Fall Portraits

Fall is my favorite time to photograph. Seriously.

Don’t get me wrong, I love summer beach photos and splashing in the ocean, holiday photos with christmas hats and decorations, but something about the fall crisp air and autumn sunlight just makes it feel special. Enjoying those last few days of warmth before the winter sets in when we are covered from head to toe in layers of clothes… Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s only early fall, so let’s hang onto it for as long as we can.  While we are at it, let’s capture it too!

HAL Photography Baby Portraits

HAL Photography is filling up quickly for our fall portrait sessions. We have a few openings left for Columbus Day Weekend (Oct 8 – Oct 10). Leave us a comment below or email HAL photography to find out more info about booking your family fun portrait session today!

Somma Family

Somma Family | 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet the Somma Family!

We had a fantastic day at Ft. Williams  / Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth, Maine recently with the Somma Family. They were a fun and laid-back family who were heading out on the road to move away soon and wanted to grab some portraits of their new addition to the family in one of their favorite Maine locations.

The weather was perfect, their baby girl was adorable and such a beautiful ‘tiny human’. We couldn’t have asked for a better day or setting before they began their journey to their new home.

Congrats again Somma Family. Thank you for choosing HAL Photography as your maine family portrait photographer!

Check out my Photographer’s Favorites – Slideshow to view some of my top pics of our day:

tiki torch

late summer | tiki torch

hal photography

elliot | two years

Meet Elliot! He is a fun little man with a head full of curly hair! As in the past, many families want to get photos of their little boys before they need to chop off their hair for one reason or another. (For many, it’s a few too many lollipops getting stuck…) Of course, the hair grows back, but that first batch of beautiful hair is always the best.

Elliot was so much fun to photograph. It took him a bit to warm up to me, which allowed me to get some fantastic candid/serious shots of him. However, once his mom told me that he loves chasing her around the park and cracks up hysterically, I knew it had to be done. Word to the wise, when running backwards in flip flops on uneven grassy terrain, keep a very solid hold of the camera when you’ve got it down at knee level and firing off shots! Ha.

Elliot’s birthday is coming up in a couple weeks and he’s going to be, you guessed it, two years old! He’s learning to tie his own shoes (see below), put on his own pants, and of course, dress up like a fireman!

Happy 2nd birthday Elliot!

wedding day | york beach, maine

Recently, I captured the momentous wedding day of Jess & Mike on York Beach.

It was an absolutely magnificent day, filled with sunshine, a few clouds, and a light breeze. The ceremony was small with only immediate family attending. It was exactly what they wanted at the picturesque location of York Beach, Maine. I would sit here and type about their undying love and admiration for each other, how every look was one of trust, happiness, and love,  but I’ll let the photo speak for itself :-) Oh how I do love wedding days!

green tomatoes

Living the condo life is great during the winter, when the parking lot and paths are all shoveled out, and during the summer, when the grass is cut and the flower beds are mulched. However, a not so great thing about some condos is soil-space, it’s kind of at a premium in my area. Frankly, I never really thought about it, I’m not exactly a green-thumb, and I know that watering the plants every night, if planted outside in a bed, may eventually start to bother my neighbors.

This was all fine and good until a friend of mine had 12 – yes 12 – extra tomato plants she had put into pots thinking that not all of her plants would take off. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for her, the plants all thrived and she was left with all the extra and no place to put them. Having not yet kept a plant alive since the day I moved in here, I was weary of another poor living thing dying at my fingertips. Well, you can guess how excited I was when I was watering them a month later (which yes, I do remember to do occasionally), and saw these green tomatoes hiding within the leaves. Apparently I was oblivious the past few weeks when watering them – either that or they just grew the week I was in San Fran.

I know they aren’t quite red yet, and having the two plants in pots is not the ideal situation for them, but hey, I never thought I’d even get this far! Not going to lie – if I even only get these two tomatoes for the entire season I’ll be impressed!

Any suggestions on not killing potted tomatoes would be greatly appreciated!

-h

Pier 39 | San Francisco

Indigo Blue Twilight | San Francisco

This past week I travelled to San Francisco. The weather was in the 60′s, filled with low-lying fog and intermittent sunshine. On one of the evenings, I had a bit of free time and was able to visit Pier 39 right as the sun was setting and twilight had begun. The marina looked beautiful this time of day with the boats settled into the docks and the old-fashioned light post illuminating the area, I couldn’t help but take a few shots.

No photoshopping was needed for this photo. The indigo blue sky was a photographers dream. What I saw is what you get – a lovely evening in San Francisco.

Do you have any favorite photos from this time of day? Feel free to share!

trevor | 18 mos

One of the many advantages to being an on-location maine photographer is that the studio is wherever you want it to be, including your very own backyard!

One of my favorite clients to photograph is Trevor, who is now already 18 months old. I’ve been photographing this little guy since the beginning and it is amazing how much he has grown. Check out that hair!

Your home can become a studio with as many different “locations” as you’d like. Trevor’s mom is a fan of outfit changes as needed, and like a good mom, knows that he may get bored by a certain area after a bit, so she had a few places in her yard pre-planned for him to play in while I snapped the pics.

The result of photographing on the location of your choice is a much happier and comfortable child, and much calmer and less-stressed parents. We grabbed some great candids of him playing in the pool with his bubbles blowing, getting some friendly puppy-kisses from the family dog, and a planned photo of Trevor with his favorite cousin on the hammock in their yard.

Summertime

Summertime, and the living’s easy.

Ah, summer vacation, a week of bliss and relaxation. The week was absolutely beautiful in Maine, full of warmth, sunshine, and a great cooler day for a long run (I couldn’t have planned it any better). I thought about driving around to visit friends, but instead, I had some great friends come and visit me. Can’t complain with beach/lake days like this in July.

I’ve been going through some summertime photos and found one my favorites of summer in Maine.

Lightening Storm on a Maine Lake

 

This was taken on my favorite lake in Maine one late summer evening. I only got a few shots before I ran back inside to calm my family freaking out that I would be struck by lightening. Don’t worry – I survived!

What is one of your favorite summer photos or memories?

Hope summer is going well for everyone!

Caitlyn – Class of 2012

Meet Caitlyn – Class of 2012

Caitlyn contacted HAL Photography when she was planning her vacation from Vermont with her family. Having traveled to Old Orchard Beach with her family for a few years now, Caitlyn thought it would be the perfect time and place to get some dynamic and Caitlyn-style beach shots for her class of 2012 senior photos.

The shoot went fantastic! After reschedule due to (unpredictable Maine) weather, we landed a warm, slightly breezy, evening on the beach. The temperatures were perfect for getting our feet wet (literally), and the breeze gave her hair a natural boost that models use giant fans for in photoshoots. Ah, behold, the power of beach wind on a summer’s night!

Getting to know Caitlyn and her mom was great. Listening to their stories about family vacations to Maine and beyond makes me appreciate our Maine summers even more. Little tidbit of information – Caitlyn is totally a photobug. It was excellent, because she had her own style and vision, and at HAL Photography, we love to make you a part of the process. Here’s hoping you find some new favorite Caitlyn-esque photos!

Here’s a few of my favorites from our beach day.