Here are a few of our favorite things about her:

1. She sings. Sometimes she sings all the right words, sometimes she mixes several songs together. It’s all good.

2. She has a boyfriend. She asks about him randomly during the day. Sometimes I even have to go on Facebook and open up his profile so she can look at his photos. This makes her very, very happy. I should mention that he’s almost 14.

3. She’s sassy and knows what she wants. And knows how to get it. This will serve her well.

4. She loves princess anything. All I have to do is put princess underwear over her diaper to make her the happiest girl in the world. You win bonus points with her if you call her Princess Claire.

5. She has a serious sweet tooth. She gets it from her grandpa.

6. I love it when I come home from a photo session and she throws her arms around me and proclaims, “I missed you!” and hangs on tight to me for a good 20 minutes.

Happy Birthday, Princess Claire. We’re so glad you’re ours!

 This is the look that gets her pretty much anything she wants…

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One happy couple:

Plus five happy families:

Equals one BIG happy family:

He’s from Toronto, Canada…she’s from Australia. They actually live in Minnesota. But they are spending a few months on the beach in San Diego this winter…because they can…and because Minnesota is cold! And to document the trip, a photo session on the beach was in order. We had a great time strolling the boardwalk, finding awesome Mission Beach locations and chatting it up.  And little Miss A. was perfect the entire time, once she decided I wasn’t as scary as she originally thought.

Here’s the great thing about a “winter” day in California, when it’s a mere 60 degrees outside and it’s cloudy, the beaches are deserted. We would have never had Mission Beach all to ourselves on a sunny day. It was perfect all around! Thanks you three!

Maybe the best thing that happened to me in that class is that I met someone. A fellow class member, who only came to the class once, volunteered at OHSU’s neonatal unit. She told me all about it, gave me a contact at OHSU and the very next week I went in to interview. For the next year I had the privilege of volunteering once a week in the neonatal unit, photographing precious, often very sick babies.

Because the majority of these babies have to stay in the neonatal for an extended period, many parents are not able to be at the hospital every day. As volunteer photographers, our job was to document their time and their progress. Sometimes the pictures weren’t very pretty, because it’s not a very pretty sight to see a tiny baby swaddled in tubes.

About a year after I began volunteering, my husband was transferred to Southern California. After we moved, I decided it would be fun to start a little photography business. But again, where to start? I did a lot of googling and decided to attend a workshop in Dallas, TX. While not inexpensive, it was worth every penny. I walked away more confident, with a better view of the business side of things, and with a handful of photographer friends who lived all over the country.

The one downside to workshops in my opinion is that they are a prepared presentation.  All 40 of you in the same room get the same information. Some attendees are going to make sure they get their money’s worth…and they monopolize conversations, discussions, and shoots. Time is often wasted with information that isn’t pertinent to you and your business.  It’s not personal.

In retrospect, what I would have loved was a mentor — someone I could sit down with one-on-one and ask all MY questions. I could have avoided a lot of  frustration and time-consuming mistakes I made starting out on my own. A friend in the business would have been invaluable.

So, I’m now offering what I wished I had. I’m opening up a few mentoring sessions a month…just for you.

Half-Day Session: $500

4 hours, lunch included.

I’ll bring me and my computer. You bring you and all your questions.

Full-Day Session: $800

8 hours, lunch and photo shoot.

The bonus to this session is that I will round up models and we’ll practice what we’ve talked about.

Then we’ll open up Photoshop and talk post-processing.

You’ll walk away with beautiful  images for your portfolio!

Mentoring sessions are without a doubt the best way to get the most bang for your buck. Don’t miss out — if you are interested (or know someone who is) shoot me an email at lori@lorihull.com.

But when it comes to getting a photo for your holiday cards, October is not too early. In fact, many of my clients have it done in August and September. So while my fall sessions have been in full swing for a while now…it’s not too late to come to the party. You still have time.

Fall is by far my busiest season and in order to fit as many people in as possible, this year I’m trying out a Saturday of mini-sessions. This is geared for the person who wants a Christmas photo only…one great shot. Here are the details:

Date: October 22nd

Location: TBA

Cost: $175

Time: 15-20 minutes

5 images on disc

I also still have a few full sessions available. But don’t wait to snag one  if you are interested in a custom session. They go fast! In order to enjoy the holidays with my family and make my holidays as pleasant as possible, I will not be scheduling sessions after Nov. 30th.

To get your wheels turning, here is one of my favorite images from my sessions in NYC’s Central Park:

Oh wait…here’s another one…I just couldn’t decide which one I loved better:

• Wake up in a panic that I have to get up and DO…even though it’s only 4:00 a.m. PST.
• Get dressed and wear dorky, but comfortable shoes. (Lesson learned after my first day when I wore cute flats that tore my feet up, forcing me to wrap them in bandages (practically) everyday.
• Meet up with a friend and do lunch, laugh hysterically, reminisce.
• Get a cupcake.
• Photo Sessions in the afternoon. Everywhere I walked in NYC I could envision a photo shoot right there…on that spot. And Central Park was a paradise. So many great spots.
• Meet up with hubby (who was in town on a business trip) and have a date night. We saw 3 movies, 1 musical and found lots of great places to eat. And walked everywhere. I love having these rare alone times with my husband. We get along and have fun, even with 5 kids in tow. But I cherish these one-on-one times when I’m reminded how important our relationship is and how much I appreciate sharing life with my man.

Here is a sneak peek from one of my NYC sessions. One word: GORGEOUS!

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P.S. A special thanks to my parents who are always so willing to come out and take care of their grandkids and make these trips possible. You guys are the best!