When we purchased this house, we thought it was just a starter house and we would probably only live here for a couple of years. And here we are, 10 years later, and this house has truly been our home. We have loved this town, our friends, neighbors and this whole community.

But I also have been keeping my thoughts focused on the road ahead. These will be exciting times for our family with new home construction, new schools for the kids, new friends to make, warmer weather to enjoy (really happy about this one), and many new adventures for all of us.

What does this mean for Carolyn Ann Ryan Photography? I’m still in business in NJ until the end of June, but the last sessions in NJ will be held around mid-May to ensure that all images are processed and all ordering appointments are complete before we move.

I will unfortunately be unable to donate gift certificates to Tricky Trays and Silent Auctions in NJ this year, but if you know schools in the Marvin, Weddington, Ballantyne, Matthews, Wesley Chapel, and Pineville areas in North Carolina that will be hosting fundraisers in the late Spring, please let me know and I may be able to provide a gift certificate.

Additionally, if you have friends in the South Charlotte area, near Marvin, Weddington, Ballantyne, and surrounding neighborhoods, then please let them know that Carolyn Ann Ryan Photography will be re-launching in the Fall and I’m looking forward to working with families in the area!

We still have six more months to go, but just wanted to give a special thanks to all of our wonderful NJ and NY clients! It has been a privilege to work with you and your families, and thank you for making me part of your moments and memories! If you are ever in the Charlotte, NC area, then please get in touch!

08 Jan

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer – Hearts Galore

Charlotte, NC Family Photographer – Hearts Galore

Isn’t it bizarre how a simple outfit can change your mood and make you so happy? Isn’t it true that when you feel good about the way you look in a particular dress or pair of jeans, it can make your whole day? This adorable young lady looked so sweet and happy in this perfectly pink and red dress. We just had to capture this moment. As a parent, there are times during your children’s youth when you want to be able to remember how adorable they are and this was one of those times. It was around Valentines Day when we photographed these images (hence the jewelry and hearts!) and Mom wanted to capture that feeling – when she saw her daughters smile in the most perfect little dress. Transforming you back to those special moments – PRICELESS!

10 Sep

Warmhearted Charlotte, NC Family Photography – Outdoor Happiness

Like so many others, when I’m outdoors and the sun is shining and the light is just so perfect, I’m a happy lady!! These cuties and their parents were all smiles that day and I was so incredibly glad to have found a new, fabulous location to capture this family’s beautiful images. The kids especially loved peeking through the old tree and playing with the crackling leaves in the field. My excitement is building knowing that the weather is turning soon, the sun will be setting earlier, the air will be getting a chill and the leaves are going to start falling. I am so eager about my upcoming fall sessions!!

Marvin NC Family Photographer Carolyn Ann Ryan photographs an adorable Fall family session Photographs by Marvin NC Family Photographer Carolyn Ann Ryan Warmhearted Charlotte, NC Family Photography by Carolyn Ann Ryan

08 Sep

Union County North Carolina Family Photographer | Quiet Moments

No doubt about it, life is busy. Careers, kids, spouse, friends, family – sometimes it seems like there’s not enough time to fit it all in. But once in a while, when you least expect it, life gives you a quiet gift. Sometimes it’s in the form of a warm hug, a silly giggle or sweet kiss that keeps you grounded and reminds you what life is all about. These images remind me that in a fast paced world of go-go-go, there are the moments with our families that we want to hold on to and cherish as we tackle the day to day.