Christina's Blog

I was recently asked to visit Duke Hospital to photograph a family who’s son was undergoing treatment for a serious illness.  I was excited about the chance to do this, especially as it was a surprise gift from a friend of the family and I know just how much a portrait can mean to someone during difficult times.

When I arrived at the hospital, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I always try to be sensitive to the fact that these are stressful circumstances and it’s natural that people may not feel particularly open to photographs or strangers.  Imagine my surprise though, when I was welcomed into their hospital room as if I were an old friend.  It wasn’t until several minutes had passed, along with a little conversation, that I realized that they didn’t even know what I was there!  Well, they knew a friend was sending a surprise, but had no idea what it was.  Mom mentioned she was hoping for a massage, but I convinced her I’m a much better photographer than masseuse. 

After I recovered from my embarrassment over not having properly introduced myself, we chatted a while… about their family and Chase, his recent diagnosis, and his upcoming treatments.  Chase offered me snacks and drinks, which I politely declined, but he was persistent.  In the end, he got me with his offer of a piece of chocolate – who can turn down chocolate??  We then set about trying to capture a few good portraits of both Chase and his family (minus one sibling who unfortunately hadn’t arrived in town yet.)

I cannot imagine having someone show up at my front door, tell me they were there to take my portrait and then give me 5 minutes to “get ready” …but that’s kind of exactly what I did to the Rudisill family.  They were kind and warm and welcoming to me, and I only hope I was able to capture a bit of the hope and love permeating the room that day.  Chase is continuing his battle with cancer and I wanted to send out a wish of hope and share this story, along with a few of the beautiful images I was able to create for them.  Keep fighting, Chase!

I am working on some gorgeous images tonight and just had to share this sneak-peek from a recent session.  I was invited to create baby Ryan’s newborn portraits when he was only 3 weeks old.  He was quite alert when I arrived, so I took the opportunity to photograph him with his Mommy and big sister, Isabelle first.  He was a bit resistant to the idea of sleeping at first, but after much encouragement from Mommy he finally drifted off, allowing me to capture all his perfect newness and create a beautiful collection of images.

It’s often hard to remember just how tiny our own babies are when they’re born, especially because we see them everyday and they grow so darn fast.  I still find myself surprised sometimes when I pick up a tiny newborn and realize again how very light they are… and how very, very perfect.  I hope Ryan’s family enjoys this little preview and I cannot wait to share the full collection with you!

Just wanted to quickly share one of the beautiful images I captured last week when I went to Wilmington to visit my new niece – this was her first portrait session with me and I could hardly believe it had been over 3 months since she’d been born.  Those of you with children of your own know just how true the old adage of “time flies” really is!  I still haven’t chosen my favorite image from her session yet, but this one is definitely in the running.

I always try to avoid showering too much attention on babies when I first meet them, as I want to save those sweet smiles and interested expressions for the camera room – this was a very hard rule to abide by this time, as this was my first time seeing her and all I really wanted to do when I got there was put my equipment down on the floor and just be an Aunt!  I set up my “portable studio” in her nursery and had so much fun capturing her big blue eyes, happy smiles and chubby cheeks.  She was such a sweetie!  Afterward I enjoyed getting to hang out and visit with my brother and sis-in-law while Peyton sat contently in my lap – an awesome day!