Mini-Sessions Ahoy!

Pssst...mark your calendars, because we're thrilled to announce the dates for our 2017 fall and winter mini session events!

First off, we're bringing back our annual Halloween minis on Saturday, September 23rd. It's never too early to start planning your costume and to prepare for the best holiday of they year, so save the date and get ready to get spooky!



Up next, we are so excited that the one and only Santa Jim will be with us yet again this holiday season for our annual mini-session portrait event! Three dates this year: November 19th, November 26th, and December 3rd. It's a perfect time to plan ahead and start campaigning for your spot on Santa's Nice List!



Yes, we know it's early to be thinking about these things, but with our 2017 calendar rapidly filling up and a ton of stuff booking, and with tons of inquiries rolling in for when these events would be taking place, it just seemed smart to get them on the calendar and make them official.

We will be opening up the booking and sharing more info on locations, appointment times, and details for both the Halloween minis and the Santa minis soon. For now, save the dates, and we hope to see you!

Emerging from Hibernation

Okay, so, the title of this blog isn't totally accurate. I've definitely not been hibernating--I wish, because then maybe I would have caught up on sleep. But alas, winter was still crazy busy, and as is apparently my yearly tradition, I neglected keeping fresh entries going here for the blog. Sigh. At least I'm consistent.





Hi! Happy Spring, y'all! Life is rolling merrily along and no matter how much I think January and February will be "quieter" months, I'm always wrong. (It's not a bad thing and I'm of course not complaining.)





Now, the weather is warming up and the busy spring season is getting ready to start in earnest. We are ready to go and have a ton of stuff on deck for the spring and summer. We're about to kick off our first contest of 2017, gearing up for all our spring weddings, maternity, newborns, and family sessions, and organizing our first open water mermaid sessions, which I'm incredibly excited (and a little nervous) for.





We hope you're having a good spring so far and can't wait to see everyone's smiling faces for your sessions and events. For now, enjoy some of our favorite images from the past couple of months!

World Photo Day

Happy World Photo Day, everyone! I am slightly ashamed to admit that I forget this day is coming every year until someone reminds me. I almost feel like I'm supposed to be outside, whirling around on a hilltop, a giant smile on my face, the sun shining, camera in hand, celebrating this day by shooting all manner of fun things and beautiful sights. The reality is, though, that I'm sitting at my desk, editing the past few weeks' worth of sessions and prepping stuff for clients, and getting ready for a sunrise engagement session I have at the beach tomorrow morning. (Which means I'll need to go to bed early tonight...let's not hold our collective breaths on that one, though. I'll probably still stay up late like a moron even though I know better. Ha.)

Photography has given me innumerable blessings in my silly little life. The opportunities, the adventures, and most importantly, so so many of the people in my world are a part of my existence because of my job. So many amazing, funny, awesome, wonderful things that I have in my life are there simply because, way back in the day when I was a little kid, I thought to pick up a camera and start tinkering around with it. I fell in love with photography and taking pictures at a very early age and I've been lucky enough to turn it into a career. I try to never lose sight of this fact.

So I suppose I'm still celebrating World Photo Day in my own way, even though I'm not outside shooting right at the moment; I'm celebrating the fact that on this, a day where we all rejoice in the art of photography, that I'm lucky enough to say that I AM a photographer, professional and full time. This is my only job and I love it every damn day. There are many people who are aspiring photographers who would love to be able to do this professionally and many others who do it part time but would love to make it full time, but that's incredibly difficult to do, so I know I'm lucky. It's exciting and scary and challenging and exhilarating, but I love it. Photography has given me so much and I am eternally grateful for every single moment I'm behind a camera. And to the people in my life who are here because of photography and to the family, friends, and clients who always support me, cheer me on, help me out, jump in front of my camera when I have some crazy idea, and give me motivation? Well, I'm pretty darn grateful for you guys, too.

“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.”
~Alfred Eisenstaedt~

Exhaustion and Gratitude

Spring has brought its usual flurry of activity. I am nearly finished up with one wedding and about to dig into the editing for two more, all while doing pre-work and prep for an additional four that are coming up and have yet to be actually shot. That is on top of three boudoir sessions, a handful of portraits, a few engagement sessions, a smattering of head shots, and a couple of other various events and things that need my attention. As always, I am not complaining, because busy is good and busy is completely preferable to bored. I am feeling a deep and yet strangely satisfying form of exhaustion, the type of exhaustion that only comes from knowing that you are getting near the end of one project while several others wait, knowing that a lot of people are relying on you, and feeling intensely glad for all of these things. My job and my life are never boring, never dull, perpetually busy, and always full of blessings. For this, I am grateful despite the deep tiredness inherent in these things and this workload. I can handle it. 

Sarah

Holy nellie, is this girl ever beautiful. Sarah's session this week in Sanford was a blast; it was great catching up with her a bit since we hadn't seen each other (or done a session) in a couple of years. She is always a delight.







Sarah is back in the Central Florida area after a stint in Washington state, and she's gearing up for some projects and auditions. She exudes elegance and classic beauty; her look and style remind me of the styles of the 60s and 70s.





I'm having a great time going through and editing her session (and understandably having a hard time narrowing down--we got too many great shots!). I'll be featuring more of Sarah's photos on www.facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography in the coming days. For now, enjoy a few of my favorites here--she's just stunning!





We even met a Storm Trooper and had an impromptu 'couple' photo. Because, of course we did.

Allen and Rachel

Spent an afternoon out at Walt Disney World recently with the adorable Allen and Rachel, who are getting married this March in Ocala.

Allen proposed to Rachel at the All Star Music Resort at Disney, so it felt fitting that we head out there to commemorate this with their engagement portraits, starting off right where he asked that very important question. We moved on from there to the Magic Kingdom, where we spent the rest of their session playing in the park, laughing way more than should be allowed, and capturing some great, funny, sweet moments between the two of them.

I am so excited for their spring wedding, and I wanted to share a few of my faves from their engagement session. Spending time with these two made me smile from ear to ear; you can tell that they're so completely perfect for each other. Only 55 days until they say I do...I'm so excited to get to be with them at the wedding to photograph their big day!







Allen proposed to Rachel right here near the Mary Poppins poster under the marquee. So sweet.





Rachel's cute sign that she scored at Cracker Barrel specifically for the engagement session. I love when couples add cool stuff of their own to their sessions.





Rachel "flying" a la Titanic on the front of the Liberty Belle. Allen was so proud...



...but Allen got his revenge moments later when he decided to do an impromptu impression of Ariel in Fantasyland.





I can't wait for the wedding! Congratulations, Allen and Rachel!

2016 Portrait Giveaway!

Okay, happy new year, y'all! I hope you're all happy and healthy and enjoying January so far. We're gearing up for a huge year, but wanted to start 2016 (yes, I know we are halfway through the month, it's been a crazy few weeks, okay? Jeez!) off right with a contest. I teased it a couple of weeks ago on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography), but finally, I'm happy to reveal our first portrait giveaway of the new year!

To celebrate the start of 2016, we are giving away a portrait session to one lucky family; the winner will receive a two hour portrait session including approximately 25 high resolution photos from their session via digital download. This contest is open to families, couples, or individuals. To enter, simply leave a quick comment on our Facebook

wall telling us why you want to win; you only need enter once (duplicate entries or multiple entries per household/family will not increase your odds of winning). Additionally, if you have a friend or family member who you'd like to see win, you're welcome to nominate them in your comment instead of entering for yourself. 

The legal mumbo-jumbo:

--No purchase is necessary to enter this contest. Simply comment on our Facebook wall telling us if it's you or a friend you're entering, and you're good to go!

--The free session can be used for families, kids, babies, couples, pets, or individuals; the only things it cannot be used for are boudoir sessions, wedding photography/engagement sessions, and promotionally priced or discounted sessions. 

--Limit one entry per household/family; multiple entries will not be considered. 

--Employees of Rachel Sullivan Photography LLC and their immediate families are ineligible for this contest, but are still eligible for high fives, handshakes, and hugs from me at no charge. 

--Free session must be photographed by December 31st, 2016, and will be scheduled with deference to pre-booked events and sessions. Location of session is TBD. Location and session date details will be chosen with the contest winner after the contest concludes and a winner is chosen. 

--Contest winner will be selected at random on Monday, February 1st. Entries into the contest must be in no later than 11:59pm EST on Sunday, January 31st to be considered for the random drawing. 

More questions? Feel free to drop me a line. Good luck, and we can't wait to see who our first contest winner of 2016 will be!

Hello Out There!

Just popping in to say howdy to everyone! I am catching up on wedding, portrait, and event stuff, and preparing for other things on the jam-packed schedule, and fall is looming large as always, eeeep. This sassy Orlando photographer is working hard but still finding times to slip into the backyard and enjoy a few brief moments of respite in the pool, because, everyone needs a break here and again, especially when the heat index goes into triple digits. I hope you're all enjoying your hot summer months; I just hadn't made an entry in a bit and wanted to say hi and post some of my faves from recent sessions. As always, for more timely updates (yeah, I know, I know, I'm terrible and I habitually neglect the blog; sorry, y'all, I'm trying), visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography, and you can always see some of our newest stuff on the website at www.rachelsullivanphotography.com, too.

Happy Summer, everyone! Go out and play, but wear your sunscreen, because heaven forbid I inadvertently contribute to an epidemic of skin cancer!

Coiling Up for Spring

Oh yes. You see what I did there? Coiling up? Ha! I slay me. But in all seriousness, the year is flying by, and as such, spring 2015 is on my doorstep.

Yeah, I'm aware it's only February, but in Florida, February means we're jusssst about out of the season where we might have to think about legitimately cold weather, and we're jusssst about into spring. I'm glad. And intimidated. Because spring is going to be so super busy that I think I can't quite fathom it yet. In 1.5 months of time, I'll have 6 weddings, 10 portrait sessions, 3 events, 2 sets of visitors coming in from out of town, and a handful of social things on my calendar, and that's just what I have scheduled as of right now. February has been (deliberately!) pretty calm, aside from a few portraits and some pre-session and pre-wedding planning stuff, along with a week up in Chicago to visit some clients and some of the most beloved people in my world, but otherwise, month #2 of this year has been serene. I've reacquainted myself with my house. My dogs remember what I look like when not in a flurry of motion to get out the door. I've had time for baking and trying some new recipes. I've even had time for some gardening. (I know. Whaaaaaat?) I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the calm before the storm, so I've been trying to take advantage of this brief period of semi-tranquility before I get hit in the face with my second busiest time of the year. (Second busiest, of course, because let's be honest, nothing will ever come close the mania that is my fall season. Whoa.)

Am I complaining? Not for a second. I remain, as always, grateful that I get to do this for a living and I know how very lucky I am. But I would be dumb to not be a little bit intimidated by my calendar for the next few months. I think that the best way to describe what I'm feeling is this: you know when you're about to go under the water and swim for a bit without surfacing, and you're taking a few big cleansing breaths to get yourself ready, and then you take that one big final gulp of air in anticipation of the plunge? That's where I am right now. I'm enjoying my (relatively) quiet last days of February, taking a few big deep breaths, and prepping myself for the proverbial plunge.

Here we go...deep breath in, and I'm ready. Almost. There are a few more days before the season gets underway and my garden isn't going to tend itself.

Santa Portrait Day!

We are thrilled to announce that we are now accepting appointments for our mini-sessions with Santa Claus! This special holiday portrait event! Space is limited, so if you'd like to reserve a session, don't hesitate!
We are very proud to bring this event to life with the help of the amazing Santa Jim. Santa Jim has been the official Santa of the Macy's Holiday Parade at Universal Orlando since 2011, and we are so happy he's bringing us a bit of Christmas cheer for these fun portraits, just in time for the holidays!
When: Saturday, December 13th from 9am to 1pm
Where: Cypress Grove Park
Cost: $50 for up to two children, add $5 for each additional person
You'll receive a 20 minute session with Santa, plus 10-15 high resolution images via digital download, a print release, and a private password-protected gallery for viewing and sharing!
For questions or booking info, contact me at (407) 435-3929 or by emailing rsullivanphotography@gmail.com!

Quick Summer Update!

Holy jeez, how did we get to the end of July already? Since it's super hot out and we're all about to melt, I'll make this quick so you can get back into the pool or back by the fan or however you're keeping yourselves from combusting this summer. Here are a couple of quick updates from the world of RSP!

First, we're setting up for the early fall portrait season. As always, October is tough because of that little Halloween thing I do that takes up most of my time, so if you're in need of portrait or event photography this fall, please get your requests in ASAP! I am limited on the number of appointments I have left and it's first come first served, so the longer you wait, the less options there will be available for you.

While we're on the topic of fall portraits, I'm strongly leaning toward doing a 3rd annual Halloween Mini-session event day. This would be taking place in late September; stay tuned here and to our Facebook page for more info, date possibilities, and booking specifics. This will be an extremely limited engagement; usually I only take six appointments for this event, so if you think you want one, drop me a line and I'll keep you in the loop.

To those of you who took advantage of our July Print Special, your packages are shipping this week! You'll receive the tracking info in your e-mail confirmation once your prints are on their way to you! For those of you who missed out on this promotion, well...I said I wouldn't do another sale during 2014, but maybe if I'm feeling generous I'll toss one out there during the holidays. We shall see.

Speaking of the holiday season, I have several early-birdies who have already snapped up their appointments for holiday portraits. It's never too early to secure your date, so even though it's roughly 8 billion degrees outside and it's hard to imagine that it will ever get cooler outside, we can get into the Christmas spirit by planning your session well in advance. There are still appointments left in December and a few left in November, so talk to me soon if you want to check what's left and get yours reserved!

As always, you can keep up with us here on the blog, through our facebook page (www.facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography), and of course on the website at www.rachelsullivanphotography.com. We'll keep you up to date on the latest news, events, promotions, and exciting things as we roll on through the back half of 2014. And as always, we're so appreciative of our ever-growing family of clients and for the continued word of mouth and positive recommendations. You are all so wonderful!

Stay cool out there, and don't hesitate to drop us a line for questions and booking!

The Story of Elias

Way back before Jenny even knew she was expecting, when she and James knew that they wanted a second baby and that at some point this would become a reality, she told me two things that she knew for certain.

Number one, she knew she wanted a home birth. Olivia was delivered in the hospital, and during her pregnancy with O, Jenny had considered a home birth but had opted against it for various reasons. She ended up regretting it a bit as she felt like the standard of care she received at the hospital was less than she had hoped for, and while she and O were both happy and healthy and there were no major complications, she just knew that the experience left her wanting more and wondering whether she could have done it at home. So she knew that when Baby 2 came, as long as it was deemed safe for her to do so, she'd be having him or her in the comfort of her own home.

Number two, she told me that she wanted me to photograph the birth.

I was honored and a little intimidated; I've not done birth photography before, although I've often admired the sweet, tender, powerful photos I've seen other photographers take for people, both in hospital settings and at home births, but it wasn't something I'd ever done or really even pursued before. But of course, Jenny is one of my best friends in the wide world, and there was no way I was going to let her down or pass up the chance to capture such a big event for her, so I naturally said "yes".

Fast forward to early fall of 2013...I woke up one morning to a text from Jenny.

9/1/2013 8:33 AM:

"Can you keep a secret?"

And then she sent this photo.



Of course, we were excited for her, for their whole family, and before we knew it, we were planning how to best do a gender reveal portrait, what cool things we could do for a maternity session, and Jenny reconfirmed with me that I was still on board to do her birth photography for her. My answer was a resolute YES.

I always said from the first day I knew about the new baby (who Jenny had affectionately nicknamed "the poppyseed") that it was going to be a boy. Jenny and James were convinced it would be another girl, as was soon-to-be big sister Olivia. Jenny and James kicked around the idea of not finding out the gender and being surprised at the delivery, but finally opted to go ahead and find out. (Spoiler alert: I'm usually accurate when predicting a baby's gender. I realize I have a 50/50 chance of being right, but I can't think of a time when I've been wrong, so, I guess you know where this is going.)

In mid-December, the Hudsons went to see their midwife and birth team for an exam and to find out the gender; instead of them finding out at the time of the appointment, they had the info placed in an envelope and gave it to me, and I went and purchased the appropriate color of balloons and placed them into a box for them to open. This way the looks on their faces would be of surprise as they opened the box, saw the balloons, and found out if it was a boy or a girl. On December 10th, in a park not far from their home in Eustis, we did the big unveiling.

Who's it gonna be, guys? Boy Baby or Girl Baby?


It's a boy!



(Olivia was gob-smacked at this news and needed some extra convincing.)



And so, the great name debate began. Jenny and James mulled over, chose, compared, narrowed down, expanded, vetoed, added to and subtracted from their lists. They were having a heck of a time agreeing. I had taken to calling the baby Reginald Archibald Hudson, while Olivia clung to the idea that it was a girl and insisted on calling him Girl Baby for a while. Eventually she came around to the irrevocable truth that she was going to have a little brother and called him Boy Baby, then mysteriously began telling us that while Mommy had a Boy Baby in her tummy, she (Olivia) had a Girl Baby in HER tummy. (She's so funny.)

As the date of Boy Baby's birth got closer, we did some gorgeous (but very early!) sunrise maternity portraits on New Smyrna Beach. We never did manage to do maternity photos for the first go-around, when Jenny was pregnant with Olivia, so we knew we wanted to make sure to fit these in this time.

Jenny's belly got bigger. The spring came and progressed. Boy Baby's expected due date (May 10th) approached steadily, getting closer every day. The Great Name Debate raged on; the list had been pared down, but the final decision on who Boy Baby was had yet to be settled. (Olivia by this point had taken to calling him Captain Hook, and occasionally Mr. Smee.) They had narrowed down to two names. James had chosen the name James William Hudson. Jenny had chosen Elias James Hudson. They still couldn't agree, and came to the conclusion that maybe it would be better to meet him and see what name seemed to suit him.

In early May, things started happening. It became evident that May 10th was probably a stretch, and Boy Baby Reginald Archibald Captain Hook Smee might be making his appearance a little earlier than that. We were ready to go to Eustis at a moment's notice. I had been in Key West for a wedding in the last part of April, and we spent the entirety of that trip crossing our fingers that he wouldn't come while we were gone. I was so relieved to get back home knowing that he'd stayed put; even though I knew that he'd come when he was supposed to, I would have been sad to miss his arrival, so I was glad he waited.

Then, on the morning of May 2nd, I got this message:

5/2/2014 9:26 AM:

"I think we are going to have a baby today or tomorrow. Don't come over yet, but don't go out of town. ;)"

We stayed in contact all day. Jenny, James, and Olivia ran some light errands and had lunch at Red Robin.

That evening at about 6, things had progressed to a point where we knew: it was Baby Time. Brendan and I hopped in the truck and headed toward the Hudson's home. (And can I say that we hit EVERY. SINGLE. RED. LIGHT. on the way there, AND we got stuck behind not one, but TWO large delivery trucks doing 20 under the speed limit? Yeesh.)

When we arrived, Brendan immediately put on his Best Uncle In the Whole World hat and began to play with Olivia, who was semi-bewildered at the hubbub happening in her house. James and I stayed with Jenny, who was at this point having consistent, strong, regular contractions. The midwives were on their way, and this was really going to happen.

Rhonda and Rebecca, Jenny's wonderfully caring and awesome midwives, arrived and got ready to set up the birthing pool, which had been the plan. They let Jenny know it would take approximately an hour to assemble and fill. Jenny shook her head. "I don't think I have an hour." So the decision was made; Jenny's big fantastic garden tub would be filled, and that would be where she would bring Boy Baby into the world. It was 7:45 PM.

With the gentle help and guidance of Rhonda and Rebecca and the support of James, Jenny worked through the pain, listening to her body and riding the wave of each contraction. Things got more and more intense, until finally, it was time for Boy Baby to come out and meet everyone. At 9:00 PM on the nose, Boy Baby Hudson was born.

I will never forget the looks on James and Jenny's faces in that instant. For James: immediate waterworks. It was a mixture of relief, awe, wonder, and pure love as he looked at his new son and his strong, beautiful wife, tears flowing down his face. For Jenny: shock and amazement. Her jaw dropped as they placed the baby in her arms, and she looked genuinely surprised that all of sudden, there it was, there he was. She looked at the baby, she looked at James, she looked at Rebecca and at Rhonda and at me, over and over repeating, "Are you serious? Are you SERIOUS?!? Look at this! Are you KIDDING ME?" She looked up and said, "I did this?" It was the most endearing thing I've ever seen.

Quickly, Rebecca went and collected Olivia so she could meet Boy Baby.

"Olivia, he's here! Here's your new brother!"



"This is him? Boy Baby is here? This is Boy Baby? He came out of Mommy's tummy!"


Rebecca and Rhonda tended to Jenny, while James got to snuggle his new little boy.



Olivia, while very excited to meet the baby, also knew that "Frozen" wasn't going to watch itself, so she returned to the living room to take care of Official Toddler Business.



Once things were calmer, Jenny and James laid down to marvel at the new little wonder in their world. And the name discussion came up again.

Jenny: "So, which is it? Is he an Elias, or is he a James?"
James: "I think you should pick."
Jenny: "I think he's Elias."
James: "I think he is too."




Elias James Hudson. It was official.

Elias James Hudson. All 8 pounds and 9 ounces of him. (For those of you keeping score: Olivia weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces. Looks like Sir Elias may take after Daddy and be a big strong guy, but hey buddy, you owe Mommy several bouquets of flowers for putting her through that. Yowza!)

I will never forget being there with the Hudsons for such an amazing day. I often feel that to do the job I do I am blessed and lucky; families and couples invite me in to share their special moments and events, and I am grateful for all the opportunities I have to preserve memories for my clients; that may sound cliche but it's absolutely true. To be able to capture these moments for Jenny and James and be with them on such a powerful, emotional, intimate day, to be there at the very moment they became a family of 4, is an honor I can never adequately put into words. Thank you, Jenny, James, and Olivia (and Elias, too), for allowing me to share this and for having me in your lives. I love you all so much.