With Christmas just around the corner, last Sunday I was in Newbridge (Co. Kildare) with three fantastic local photographers for a great project.  For once, us photographers weren't working with wedding dresses, cute newborns or engagement pictures, nope,  there were just cookies. Lots and lots of Christmas cookies.!

Last year, fellow photographer and friend Lisa O'Dwyer from Lisa O'Dwyer Photography, invited myself and Christina Brosnan from Brosnan Photographic to go to her house in Newbridge to help to make Christmas coookies. She has wonderful recipes that have been passed down from her Grandmother! Both of the girls are Americans and they both used to do this every Christmas with their own mothers, and, now they're living in Ireland they wanted to continue the tradition. So last Sunday we were joined by Elisha Clarke from Elisha Clarke Photography, another talanted photographer based in Dublin. 

So while we were rolling, baking, icing, decorating, chatting and laughing, I took my camera and photographed a little of what was going on. I love this new tradition that we have now! Not only did I get to learn about peanut butter cookies ( by the way too yummy!) but it is great to spend time with beautiful, talented photographers!

Thank you so much girls for a lovely evening and a massive thank you to Lisa for bring all of us together and letting us invade your kitchen!
Can't wait to see who might join us next year!

Ellie Boo Jewellery Designs  are handmade jewellery made by Bernadette Maher.
Bernadette Maher McGinley started making jewellery about 8 years ago in order to design and make her own wedding jewellery.  The hobby slowly turned to an addiction and then on to teaching opportunities.  Bernadette is currently an adult education tutor for Jewellery making in Scoil Mhuire in Clane and runs her own workshops from time to time.  All the jewellery is handmade using a variety of materials - Swarovski crystal & Pearl, Wire, polymer clay, Precious Metal Clay to name but a few.

_If you'd like to see some of the jewellery first hand, Ellie Boo Jewellery Designs will be displaying and selling at the Birr Craft Fair next Sunday 11th December in the County Arms Hotel, BIrr, Co. Offaly.

Little Emily was born four weeks before her due date, but she is the most perfect little baby girl you have ever seen. She could almost fit on the palm of your hand so it was such a joy to be able to photograph her now before she becomes a six foot tall lady like her daddy!

Thank you so much to James, Melanie, Abbie and Charley for letting me photograph Emily the new addition to your fantastic family.

Larry, Nicola, Lily and Ben are the McGrath family and what a fantastic one to know. Lily and my son Marc have been going to the same créche for the last four years and they will be graduating from Montessori together in a couple of  weeks! So if I normally enjoy all my sessions with families with kids this one was even better, knowing them it gives you the pleasure of informality and relaxed environment and I think it is reflected in the images.

Thanks a million to all the McGraths!!

Another Saturday, another photo-shoot with a lovely family. Michelle, Declan, Amy and Sophie were a pleasure to photograph, and you could not get sweeter girls! 

Thank you so much to the Rankin family for such a fun session!

Last Saturday the Fletcher family celebrated Brandon's First Communion in Nurney, Co. Kildare Parish church and as part of their celebration they wanted to do a photo shoot in the studio. Dawn and Eloy are fantastic and that made my job very easy because even though we took a few "posed" pictures with the Communion suit, they all changed into jeans and t-shits and we ended up just having a great time on the studio floor!

So thanks a million to the Fletcher family for a great session!

I'm not going to be rambling to much in this post because I think the images speak by themselves. This is my new passion and I truly believe that every family should have pictures of their newborns, they grow up so fast and change so much that to captures those first days is essential.
Enjoy them!

I'm very lucky to be able to work doing portraits, I love them. I enjoy the interaction with the families and capturing them as they are. I know Steven and Mary, I photographed them before when Joshua, their eldest son, was only five month old. So I was very happy when I got an e-mail from Mary asking me if I would do another session with them now that the family has grown with Toby. 

It was a fun session, with Joshua running around and Toby crawling!
Thanks a million to Steven and Mary and I hope they enjoy the pictures for years to come.