Happy Holidays from Norah Levine and her family {Pet photographer, Children Photographer, Austin, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico}

My husband and I live in Austin, Texas, along with our little family comprised of 2 dogs and 3 cats. These animals are our family and we love them unconditionally. Our pets give wholeheartedly and ask very little in return. Let me introduce Ruckus (upper left), our boxer-mix who sports a snazzy underbite and runs the IT department; Fuego (upper right) our fiery little guy who definitely has a special swag and also acts as my PR director; Mika (middle right), our precious princess lab/pit mix who diligently serves as office assistant and accountant; RC (bottom left), our squishy calico in charge of catering (and eating); and Pepe aka Pino, our Abyssinian and Bengal mix in charge of marketing and social media.

Along with lots of hair, these cats and dogs bring me joy. I hope that whomever you have chosen to include in your family that you appreciate them as much as I appreciate my family and loved ones. I am extremely appreciative for all my clients who have chosen to invite me into their lives to photograph their most beloved.

Happy Holidays and Warm Wishes.

Norah

Capturing Cynthia and her girls

A quick peek at a few of the images I captured last weekend in Santa Fe during my holiday sessions with Cynthia and her two very special daughters.

Outdoor Dog Portrait Session... fall in love with these pups!

Happy Fall, everyone! I hope it has started out perfectly. Since it's going to be 100 degrees AGAIN here in Austin, Texas it doesn't quite feel like fall yet 'round these parts! So for this post I'm channeling a perfect fall day in the crisp mountain air I spent photographing and frolicking with two dogs I completely adore. As a photographer who LOVES color imagery I can't get enough of the fall colors: golds, reds, oranges. I loved the contrasting colors of the leaves and the clear blue sky in these photographs. I also enjoy the way the dogs' coloring and texture really adds to the warmth of the scene. I usually photograph pets in their home environment, but if my clients have a special request for me to create art of their pets or children in another location I am more than happy to oblige. One of the challenges of photographing dogs in an open space is that there can be many distractions– like fun noises, other pets and people walking by just asking to be chased and oh-so-many smells that have not yet been sampled! During my pre-consultation and planning meeting with my clients I discuss the benefits of each location in order to ensure that I can create images and artwork that is perfect for them. These particular dogs are exceptionally well trained and can go off-leash, which certainly helped for me to create more pleasing imagery of them in a safe way. I did a lot of following, playing and observing in order to capture their exciting outing in the breathtaking fall scenery of the Santa Fe mountains.

So get out and enjoy this time of year with your pets! Soak in all the colors and welcome the change of the season with your loved ones.

Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com

Pet Photography Booth Austin, Texas

I was recently asked to create a photo booth to photograph dogs here in Austin, TX at an event called Pupapalooza. I don't typically photograph events, but I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to get out into the pet community here in Austin and to support a cause close to my heart. All of the ticket sales from my photo booth went to the Austin Humane Society and the Animal Trustees of Austin.  Although the day was hot, I felt I had a pretty good turnout in my booth! I created the background with a board from Home Depot and some chalkboard paint. I filled the chalkboard with "dog" words–sometimes the dog's name to add a little special "flair" to the background. I wanted the booth to be fun and to express a candid feeling while maintaining a beautiful quality of light and color. Pet owner's and their beloved pets joined in on the fun and in exchange for their tickets they received their very own custom photo booth strip! This was absolutely a perfect way for me to meet some of Austin's dogs and their people and for me to play around with my photo booth idea. Special thanks to all of the participants in my booth for their support and to my helpers for making the day run smoothly!

Family Portraits in Austin and Santa Fe: Change is Here to Stay

Good news! Family photos are different than they used to be. Having a family portrait taken doesn't have to look exactly the same as it did last year and the year before. (Or the same as your neighbors' for that matter). And why should it? You and your family aren't the same as you were years ago.  I believe family portraits should be artful documentations with playful interactions that are truly personal and unique to each family. Every family is different, so when I am asked to create a portrait my approach always varies. I was asked to photograph this couple with their one-year-old baby and their yellow labrador retriever  in a way that really documented their casual and loving spirit as a family. As I do with each of my clients, I spent some time with mom to find out more about what it was she and her husband were looking for with their session. She told me that their son had just recently celebrated his first birthday and they were looking to capture a portrait of him with the rest of the family. They wanted creative images of their son at this special stage in his life. I especially loved the baby's reactiveness to his mom and and dad as they played and the look of admiration his parents' eyes. The baby's curiosity of his dad's guitar sparked some playful images and I was pleased to stick around to capture  "bath time" memories.

I was grateful to be able to photograph this family in a relaxed manner that allowed them to be themselves; to forget what a family portrait was supposed to look like and to embrace a more meaningful and authentic series of images they could hold onto for a lifetime.

Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com

Family Photos with Dog Included!

The opportunity to photograph children and families is always a welcomed one. The chance to photograph children and dogs together is fantastic! I was asked by one of my favorite clients to photograph her daughter, Chandra; two grandsons, Alex and Banks; and their dog, a chocolate poodle named Jack. The family was vacationing in Santa Fe and had asked me to photograph them while I was in town to teach my photo workshop. I was thrilled that our schedules coincided.

I've got to tell you about these two incredible children. Meet Alex, one of the most energetic 8-year-olds I've ever encourntered. This kid's got it all—wit, inventiveness, extreme curiosity, the gift of observance and as many random facts as you could shake a stick at. I could have gladly  listened to him all day and he would have still had thoughts to share at sunset.  The small detail in this scenario was that I need to create portraits of this wonderful child, and this usually requires a bit of "quiet time."  After a great deal of entertaining conversation I reminded Alex that we needed to take some photographs. He politely inquired if I needed for him to "go get some tape for his mouth." I passed on the offer, but thanked him kindly as we both giggled.  I have no doubt that we'll be hearing more from Alex in the future in one way or another.

Next I spent some time with Alex's younger brother, Banks. A gorgeous brown haired 6-year-old with a sweet sparkle in his eyes. Banks and I started out with some negotiations involving the removal of his skeleton imprinted flip flops. The sandals were cute but didn't seem to fit with the simplicity of his outfit. This negotiation sparked some serious giggling and play between the two of us. In the end I won the negations with an arm wrestling match. (I'm willing to try anything.) Banks was a great sport and his laugh was completely contagious both to myself and my assistant who was there to share in the whole experience. Banks starts kindergarten this year and I just know he'll take the classroom by storm.

The group portrait included the family's new dog, Jack. Jack was extremely well-behaved and had such a sweet demeanor. I love his dark, expressive brown eyes and his rich chocolate coat. Incorporating pets into family portraits is always a fun way to capture the whole family and allows everyone to relax a bit. Sometimes people find it hard to be in front of the camera but when pets are involved  it can be easy to let the nerves go. (I think this is true of having pets in our lives in general). I'm thankful that I was able to create portraits of this wonderful family and to capture moments of these two boys both individually and with their family dog.

Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com

1 Year Old Portraits by Norah Levine in Austin and Santa Fe

When I receive an inquiry about creating 1 year old portraits I'm always excited... This is certainly a fun age to photograph, as little girls and boys are just starting to express their own personalities. I love their actions and reactions, their giggles and uninhibited exclamations of emotion. With this fresh, young energy there are also challenges with photographing 1 year olds. I'd say the single most difficult aspect is that they are usually incredibly mobile and never seem to hold still! This makes for a very active session for both myself and the parents. The session I'm sharing today was especially fun. The parents were such kind people and really wanted me to capture their daughter's beautiful personality in her 1 year portraits. We started indoors in her room and then moved the session outdoors for a more natural setting. I spent a lot of time in the crouched position for this session! This "little wonder" had a tremendous sense of curiosity. I just LOVE her big brown eyes and expression.

Sometimes I play more of an active participation in creating portraits, while at other times I play the role of observer. It is this change in perspective that allows me to present a variety of images to the parents. In some of the images from this session I wanted to show how tiny this little girl was in comparison to her parents. I enjoyed capturing images of this family walking hand in hand with their shadows extending before them- two long shadows and one short!  I am so glad they had me capture this special time in their lives as their little girl is growing so quickly!

Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com

Summer family portraits

Summer time is an excellent opportunity to spend extra time with your loved ones. It certainly feels like summer here in Austin with so many 100 degree days in a row!  Fortunately, when I photographed this adorable family in Santa Fe it was an incredibly gorgeous day... a perfect day for family portraits. I received a call from Anna, a professional portrait photographer located in Flagstaff, Arizona, who would be visiting Santa Fe with her family and she was inquiring about my capturing her family's portrait while they were in town. Of course I was very excited and extremely flattered by this request as Anna is an amazing photographer in her own right. But we photographers need portraits too! (That tripod thing gets a little old after a while!)

Anna and I talked about her family—her husband and their two children. Anna explained to me that her family was very casual and that she would love for the portraits to convey that energy. During our brain storming about the session we thought that bubbles would be visually interesting to incorporate into the images and would also provide a fun activity for the children. Since Anna's family was visiting from out of town it was not possible for me to photograph them at their home. This worked just fine, but it took a little more planning in terms of finding the best locations. I wanted the locations to have beautiful light, aesthetically pleasing surroundings and to offer a comfortable place for the family to interact with one another. We spent the first part of the session on the grounds of their hotel which I had scouted days earlier. I found a big tree that seemed welcoming and I felt like the grassy area around it would make for a perfect place to let the children play comfortably.

We spent the afternoon playing, photographing and blowing bubbles in the pristine Santa Fe sunshine. The bubbles ended up working out well. The only issue is that they're a little (okay, a lot) messy! It was worth it though. I wanted to capture Anna's family as if they were not even aware of my camera. I loved the way this family interacted with one another and how they really just went with the "flow" of things. Not every moment was perfect and that was part of the beauty of these images for me. With such a free-flowing style session I had to photograph quite a bit and there was a little more of the unexpected, which I enjoyed.

We moved to a second location— a park area and a nearby colorful mural which made for a fun background. In the park we found a sweet grassy area to hang out as the sun set behind the horizon.

Yet another truly genuine and amazing family that I am grateful to have met and photographed.

Happy start of Summer! May you truly enjoy many moments with your loved-ones.

Pet Portrait Workshop this July 10-16 2011 at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

I'm going to branch off from my last post about the importance of self-nurturing. What is it that you have a passion about? Cooking, building motor cycles, gardening, painting, collecting? Is your passion photography? Obviously my true love is creating images and this summer I have been asked to teach for the second time at the world renown Santa Fe Photographic Workshops where I will be sharing my passion and knowledge about creating pet portraits. I'll be teaching a fun packed course entitled "The Creative Pet Portrait" from July 10th to the 16th and there are still a few spaces available! If you've always wanted to learn more about creating portraits, pet portraits specifically, this is the perfect opportunity for self-nurturing. You cannot imagine how much self-nurturing occurs during these workshops. This course is designed to lead you through a process filled with many learning opportunities to connect with people and their pets in a way that truly lends itself to amazing imagery and helps you explore your passion.

Last year I was joined by 10 students who chose to invest in their self-nurturing for a one week photography workshop in Santa Fe. We focused on the interaction and approach for commissioned portraits of pets and their owners, tricks for getting the desired imagery and how to use these new skills in future endeavors. The daily assignments and activities were followed by group discussions and sharing. These discussions were incredibly inspiring and offered the ability to learn in a stress-free and supportive environment.  The students were supportive of one another and shared their struggles and triumphs and we collectively offered support and suggestions for improvement and trouble shooting. We were fortunate to have a variety of special guest speakers.  We discussed lighting, posing, styling on set, clients, interactions, photographing on location, creativity and so much more. By the end of the week everyone was exhausted. For me, this was a good thing to hear! It is my job as an instructor to provide students with as many opportunities as I possibly can during the course and to make it fun! How could we NOT have fun when working with animals?!!

I love teaching. I love to see the improvement of the students through the week of this course and witness the camaraderie that builds amongst the participants. I value the chance to communicate and share my experiences and love of photography with others. It is vastly rewarding to help students pursue their passion and goals.

The following is a link to the course description and details:

http://www.santafeworkshops.com/photography-workshops/workshop/743

I have put a tremendous amount of effort in the preparation for this course and I am so excited to have the opportunity to share my knowledge with a new group of participants from around the country! Whether your passion for photography is a new discovery or an old flame you're looking to reignite, I strongly encourage you to consider joining us!

Here are a couple of the students' reviews from the course:

"One of the Best Workshops I have ever taken."

"The hands-on shooting experiences combined with the discussions beforehand with Norah to prepare us and afterward with the class were invaluable. I can't think of a better way to learn..."

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!