First up are the two cuties who stole the show, of course!

And a few more that I just love. Is there anything better than a weekend away with family and friends?

More soon! :)

Here are some snaps from the big day on Saturday. The birthday girl was so exhausted from the weekend's festivities that she took her first nap in practically 6 months today. Yay for parties! :)

Forgive any color wonkiness . . . I am on my new computer and not quite calibrated yet!

Here we have "Max's worm cake" and "Ruby's angel surprise cake with raspberry fluff icing."

There were lots of bunny treats for the little ones. Everything from organic carrots to decidedly non-organic marshmallow "bunny tails."

a flower "birthday cake" courtesy of my lovely MIL.

Hey, who is that hiding in the ivy? :) And the birthday girl blows out her candles.

Did you know it is nearly impossible to take photos while hosting a party? Whew!

And here's one more that I love, taken after all the guests had gone home. What a day!

A few captures from the day, including some slow shutter fun:

and the carousel again . . . ;)

We are thrilled to announce holiday mini-sessions! These limited-availability sessions will be offered on two Saturdays in October, the 4th and the 25th (rain date November 1st). Sessions on each date will take place at a location Joyce selects (you come to her); October 4th will be a location in the Main Line area and October 25th will feature a Philadelphia locale.

A mini-session is for you if you've recently had a session with Joyce but would love new images for your holiday cards or to mark a milestone, but aren't quite ready for a second full custom session yet. Or perhaps you've been meaning to try a Joyce Smith Photography session but just haven't gotten around to it. Or maybe you're a friend of a client who wants to get a small taste of what it's all about. Or maybe you just want a few gorgeous fall images of your family. While our mini-sessions cannot compare to the completely custom experience of a full session, they are perfect for any of these situations.

These limited availability sessions were announced to current clients on Monday and the response has been phenomenal! There is ONE spot remaining for the Main Line date and a few more for the Center City date. If you are interested, just e-mail me or submit the Contact form accessible from the menu above. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list, just let me know!

Note: if you prefer the luxury of a full custom JSP session at your home or outdoor location of your choice, the calendar for the remainder of 2008 is open and a few dates remain. Just drop me an e-mail or give a call!

A little peek at the lovely newsletter (which went out with the wrong title this time . . . oops) which will be legible when you receive it in your inbox, of course. :)

Finally, another quick peek for the B. family--your gallery is almost ready! How fun are these?

It was such fun photographing the L. family and their two darling girls yesterday. Here I was talking to Miss L. about her teddy bears. We got along fabulously as she is just a few months older than my own girl, and similarly a little chatterbox. :)

Here's her little sister Miss M., who was such a cutie! She had the best wave (but I will save those for the gallery!). Finally, here's a shot of the girls with dad that I just love--can't you just hear the laughter? Thanks again, L. family! I hope you've enjoyed your sneak peek! :)

Check out this handsome guy . . .

This was the first shot I took (look ma, no tongue!) and then beautiful Fiver.

Love these details shots. I guess it stands to reason if I love taking photos of children walking away during my portrait sessions, that tail shots were inevitable. LOL!

A tale of two tails (I know, I know).

The walk home . . .

The treat patrol . . .

And, finally, one of my favorites. :)

More to come soon in your gallery, K.!

Coming soon to the blog: a very different kind of JSP session!!

I had the pleasure of photographing the B. family yesterday morning and had such a lovely time. Dad contacted me right before Mother's Day to arrange a session as a gift for his wife--how thoughtful is that?

Here are a few more sneak peeks of their session. It was wonderful meeting all of you!

Here is Miss H., who loves Hannah Montana. I really think I need to start watching it. My daughter is not quite old enough to watch yet, but of course every little girl (or make that every boy or girl) I meet over 5 adores it. Her little sister, Miss C., was a Little Einsteins fan. That's more my speed. This bemused look may or may not have been inspired by a certain photographer singing the theme song. I'll never tell.

And finally . . . a sneak attack sneak peek. I just loved this series! Thanks again, B. family!

Until next time . . .

Good grief, I am sappy today! I need to hold a little blubbering in reserve for my daughter's 4th birthday in a few weeks, right?

Here are a few images from my gifted wedding photographer and now dear friend, Heather Gallagher. Can you believe that this New Yorker-getting-married-in-Philly and wedding-photographer-who-lived-in-the-city now live 2 blocks away from each other in the burbs? :) Thank you again, Heather, for photos I will treasure always!

Do you see the little frame near the wedding cake? That was my own mother and father cutting the cake on their wedding day. As for the "Affair to Remember" card, we named all of the tables after movies and this was on the favor table. I confess that I even "matched up" the movies to the guests who would be seated at that table; you know, making sure older guests were seated at "Sabrina" or "Roman Holiday" while my graduate school friends were at "The Princess Bride" and "When Harry Met Sally." Can you say "type A"? I swear I wasn't a bridezilla, though. You'll just have to take my word for it. ;)

Also, a note to all of the photographers who fell in love (and with good reason!) with my letterpress goodies from Gilah Press. I recently learned that Kat at Gilah had some e-mail difficulties. To make a long story short . . . she discovered quite a few e-mails from readers of my blog that had NOT come through to her in the past month. She has e-mailed everyone back now, but was positively mortified that some of you had to wait. If for some reason you didn't hear back from her, send another quick e-mail. I worked with more than a few new professionals and vendors this year and Kat was definitely one of the best and always super quick to respond. :)

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone! I will be back in a few days with brand new sneak peeks. I'm finally getting caught up around here . . . just in time for the busy fall rush to begin. ha ha!

Check out this month's featured session at--of course--the featured button at Joyce Smith Photo! Photographers from across the country have written me to ask a) where is that gorgeous sofa from? and b) is that sofa yours and how did you get it to the session? The answers are that the fabulous sofa is from Anthropologie and that, regrettably, it is not mine. If it were mine, I would have needed to rent a truck because it surely wasn't going to fit in a Prius! I loved that this family went the extra mile to create such a lovely set of images and am patiently waiting for my next sofa-in-the-garden clients to materialize. :) Any takers?

Have a fantastic week, all!

I must say this is infinitely cooler than the last publication I edited--a Kaplan test prep book! ha ha! Working for Kaplan certainly helped pay those grad school bills, though.

Next up will be a little something something forthcoming in one of my favorites--a magazine I read every month without fail. What a thrill! I'll keep you posted. :)

My usual "I am not a product photographer" disclaimer applies.

What a fun family, right? Here's the wrap detail. For my photographer friends . . . can we have a moment of reverence for the 85 1.2L? I mean, come on! This lens is amazing and pretty much single-handedly responsible for keeping me from switching back to Nikon after the D3 came out. ha ha!

And then my favorite photo from this session as a 16x20.

This image is precisely the type of art piece that I love in my own home--a less typical portrait that's slightly abstract and yet will forever remind the parents of a particular time in their child's life. I do love more traditional head shots as well, but somehow these less expected images seem more timeless to me and they are the ones that will stay while the head shots will be updated over the years.

And finally for fun--and to prove my point--here's what's usually on the top of my piano. I need to get these hung. You see, I should have ordered canvases!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Look at these precious rolls! Would that my double chin were as cute. ha ha!

Finally, continuing with our pets theme :), it's big sister Bailey. I hope everyone is having a great week! :)

This first photo makes me laugh every time I look at it. If you are surprised now, sweet kitty, just you wait! :)

and the two other lovelies in the background:

and every kitty should get an individual portrait, don't you think?

Thank you, M. family! Best wishes as you await your "fourth" child! :)

This prompted me to wonder if there is such a thing as a cat photographer, or if dog photographers also accept feline clients. I suppose it's rough if your cat is of the "under the bed" variety (as my Hannah is), but these kitties were very social. If you are looking for some beautiful pet photographer eye-candy, check out my favorite dog photographers: Erin Vey, Anna Kuperberg, and Ann Hamilton. Fabulous!!

And to close . . . one of my favorite cat photos from a past session. It's coming, little M. kitties! :)