Clara at the Zoo: 18 Month Portraits

little girl at the zoo

little girl with reflection

little girl at the playground

little girl being silly

Clara is an active little 18 month old and explore she must! What better place to let her roam than at the local zoo? She was the most fashionable little girl there with her white dress and jean jacket. She loved looking for and waving to all of the animals. She is smart too-- knows what all of the animals say. Quack, cluck, oo-oo-ah-ah, and more. She is just so darn cute, I'd follow this little girl anywhere. Have a great day! -Lori

Because it's important : celebrate a whole life through photographs

I've always wanted to make the world a better place. Do something important. Help people. Make an impact. Something I read recently made me realize that I already have. It made me feel more confident that my path is correct. Photographer Mary Marantz wrote, "This thing that we do is not a trivial thing... It is an honorable calling that by its very nature leaves something behind."

This brought me back to the recent passing of my grandmother. In between hugs and sobs, we started to search through photo albums and hard drives. Searching through years of memories to celebrate a woman's life. Photos from her childhood, wedding and of her family, us.

I realized, how thankful I am to have those photos. I'm thankful to the countless number of people who pushed the shutter button to record her life. So we can celebrate the life of someone we love.

And if I am so thankful to have these photos, maybe the photos I have made for others will be cherished as well. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, or maybe 80 years from now. Always, I hope. We make photos in times of happiness to cheer us up in times of sadness.

So all that being said, this is just a reminder that it's important to push the button. And it's also important to be on the other side of the lens as well. Let others remember you happy and loved.

As always, thank you for trusting us with your memories. -Lori

bw wedding portrait

old bw photos

lori and her grandmother

Betty: Portraits of a strong woman

Betty is such a wonderful woman. I have known her for about three years, and she has always been such a positive, upbeat and selfless person. She has recently been going through some tough times, but this session was about looking up and moving forward. We kept the colors bright and cheerful like her personality and had some fun just laughing and being together. After the session, Betty sent me a message saying, "After seeing all the comments and likes on the photo it occurred to me that with that photo you made all my friends that were concerned about me realize that I'm going to be ok. That is truly a gift Lori." It's notes like that which keep me going in this field!

I'm so glad to know this incredible woman and be able to share in life's amazing moments. Say hi to Betty!

Thanks for following and celebrating life with us through photos! Lori

Victor NY Family Photography for Cobblestone Living

cover of cobblestone living

For the past few months, we have had the honor to work with some great families in the Cobblestone neighborhood of Victor. Some who have lived there just a few years, others who have had a hand in building the original development. It's been fun getting to meet new people and hear their stories. And then, to see them published!

The Cobblestone neighborhood is a beautiful area that surrounds the Cobblestone Creek Country Club. The monthly magazine celebrates the families, students, pets, lawns and travels of their neighbors. The articles are written by folks that live there about issues and people important to them. Each month there is a featured family in the "get to know your neighbors" section. That's where we come in!

Here are a few of the images we have made in the neighborhood.

train restore

cobblestone living

skiing family

family and dog

1961 vodka

All of the neighbors seem to have golf in common, but this couple had a putting green in their bedroom!

If you live in the neighborhood and want to suggest a family to be featured, send us an email! We'd love to connect.

Have a great day! Lori

Rochester NY newborn sessions at home

She's tiny, cute and perfect. She's also the newest adventure in Natalie and Dan's life. What an honor and joy it was to get to meet her last week, in her first few days at home. Thanks to Rochester's weather, in her short time here so far she's already seen 3 different seasons...spring, summer and winter. She's also been on a few hikes and has been showered with love from friends and family alike. It's always exciting for us when we get the opportunity to meet a new addition to the family of one of our wedding couples. We love reconnecting with you, and capturing that next stage in your family's history. For us, it doesn't get much better than that.

Welcome to the world little one! Your mom and dad are so happy you're here, and we can't wait to watch you grow into a beautiful, sweet little girl!

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31 Portraits in 31 Days | Lori's 365 project continues

Happy Monday folks! Today is the last day of my portrait month. What a ride! First, I want to thank each and every one of you that participated. This was kind of a crazy idea, but you helped make it happen. I hope you all had as much fun as I did!

Okay, let me back up. If you haven't been following along, I'm working on a 365 project this year-- that means making and sharing one photo per day. Each month I'm giving myself a theme, last month was food, this month is portraits. The challenge was to photograph a different person each day, using a different method each time. If you'd like to follow along in real time, you can see them on my Instagram feed.

So what did I do? Well here is a short list of the variations this month:

Beauty lighting, back lighting, window lighting, split lighting, x-lighting, LED/video lighting, bounce lighting, natural lighting, work with 1-2-3 and 4 lights, lights with gels, and painting with light. My subjects ranged from 4 months old to 88 years young, men and women, and even some pets. Many images were created in various rooms of my home, while several were created in other spaces. I photographed family, friends and strangers as part of this month. I even threw a double exposure in there just for fun!

Phew, you exhausted yet? I am just thinking about it all. It was challenging to line up a new subject for each day and come up with a new technique to work on. Some days I just worked on posing or photojournalism (capturing a moment). I also got sick toward the end of the month, and didn't want to pass that on to anyone. Hence, all the photos of my dogs. That was not part of the original plan, but you work with what you can.

So here they are in no particular order: 31 portraits in the 31 days of March. Enjoy!

portraits sampling

variety of portraits

portrait collage

So, which one is your favorite? Thanks! Lori

Senior Portrait Flashback : Sam in 2004/2014

Hey there, it's Lori. Guess what I just realized? It's been ten years since I made my first high school senior portrait. Sam reminded me of this fact when she volunteered to help me with my 365 project earlier this month. Wow, ten years ago... I had just finished high school myself when Sam asked if I would make her portraits. We had so much fun in my backyard, using my moms gardens as our backdrop. I had to dig to find these images, but thought it would be fun to share a little then and now.

The funny thing is, everyone has said the same thing after seeing these two images: She looks exactly the same, yet so different. Well Sam, let's make an appointment for 2024 and make this a tradition. :)

Have a great day everyone!

Morgan at 4 months : Rochester NY Baby Plan Photography

This is part two with Morgan as we join her on the first year plan. We were shooting at home again, as with the first session. We got to play in lots of outfits,  hang with our favorite stuffed animals and make the most of tummy time. She is not a fan of being on her tummy, but we were able to make some cute images very quickly to show off how she can hold her head up now! I love the black and whites and snuggle time the most from this session. Oh, and that little blue bow? How could you resist?! Enjoy!

Can't wait until the next session! Check back soon for more Morgan! Til then, Lori

Big, Life Changing, Exciting News! : rochester ny family photographer

Sharing our days with you and your families is so special to us. We love capturing everything from the wedding to those newborn tiny little feet, and watching them grow. We enjoy being a part of your lives, while we continue to live our own. But there's nothing like watching a family grow, especially if it's your own!

So without further ado, I'm excited to share some great news about my own little family. We've been waiting ever so impatiently to tell the world! Check it out in the video below!

Yes, we are soon to be welcoming two tiny new feet into the family!  So for now, I'm going to put aside my wine, and enjoy a little extra ice cream instead. Thank you to our family and friends who have supported us this far, and will continue to do so as we enter this amazing, yet totally sleep deprived, new chapter of our lives! We can't wait for you to meet him or her in September!

With Love, Erin, Matt and Baby Perrotta

Where it all began | Three generations of photographers

If there is such a thing as the photography gene, I'd guess it runs in my family. My mom has captured every life event of my siblings and I from first car to graduations and every holiday/birthday/lost tooth in-between. It's fantastic to look back on those pictures, especially as now we can compare my brother to his son... de ja vu anyone? But as much as my mom loves photography, she got it from somewhere too. Her mother, of course, my grandma Peg!

Grandma's attic could probably give the Eastman house a run for their money. The sheer volume of photographs is incredible. Every birthday cake, family picnic, even distant cousins I didn't know I had; she has them all cataloged, dated and organized. But do not think these photographs sit hidden in a box or album. Well, some do, but let me show you around a bit.

Photos are every where in Grandma's house. What better way to surround yourself with loved ones? All of the kids, grand kids and great-grand kids near and far, are always within reach. Some photos haven't moved in decades, others get switched around, but mostly, they are just added to. If you ever thought you were "out of wall space," I beg you to think again!

Over the years, grandma has used all kinds of cameras from the Kodak Brownie to Twin Lens Reflex to Polaroids. (Most of those cameras have ended up in my collection!) My mom recently told me how grandma was so impatient to see her photos, that when she had a few shots left on her roll of film, she would just take random photos so she could go develop them! Grandma needed the digital age, but she never liked her digital camera. Instead, she has reverted back to one time use cameras.

She gave the gift of photography to my mom as well. When my mom was pregnant with my brother, kid #1, grandma bought her a nice SLR camera and told her to capture everything. That camera was a fully manual 35mm that my parents went to classes to learn how to use. It's a testament to how much my grandma loves her family and how important photographs are.

My grandma is not a professional photographer, but she loves photography. That trickled down to my mom and to me and I'm sure photography will continue to be important to the next generation as well.

Thanks for letting me show you off grandma :) Love you! -Lori

Lori's 365 Project: Food February

Month 2 of the photo a day project, and I chose to have a theme this time. Simply: food. I've always thought of food as one of the hardest subjects to photograph. My goal here was to push outside of my comfort zone. I do best with moving things, but I wanted to see how many different ways I could light, present and work with the theme. This resulted in multiple interpretations from literally what I had for dinner, to the act of cooking, to enjoying food, to researching recipes and more. It also included an image from our visit to the Alton Brown tour, which while not a shot of food was a photo of a chef, so I count it. :)

This was the perfect month for this topic as my husband decided to test several new recipes as part of our new healthy eating plan. So I got to test my plating skills in addition to taste testing!

Weddings are typically the only time I find myself photographing the culinary arts. At which time, they are usually already professionally displayed (wedding cakes, dinner plates). So for this project, I had create the presentation and ambiance myself.

Most of the images this month were shot with my DSLR, however there were a few days I opted for the ease of my iPhone. This includes ice cream night, the Alton Brown show, and a few others. My favorite photos this month include the apple chips, peach slice in the smoothie and Molley under the table of course! Overall, I feel like I met the goal of multiple interpretations of the subject, but am glad to be moving on to a new one!

Thanks for following along! Lori