I have to say that this first birthday cake smash session speaks for itself! I absolutely LOVE this family and it seems like just yesterday I was doing big sister’s cake smash session! This little guy gave me so many great smiles during his session even during his first birthday cake smash portion of the session. And boy was he nicely dressed for the occasion. His classic full-suit baby tuxedo was the perfect touch for this first birthday cake smash session. But when big sister tried to snag some of the cake, this little guy threw the most adorable fit, trying to smile and cry at the same time! It was absolutely hilarious! I had a blast doing this session and from the looks of it, I’m guessing he did too! 🙂 (first birthday cake smash)
first birthday cake smashfirst birthday cake smash
first birthday cake smashfirst birthday cake smashfirst birthday cake smash
(tampa family photographer) A special Happy Mothers day to all the amazing moms! I am so lucky to be able to capture precious “mommy and me” moments throughout the year at many of my sessions. Here is just a small sampling of the many wonderful moms I meet each week! I hope that all my client mommies have wonderful day (and other moms to)! (tampa family photographer)
(tampa photographer) As I downloaded and scrolled through a recent session it inspired me to write this post on evening sessions with children. As a mom I am all to familiar with “the witching hour” which I am sure most moms reading this know, that is the hour in the evening (it is a different hour for every child but usually with in a couple hours of bedtime) when your most precious, adorable, perfect child is MISERABLE and you are to! This hour(s) creates fussy, cranky, needy children and this hour is very often what makes us moms count the seconds until bedtime. Although my children have now outgrown this hour (yay for me!) I remember it with not so much fondness very clearly. That is why when a mom emails or calls me to chat about a location session, I have a list of questions and a few things to chat about before we actually schedule.
As many of you may know, location sessions most often happen in the evenings about an hour before sunset. Depending on the time of year that could make the session start as late as 7:30 pm. Can they happen during the day or in the morning? Sure, however, the lighting is not as beautiful, the grass is usually wet (at least in the mornings) and it is often more difficult to find those shady areas that help keep your eyes from squinting in the bright sunlight.
So, back to that list… the first thing I usually ask is “How old are your children?”. If they tell me that their child(ren) are under 5, my next question is “How are they in the evenings?”. And we begin a very enlightening (at least I like to think so :)) conversation about evening sessions with young children. I always tell my potential client that I will of course take their pictures no matter what if they think their family is ready for it but I always like to remind them that it is not a great time for children to be at their best. And we do always get some great shots but there is a good chance that they many not have as many to choose from. Believe me, I have done MANY sessions in the evenings with young children…. how about 1 year old twins on the beach…. yea, i know, crazy! BUT, although VERY challenging, mom loved her gallery and it really told the story of how her family was at that point in time. She will always remember that time when her *babies* kept her on her toes (I am sure that is an understatement) and when she looks back at those pictures, I am sure she smiles and remembers that time with fondness. You can see some peaks of that session here.
So… that brings me back to my recent session. This particular mom and I had this discussion about evening sessions and one year olds. In her defense, we were trying to somewhat replicate a session we had done with her older child at ONE at the park. That session was great and he did just fine but as we know, every child is different. So off we trotted to UT (The University of Tampa) and began our session among at least 3 other sessions happening there at the same time 🙂 . Now, I love this location, it is beautiful with many options for backgrounds and beautiful light. But as I have learned over the many years of photographing children in the evening, this is when all photography “rules” go out the door and we just get what we can. The photographer in me REALLY (I mean REALLY) wants those perfect pictures, in the perfect light, beautifully in focus with an amazing smile or an adorable connection between siblings or family and believe me, I try SUPER HARD to get those (I think that my clients will tell you this… we *play* HARD at our sessions :)). We trot around the campus and we corral the kid(s) to my choice of backgrounds with beautiful light shining through the trees or landscape (my clients probably don’t even know that I am looking at all this but I am… as we walk around). We get the child(ren) perfectly placed and I turn on my *amazing* personality (lol!) and back up just a little bit to get what I think I need to in the frame of my camera…. By the time I get to the place I need to be (literally a split second- I move fast :)) there is a good chance the child is either up and moving, crying, or giving my silly sounds and faces a completely “blank” stare (even though I must say, I am rather funny). Mom and dad do *magic* tricks behind me (I will video this someday) but to no avail, there is no perfect smile or even a hint of happiness. Maybe we could qualify it as a cute *look* in this “perfect” spot…. but instead he gets up, moves to a NOT perfect spot and gives the most amazing smile ever….
tampa family photographer
Don’t know who’s thumb that is trying to keep him there for a minute (probably big brothers) 🙂
tampa family photographer
Will mom care? I have no idea, probably not … I like to think that in most cases I am the only one that cares about those perfect backgrounds (it is the photographer in me, I can’t help it- I am sure most other photographers can relate). Moms mostly just care about happy children and precious portraits that will put a smile on their faces as they walk by. It is just a “bonus” to get all of the things together in one shot. Here are some fun “behind the scenes pictures from this session as well as a few “gems” so this poor mommy who has not gotten her gallery yet doesn’t think that there are not any other shots as well. 🙂
tampa family photographer
tampa family photographer
We ended this session with a cake smash (after all what is a one year old session with out a yummy cake to end the night?) and although this session did have its issues, from all of the balloons popping (notice the amount of balloons in the beginning to the end), to adorable but busy toddlers, windy, and of course mosquitos, over all it was a great experience. And when I really think about it, almost all sessions bring their own unique set of issues whether they are in the mornings, in the studio, planned around naps or during the “witching hour”. Is an evening session right for you if you have little ones? You will have to decide… I think it went fine for this family! I think they will be very happy with their gallery! 🙂 (tampa photographer)
(tampa first birthday pictures) This little one was “serious” about her cake smash session. I don’t think she thought there was to much to crack a smile about on this particular day. There were no fun and games- she was on a mission… get this over with LOL! Little did she know that she looks just as cute serious and she couldn’t hold it in for the whole session so we did get a few smirks out of her here and there! I will say though that she gave me one of my FAVORITE smash cake photos ever…. can you guess which one? It is for sure one of a kind and something that I have not ever had another one year old do (yet :))!
(tampa newborn photographer) I am so excited to share the new TGP promo video for newborn’s! A special thank you to Freddy with Final Shot Studios for the AMAZING job! I was dreading being interviewed and being on camera but he made it easy and smooth and I love the results! I would highly recommend him and Final Shot Studios for any type of video you are looking for. I am planning to do a few more in the future to give more info on other types of sessions and the New Beginnings Plan as well. We had a perfect little model for this special day and special “shout out” to her family for participating! I hope this video gives a little insight on how a newborn session goes at the TGP studio. Leave some love if you like it… if you don’t keep it to yourself LOL! 🙂
We are finally ready to schedule some children’s holiday mini sessions! There are 2 choices of packages this year (of course with the option to purchase more after receiving your gallery from the a la cart menu). The “Sweet Holiday” will be super fun and will be held on Friday afternoon, November 8th. There will be limited sessions available with only a certain amount of time slots in the afternoon. IF there is enough, I may be able to open a Saturday morning. Depending on your package you may create your own cards with your digital files OR have TGP create them for you with the Sweet and Sassy package. TGP cards will be customed designed to your session and you may purchase more if you are in need of more than 24. Hope to see you there! Feel free to share this post with friends! 🙂 Email to [email protected] or call (727) 491-6476
*For those of you waiting for family mini sessions… hold on… we are working on it! 🙂
(first birthday photographer) Seriously, the images that were created for this gallery were split seconds in time as this HAPPY little toddler RAN through the studio! Mom and I were out of breath chasing her around. So, if you look below and see her sitting….that is literally one split second, just long enough for the shutter to click! LOL! Truly, I have “standard” camera settings that I usually use in the studio…. I changed them for her to make sure I could actually capture some in focus! LOL! However, as busy as she was with her toddler “frankenstein” walk (you know when they hold their arms out in front of them to balance :)), she was truly the happiest toddler I may have ever photographed. There were hardly any images of her without a big smile on her face. That is until the smash cake part of the photography session- which she was not to crazy about. But that is okay it was a joy to meet her mom and spend time with her in the studio and I hope to see them again in the near future! (first birthday photographer)
(tampa photographer) Ooooo this little two year old was SO adorable! Her personality was so much fun (as you will see). I seriously could have shown EVERY image in her gallery and there are SOOOO many images, I have NO idea how her family will choose between them all. I am so lucky to work with so many great families and their children! (tampa photographer)
(Clearwater family photographer) This family was so much fun and their little man was “on the GO”! 🙂 He kept our session “quick and to the point”! LOL! Both kids were full of personality and so much fun to spend time with (oh- and mom and dad were great to :))! Their session was a special gift from a family member, it is always a great thing to remember that pictures are a gift that will NEVER be forgotten or regretted! TGP can help you with the perfect gift to suit your needs. Now for the sneak peaks for this special family… (clearwater family photographer)
(tampa family photographer) This family is so much fun and I love that they called me back to photograph their whole family together again! We did a session several years ago that you can view here. You can see how much the kids have grown and there has even been one added! 🙂 It is obvious how much they love to spend time together and that of course makes my job not only easier but also so much fun! This is a large share but believe it or not, there are still lots of great surprises for this special family who will be receiving their full gallery in the next couple days!! (tampa family photographer)
(tampa newborn & baby photographer) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her…. so many newborns in the next few months. I think this might be the end of my girls streak though… 🙁 New Beginning Plan members coming up soon are expecting boys, who are just as lovable and amazing just no girlie headbands of course. If you know mommies who are expecting a baby anytime soon send them to TGP for information on the popular TGP New Beginnings Plan or if they choose just a newborn photography session. I am already scheduling into April and spaces are limited. Anyway, this little girl was absolutely precious. I loved sharing this special time with her and her family.
(tampa child photographer) This family was full of sweetness and their little girl was pure joy! I truly enjoyed capturing some holiday memories for them and since they know their gallery won’t come back to them before Christmas a special sneak peak for them to enjoy! (TAMPA CHILD PHOTOGRAPHER)
(clearwater family photographer) This family paid a visit to the Clearwater studio several days ago. They were so much fun to work with and the kids were amazing! Loving their portraits thought it would be fun to share a few! (clearwater family photographer)
(tampa bay beach photography) Yes, these two adorable twins left me breathless as I chased them around the beach! 🙂 But seriously, how cute are they? These pictures are a true representation of them and their little personalities at this age. They were so much fun and I hope to be able to see them again when they visit Florida another time! (tampa bay beach photography)
(clearwater baby photographer) This little bundle of joy was just that “a bundle of joy”! She just completed her second session of the exclusive Tracy Gabbard Photography New Beginnings Plan. She was so much fun! Her big sister didn’t get left out either as we captured some great images of her as well. Check out the eyes on them… beautiful blue and brown, just beautiful! I can never decide which of the 3 sessions in the New Beginnings Plan I love the best as they all offer something so precious and different as each one. The newborn session is of course “one of a kind” as those first couple weeks go by so fast and are such a blur. Those little toes and faces are never that little again (or quiet :)). But the sitting up session is such a blast as they are always sitting up and full of smiles and sometimes they are even crawling (like the little one below). And then there is the one year old session with the smash cake. Now, there is NOTHING like a smash cake session! SUPER FUN and SUPER messy! 🙂 I truly enjoy them all and can’t wait for her next session coming up in the fall. Well, enough chatter…. enjoy these precious smiles! (Clearwater baby photographer)
(tampa baby photographer) Another first birthday session! This time mom opted out of the smash cake but we had lots of fun anyway. This set of twins could not be more different in their little personalities. One outgoing and friendly while the other little one was much more cautious and quiet. They both however have amazing images from their session and I can’t wait for mom and family to see their gallery! Coming soon! 🙂 (tampa baby photographer)
(clearwater baby photographer) Oh MY goodness! This sweet thing turned on some serious personality for her first birthday session! She was SUCH a blast to have in the studio! I am sorry that this is her last session of the popular TGP New Beginnings Plan but I am sure (at least I hope) I will see her for many more sessions to come as she grows through the next few years. Smash cake birthday session move quickly as we usually have a couple outfits to get through before the smash cake. Every toddler is different…. in their reactions to the cake but must say, she wins the award for loving her cake the most! I think she would have sat infront of her cake all day if we would have let her. The mess did not bother her at all and she kept gobbling pieces of cake and frosting through out the whole time. I was cracking up as she never got tired of it. So, can you imagine all the pictures there are? I tried my best to narrow it down but just couldn’t stop sharing. There are so many more but I had to stop at some point. To mom and dad- I know you will miss this post until later in the week but email me for you gallery when you are ready! 🙂 Enjoy! (Cleawater baby photographer)
(Tampa first birthday photographer) Oh my goodness! This sweet little thing was just adorable! We had so much fun at the park playing and then enjoying his smash cake/birthday cake to top it off! I got to see his sweet serious side for much of the session but dad hammed it up for him at the end we got some fun smiles to! Thank you to this awesome family for a fun night! Enjoy your sneak peak… I had a hard time narrowing them down to just a peak so there are a few extras as well! 🙂 (tampa first birthday photographer)
(palm harbor baby photographer) I am often asked to photograph events and although I do try to keep my weekends for my family I will photograph a few birthdays and special events per year. The event session includes the digital files and a beautiful custom designed CD case. I was lucky enough to be asked to to capture this little guy’s first birthday and it was a blast! He is part of the TGP New Beginnings Plan and I will be so sad after his last session which will be coming up soon. Complete with Kermit the Frog theme, everything was decked out in green and Kermit. I must say, even the Hershey’s kisses had a themed sticker on the bottom of them… the whole party was simply adorable! There are so many amazing images it was hard to choose so this post is full of pictures. (palm harbor baby photographer)
I had to inlcude the picture below! Grandpa lives far away and was not able to be there so nothing like “facetime” to bring him to the party! I think this is my favorite family photo! 🙂
(tampa childrens photographer) Oh my goodness…. I love this little guy but I am not sure how much he loves me! 🙂 I have been photographing him and his family for several years now and I look forward to our sessions each time. His siblings are just as precious but he just has SO many other things to do other than take pictures (like most little boys his age) with me. He loves outdoors and the freedom it brings so hanging with me is a short lived occurrence and I better snap that shutter quick or he is GONE! 🙂 What I love is that I get so many fun expressions from him, he just lets it all out, no holding back his feelings. As I edited this summer session I was inspired to create this collage of just him. This session with his family is one I will always remember because as the kids neared the end of the session we all went out on the golf course and the kids took out their nets to catch fish in the ponds. Well, Michael and I went off on our own for a little bit and just as the sun was setting he caught his first fish! It was so exciting for both of us! Here are few from our excursion! Hope you enjoy the fun this little guy brings to our sessions…. (Tampa childrens photographer)
(tampa childrens photographer) I can’t believe one of my favorite little girls is already 5 and headed to Kindergarden! She has been with me since I started this amazing journey, being one of my first sessions way back when! She is always so much fun and gets easier every year! Her images have been (and still are) on the web site and they have “graced” the blog and facebook many times! Her mom swears she only “works it” for me but I find it hard to believe that adorable face isn’t cute in every picture taken! I heart her! (Tampa childrens photographer)
(tampa childrens photographer) Ohhhhhh…. I am SO glad I do not have to choose images from this session! This little guy was so awesome I could have spent the whole day with him. I love smash cake sessions and this one was certainly NO exception. As long as the birthday child is fine with getting a little messy, the images are just priceless and completely IMPOSSIBLE to narrow down to a reasonable number for mom and dad. There are so many more great images it was hard to choose for sharing. His first birthday party is coming soon so I wanted to get few up for his family to share. Happy Birthday to a special little guy! (tampachildrens photographer)
I’ve been photographing this little on since she was a baby and she “graces” the galleries on the TGP website frequently! Infact, there are usually so many great ones from her session I just switch them out now and then when I update the galleries. I LOVE getting to see her every year and watching her grow. She is hilarious and kept me chuckling the whole session. We called our session an adventure and walked the streets of downtown Dunedin until she started to throw her candy at me! Ha! I think at that point she was done but what a trooper and she was a blast! We were lucky enough to have that perfect weather that has been blessing the Tampa area right now and we found some great spots for some fun pictures. Being a tampa and surrounding areas childrensphotographer is a blessing and I am so lucky to have clients that trust me to create priceless images for them. I can’t wait for next year (or sooner) :)!
Look at this little peanut! I love taking a couple of the same “set ups” in each session for the babies in the TGP New Beginnings Plan so you can really see the growth throughout the year. When families mix on location sessions with studio throughout the year it makes it a little more challenging but we work it out! I love having all these babies in the Tampa Bay area and being able to watch them grow into little toddlers. These are just a few of the adorable images that were captured during this little babies second session,
I try not to blog to many holiday sessions since I know many of the images end up on Christmas cards and I certainly don’t want to spoil any of those surprises. So, after I am sure everyone has received their cards I like to post a little preview of some of the holiday sessions I was lucky enough to photograph. There were lots of mini sessions and full family sessions and there is no way to share all of them but here are some fun ones that I thought you might enjoy.
This mom is “on the ball” she is getting portraits taken as a surprise for dad for Christmas! What a great idea! Anyway, we battled some wind and sand spurs but overall had a great time! The weather (minus the wind) was great and the sun was oh so bright! Hope you enjoy your sneak peak “K” family…. hope dad doesn’t see this 🙂
One of my favorite families met me at the park and we had a play date! At least the kids and I did when we left mom and dad on their own for a little bit! Although many many family sessions are held in Tampa, this one was at a local park in Safety Harbor. Here’s a little sneak peak for the patiently waiting family!
I love being a Tampa children photographer and I am so sad that this precious little girl is graduating from the New Beginnings Collection! It has been a great year watching her grow into the little toddler that she has become. We celebrated her birthday in first class style with cake and balloons. She was so fascinated with the balloons that I think I she must be looking up in half of the images! She was less than interested in her cake but she played in it long enough for some really fun pictures. I will miss this Tampa family but I am sure I will see them in the near future for some more fun sessions.
Mini Session update- The date for the Sneak Peak of Santa mini session has changed to November 13th. There are still some openings. More information here…. Also there are a few openings left for Holiday at the Park mini’s.
Fun is the word for this session as you can probably tell! This little guy (well I guess he is not really that little) was such a crack up! Being a Tampa family photographer and photographing lots of families I love it when the children are easy going and interactive. They often times are the heart of the session (as children often are the heart of everything!), helping to create timeless portraits. There are so many great places in Tampa for families and this session had sentimental value for the family. That makes the portraits even more meaningful. I met this family when searching for health insurance for my family. Sam has been terrific! I highly recommend him and his services. He is easy to work with and has a wealth of great information for his clients. Check out his web site at http://www.healthlifenetwork.com/. For a little bit more TGP information I am trying to get holiday mini sessions organized so look for that coming soon. And have you signed up for the Tracy Gabbard Photography newsletter? If not, be sure to go to the home page of the web site and sign up! Great stuff in there! Now for a sneak peak for this Tampa family before they get their gallery….
Just in the nick of time were we able to squeeze this session in. Can you believe that this mommy is due one week from the day we had this session…. yes, she looks amazing! It was such a fun session and this is a fast sneak peak as I promised one before the baby is born…. I am just making it I think! Can’t wait for your newborn session and I will follow up with a gallery here soon! 🙂
Wow- This was such a great session. This totally in love couple joined their families together on the beach one gorgeous morning. The ceremony was so simple but SO touching! It was just them and their closest family, the minister and me. Their love for their children and each other is so obvious to anyone that is lucky enough to spend any time with them. Not to mention their glowing “beauty” :)…. I could have photographed them all day if they would have let me but for whatever reason the kids were not up for a full day of pictures…. imagine that! 🙂 We had lots of fun though for the time we did spend together. Enjoy your sneak peak “L” family…. I truly enjoyed our session and can’t wait for you to see your gallery. It will be ready soon, I promise!
Nothing like being shot a by a flower! 🙂 He was so funny the whole time and even ended up in the water up to his head by the end of the morning!
Ahhhh… weather, the topic of conversations these days! It is finally warming up but it wasn’t quite soon enough for this family. It was SUPER windy and cold for these “troopers” but they hung in there and kept it going until the end! I thought about blogging a few outtakes with everyone’s hair in their faces and the kids teeth chattering but I decided to spare the family the painful reminder 🙂 Thankfully we did get lots of great photos and we will just pretend the like the wind was a fan blowing to make everyone look glamorous! 🙂 Enjoy!
