When I DO have time for non-wedding portraits, I have a ball with them.    Such was the case a few weeks ago when my adorable cousin Paige came down to Madison from Green Bay for her senior portrait session.  She had a specific location in mind: Allen Centennial Gardens!  She had seen this beautiful location in my own wedding portraits because my hubby & I had beautiful portraits taken in the English Garden on our special day.  I was very excited to shoot there for the first time, which ended up being one of THREE opportunities to shoot there that fell right in a row.

Before we headed out to the gardens, though, we began with a couple of quick shots in the studio.  Loving Paige’s beautiful blue dress against  my black and white backdrop!

Isn’t she lovely?

We arrived at Allen Centennial Gardens under a beautiful (but very HOT) summer sky.

This little garden area with a pool and waterfall was an adorable spot to shoot Paige in her fairy-like prom gown.

Did I mention Paige is a dancer? 

I loved the potted ferns around this bench.  It almost felt tropical!

Paige just started taking point classes this summer.  So cute!

Beautiful pouffy gown + pink point shoes…  ::smile::

Believe it or not, Paige did NOT bring these sunglasses intentionally to match her dress.  That’s right!!  Coincidence!

These shots make me think of Alice in Wonderland…

We had a little too much fun with the prom dress, but we made sure to get Paige into her other adorable outfits for some more casual shots.

Toe shoes are just as fun with jeans!!

Paige has a super-cute and funky personality that shines through in so many of these images!

Our last stop on the way back to my place for a family cook-out was an interesting little field near my home.  We didn’t mention to Paige that there could be bugs until after we were done shooting…which was great because she’s not a big fan of them!  Totally worth it, though, because I LOVE these shots. 

Paige proved she can do a fashion look…not just the cutesy stuff!

Thank you, Paige, you beautiful girl you, for trusting me with these portraits.  I had fun and I know Cammie did, too!  So great to see you all again, and I wish you a wonderful summer!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about coverage for your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

Andy & I met when we worked together at a local software company.  I can’t believe that was over three years ago!  We remained friends after I left the company, and I love reading Andy’s quirky and amusing status updates.  Everyone needs one friend like Andy: lighthearted, playful, and completely genuine.  His positive qualities don’t stop there- this guy has mastered the ability to create positive change and momentum in his life.  Since moving to Madison, he’s fallen in love with jogging and cooking and has adopted an inspiringly healthy lifestyle.  I saw our portrait session as an opportunity to document his success in this endeavor.  What fun!

We met downtown at a coffee shop and chatted for quite a while before we realized that we’d better get moving!  Our session was super fun.  We started at the Capitol, visited the holiday tree inside, and then strolled on State Street for a bit before transferring our energy to the efforts of shopping.  Fun, casual, coffee, shopping- what more could I ask for in a portrait session? 

Without further ado, heeeeere’s Andy!

I loved the colors & lights in the tree in the capitol.

We wandered around inside for a while.  I always love these lampposts!

We got several nice shots, but this portrait just feels the most like Andy to me.  It says, “oh, hai!”

And this is Andy’s tribute to Zoolander, appropriate for his first official modeling gig:

Time to get serious. 

And one last favorite from the day.  You know, just hangin’ around on a ledge…

Thanks, Andy, for letting me create these portraits for you!  I look forward to our next coffee and shopping meet-up on State Street.

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

When I was running my holiday specials on the blog, I was thrilled to sell a fun portrait session to my neighbors- and to get my first chance to really get to know the little boy who will grow up running around the yard while I chat up his mom on summer afternoons. Little L is truly one of the most adorable six month olds I’ve known…not that I’ve known many of them intimately, but man is he a cutie! Scroll down and see for yourself!

When I arrived, I found the cutie-patootie comfy and super-smiley in his fun little bouncer.

Since he was already comfy in just the diaper, I figured we wouldn’t rush into the costume changes just yet. When I bought this fun and furry fabric with babies in mind, I didn’t realize I had made such a tasty choice…

Look at that hair! It was just too adorable to tame:

I loved my neighbor’s decorating scheme. It’s a perfect blend of neutral overtones with bold color pops! We took full advantage of both color and neutral, starting with neutral.

I adore this glowy light!

We did eventually have to put some outfits on. Enter the color!

Little L’s six month old discovery has been how yummy his feet are. Here he is considering a go for the toes…

We moved upstairs and into a very colorful room, where we discovered that the fluffy fabrics not only taste good…but they shed like crazy. I apologize to L’s mom for the vacuuming she had to do after our session, he he he! But this image was worth it if you ask me…

We had to use this adorable little gingham shirt. Couldn’t give it up! Unfortunately, L was losing interest in the camera fast…but he managed to stay adorable!

See what I mean about colorful pops?

I’m convinced that L is going to be a major scholar when he’s older. This shot proves it…

He just looks so much older than his six short months!

Every baby book needs one shot that will provide mom & dad with truly useful fodder for blackmail during the teenage years. It ain’t no bear rug, but I’m pretty sure this little shot will serve its purpose well when L’s older…

Before they ventured into the world of teensy baby parenthood with L, our neighbors started with a giant dog. Maisy is the sweetest and the largest dog I’ve ever known. It’s hilarious to watch my tiny ankle-biter dogs, who are more L’s size, run around Maisy’s ankles. So of course I was interested in how this giant dog would react to her new little brother. In all honesty, it’s amazing…this moment said it all and I LOVE this image!

To my fab neighbors and little L…thank you so much for letting me be a part of this six-month milestone! I am so excited to see this little guy grow up and I look forward to taking many more photos of him in the future.

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly photographs weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged, so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts about Mandie’s photography as a comment!