Why?  They might not live local
 
Unfortunately, many of us may not have the privilege of having grandparents that live “a stone’s throw away.”  I know I didn’t growing up.  My maternal grandparents had already died by the time I was one and my paternal grandmother lived in Alabama when we lived in Florida.  We would only get to see her once a year.  When I was older and had a camera, I always made sure to take pictures of her and us with her.  I cherish the one photograph I took when I had my daughter.  It was a four-generation picture – the only one we got before she passed away.  These are treasured memories you don’t want to miss, especially if they don’t live nearby.  So, if they are going to be in town because you just had a baby or for any other reason, include them with your family session.
 
Why?  They might like to play
 
We all know grandparents love to spoil their grandchildren and love to play with them as well.  These are great moments to capture in photos – memories your children will cherish forever.
 
Why?  Great time to get them alone with children
 
This is the perfect time to get just the grandparents with their new little grandchild and/or grandchildren.  We’ll get wonderful shots of them playing with them, holding them – connecting with them.
 
Why?  Great time to include extended family
 
Since the grandparents are in town, this is the best time to get everyone in the picture – a three, maybe four-generation photograph.  What memories those would be to have and to show and pass down from generation to generation.  
 
Now is the perfect time during the holidays when the grandparents will most likely be in town.  

Are you ready to take these treasured memories with the grandparents?  Click the button below.

​Lifestyle is truth.  It is reality.  It can be a mess sometimes.  It can be beautiful sometimes.
 
Photography has changed so much over the past several years from having to be that perfectly posed, forced “fake” smiles to reality – real connection, raw emotion, natural and authentic smiles.  Those “perfect” portraits were probably very stressful for you, especially if you had little ones trying to get them to sit still, smile when asked or keep their “Sunday Best” clothes clean and wrinkle-free before the photo session.
 
In today’s world, more and more photographers are getting away from those “perfectly posed” photos to real life photos.  Mostly, photographed in your own home – where you and your little ones are most comfortable. Those are moments you want to remember.  What your house looked like at that time.  How your nursery was set up.  What your older children’s rooms looked like – messy or clean.  Families want to remember what they were doing together as a family – playing, cooking, whatever.  Why have another portrait of everyone standing stiff and smiling at the camera.  Why not showcase your real life and invite others in to see your family, just the way you are.  Everyday life.  Those kind of photographs will capture real moments you had interacting with your family as you spent time together.  Those kind of photographs will mean the most to you, your extended family and friends for years to come.  
 
That’s why I have begun to move away from very structured and posed photography to a more real portrayal of family reality.  With just a little guidance and some prompts, I can capture your real and true lifestyle. 
 
You may think your home is too small or isn’t in showcase condition.  Doesn’t matter.  It’s your home.  Your comfort zone.  Your happy place.  You don’t need to have everything necessarily in its place, such as, pillows perfectly straight, the bed “hotel” made.  Your home is reality and there is beauty in reality – capturing your family as you honestly are.
 
These lifestyle photoshoots are very relaxed.  You can be in your jeans, a dress, barefoot – whatever makes you and your family comfortable.  Laugh, play – feel completely at ease, and definitely no forced smiles.  The day of the photoshoot may be capturing the good, the bad and the ugly.  But, that’s okay.  Those fleeting moments were real - ones you won’t get back from that particular time in your life.  Get away from that “picture perfect” Christmas card photo.  Show your family and friends you are human – showing the natural, the connection, the emotion – doing the things you love to do together.  
 
We are not perfect, so why should your photographs try to show you are?  I used to think that way, too, but now I love showing reality in photographs, reminding everyone that life is beautiful, just the way it is.

Are you ready to capture your newborn and/or family showcasing your real life?  Click "Let's Start a Conversation" button below and let's make this happen!

I was able to capture this lovely family while on vacation. They are extra special to me because this is my son and his beautiful family.  Always love photographing them whenever I'm in town.

It's amazing how fast little ones grow.  That's why whenever I visit my family, I always make sure I capture images, especially since we don't live in the same state.  It's so important to keep them "little" in photographs - frozen in time.  These are treasured and cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

I would love to capture your family's memories and freeze them in time.  If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Book A Call" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309. We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

While my husband and I were on vacation last month, we stopped to visit one of our best friends on their farm.  I had the pleasure of taking photos of their oldest daughter and her boyfriend. Her mother passed away last year from cancer and we have always been close with their family for 25+ years.  That's why it was so special to photograph them.

The day of the shoot happened to be Nicole's birthday, which made it extra special.  She and Jay have been dating a little over a year.  They were so sweet and fun.  I just told her I wanted to take some very casual photos of the two of them so they would have some photos and I could portfolio build.  

Here are a few of my favorites.

​Are you ready to capture you and your family?  Whether it be maternity, newborn, couples or families, I'm ready to capture your today moments.  Click below to start a conversation.

Did you know that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women?  It is the second leading cause of cancer death among women.  

Sadly, it is increasingly rare to live and not be affected in some way by cancer.  Whether it be you, a loved one or a friend, I'm sure the majority of us have all been affected by cancer, in some shape or form.  I know I have.

My father passed away from lung cancer at the age of 75, friends I know had breast cancer, and thankfully, beat it, one of my best friends passed away last year from non-Hodgkins lymphoma at the age of 51 and one of my granddaughter's had a cancerous brain tumor last year at the age of four months old.  Thankfully, she is doing well and the cancer has not reoccurred and, God willing, will never come back.

Therefore, I felt compelled to reach out to you, since the majority of my clients are women, to book a session this month.  If a session is booked anytime in October (session can take place at a later date), DreamWorld Photography will donate ten percent (10%) of your session fee towards breast cancer research.  We wanted to do our part and support working towards a cure!

Get your mammograms and book a session this month!  ​Let's do this!

After being away for a month, it is always so good to be back home!  

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary vacation was amazing!  Visiting friends, family, cruising to Bermuda and ending in Myrtle Beach.  It was absolutely fabulous and we had beautiful weather pretty much the entire time.

I am ready to get back to work and start photographing your maternity, babies, families and schools!  

​Who's ready?

​Patti specializes in lifestyle Maternity, Fresh 48, Newborn and family photography. If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session with Patti at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Book A Call" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309. We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hey everyone,

​Just wanted to let you know that I will be away on vacation celebrating my 25th Wedding Anniversary!  Woo Hoo!  Therefore, you won't see any blog posts for about four weeks because I will have very limited access to the Internet and probably will be having too much fun anyway.

We are traveling visiting various family and friends on our way to catch a cruise to Bermuda where we went on our honeymoon!  I can't wait!  I am so excited!  After the cruise, we will be visiting more family and friends and end our vacation in Myrtle Beach as we make our way back down to Florida.  All in all, we will be gone about 28 days!  Unbelievable!

DreamWorld Photography will be back and ready to create memories for you at the end of September.

​Enjoy the rest of your summer!  

​Bon voyage!

I do photography because I absolutely love to capture babies and families in the moment.  For as long as I can remember, I have always loved taking photos.  I always wanted to have photos to look back on, to remember what I was doing at the time, how I looked (which sometimes I may not want to remember what I looked like) LOL, where I traveled, etc.  I especially love to take photos of my family.  I love looking back and recreating the memories we made, what we looked like, what we were doing, where we were.  Having photos of my own family is so very important to me.  I think that's why I started making photography my profession, albeit later in life, but it's never too late to do what you love, right?

Now, I want to create memories frozen in time for other families.  From maternity, Fresh 48, newborn to families.  Priceless!  I want to create and show the connection and emotion of what's happening at that time.  So, when they look back through their album or enjoy viewing their wall art, they will be taken back to that moment in time and feel the same love, emotion, comfort and contentment.  Or, they may feel sadness or grief because the photo includes parents that may have since passed, but they are so glad they had photos with them so they could remember and show future generations.  

I especially make sure that mom and dad are in the photos.  It is so special to be in the photos with your children.  Think how as they get older, how much they will love seeing you with them years from now - remembering the emotion, the laughter, the silliness, the comfort and, most importantly, the love you shared.

This is why I do photography.  

Let's start creating those memories for you and your family.

​Patti specializes in lifestyle Maternity, Fresh 48, Newborn and family photography. If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session with Patti at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Book A Call" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309. We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

From the very beginning, I have always traveled to the client's home for their session.  To be real, when I first started, I didn't have the resources to rent, let alone own a studio of my own anyway, so to the homes I went and still do.  

Now, that I switched from strictly posed to lifestyle photography, home is where the heart is.  I wouldn't even want a studio now.  Even though studios certainly can be set up like a room in a home to make it feel "homey," to me it still isn't "real."  I love real, authentic and the intimacy of being in the client's home; in their own environment where they are most comfortable and love the best.




Additional benefits of having the session take place in your home:
​

1. You don't have to pack up everything to come to a studio.  No long commutes.  You get to stay right where you are and I come to you.  No worries about forgetting to bring snacks for the children or extra diapers.
2. Each and every family member will be really comfortable in their own home.  No outsiders staring at you watching the session.  Children tend to me more comfortable as this is where they live and are usually excited to show a "stranger" (me) their rooms.  This tends to allow them to get comfortable with me faster in their own environment.
3. You will have items you may want to include in some of the photos right there on hand in the home, such as a book, chair, and even your fur baby.
4. Finally, the session could include your own special space.  We may be in your bedroom, nursery, children's rooms, living room and maybe even the kitchen.  This is a great way to create that connection between everyone in your most comfortable and happy place.

Ready to make that connection in your most comfortable and secure happy place?

​Patti specializes in lifestyle Maternity, Fresh 48, Newborn and family photography.  If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session with Patti at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Let's Start A Conversation" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309.
​We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

I am so excited and happy to announce a new service DreamWorld Photography will be offering - Boutique School Photography!  What exactly is this, you ask?

Boutique School Photography captures children in a very relaxed, natural way.  No awkward, stiff, boring poses like standard school photos – just the real and authentic child.  No more bright flashes and busy backgrounds.  Smiles are never forced.  I photograph the children just as they are.  I create a relaxed and fun environment during the short period of time of photographing the children.  

These kind of school photographs are artistic and capture those genuine expressions.

Since this will be the first year of my offering these different kind of unique school portraits, I will only be providing this service to pre-schools up to elementary schools at this time.

If you are a parent or guardian reading this blog and are interested in this type of unique school photography service for your child's school located in Manatee or Sarasota counties, please direct your school administrator to this blog post or our website.  I would be happy to meet with them to discuss this in person.

I mean, look at these faces?