Lisa Phillipson Photography » Atlanta Family and High School Senior Photography

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Smyrna Family Photographer

Smyrna Family

We had a great time during this session.  It was a beautiful afternoon with lots of Fall colors and more use of the purples that I love so much.  Mom & Dad were easy going and the kids were just perfect.  I love that I got to “shoot” another middle schooler and that it was the same day he got braces!  What a milestone day for him and I’m glad I got to capture this family before these kids grow any bigger!

This brother and sister did whatever I asked but still were free to have a good time and be themselves so we got some fun candid moments of them together.  That is what I mean by perfect. 🙂

Smyrna Family Photographer

 

 

“Honey-Boo-Boo!”
 

It is a milestone for this family with their youngest graduating from Middle School this year.  It was the perfect time for a family session this Fall.  They have marked the end of middle school with a portrait and have their Christmas cards taken care of as well.  You can look at a previous post HERE to see how I love wearing Red so that the clothing ties right into Christmas portraits.

I had a great time during this photo session.  Everyone in their family is so laid back and full of laughter despite the very trying week they had experienced.  It wasn’t work to get them to relax and it was fun to be around them.

Congratulations on making it to your last year of Middle School, Will!  Word on the street is you are a “stud-muffin” in your pictures.  Maybe so…but watch out because Andrew’s session is next!

ourtown photographer

Meet the September 2012 Our Town Monthly Cover family, The Thomsens of Vinings Estates.  With ALTA tennis starting today all around Atlanta, it was a great time to feature this fun tennis family on the cover.

ourtown photographer

We multi-tasked for this session.  Not only did we get a great shot for the cover of a magazine, we also marked the occasion of adding a new puppy to the family.  Rue, a little black mixed-breed, was adopted from a shelter just a few days before this picture was taken and is sure to be a long time family member.

Thirdly, we shot to have portraits of Grace with her new puppy and family.  Grace is graduating 8th grade this year and we plan on having some great images for her 8th grade feature page in the yearbook.

Photographer’s Tip: Even if your school does not feature 8th graders like hers does, you can mark that milestone of graduating middle school with a family photo session.   Think of how much he or she will change before the next time they get professionally photographed which is usually during their Senior Year of High School.

What to Wear: Grace has a wonderful unique style and she originally pulled together pieces from the new 2012 Adidas Adizero line that looked terrific.  The red and black that you see in our cover was a back up.  Because you always go with what looks best on Mom first, we decided that the yellow was too much and the black with a blue tennis court backdrop was the way to go.  The pops of red here and there add some color and most importantly it is a more classic image that they can hang in their home and enjoy for years to come.  You want to reflect your personal style in a classic way so that it stands the test of time.

 

ourtown photographer

 

At the closing table when they purchased their home in 2000 the seller leaned over and said “you don’t realize it now but the best thing about your new home is the neighborhood”.  12 years later Angie and Mark Thomsen agree that Vinings Estates, Smyrna neighborhood, has meant more to them than they could have could ever have imagined.

Raising children Grace (14) and Maxmillian (11) keeps the family constantly on the go. Participating in Smyrna Soccer, where Mark has served on the Board of Directors for 6 years, both children have developed good physical skills especially in endurance running as evidenced by Grace winning her age group at last fall’s Silver Comet Trail Half-Marathon….a path she knows well having regularly visited it since being pushed in a baby jogger by her Mom and Dad. The entire family has completed the Peachtree Road Race a combined 30 times.

Fortunately for Mark his position as a VP Business Banker with PNC Bank supporting their Cumberland/Galleria/Smyrna branches keeps him in the area most days and involved with community organizations including the Smyrna Optimist Club.

Another family passion is tennis ! Mark and Angie both captain several neighborhood teams, including Mixed and Men’s Doubles. Angie’s women’s team LOVE (Ladies Of Vinings Estates) won the ALTA City Championship last fall.

Angie is a Stay at home Mom, who likes to cook, bake, and entertain, she is Senior Sales Consultant for Thirty-One Gifts – a line of personalized tote products as a home based business. Who finds most of her time is spent driving and going to sporting events, since the entire family participates in several sports, sometimes it seems like a juggling act to get everyone where they need to be.

Both children attend Eastside Christian School and the family attends Trinity Anglican Mission church on DeFoors Hills Road in Atlanta.

Recently they acquired a black Lab/Jack Russell puppy (RUE) from Atlanta Humane Society who joins their mixed terrier (GIZMO) rescued 6 years ago.

— From Our Town Monthly | September 2012

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american baby atlanta american baby atlantaIt was a gray morning in Smyrna when we met to commemorate this little beauty’s first birthday with her own portrait session.  We still had a great time despite the weather  and I loved getting to know her Mom and Dad.  I found out we had a lot in common.  This Dad moved to America when he was 3 years old and my husband moved here when he was four years old.  They were both born in Manchester, England.  (So, as much as I call Andy a Yankee because he grew up in Chicago he says he is more of a Redcoat!).  I have to share the T-shirt all three of my children have been wearing through the years.  We need to find this little girl the same thing.  We didn’t have the shoes, though.  They are awesome!

Made in America with British Parts

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Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!  It was fun to capture you as a brand new one year old!

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american baby atlanta

How did it go?  If you saw my previous post, you know I don’t make a huge effort to get a group shot of my own kids except on my birthday at the end of July.  If you have three kids of your own, you know how difficult it can be just to have them sit together without a squabble.  July is a sweaty month to be outside but I work quick so it doesn’t take long.  🙂  This is my annual gift to myself and it doesn’t hurt to tell my boys that this is for Mommy’s birthday and please don’t poke or kick each other.  We usually make an effort to go to a nice location but since my helper/wrangler/husband was stuck on an airplane and not home yet, we only made it outside to our yard.  Good enough for me!  So with a little help from Grammy and my Aunt this is what we got on our way out to dinner that night and I am happy.  I won’t tell you what tricks I used to get them to smile…I’m a big fan of the candid moments.  Those represent my kids the best and I might just hang something more candid on one of my walls to enjoy.

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Back to School: Most are going back today.  Mine are officially back at it and I am really happy (except for early mornings and homework).  I can’t wait to see all the back to school pictures on Facebook this week.  I might not see some children for a year and then a flood of back to school images come through and I love it.  We had a half day on Friday and I took these pictures of my kids in front of the house…where I always take their back to school pictures.  I told them I would have to do that then and then on Monday morning in their real uniforms and again on Wednesday for Chapel uniforms and then when Kate officially starts back.  They weren’t thrilled.  Evan said he wasn’t really “into photography”.  It’s not his thing so he tells me.  It just happens to be “my thing” so I’m glad they indulge me!

Guess which one did NOT get new uniform shoes for school this year?  |  Belle made an appearance in our photos.  I don’t know why.

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Photographer’s Tip:  Use a chalkboard or a piece of paper and let your kids hold up a sign that has “first day of 1st grade” or something along those lines.  I am going to use one of my Organic Bloom frames with a chalkboard insert to do that.  I have a few more shots to get!  My biggest tip of all: if you forget to do anything the first day do it anytime the first week.  When you look back in a few years you probably won’t even remember that part.  If your child rides the bus, please get one with the bus behind them.  (Just for me – I love that!)

Heads up!

Save the Date!

Back to School!  What!?

It is hard to believe that this summer will ever end but I wanted the ones interested to mark their calenders NOW.  I am having my free back-to-school mini sessions on Friday, August 3rd all morning.  More details to come on scheduling.

Who can participate?  Any paid client EVER of mine that has preschool or school aged children.  It will be a quick 20 minute session at my Marietta Studio with an online gallery of 10+ images that you can order a la carte or I will have pre-designed collections you can purchase.  I personally LOVE the really bad school pictures that my kids have taken every year.  They are very nostalgic of my own school pictures and often very funny.  However, people have told me throughout the years “I wish you could do our school’s pictures.”  I can’t do that but this is my little gift to all my previous clients.  I especially love beginning of the year pictures because it is so amazing to look at them the following May and see how much each child has grown.

Happy Summer for now but I look forward to seeing some of you again in August before we start another milestone year!