Tampa, Florida photographer | Theresa Marie | the blog

seven pounds of princess.

Our tiny little girl. The exceptionally soft, smelly good little ruler of our house. This is Aly and one of her most adorable quirks in action: (watch the video and try not to smile, I dare you.) p.s. those squeaks you hear are coming from her, not the toy.

see whats that on your face?! I told you, its impossible to not smile when you watch her doing her little thing. This is the game that was originated in our house, by Daddy, wherever there was a blanket present. (she has an obsession over blankets, note the Christmas themed blanket from Grandma on the couch in the end of August! she freaks when we try to wash them and stands whining at the closet if they are put away) He would put his hand beneath the blanket to pretend that there was something under there, and she would BunnyHop/CatPounce onto it and it would crack us uuuuupp! She eventually turned it into a game she could do by herself and its her favorite thing to do other than sleep and mush/grunt for attention from us. (another totally adorable story) Thing is, when you are watching her she stops and stares at you until she realizes shes bored of it, or you look away and in that case she starts up again. (which would explain my half retarded giggles behind the camera...I was trying to keep quiet so she wouldnt stop)

I had to be ultra slick to get the evidence...when you grab a camera she knows what it means so she will stop and get in picture mode which never includes mommy or daddy getting her in action. I was actually surprised I was able to capture almost 3 whole minutes of it!

the only thing that could make that video any better is the fact that Daddy (daddy = Nicholas, my highschool sweetheart for those of you who have recently tuned in to the blog) was the one that uploaded the video from the camera while I was away at work today. It was his idea to share with everyone the cuteness that we are blessed with everyday. He is just smitten with his little girl.

If you know us at all, we are the couple that is IN LOVE with children (and animals too) but arent able to have any of our own just yet. (the children, not the animals, duh) Aly is our "for now baby," so you can understand that she is our child. We already believe that dogs should not be pets or objects, instead they should be a member of one's family...well Aly put that belief to test and exceeded it tenfold.

So when I talk about my Aly, Im not just talking about our dog (sometimes even that word offends me) Im speaking of my two year old little girl who is really daddy's girl to the end.

second half of a great session

Now meet Katie! Another Senior representin' at a local high school this year. yes, I so said representin'. what of it? : )

Katie is such a cool girl, has a great style and a bright future! And dare I mention how beautiful she is?! Ill just let you see for yourself...

*sigh* She must have been trying to get some brownie points by throwing my absolute favorite color into the clothing mix. Plus its such a good color on her!

This was an extremely QUICK capture, the wind was blowing and I was just shooting away. Rooftops are prime shooting locations! shhhh dont tell anyone we were up there though.

Look at those gorgeous brown eyes!

Seriously. Never thought I could love a clump of bushes this much. Katie, you look so "one with nature."

Could I love this any more!?!? She just rocks at being photographed. Total natural in front of the camera.

LOVE the laughing shots! My secret weapon for this one? Emily!!

 More girlfriend love here. : )

Im so proud of this super fun use of scrapbooking products in photography...see scrapbooking, I havent totally forgotten about you.

Thanks for SUCH a good time Katie, I cant wait to see you in print!

Alani & Ian | Engagement Sneak Peek

Just a little something to hold my girl over until I can share the rest...this little gem is DEFinitely one of my favorites. *sigh*

one half of a great session

Meet Emily! She is another one of my Senior Representatives for the 2009 School year and she is pretty much the coolest.

Emily brought along her best friend Katie who is another one of my Reps and we did both of their sessions together! It was brilliant! I definitely reccomend bringing your best friend to your Senior session, It was so easy to capture all of Emily's sides thanks to Katie!

I love how bright and shiny she looks when she laughs!

Gosh, I have such a weird thing for alleys and a girl that is willing to go delving into one for a good shot is a rockstar in my book!

LOVE! Doesnt she look GAH-jeous in this color?! : ) We were totally on a rooftop for the last photo and this one. These were my kind of girls, totally up for exploring and going places we are probably not supposed to be!

Emily, you are B-E-A-oooootiful!!!

Supermodel?! I swear, both her and Katie kept giving me these looks without me having to ask for them! I ate it all up.

Oh my gosh, I could stare at these photos all day. Emily photographs SO well, it is just too easy. I had SUCH a good time laughing with her, shes such a spunky girl! So full of energy but with a touch of sensitive sweetness! I loved seeing her connection to her best friend, you could tell there's some good love between them...

Thanks Emily for being so freaking photogenic and fun to be around! Ill have more of you two together with Katie's post. : )

eight cubed.

I am always excited about fun dates, this time Im not talking about the kind of date where you go out to dinner then take a long walk on the beach. I am the one who will make a big deal about how the numbers of a date fall, like 06.07.08 while everyone is either not phased by it or dont even realize. Ive always loved numbers, the fact that they are the universal language fascinates me. It seemed to suit me well that I started dating Nicholas in 2000 and now every anniversary that we have falls exactly on that year; four years in 2004, seven in 2007 etc. That is like the coolest thing in the world to me and I didnt even try!

So when Jeff Mason emailed me to request that I second shoot for him at a wedding on 08.08.08 I hold nothing back by telling you that I was elated and proceeded to skip around in joy. : ) I really wanted to do something fun this year and I didnt have anything planned yet...so to shoot a wedding alongside a pretty cool guy like Jeff makes for a pretty fun day in my book.

Here are a few from the day:

I got this vision on the car ride there. It just HIT me, Im just so glad it came out like I planned.

Loved her bouquet.

Anticipation.

Her last steps, I love when brides come down the stairs for the grand entrance. I dont know what it is but it looks so elegant, sort of like she is a princess. well aren't they all on their wedding day?! I think this is my favorite image to date.

Some time to be along together before the reception, this is my favorite part of the day. I think each newly wed couple should make time for this, even if there aren't photographers following you around the whole time. If there are, then I recommend at least 45 minutes! : )

Thanks so much Jeff for inviting me along, it was so nice to meet you and working with you was a pleasure! If you are reading this, thanks to Cassie and Chris for having me and being so darn sweet!

Miss Patriz

Last week Patriz and I got lucky with her shoot, no rain and lots of sunshine! Patriz is another one of my Senior Representatives for this year and I am so excited to have her! We met up in downtown Dunedin, which ended up being close to her heart...I love an extra touch of special-ness.

Patriz has got to be the most photogenic person Ive ever met. I dont think I had a bad photo of her in the entire bunch. (and there WAS a bunch!) And that smile!? I couldnt get enough of it...I think only the photos can describe:

 

GORGEOUS girl!!

She has such a FUN style!

Im so missing this beautiful light...rain = no golden hour. And doesnt she just GLOW in this light, gosh I am so blessed to be able to shoot such gorgeous seniors.

She made this too easy on me. I love everything about this image...

and this one!

Thanks so much Patriz, for such a great shoot. You are such a cool girl with such a natural beauty! Ill have the rest of your images soon! Helen, you were a treat to have along for the day, It was so nice to spend the evening with you and your darling girl!

If you know Patriz, ask her how you can get free wallets when you book a session with me!

Have a great weekend everyone! Mine is going to be another jam packed one and hopefully will include posting some images from recent weddings. : )

Taylor: part two

Im a little bit behind on my blogging, I have SO much to share with you!

So we did do our shoot the next day and we beat the rain this time by going to downtown Clearwater. WOW...it was seriously like a treasure trove of wonderfulness down there. I'd done a shoot there before but I guess I didnt explore it enough! Taylor was too good in front of the camera. She's such a giggle box, it was so hard to keep her from smiling!

but when I did get her to give me a serious face, I couldnt stop smiling...I think this is her "blue steel" face. : ) I also think this is my FAVORITE. gosh, those eyes!!!

*sigh* LOVE!

She is so easygoing, drama free and fun! I cant believe how easy she was to work with...I felt SO lucky to be able to capture a little bit of her.

Taylor, thanks for such a good time! You are such an awesome girl and Im so glad to have you as one of my Senior Reps! Julie, you are such a supportive and wonderful mama. I really enjoyed our time together and thanks for being so sweet to me! I cant wait for you to see the rest! 

Hey Jude: the ridiculously adorable version.

Just thought Id brighten your day....hopefully you'll get even a tenth of what it did for me.

Without a doubt the Ca-YOOTEST thing Ive seen in life. (well this year anyway.) I LOVE this song already, but this version is SO much sweeter. I had tears in my eyes I was giggling and freaking out so much. This will definitely keep a big fat smile on my face for the next week, so of course I had to share it with you all!

SO worth the 2 minutes, and if this doesnt put a smile on your face....I cant ever be your friend.

Seriously. I cant decide what is cuter. The fact that he is about 3 and wearing a guitar that is bigger than he is or that he knows this song and can sing it better than most of our Karaoke singing population. : )

Taylor: part one

Meet Taylor. She is stunningly beautiful and full of smiles! Such a fun girl...my heart was so happy today.

Taylor and I started her Senior session at around 6:00 today and within only 25 minutes it was doing this:

It felt SO good. And while it makes for FUN photos...it doesnt make for great portraits. So we retreated back to Starbucks (thanks to Taylor's superMom, Julie. She ran around in the rain and got an umbrella for us despite being laughed at by random strangers) and had yummy hot coffee over some chat. Once it let up we did get a few more photos:

I dont know what it is, but I have ALWAYS been so drawn to dark hair and light eyes. Its one of my favorite things about Nicholas and I am really hoping my children will have this trait as well. Taylor has some DEEP green eyes, I love love how they catch the light and then spit it back out at you.

Oh, I could have just died when Taylor and her mama said that they brought her point shoes. This meant she was a ballerina and I swear to you my heart did a happy dance. *sigh*

Seriously?! Ridiculous natural beauty.

There wasnt much light left though so we agreed to meet up tomorrow to get some more...I think we are equally excited about more! Hopefully we wont get rained out again...at least not until we are almost finished.

Thanks for a good time girls...Cant wait to see you again! : )