Yup, it sure is over here at Collin M. Smith Portrait Photography!  We are gearing up for our annual Christmas Limited Edition portraits.  And I personally think that these are the BEST yet!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this scene!  It is so versatile and neutral.  Anything that you choose to dress your little darlings in will look beautiful on this background.  We used Clara Beth for our little model because, well, it’s pretty convenient with her being our daughter and all.  She’s dressed rather formally for her portrait, however a little boy in jeans and a sweater would fit in just as well.  Or kids in pajamas, or a baby in nothing but a santa hat…the options are never-ending!  We will continue to give you examples of the different looks you can get from this scene, but until then, enjoy these of Clara Beth!

The dates for our Christmas sessions are November 7th and 8th.  We will be offerring specially priced portrait packages as well as Christmas cards.  Call to set up your appointment!  Time slots are very limited!  843-665-4646.

I’ve mentioned before on the blog how much Collin and I love it when our past brides bring their new families in for portraits.  Karen is one of “our” brides from several years ago, and sweet Hannah is her second baby.  Collin photographed Matthew, her firstborn, when he was Hannah’s age, and we were so excited to get the call from Karen announcing that she had a new daughter!  And Hannah is so beautiful!  I just love these sweet newborn sessions so much.  There is something so special about this time that is so fleeting.  Those precious little fingers and toes, newborn wrinkles, and the way they curl up…it’s just irresistible to me!  Enjoy Hannah’s sweetness!

Oh, and I didn’t notice this when I was holding sweet little Hannah in my arms at the studio that day, but looking at these portraits I absolutely see it…this chick TOTALLY looks like her Momma!  Beautiful!

Oh, Coley.  What a sweet boy!  This baby is so beautiful.  Every time I see him I have to touch those precious curls.  He’s ADORABLE!  I was so happy to be able to join Collin at this session at the beach.  In fact, our whole family came along.  Mak and Clara Beth played in the sand while Collin took Coley’s pictures, and then after the session we showered the kids off at Coley’s beach house.  Thanks for that, guys!  We had such a great time!

As for Coley….Well, he had not been sleeping very well for the few nights before the session.  And I wouldn’t say he was over-joyed to be there.  BUT, I LOVE what Collin was able to get!  These are just a few of many images that I love from this session!  I can’t wait to see you again, Coley!

Also…I just wanted to take a minute to talk about beach sessions.  We have had a lot of people calling about them lately, wondering if it’s too late in the season to do them.  NO!  I personally LOVE the beach in the Fall.  Temperatures are down, humidity is lower, and the skies are BEAUTIFUL.  So, if you are considering getting that beach session in before Christmas, go ahead and call us!  We would love to go to the beach any time.  Any excuse for some good ol’ SC seafood, right? 

Oh, WOW.  What a dream for a little boy.  A great big old red tractor to play on.  I LOVE this session!  Grant is such a cutie-pie, and I always love seeing what Collin does with him, but this session was just so different.  And SO GREAT!  It’s pretty clear that Grant was pleased to be out there with Daddy and Grand-daddy, and I love how itty-bitty he looks next to that great big tractor!  We are so glad your Mommy and Daddy wanted to have your portrait made here, Grant!  And Makgill (our 4 year old) wants to know if he can come play!

Look at this gorgeous baby girl!  Mary Ainsley is so beautiful with those great big puppy dog eyes and perfect little mouth.  And she happens to be the new baby sister to one of the cutest toddlers around, Blayne!  This family has been coming to the studio since big brother Blayne was as tiny as Mary Ainsley.  If you have been into the studio in the past year or so, you will know Blayne as the precious baby in the collection of gallery wrapped baby faces that we have on display.  He’s beautiful too!  We love working with all four of them.  Mom and Dad are so fun and laid-back, and of course the kids are completely adorable!  Here’s a sampling from Mary Ainsley’s first session with us…

I hope you are all planning to come to the Civic Center tomorrow for SHE Saturday!  Collin and I will be there with a booth full of some of his newest work and information about upcoming events at the Studio.  We would LOVE to see you!  This will be our 5th year participating in this great community event, and it gets better each year.  I can’t wait to see what this year has to offer!  For those of you who have never been, it’s a day filled with fashion shows, shopping, and just checking out some local vendors in general.  And there are FREE health screenings!  It’s such a great way to see some of the amazing things that the Pee Dee region has to offer.  It starts at 9:00 tomorrow morning, and the fun will continue all day until 5:00.  We hope to see you all there!

Speaking of SHE magazine…I LOVE this publication!!!  I anxiously await the latest issue at the beginning of every month.   I love reading the articles and the ads are so great.  There are some talented women showcased in that magazine!  Last month, Collin photographed the women who had been awarded makeovers by the magazine.  It was so much fun to meet and work with these amazing women.  We both felt so blessed to have this opportunity!

Collin also photographed the incredible SHE magazine staff for this issue.  These girls are all SO FUN!  They love their magazine, love their jobs, love their community and clearly have a lot of fun working together.  I imagine that working in that office is like going to a party with your best friends every day.  Thanks, girls, for being so fun to work with!  Collin and I both enjoyed getting to know you better.  You are all so beautiful, inside and out!  We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

There’s just something about curly-headed, blond, blue-eyed baby boys.  I’m just a little partial to them.  They all remind me of my own sweet little tow-head (Why are they called tow heads anyway?).  In fact, I’m blogging this with Sweet Clara Beth at my side, and as soon as she saw these portraits of William pop up on the screen, she said “That my Bubbo!” (her name for Makgill).

William is such a cutie!  You may recognize him from a post a few months back.  Remember the baby with the incredible Paddington Bear nursery?  Well, here he is as a great big one year old!  And with hair!  It always amazes me how much babies change in that first year.  That’s why Collin’s baby plan is SO GREAT!  We capture all of those precious changes for you.  William was at that perfect, just barely beginning to walk stage.  You know, when they take a few tentative steps and then slowly go down to their knees?  I bet he’s running all over the place by now!  Enjoy some of our favorites from William’s One year session!

Isadora is a beautiful baby girl who came into the studio a couple of months ago.  And I fell in love with her.  In case you haven’t noticed, I fall in love with pretty much EVERY baby who comes in here!  They are all so sweet, and it makes me SO HAPPY that Collin moved the studio home.  Now we will always have teeny-tiny babies in the house, even after our babies are all grown up.  And our babies are growing SO FAST!!! 

So…back to Beautiful Isadora!  She is such a fun, happy baby.  I can’t wait for her to come back into the studio to see how much she’s grown…and so I can love on her a little more.

Those eyelashes!!!  I LOVE long baby lashes!

Her perfect little tiny toes…

and nose…

and eyes!

What a GORGEOUS family!  Mom is so beautiful and it’s pretty clear that Dad loves all three of his girls very much.  And I just love the sister relationship between the two girls.  I don’t have a sister, so that relationship is something that has always fascinated me.  I just love observing sisters!  And it looks to me like these two have the best relationship.  Collin had a wonderful time photographing them, and he came home talking about what a sweet and loving family they were.  I can’t wait to meet y’all in person!

Okay, I’m a Sound of Music FANATIC.  I’ve loved the movie since I was a little girl, and make Collin sit down and watch it with me once a year.  It drives him CRAZY.  He’s not such a big fan.  But anyway, every time I see the images of these girls I start singing “Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes…” with a British accent.  I know.  I’m a big dork.  But aren’t they beautiful?

I LOVE this panel of the girls playing!  Again…I love that sweet relationship!

I love this baby girl so much!!!  Isn’t she just adorable?  I am so blessed to be able to love on this sweet girl on a pretty regular basis.  She helps me get my baby fix in. :)  And I am COMPLETELY in love with this session that Collin did of her!  We love you, Sweet Sadie!

Sadie was dedicated in this beautiful dress at church this morning.  I’m so sad that we couldn’t be there to see her.  We were thinking about y’all!

One of the best things about this sweet baby is her FABULOUS rolls!  Look at that chub!  She’s so squeezable!

This hat is PERFECT!

Sadie was FINISHED with Collin at this point.  But this is perhaps my favorite image from the whole session.  It makes me want to pick her up and love on her.  There’s just something about a crying baby.  It’s so beautifully heartbreaking!