I know, I know. Please don’t hate that my blog has been so neglected over the last 6 months. But at least when I come back and update I like to update pretty big! And give you some wonderful images that will surely warm your heart.

So, meet Paloma. The sweetest newborn ever. Her chubby little cheeks. Her long lashes. Her beautiful eyes. Everything about her was stunning and she gave me some of my favorite images of 2011.

Oh, did I mention her lips????

PhotoPlus Expo 2011, New York City. The show finally wrapped up and I actually made it through all three days of presenting for Nikon. By make it through I mean I am not Miss Public Speaker, but by the second day I was rocking it and couldn’t keep my mouth SHUT!!!

For those that don’t know, Nikon called a few weeks ago and asked me to present at the show for them. I was asked to get some great images with their new hot camera, the Nikon 1, and I did just that. I got to show a bunch of my work and a bunch of work with the 1. It was nice to see Nikon enthusiasts sitting in front of me and amazing to see how excited they got about this new camera.

Check out the Nikon 1 here!

I’ve never been so honored and humbled as to be approached by Nikon and asked to do this. I am and have always been a huge fan of Nikon and obviously every piece of equipment I have ever owned I have just loved. Whenever anyone just starting out asks me what kind of camera to buy I am always saying “Nikon, you kidding me?” I started out with the D80 back in 2008 and I remember booking months in advance with that camera bc it was such a good starting out camera…

It was also an honor to be surrounded and be presenting on the same stage as such photographers as Mike Corrado, Rob van Petten, Lucas Gilman, and Sandro Miller to name a few. These guys do some INSANE INSANE INSANE work and to watch them present their stuff iand then I follow them is like, “hello, where the heck am I??!!!”

So again, Nikon, thanks a million for giving me this opportunity. Thanks to everyone over in Melville- I am sure the weeks leading up to such huge shows are just insanity but it seemed to have run QUITE smoothly!

The booth!

Well, well, well……

Almost the last day of September and I have been missing for months!!!

I DO update facebook on a regular basis, but my poor blog has been neglected. And forget the blog, do you have ANY idea of the amazing newborns and sessions that I photographed allllllll summmeerrrrrr looooonnnggg???!?!?!?!?

You don’t?! But you will. I promise to keep updating and updating and updating and showing off these sessions from the second half of the summer and now into the fall. Been a whirlwind of a year for me.

Meet Ioanna (Greek spelling, pronounced Joanna). What a SWEET amazing baby girl. She was four weeks early and was two weeks old here for her shoot. I took the photography reigns by the horn (or at least my Nikon shoulder strap) and hit this session hard. I do not think the smile left my face at all I was that excited to be so newly rejuvenated.

Couldn’t have happened to sweeter clients either. Maria and Simon were so eager for their shoot, which is always very excited for ME to witness…

Anyway, enjoy the blog, enjoy the color of this session, and I will be back as soon as possible with more shoots!!!!

Missed everyone and hope you all welcome me back with open arms!

Love me a Yankee girl!

These next two toe shots are my FAVES!

A number.

3,000.

Hits for him. Facebook fans for me.

So what should I do to celebrate???

How about a giveaway????!!!???!!! How about a TEAM giveaway to top it???

I have a few etsy sellers that I love and plan on doing a couple giveaways over the next few months. But let me share with you my original go-to girl. She has been with me for the looooooooooooongest time, and her headbands rock the house. Visit her etsy shop here. She is offering a $40 credit towards anything in her store!

And what are you getting from me??? A one-time offering…. A FREE ONE HOUR SKYPE MENTORING SESSION!!! Want a full-out critique on your recent work to you can take your work to the next level? Sure. Want the newborn tips and hints and posing and lighting techniques? Sure. Or maybe you are solid in everything but you want some post-processing help… That too. Whatever YOUR need is, we will do it for you.

This one-time giveaway ends Thursday night at 11:59pm, so get to it!

Wait, what do you do??

#1- Like Chic Pretties on Facebook and leave a comment that @Summer Lyn Photography sent you.

#2- Like Summer Lyn Photography on Facebook (if you don’t already) and leave a comment stating you were sent their by our giveaway.

#3- Leave me a comment below!

ALL THREE OF THE ABOVE must be completed to win. Winner will be selected at random on Friday!

Some of my favorite Chic Pretties headbands!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook as read in the updated guideline rules.

I have been meaning to blog Julia for a WHILE now. Like, almost two months!!! I have been a terrible blogger. But hey, that is why I have facebook which is usually updated daily!

But sweet Julia. A stunning one year old. I met her a year ago at her newborn session session, with her chubby, chubby cheeks and her head full of dark hair. Boy, has she grown into such a GIRL. SOOOO pretty!!!! Her hair turned a shade of chocolate brown and those once chubby cheeks are gone…

Jenn and Jennie, sooooo happy to be photographing your lives together and to watch you raise such a sweet little girl. Cannot wait to see you again!!!

She is one and she knows it!

*Photographer Favorite*

Can you even stand that face???!!!!

Yeah that’s right. She was blowing me a kiss. We really hit it off…

This was towards the end of her shoot and her hair was a complete DISASTER but I was LOVING this photo and REFUSED to toss it! Something tells me this is how her moms see her every day!

You have seen them on my facebook. I couldn’t stop posting photos of them- they were a sheer PLEASURE to photograph. All three of them.

I have never seen such love between girls before- I can only hope my girls grow to be as close as they are. I mean, sure, the quick banter over who gets their photos taken first??? If THAT is what they are going to argue about, I will certainly take it. I mean, I hadn’t even gotten to my spot under the boardwalk to start off the shoot before they argued about who is getting their photos done!! I love shooting under the boardwalk- I love the directional lighting and the lines from all the pillars and wood and cement. I discovered shooting under here a couple years ago, and now every summer, I start off my shoots there….

So here they are: Hannah, Soph, and Izzie. Hope you enjoy their photos as much as I loved taking them.

Stunning. Just stunning.

Just a quick collage of my workshop held this past weekend with Randi from Honey and Child Photography. Had SUCH a great time and we spent HOURS and HOURS posing sweet babies and going over post-processing techniques, different lighting, and how to maximize your natural light. Ended the fifteen hour day with a glass of much needed red wine and a little critique of her work for her so she can get back to Virginia and get at it! She left with a WEALTH of information and better tackle her newborns when she gets back.

What a sweet baby boy. And the hair, the mohawk, so cute!!! I had the most amazing time with Jake and his parents in the studio a few weeks ago- I am almost afraid to know how much he has grown since our session. His dad is like 6′5″ or something crazy, and Jake was already proving that he is going to be just as tall. He is going to be a baller for sure.

Not too much of an intro needed on him- I mean, look at his cheeks and his lips!!! Those pudgy lips!!! Without a doubt a dream to photograph….

Are you freaking kidding me with these lips????!!!!

Look at his foot here- you CANNOT tell me he isn’t going to be tall, his feet are already so long!

Here’s that mohawk up close and personal…

Here is a collage of his “detail” shots…

And my most favorite hanging shot- look at his puckered lips and those feet!!!!!

With one year old Massimo. Well, almost one. Ten months old actually. And, let me just tell ya… The eyes, the hair, the smirk, the personality on this child is unmatched. I am not even kidding. I won’t go into depth with the discussion of this session, I am just gonna let you see for yourself……..

Seriously. The boy needs no introduction.

Stunning, stunning, stunning identical twin girls. And tiny, tiny, tiny… Just over five pounds. I fell in love with them the minute I met them. Their full heads of hair, their teeny features… Man oh man, I melted!!!

It was kind of a special session too because they are the daughters of a photographer. I am always honored when another photographer asks me to photograph their family. Just because ya think, well, they can certainly get the photos themselves, no? Their mom is Leslie Simmons of Leslie Simmons Photography. A wonderful person who I met last year at a photographer’s get together I had at my studio. So sweet, she actually told all of us then that she was pregnant! And a week later, she told us all twins… And about a week after that, she asked me to photograph them for her. I told her absolutely, that I would love to. Photographing twins is such a great experience, and I enjoyed every minute of this session.

Leslie and Mike, congrats on adding more girls to your family. Mike, you are certainly outnumbered now! (They have an older 18 month old daughter, yikes!) Les, I had such a great time with you yesterday and I hope you love your sneaks.