Hey there, This year is already speeding along! I can't believe we're more than halfway through February!! I was going through my pictures to update the website and thought I would talk a little about some of my favorite portraits from 2014.

What I love most in a picture is authenticity. A real smile, a real moment, a real contemplative face; an expression that shows true emotion. Then of course, there's light, the setting and other components but those are just icing on the cake. Here are some of my favorite portraits from 2014. Thank you for allowing me to capture these moments for you.

This little boy was such a ham! He loved having his picture taken and kept saying change pose and then actually change his pose; he kept this up for a few minutes and we were all dying laughing!

 

The woman below is a good friend and she and her husband came to my home studio for their holiday portraits. We had music playing and she just started dancing in her fun party dress. I just love this image of her! She's a super fun, sweet person who loves beautiful clothes and I think this shows just that.

 

I photographed this young woman and her family just before the holidays. I love the beautiful, serene expression on her face. I like to have people lean against a wall and use that as a leading line to draw the viewer into the picture.

 

I photographed this little guy and his parents for his two year birthday. His mom said that this is his devil face which is funny because half of his face is lit and half is in the shade kind of illustrating angel/devil. I often try to capture a shot like this during family sessions where the parents are in the background, out of focus. In this image it illustrates the little boy gaining independence, while his parents are still there watching over him in case he needs anything.

 

This is such a special moment between a mother and her child. The little boy is sharing his wonder at the sound he heard in the shell. The light here is also magical. I'm a sucker for sun flare, which is technically an error but I just love it!

 

This little girl is such a ham! She was so excited to bake Christmas cookies with her family. I caught this moment while her parents were rounding up her little brother. What a cutie!!

 

This little girl is just so angelic. She had this crooked smile in many pictures and when her mom saw the images she said, aww her crooked smile. That's why I love photographing children; I'm able to capture the expressions and ways they do things so their parents can look back on them for years to come.

 

This little baby girl was having soo much fun in the rocking chair! I just love her little toothy smile.

 

This beautiful little girl was having a blast running up and down this corridor with her little sister and turned towards me at just the right moment. The colors in this image are beautiful as well. Mom had dressed the girls in traditional Indian dresses (her family is from India) which were amazing!

 

These two are just soo cute! Even though this is semi posed, it still feels genuine to me.

 

This family was having a great time together. Father and son were goofing around and mom couldn't help but laugh.

 

When I spoke to the mom in this picture (a good friend) she told me she literally had tears in her eyes because this is the cuddly movement A does all the time. Her first child, a boy used to bite her, but A is just a snuggly little girl. That put tears in my eyes. ;)

 

This is the son of the mom pictured above. He suddenly started dancing during the session and I think he even called out smack that ass! I wonder where he got that from.

 

These two little cuties were having a great time throwing coins in a fountain and making wishes. It's a stolen moment that I captured with my camera while they were just being kids.

 

I love the silhouette of the girls against the lit Christmas tree and the building in the background. It's just so beautiful to me.

 

This is my favorite Christmas picture of all time. The look of wonder on her face, with the bokeh of the Christmas lights in the background illuminating her face in rim light is soo beautiful!

 

So, there are a few of my favorite portraits of 2014 with a little explanation of why. Every session I learn something new which is another reason I love photography. You're never done learning.

I'm looking forward to capturing more beautiful portraits this year. If you're thinking about having family portraits or your children's portraits taken please contact me, Kristin, a South Florida Family Photographer at kristin@kristinpotenti.com so we can discuss your session. I would love to hear from you!