This Blog Has Moved!

I am so thrilled to release my brand new Blog! Please go to: www.suzieseagraves.com/blog from here on out. I have been working on this for awhile now and have finally gotten it ready! I did this all by myself and I'm so proud of the outcome! This site will no longer be active, but it will remain online so you can always refer back to see your images. Please make sure you update your RSS feeds and Google Reader with my new Blog URL!

Little Olivia

I got to spend a few hours on Sunday with Miss Olivia for the first time and we had a blast! She immediately warmed up to me and we were off! Outfit changes, bubble playing, throwing balls, and finally swimming with daddy showing me that she is definitely not afraid of the water. She was SO great to photograph, I could have stayed there all day! Thank you so much Mom & Dad for allowing me into your home and to spend a few precious hours with little Olivia! Here is a quick sneak peak of some of my favorites!

Baby Kady Ann

When I saw this little girl's precious little face from photos her proud parents took at the hospital, I knew I had to photograph her! She is just a little over a week old and had to endure hours of me and my camera and did it with such grace and elegance. I think she's a pro already at this :) I can't thank her wonderul parents for allowing me the privilege of photographing her for the very first time. She is beautiful!!

I love sleeping babies! Look at that mouth!

These are the sweet moments I absolute love. I wait for these and they're priceless.

I think this is one of the coolest nurseries I've ever seen!

More nursery details. The bottom left photo is the custom-made chandelier!

Atlanta Babies & Kids

I am honored to have one of my images chosen for the cover of the Winter issue of Atlanta Babies and Kids magazine!! This beautiful little girl was from a child model shoot I did last Fall for Daisy's Children's Boutique and Toy Store. Clothing she is wearing was provided by Daisy's Boutique. This is one of my favorite images and I am so thrilled!!!!

Annabelle and Austin

I was so excited to photograph one of my favorite little girls today, Miss Annabelle!! I was honored to photograph her last June when she turned big girl Two. Now she has a new baby brother, Austin!! He is the sweetest little guy. I could photograph newborns all day; just so tiny and so precious. Here is a sneak peak from today, more to come so check back! (Tech specs: these were all done indoors using beautiful natural light, no flash)

I got a smile!

How sweet is this??! (pretty much straight out of the camera)

Austin and his beautiful mommy

I am the Big Sister!

The Power of Photography

As I was looking through images from the Inauguration last night, as well as last week's plane crash in New York City, it reminded me just how powerful a tool photography is. These images I saw before me on my computer screen moved me; they were filled with emotion; raw and very human. I thought to myself how important photography is and how I have always viewed it. It has always been more than a hobby to me, ever since picking up a camera at a very young age. For me, it was a way to tell a story. I would come back from family vacations as a teenager and make photo albums and scrapbooks in a way that told a story so anyone who picked it up felt as if they were there too. This is how I view every one of my photo sessions. I am there to capture moments that tell a story. To capture raw emotion and moments in time that will never come again. After losing my father to cancer 10 years ago, the photographs that I have of him are priceless and I cherish them more with every year that passes. So to me, photography is a medium that has the power to capture time, for you to hold in your hand or put in a frame. Priceless moments that you never want to forget and when you look back at them years from now you remember just how you felt that very day, or remember the look on your child's face and it lights up yours. This is what humbles me, that I have the power in my camera to do that. Here is a slideshow to music of some of yesterday's images that I thought were so moving that is appropriately titled "Looking Up". That's a great thought for every day, never stop looking up.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/44.president/inauguration/looking.up/

Daisy's Children's Boutique & Toy Store

UPDATE: I blogged this back in November and the 2nd photo was used in the December 11th "Style Section" of the Orlando Sentinel by Jean Patteson!!! Here is a scanned photo of that day's paper! How exciting!!!

One place I am honored to be affiliated with, and someone who I cannot speak highly enough of, is Daisy of Daisy's Children's Boutique & Toy Store in Historic Downtown Winter Garden. Daisy is an amazing lady who has the cutest boutique and toy store that all the kids and moms love. If you haven't stopped in, you must! I stopped by her boutique on Saturday and did a few shots of two sisters and local child models, Jessica and Ashley, wearing some of Daisy's adorable outfits. Jessica and Ashley can be seen in commercials, billboards for Busch Gardens along I-4, and lots of print. They are SOO CUTE and so great to work with!!! These clothes are being featured in the Style Section of an upcoming Thursday edition of the Orlando Sentinel. I will let you all know what day it will be coming out so you can be sure to check it out!

Happy 2009!!

What an amazing year 2008 was for me! I was honored to photograph some of the most beautiful families and gorgeous children ever! I traveled all over the country and was fortunate to meet and photograph along side some of my favorite photographers whom I admire so much. And I was extremely blessed to photograph some celebrities and very well known people (sorry, I'm under contract and can't name names!), had one of my photos published in the Orlando Sentinel, was selected as "Artist of the Month" by Infusion Tea, ran into Brad Pitt on the streets of New Orleans, and worked with some amazing companies such as Cavichi, Daisy's Children's Boutique, Playground Magazine, Pain Solutions Magazine, Posh Parenting and Dream Balloon Productions. I hope 2009 is every bit as great as 2008 was! Here is a slideshow of some of the images from this past year (couldn't fit them all in). Just press on the arrow to start and turn up your speakers.

Christmas in New York

Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamt of spending Christmas in New York City. Being born and raised in Florida, its so hard to get into the Christmas spirit while running the A/C and shopping in shorts and flip-flops. I decided this year that I wanted a white Christmas and took me, myself and I to NYC! What an amazing week I had. Being by myself, I had the opportunity to go and do what I wanted to always do and soak in every drop of the City's magnificence. There is nothing like NYC at Christmas! It was unbelievable for a Florida girl to wake up on Christmas morning and put on a coat, scarf and gloves, grab a cup of coffee and venture out. I stopped in to Christmas morning mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral; watched the skaters at Rockefeller Center; and strolled through snow-covered Central Park. From the hustle & bustle that had been going on all week, the park was eerily quiet and nothing could be heard but a lone saxophonist playing Christmas carols. I sat on a park bench and listened to the music and it was awesome. Here are just a few of my shots. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I will return with normal business hours on January 5th. And for those who have asked, NO flash was used in any of these shots except the one of me at Tavern on the Green. All were taken using available light, sans flash.

A rainy, Christmas Eve in Central Park (taken with my Point & Shoot)

These little guys were as frozen as I was, I think! Christmas Eve in Central Park (taken with my Point & Shoot)

Christmas Eve dinner at Tavern on the Green (taken with my Point & Shoot)

Christmas morning at Rockefeller Center

Christmas morning mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Christmas morning stroll thru Central Park

The saxophonist playing Christmas carols on Christmas morning in Central Park

Santa and his "sleigh"! This guy was driving around Manhattan on Christmas morning

Closed for the Holidays

After 2+ months of working nonstop, 7 days a week, 24 hour days, with little to no sleep, I am taking a much-needed break and closing for the holiday season. Please note that I will be closing as of Saturday, December 20th, and will reopen on Monday, January 5, 2009. I will have very limited to access to email and voicemail during this time. Please contact the studio after January 5th to schedule a session or inquire as to my availability. I'm heading off to NYC and will hopefully be posting some pics from up there. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

~~~~~~HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!~~~~~~

Alyson

I have been so completely swamped and sleep deprived, I haven't had a minute to blog one of my favorite little girls, Alyson! I photographed Alyson last December and you can see how much she has grown into such the little young lady. I just loved her adorable outfit! Thank you Miss Alyson for being so patient!! I hope you have a great holiday and can't wait to photograph you again!