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October is Important.

As many of you know, I have a four year old daughter with Down syndrome.  In honor of October's Down Syndrome Awareness Month, enjoy these images of some beauties with Down syndrome.  These images are my daughter and three of her best friends.  If you or anyone in your family has special needs that require accommodations for your photo session, just let me know.  In my non-photography time, I'm also a special education teacher.

Commercial shot with Ellie, Charlie, and Lu.

From my personal files - baby Audrey.

Ellie in Puerto Rico 2014 from my personal blog.

Welcoming Lu home with big sister.

A birthday celebration.

This girl has come so far.

About half of kids born with Down syndrome also have heart defects.
This is from a heart defect awareness post.

Heart Day.

Those who have followed my personal blog as well as this photography site are probably aware that my four year old had open heart surgery as an infant.  Her heart condition is common among children with Down syndrome, and Ellie is proud of her scar.  She calls it her "zipper."

You can see it in these photos:



To celebrate her zipper (and the August 25 anniversary of her heart surgery), Ellie got this "Zipper Club Member" baseball-style shirt from Tink&Key.  And since they are offering 25% off t-shirts with the code SUMMERBLOG15, I thought I'd share here as well.

This photo is by Jessica Mellon, super talented high school student helping me out this summer!


Enjoy the discount!

Changing the Face of Beauty: Crazy Kukla Boutique

Have you heard of Changing the Face of Beauty?

Their goal is inclusive advertising, or encouraging companies to use models who reflect the real world, including people with disabilities.

The Crazy Kukla Boutique is one of the participating companies, committed to using differently-abled models.

It was my pleasure to provide a photo shoot for The Crazy Kukla.  Our three models, all with disabilities were hot and tired but they were troopers.

Full disclosure: One of the models is my four year old.  Ellie has Down syndrome and was also born with a heart defect, and is wearing a beautiful dress that shows off her zipper!  She was also the model who followed directions the least.

The other two models are two of Ellie's best friends.  Their parents started their family by adopting Charlotte and Louisa, both of whom have Down syndrome.  I've had the joy of photographing their first two adoptions and I cannot wait to photograph their next homecoming.  You can read more of their story here.







Three more sessions available before Fall, and booking for October 26 and beyond at the current rates for a few more weeks.  Prices go up if you book after Labor Day, so plan now for holiday cards, senior photos, fall leaves.... and baby bumps!  Limited maternity sessions coming in October!