BREA Photos (Tom and Lisa Cuchara)

Scotland one year old

2011-08-01T03:09:00.000-04:00

Oh, what a cutie! You can see both of her parents in this beautiful little girl. We photographed Kathy and Scott before they were married, their wedding, their maternity, and their beautiful Scotland since she was just less than two weeks old. We love having her (and her parents come into the studio!). This one year old session, as part of the "Grow with Me package" comes with a wonderful "Grow with me" composite for her parents to hang on their wall.

You can view more photos from her session here on our website.

I just LOVE this image showing Scotland walking with her parents. Children go up so fast and this pose will be something they can look back on later and lament how fast the time flies by...

The dress that Kathy brought in was just delicious on her!

The bathtub...

She just loved the treasure chest and had a lot of fun playing peak-a-boo in it!

and I loved the way she held her toes when she was in the flower pot!

Lindsay

2011-06-02T00:36:00.003-04:00

Lindsay was a wonderful model to work with! She was professional, on time, had great outfits and concepts and an outrageous smile! She was fantastic with expressions and just fun to be around.
You can view more images from her session here in her gallery on our website. We also had a second foolow up hi key shoot with Lindsay and you can see those images here

I really enjoyed being around Lindsay we even share a love of DNA* LOL!!

* DNA = Deoxyribonucleic acid, nucleic acids that encode the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of living organisms

Photographing children

2011-05-31T00:11:00.001-04:00

When we talk about young children being photographed there are some photographers that have "Baby Grow With Me" packages consisting of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. We prefer to have the sessions more developmentally based. We can, of course, photograph a child at any time, but these are the best times...

• Newborn, meaning within the first ten days (after ~10 days they are still babies but not newborns anymore, they do not sleep as soundly, they are not "all curled up", they get baby acne, you cannot get those "miracle shots" which require a soundly sleeping baby.

• 2-4 months, when they can hold their head up on their own (tummy time, gerber baby poses, etc.)

• 5-8 months, when they can sit up on their own but are not moving around yet. This is a fantastic age photographically!! We can get very creative with this session!

• 9-11 months, when they can stand up, but not walk; often they require something to lean on and this makes adding in a photo prop very easy.

• 11-13 months, this can also be a great time for "the birthday cake" session with them just in a a pair of shorts (or a tutu) and a cake with icing, icing, icing!

• 1-3 years old, You will want to capture your toddler and child again at milestones in their life. We encourage twice a year from 1-3 years old.

• After 3 years old, time appears to slow down a bit now and they do not change as fast, so many choose to have a session once a year, but some still remain on the 6 month time frame until their kids are teenagers.

I have NEVER heard a parent complain that they have too many pictures of their child!

Many families take advantage of our themed specials like Teddys or TuTus, Feet, Silhouettes, Just Like Daddy, Mommy N Me, Threee generations, Valentines Day, Easter and other Holidays, etc.

Aja

2011-05-28T00:07:00.019-04:00

Aja came into our Studio for two model portfolio builder sessions. We always ask people to bring their iPODs with their music to the Studio with them, well she brought HER music -- she signs and writes!!! It was a pleasure getting to see that side of her. You can view more images from her sessions online here.

The above photos are on a new background, love it but it is small

KimE more

2011-05-25T01:53:00.000-04:00

I just had to post a few more from Kim's session!

This first picture is one of my favorites! Wow!

For this next one I just loved the image on the left that Kim chose for her portfolio, but when I was editing it I decided to have some fun and make her into a mirror image. I just took the left side the the picture and duplicated it and flipped it and brought it together. Kim's beautiful symmetry allowed me to do this. Interesting...

Part of modeling is posing and if you look up posing in the dictionary you see that it actually has to do with acting rather than sitting perfectly stil, which is how some people define "posing". Kim was excellent at posing and acting and scenarios which allowed her images to be editiorial and storyteeling in addition to fashion.

We cannot wait to get Kim back in front of the camera!

Pooja -- A model

2011-05-24T00:11:00.000-04:00

We had a lot of variety with this classical and contemporary model, here is Pooja! We started out in some traditional Indian outfits and migrated into some modern outfits and a bathing suit. It was quite refreshing to be working with someone with dance experience -- it showed in her hands especially, but in her overall poise. You can view more images from her session here in her gallery on our website. Check out the versatility with this young lady! Pooja was also very good with expressions, which after hands is the next hardest aspect to master.

Shanika

2011-05-21T00:24:00.017-04:00

We photographed Shanika and Tony a few months ago -- she came recently back in for more photos for her portfolio. She was well prepared and we had a lot of fun with her in the stairwell. We will see even more images of Shanika soon because she just came in for another session!

This session was all done with of-camera flash in the stairwell near our Studio. I love the graphic quality of these images. You can view more images of Shanika here in her gallery on our website.

Carolyn

2011-05-19T00:53:00.000-04:00

Carolyn brought a bunch of great outfits and we really tried some different backgrounds with her, from barnwood athletic to hi-key fashion with a red dress! You can view more images from her session here on our website.

Her red dress rally POPS on this white background.

Check out the relection in her sunglasses, LOL!

I love the purple on her too...

She has great flexibility and poise with her hands, hands are the hardest for a model to pose naturally, I am always saying in these blog posts to practice your hand poses if you want to be a model!

Love the FAN! and the hat.

Have to get some B&W images in too. She was really good with expressions, again an area that you can practice in. Many models have two or three expressions, but in reality there are hunderds or even thousands and the more versatile you are the better your chances!

Love the althetic look. Not many women can make this Joel Grimes lighting look good. She had a wonderful "intense look" too -- loved it!!

So many facets to this young lady! Wow!

Cheramie -- Radiant mom-to-be

2011-05-15T11:26:00.000-04:00

Cheramie was a lot of fun to photograph, calm but radiant, glowing and happy! We tried a new Ana Brandt maternity outfit on her, a brown split mama love gown. We also got some class silhouettes but alost tried an outlandish moon over the forest trees background with her. You can see more images from her photo session here in her gallery on our website. We had a lot of fun with Cheramie during her maternity session! She is going to make a fantastic mom!

I just loved when she laughed and threw her head back and her nose scrunched up.

Check out this new background, we have only used it a couple of times but this is the first for a maternity session! I love it, something different!

Samantha -- almost 6 months old!

2011-05-08T02:05:00.002-04:00

Remember Samantha? We photographed her when she was in Mom's belly and when she was five days old.

Here she is at almost 6 months old, isn't she the cutest little thing? You can view more photos from this session here on our website. Such a happy baby! This was such a good time to photograph her too, lots of tummy time...love the expressions!

KimE

2011-05-04T00:07:00.000-04:00

Take a look at KIM -- wow! She was wonderful to work with. Love the hair! She had lots of outfits and lots of ideas and lots of energy. You could tell that she has experience modeling and that she practices her posing! You can view MANY more images from her session here in her gallery on our website. We wish her a lot of success in her modeling career and look forward to working with her again!

Sangene

2011-05-02T00:52:00.000-04:00

We just had a short time to photograph Sangene, like 20 minutes, but we were able to create some powerdul images in that short time and both Tom and I were shooting click to click. I think that you will see more of her from us in the future. You can see more images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

Meet Levi, this six month old stole my heart

2011-04-30T00:43:00.002-04:00

I blogged about Levi's family a few days ago, but we had too many photographs of this absolutely adorable little boy so I had to make him his own Blogpost. His big sisters are polite, well-behaved, beautiful, photogenic, etc. and we love photographing them, but I just have a soft spot for the wee little ones.

When we talk about young children being photographed there are some photographers that have "Baby Grow With Me" packages consisting of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. We prefer to have the sessions more developmentally based. We can, of course, photograph a child at any time, but these are the best times...

Newborn, meaning within the first ten days (after ~10 days they are still babies but not newborns anymore, they do not sleep as soundly, they are not "all curled up", they get baby acne, you cannot get those "miracle shots" which require a soundly sleeping baby.
2-4 months, when they can hold their head up on their own (tummy time, gerber baby poses, etc.)
5-8 months, when they can sit up on their own but are not moving around yet. This is a fantastic age photographically!! We can get very creative with this session
9-11 months, when they can stand up, but not walk; often they require something to lean on and this makes adding in a photo prop very easy.
11-13 months, "the birthday cake" session with them just in a a pair of shorts

I would be willing to "babysit" this adorable young man in the Studio anytime! I hope Charles and Cheryl bring him back for another photo session in 3-4 months!

Levi's parents are very lucky, this little boy is one of the the happiest babies I have ever seen. He loves his big sisters (and you can tell that they adore him). He was always smiling!

Can you believe this cuteness??

Maria's business headshot

2011-04-29T00:23:00.021-04:00

We had a great time photographing this wonderful woman. Maria needed an updated headshot for her New England Print and Graphics business so Paula Murphy from MaryKay did Maria's makeup and we photographed her. You can view more images from Maria's session here in her gallery on our website.

The many facets of Paris

2011-04-28T00:59:00.001-04:00

Pairs came in for her portfolio builder photo session with a MUA/Stylist and lots of clothing choices. we had an awesome session with her and took LOTS of photographs. The portfolio builder session differs from a regular model session in that it is designed to really enhance your portfolio overnight. Most photo sessions involve one or two changes of clothes, but the portfolio builder session involves different lighting and different backgrounds to compliment each of the multiple outfits. This way the images in your portfolio makes it appear that you have been to numerous photo sessions rather than just one session with one photographer.

You can see many more images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

Jennifer

2011-04-27T00:59:00.002-04:00

Jennifer has one of those symmetrical faces that we could just photograph for hours and hours. She came in for a model portfolio builder session with well planned several outfits and we clicked and clicked. She was also one of those rarer models that was very good with facial expressions and with her hands. We had a lot of fun photographing her, joking around and serious times too. You can view lots of images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

I have blogged about this topic before, but here it is again...we always tell our models to spend five minutes three times a day practicing, just like a sport or an instrument you must practice. One five minute session spent on posing your hands, position your mirror so that you cannot see your face, jsut your hands, pose them gracefully, avoid the punched in the face pose, try expressing emotions via your hands, try to convey emotion via your hands without seeing your facial expression. The second five minutes later in the day is for facial expressions, how many can you do? Practice! The third session at a different time if full body posing, and we suggest that sometimes you try this naked, not that you will ever pose naked, but it takes away the pockets and such that you can use as props and crutches and makes you pose your arms and hands differently. It pays to practice!

Here are just a few of the many expressions captured, this series was all with one outfit and background and they are great! Take a look in any fashion magazine and you will see how many expressions are needed. Need fodder? Start by thinking of the seven dwarves and move on from there.

I had so much trouble deciding which images to post, the color, or the black and white since everything looks so good. I do like B&W images for portraits though, they just seem to say a little bit more.

The images in this next just exude elegance.

Her outfits were varied and they 'fit' her (style and personality) well.

We really got to try out many different scenes with Jennifer, which made it an especially fun session!

OK I cannot decide on which of these I like best, the one of the right has more detail and it gives more form to her face, but the one on the left shows her eyes more (she looks like Demi in that one) and has more contrast. What do you think? I guess I love both of them, but only one can go up on our Studio wall.

Charles and Family

2011-04-26T00:57:00.004-04:00

We photographed these two adorable girls and their family two years ago. They came back for an updated family portrait plus one, meet this absolutely adorable and loved little boy, Levi. Elli and Ally

You can view more images from their session here in their gallery on our website.

Tom loved this family portrait with Levi pulling Ally's pigtail! It is one of his all time favorite images, because it tells the family story so well. These girls are great big sisters to Levi, he is certainly blessed!

These are such good mannered, well behaved young ladies, such a pleasure to photograph!

I just love series like these, where you need multiple images to really tell the story...

You can see how much the girls have changed in two years, this is them in 2009

The newest addition to this family is the most adorable and good natured little boy. I was so excited when I saw him because I had an image in my head of a little boy in just overalls with teddy bears surrounding him. Levi was one of the best little ones we have ever had in the Studio.

Charles and Cheryl can just drop him off at the Studio next time they need a baby sitter.

The delightful little buy just smiled and laughed the entire time he was here!

I will post on just Levi alone in a couple of days...

Chase is due to arrive soon -- Maternity Session

2011-04-23T13:45:00.001-04:00

We had a wonderful time photographing this radiant expectant mom and her husband. WOW!! We had a great Session with Jaime and cannot wait to meet Chase. You can view more images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

Chase will make his arrival in a few weeks

and his doting father has painstakingly decorated his wall with Dr. Seuss scenes!!

This is an Ana Brandt TaoPan maternity outfit and Jaime just looked radiant in it!

You can tell that we had a lot of fun with this session...

They are such a great couple and are going to make awesome parents!

Two images -- peace and contentment to fun and playful...

I just can't wait to photograph this little boy in his Dad's arms -- the juxtaposition of the little newborn with the strong tatooed Dad, yeah, that is going to be a great newborn session!

Whether in her own clothes or in the Ana Brandy Mama dress Jaime exuded the essence of motherhood!

I love these kinds of 'transitions' poses where each one tells a story, but the combination of images makes for an even greater story. This is a session that would be especially spectacular in an album...

I wanted to include this outtake as well, Tom using his new Canon 10-22mm lens! We bought it more for churches (and landscapes) but he used it in most of the portrait sessions too!

See you soon Chase!

Flavors 2011

2011-04-21T23:41:00.003-04:00

Last Tuesday night we had the privilege of photographing the 10th Annual Flavors of Connecticut (Presented by Hartford Hospital). This was an American Liver Foundation Event at the Aqua Turf Club (Plantsville, CT). Flavors of Connecticut 2011 has raised to date over $216,000 and is now the #1 Flavors event in the country! We are proud to have been a part of this event!

This gala showcased Connecticut's premier Chefs as each chef prepared a signature five-course gourmet meal complemented with wine pairings for a table of twelve guests. The meal was prepared tableside by each chef to make for an unforgettable experience. Special guests included Emcee, Marc Summers, Food Network and Fund-A-Grant Presenter, Chris Berman, ESPN. Dr. and Mrs Robert Leventhal were the co-chairs of this fabulous event.

You can view a sneak peak now and in a couple of weeks view the rest of the images. Special thanks to Dr. Leventhal, Marla, JoAnn, Karen and David Foster!

http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/ALF/Flavors2011

Meet Valon, an aspiring Model

2011-04-18T01:24:00.039-04:00

Remember Kush from a few weeks ago? Well we recently photographed his brother Valon, also an aspiring model. We had a lot of fun with Valon and loved the transformation from "Justin" (Bieber) into "Edward" (Cullen) with a quick change into black clothes and a change of hairstyle.

You can view more images from Val's session here in his gallery on our website.

I just love this first ime, his expression, his pose, the negative space on the left, everything!

Val was game for everything that we threw at him, very patient, allowing us to be very creative.

I love him with the marbles!

See, "Justin" on the left and "Edward" on the right???

This is a brand new background! Only the second time we have used it, wow!

You know how much we love Black and White photos for our portraits!

But B&W with a splash of color always pops!

What an awesome session!

You can view more images from Val's session here in his gallery on our website.

Meet four of our MaryKay Glamour Session women

2011-04-16T19:22:00.001-04:00

Meet a few our latest MaryKay Glamour Session women...Paula and Suzanne did a fantastic job as usual!

Our next MaryKay Glamour Session is June 27th -- join us!

Allison -- you can view more images of her in her gallery on our website.

Michelle -- you can view more images of her in her gallery on our website.

Lucy -- you can view more images of her in her gallery on our website.

Susan -- you can view more images of her in her gallery on our website.

Join us for our next Glamour Portrait Session on Monday June 27th

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift.

Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

Rachel C

2011-04-11T00:55:00.000-04:00

Meet Rachel, graceful and versatile. From the beginning of Rachel's session it was evident that she had poise and knew how to hold herself, which made for an awesome photo session! You can see more images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

Heather

2011-04-06T00:05:00.001-04:00

Heather came in for a model portfolio builder photo session and we got to try a plethora of concepts with her -- from Hi-Key to fashion to runway to Joel Grimes to funky! She brought a lot of clothes and a lot of energy and was just great to work with!

You can view more images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

We photographed for about three hours and could have easily done double that! We look forward to working with her again!

Wow! This is fabulous

Can't you see it as a huge billboard?

Stunning!

I absolutely loved this jacket!

We also did some 'runway" type shots with it and they are amongst my favorite from this session!

The blue just popped for her!

Love her on the Hi-Key white!

She looked great with the 'Joel Grimes' style of lighting too!

We have been working on a patriotic project as well, so we were excited to see her flag bikini...

She brought in such a variety of outfits and we really got to try LOTS of lighting and backgrounds and overall different looks with her!

love the scarves that she brought in with her too -- gotta get some more of these for the Studio.

Brave and Passionate Monica

2011-04-03T01:00:00.000-04:00

We were honored to photograph this brave, determined, persistent and passionate woman. Monica is one of a kind, she has a zest for life and optimism that is unparalled. You can view more images from her session here in her gallery on our website. She was an absolute HAM in front the the camera, most photographers are not very comfortable in front of the camera, but she hammed it up with lots of poses allowing us to photograph her many facets.

Monica survived cancer Hodgkins when she was 24 and has had a very full life with a wonderful husband and a great daughter who is also her friend and her companion. She is now battling breast cancer and we were honored to be able to document both her strength duirng this time and the ravages of the cancer. Her relationship with her daughter reminds me of me and my Mom. Monica has a great smile, a wonderful sense of humor, and oozes with passion. She is an award winning photographer and is very involved in photographry organizations such as the Milford Camera Club.

This is my impression of Monica -- that she has certainly accomplished this goal many times over! "The goal for mankind is to walk a path on which our souls will shine and sparkle as brightly as diamonds."

She says this about her photography: "an insatiable wildlife and travel photographer, captures beauty, color, spirit (and often humor) into all of her images"

I found this on her website

"The Jewish word "Besheret " translates in English to soul mate, destiny, or "meant to be."

I have always felt that in life there are few "coincidences" and that things happen for a reason, even bad things. So after surviving Hodgkin's disease at the age of 24 and then being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, my "besheret" became clearer to me than ever. Photography had always been my passion and I knew that the time had finally come for me to leave my teaching career, take huge risks and pursue a new path with wild abandon. Life threatening illnesses have a way of making you reach way down into your soul, see who you are and discover what really makes you happy."

Phyllis from Vissa Studios

2011-04-02T00:59:00.000-04:00

Meet Phyllis, a hair model for Vissa Studios. This was a headshot photo session was geared towards showing the hair style on this gorgeous and unassuming young lady, who is currently going to school to be an orthodontist. You can see more images from her session here on our website.

Glamour Girl Portrait Session -- Sunday April 3rd

2011-04-01T00:05:00.000-04:00

Glamour Girl Portrait Session -- Sunday April 3rd

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift.
Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

Milford Fine Arts Best of Show

2011-03-31T00:35:00.000-04:00

I keep forgetting to post this! March 12th I won BEST of SHOW at the Milford Fine Arts Photo Expo. There were a lot of great images this year and it was an honor to receive Best of Show.

There was a twist to this, because Tom won Best of Show last year and the tile of my image was "My Turn" which was sort of cute.

Our version of "the stolen scream"

2011-03-29T01:43:00.004-04:00

A fellow photographer recently sent me an interesting story about "The Stolen Scream: A Story About Noam". You can see Noam's video here. This young man posted a photograph of himself that "went viral" and went around the world. It is a fascinating example of the "Web 2.0 world" that we live in today, but also a little scary in terms of the copyright infringement that went on in his case.

Anyway, we recently posted photos from a photo session with a wonderful model named Anthony. Anthony takes his modeling career seriously and it shows in every aspect. One of the things that he does is exercises to loosen up his face before a shoot. Remember, modeling IS acting and that takes practice. We took a few photos of Anthony while he was warming up and one of them looks to me a LOT like this "scream" that went around the world!

My name is Noam Galai (26, Israel), Live in New York and work for AOL and also a freelance photographer . About two years after publishing photos of myself screaming on the Flickr, I discovered that my face was ‘for sale’ in several stores around the world, as well as on the Web and spotted it in places like Spain, Iran, Mexico, England and many other places. When I realized that its not a one-time-thing and my face is being used in so many places i decided to start collecting images/videos of all my ‘appearances’. So I decided to open this blog to keep track of all the different places with my face on them. I will post new photos and videos as soon as I find them. Of course – feel free to send a message if you saw my screaming face anywhere… I will be more than happy to see more stuff. Read all about the Screaming photo here

Anthony

2011-03-27T01:15:00.001-04:00

Anthony's model portfolio builder photo session was a lot of fun, he is serious about his modeling career and yet just a lot of fun to be around and to photograph. Anthony really put thought into each of the ideas that we shot, from "Help Haiti Heal" to his leather jacket -- to all of the shoes and sneakers that he brought with him!We were impressed with his athleticism and we got to accentuate his toned body with some interesting Joel Grimes lighting styles. Anthony's two hour session lasted about four hours -- we could have gone longer but it was really getting late at that point. You can view the rest of the images from his session here on our website.

The 10-22mm lens made this photo kinda cool!

Love the signed sneakers!

Help Haiti Heal...

He was great serious, but he was also a lot of fun!

love his leather coat!

As a scientist I was so excited when I saw his unique "genes" shirt, we just had to get this

Just love the way that he comes thru in the black and white photographs as well...

serious and smiling!

Why you should NEVER skimp on wedding photography

2011-03-26T00:48:00.000-04:00

Why you should NEVER skimp on wedding photography

Great article from a venue owner and a stationery designer, she is from Tennessee, but this is universal!
This also relates to an article on a page on our blog http://www.breaphotosblog.com/p/custom-photography-ppa-article.html

"Let’s face it. Weddings are crazy expensive. I’m all about finding ways to save money, and there are lots of ways you can do so. But if you only splurge on one thing for your wedding, LET IT BE PHOTOGRAPHY. That’s right, I’m a venue owner and a stationery designer and I’m not telling you that your splurge item should not be one of those things, but photography. Why? Because its true! If you live in middle Tennessee, chances are you know someone who is a “photographer” and its tempting to hire them for cheap or even have them shoot your wedding as a wedding gift to you to save money, but hear me now and believe me later, DON’T DO IT!!!

Here’s why: http://southalleden.com/farmweddingblog/2011/02/why-you-should-never-skimp-on-wedding-photography/

Glamour Girl Portrait Session April 3rd

2011-03-25T02:03:00.004-04:00

Glamour Girl Portrait Session April 3rd

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift.
Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

Rachel's photo session

2011-03-23T01:28:00.001-04:00

Rachel came in for a model portfolio builder photo session with a large variety of outfits, each one carefully thought out with props and everything. She even brought her sword in with her! Wow!

We also got to try out our new "devil hat" and I just loved it on her! You can view more images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

Brenden

2011-03-21T01:21:00.002-04:00

Wow, was this a great model portfolio builder session! We really enjoyed working with this dramatic lighting for the athletic portions of this session! Brenden was very professional, arriving on time and well prepared. Some of the photographs from this session are in the style of Joel Grimes and they fit very well with Brenden's physique and athletic spirit. We look forward to having Brenden back into the Studio, and perhaps even on location to try some outdoor Joel Grimes lighting techniques.

Tom loved his sunglasses and the "secret security service" look too. Brenden has a great smile, but his serious intense athletic side shows another dimension of his as well. You can view more images from his session here in his gallery on our website.

Don't you just love the way that the lighting plays off his muscles!!!

The Many Sides of Larissa

2011-03-19T01:08:00.030-04:00

Meet Larissa. This young lady came in very well prepared for her model portfolio builder photo session. She had all of the deails for each well thought out concept for each outfit and transformed herself again and again right before our eyes! Playful, sassy, sophisticated, intense. We could tell that she was very prepared and that she practices. It was an absolute pleasure to photograph her!! We look forward to working with her again. And what a stunning smile!

Yes, modeling like anything else requires practice. Generally it is suggested that models practice at least three times a day, five minutes each session: once for practicing facial expressions (try conveying moods in the mirror), once for practicing hands (the absolute hardest part of modeling and the part that can distinguish an experienced model from and inexperienced model) and then full body modeling (even try some these these practices nude if you can, not that you intend to pose nude, but it makes you pose your hands too because you cannot really on pockets, etc. and really have to learn where to place your hands and arms).

You can see more photographs from Larissa's session here on our website.

Glamour Girl Portrait Session

2011-03-18T01:59:00.009-04:00

Glamour Girl Portrait Session -- Sunday April 3rd

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift.
Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

BrandinJ

2011-03-14T01:27:00.005-04:00

Meet Brandin, versatile and easy to work with. Love the way the light plays off his toned muscles too! You can see more photographs from his shoot here on our website.

Shanika and Tony

2011-03-13T00:50:00.004-05:00

We posted Shanika and Tony separately, now see them together! They are both models and had some great ideas that they wanted to capture for couples photography to add to their portfolio. They certainly had a connection! Wow! You can view more photos from their couples session here on our website.

Kushtrim

2011-03-10T01:49:00.002-05:00

Kushtrim came in to the Studio for his model photo session very unassuming and laid back. We went from classic teen boy next door to graffiti and from casual t-shirt to GQ in a few hours. You can see more images from his session here on our website. Kush's brother is also contemplating a career in modeling, so who knows you might see his pics up here too.

Jenise

2011-03-09T00:45:00.000-05:00

We photographed Jenise, a wonderful kind person with an awesome smile! We had been emailing for weeks about ideas for her photo session -- she really wanted to do the silhouette and I love the way there is a little light on her face for some of her silhouettes You can see more photographs from her session here.

Jenise was very easy to work with! What a smile! She was cool, calm and collected and had lots of ideas. Paula Murphy from MaryKay did her makeup paula-murphy@comcast.net

I love this silhouette and the light that gently spills across her face! And the shawl was fun to work with too.

This shot, or something like it, has been in my head for a long time -- cool to see it come to life!

Tom's idea, after playing with the shawl, very dramtic. Nice contrast to all those awesome smiles!

Stacy

2011-03-07T00:04:00.012-05:00

We had a great photo session with high energy Stacy, an experienced model who really made it easy for us! I just loved her energy and the way she posed her hands and especially the energetic funky outfit with the hat that she wore at the end of the session. You can view the rest of the images from here session here on our website.

Tony

2011-03-04T23:19:00.001-05:00

We had a great photo session with Tony, a model -- A lot of strength and character! You can view the rest of his images here on our website. You will be seeing more of him later in a bunch of intense couples images

Shanika

2011-03-01T02:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, did we have fun with Shanika -- so many looks! Awesome portfolio builder session?! Whew! You can see more images of her session in her gallery on our website. You will see more of her soon with some images she took with fellow model Anthony

The henna tattoos make for an interesting picture in and of themselves.

cards

2011-02-26T01:16:00.000-05:00

We have been getting lots of inquiries about SAVE the DATE cards and birth announcements so I thought that we should Blog this...

Check out some new templates for cards -- Holiday Cards, Save the Date cards, Wedding Thank You cards, Birth announcements, Seniors, Graduation : http://ourcardproducts.blogspot.com/
LOTS to choose from!

Photographic 4x8 cards, with envelopes

25 for $35

Press printed:

Prices: Flat Cards -- 5x7 or 5x5 or 4x8.5, with envelopes
24 for $80
100 for $220

Prices: 5x7 or 5x5 Folded, with envelopes
24 for $125
100 for $370

Want a simple design for your press printed cards -- with just one photo and some text, no artwork, deduct $15.

Want just the edited JPG to print your own cards you can purchase JPG file with rights to print for $50 each.

You can even use the edited JPG file to make your own postage stamps at http://www.zazzle.com/

Hannah

2011-02-24T01:20:00.000-05:00

We were blessed with Hannah's awesome smile during this photo session.

When she smiles it just lights up the room!

Hannah is beginning her modeling career and came to us for a portfolio builder. She came with a bunch of outfits and a great furry hooded coat. We had a lot of fun with this session! You can view more photographs from her session in her gallery on our website.

This next image is one of my favorites from the session!

love the hair!

Sass!

The Black and Whites really let her soul shine through...

Hannah was so easy to work with, we'd love to have her come back into the Studio another time!

Bat Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah Photography

2011-02-23T01:21:00.000-05:00

Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah Photography

We offer a variety of packages for your occasion.

A new level of soul, neshama, comes into awareness at Bar/Bat Mitzvah time. This can be captured at the rehearsal, in your home, in our studio and/or at your party. The Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a time of beauty, respect and wonder filled with tradition and peace, which unfolds throughout that special day.

Your day will be filled with beautiful "Emotional Moments" that you will never experience again in your life. Those "Moments" are what we are driven to capture for you. Your child's special day will be filled with unforgettable moments that you'll want to relive and share…Mom dancing with her son, thinking “wasn’t he just born”, where did the time go? Or Daddy dancing with his little girl, hoping to see her under the Chuppa some day. After the Bar/Bat Mitzvah party is over, the moments remembered will be shared, remembered and relived through the photographs and albums that last for generations…

Often photography is not allowed during actual ceremony at the Shabbat service. By coming to the rehearsal we can capture photographs of great meaning - your child on the bima, reading from the scrolls, surrounded by parents and rabbi. This run-through, under the supervision of the rabbi, is generally held during the week prior to the date of the service and, by documenting it, we will give you a wonderful record of the emotions of this great occasion. We can also take formal portraits of the bar mitzvah boy or bat mitzvah girl with family in all of the combinations you will want. Immediate family, extended family, grandparents alone - all in combination with the star of the day.

Scotland Almost 7 months old

2011-02-21T10:17:00.002-05:00

We have been photographing Scotland since she was just a twinkle in her parent's eye, LOL (well even before then -- we photographed their engagement with their dog, their wedding, their maternity, their newborn and now this absolutely beautiful baby!).

Scotland is almost 7 months old in these photographs and she is just the most adorable baby!

We had such a great session, getting to use so many different props. You can view more images from this spectacular sesion here in this gallery on our website.

We just got this suitcase in, so I was sooo excited when I saw that her Mom was clairvoyant and brought her dressed in a color coordinated outfit for the two first setups!
and then she just sat right there in the midst of all those teddy bears looking adorable.

The washbowl is new too. The pearls were brought in by her Mom, we have photographed Scotland with these pearls since she was a newborn (well before she was born actually, in the maternity session too!)

I just love Black and white for babies, black and white and color works too!

You can see what an absolutely awesome session we had -- we go to try out so many props and just bring out th personality in this beautiful little girl.

Cannot wait for the next session, when Scotland can stand but cannot yet walk!

Dejon

2011-02-20T00:07:00.000-05:00

Dejon has aspirations for modeling so he came in for a portfolio builder. You can view the rest of the images in his gallery on our website. He was a soft spoken and very polite young man. He came in on time and brought a variety of outfits and was easy to work with.

Leilani's Dad returns from overseas and serving his country.

2011-02-15T00:39:00.002-05:00

Dad just returned from overseas and serving his country so they came right in for some updated portraits since it had been so long. He is only home for a short time and they made sure that . We are VERY grateful to him for serving!

You can view the rest of the images from their session here in their gallery on our website.

Leilani Almost Two YEARS Old

2011-02-14T00:57:00.002-05:00

We photographed Leilani just one week before her second birthday. You can check out the rest of the images from her session here in her gallery on our website. We have been photographing Leilani since she was in her mother's stomach -- what fun to what this little munchkin grow up!

Sneak Peak Ashlie

2011-02-09T00:31:00.000-05:00

Wow, did we have fun with Ashie, a model. It was a pleasure to work with her -- she was on time, brought lots of clothes and props and was a professional but also just a great person to work with!

Here is a sneak peak of a few images form her session, we will be posting more later!

At one point during her session Ashlie mentioned that she would like something for a CD cover and when I saw this image with her hair being blown by the fan I knew that I had to crop it square!

I have had an image like this next one in my head for a while -- I was very happy when she showed me this purple scarf!

Photographs from Mary Kay Glamour Girl portrait sessions

2011-02-08T01:05:00.001-05:00

Here are some photographs from our Mary Kay Glamour Girl Portrait Sessions. We will be hosting these glamour girl sessions every other month so make sure that you sign up for our Blog to be notified when the next one is coming. You can also call Paula and reserve your session now. You can view some more images from these sessions here: http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/Portraits/Mary-Kay

Includes skin care and makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file* (*one formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display your best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift.

Join us for the next Mary Kay Glamour Girl Portrait Session!

Pure at Heart

2011-02-07T01:16:00.002-05:00

These "pure at heart" sessions are simply wonderful!

"Pure at Heart" portrait sessions -- You pray and rejoice every day so why not capture the purity of your children today. We have a wide variety of quotes to choose from , or pick your own.

Of course we also offer Communion and Confirmation portrait sessions, either in the Studio or at your place of worship.

First Communion -- Mark this rite of passage with a photographic momento as your child grows in their faith. The First Communion is a first in many ways. As the first formal event in your child's life it marks the beginning of a life of good character. Honor your son or daughter's first occasion to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist with a professionally crafted portrait. This First Communion portrait is especially treasured by the parents, showing the innocence and hope for the future in their young faces.

Confirmation -- Honor your son or daughter's first occasion to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist with a professionally crafted portrait to mark their 1st formal opportunity to publicly confess Christ as their Lord and Saviour as an adult in the eyes of the church. This is the Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah (coming of age) of the Christian church.

Spring Auditions -- Aspiring actors -- Robin Hood Springtime Festival

2011-02-02T00:54:00.018-05:00

We get a lot of models and actors into our portrait studio, so I thought that we would post this here for all of you...This is a great opportunity and a lot of fun too!

In addition, if you get the role we would like to provide you with a complimentary costumed photo session -- this includes a FREE studio portrait session, one edited JPG for your portfolio ($50 value) and 50 wallet photographs or rep cards from the same image ($39 value).

Spring Auditions to be Held on March 6 -- Robin Hood Springtime Festival

Aspiring actors from across the state are being sought to audition for the 2nd annual performance of the Robin Hood Springtime Festival. The Robin Hood Springtime Festival runs for FIVE CONSECUTIVE WEEKENDS in Guilford from April 23 to May 22

Auditions will take place by appointment on March 6.

"Experience is not essential," says festival Director Scott Kegler. "But talent is." The right candidate will receive tuition-free training in period dialect, improvisation, audience interaction, stage combat, voice, dance or other areas as required by their role.

The producers of the Robin Hood Springtime Festival hope to cast both actors and stage hands for the event. The Festival runs five straight weekends from April 23 to May 22 on the Guilford Fairgrounds. To arrange an audition contact Scott at 860.942.2645 or visit our website for additional audition information.

Jan Doyle -- Business Headshots

2011-01-28T00:32:00.014-05:00

We have known Jan for over ten years due to our mutual interest in photography so we were honored when she came to us for an updated headshot. We photographed Jan Doyle this week and had a lot of fun doing it! Even though we know Jan we were enlightened to find out that she is the founder and director of Classroom Connections 365, which was Awarded Best General Talk Show in New England and New York in 2010 by the Alliance for Community Media! Wow!

You can view all of the photographs from her session here in her gallery on our website.

About Classroom Connections 365

Jan Doyle, founder and director of Classroom Connections 365, developed a love of learning when she was a little girl. Her aunt, an elementary school teacher, would give her outdated text books and workbooks that Jan used to “teach school” to her dolls.

Jan, a teacher for thirty-six years, is the executive producer, writer and host of Classroom Connections 365, is a public access show she created in January 2008. Classroom Connections 365 is dedicated to helping parents strengthen and support their child’s educational experience.

Jan’s workshops will deepen your understanding and expand your knowledge base in area of critical importance to every child. Jan brings to her workshops and presentations researched based ideas, juxtaposed with practical experience and sprinkled with common sense.

Jan appears regularly on Good Morning Connecticut and writes an education blog in partnership with the New Haven Register.

We have a couple of last minute openings for Saturday's Glamour Session

2011-01-27T01:55:00.002-05:00

Glamour Girl Portrait Session

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift (Valentine's Day is coming!).

Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

Free Portrait Session for a Heart-to-Heart or Hannahs Tutus wearer

2011-01-24T12:43:00.001-05:00

Free portrait Session, plus 50 wallets for a child wearing one of Hannah's Tutu outfits (or similar Etsy outfit, please email us before your purchase) or Zuliliy's Heart to Heart Outfits Heart to Heart: Dress-Up Apparel

Heart to Heart is dedicated to offering the latest in whimsical treasures! Not only do they provide fabulous décor, but we're excited to offer a collection of charming fairy princess couture that will tickle your heart and give her "butterfly feelings." These charming dresses, wings, wands and tutus have captured people's imaginations and lit up the eyes of many little girls. Outfits are actually on sale now, Sale ends 1/26 at 6AM PST Use this link to visit the site and start finding great new brands

Carole and Family -- Three generations

2011-01-22T00:08:00.030-05:00

We had a lot of fun photographing Carole's family a few years ago -- lots of grown up children and their children. The grandchildren have changed a lot since the last family portrait (no more babies and one is engaged!) so Carole called us for updated photographs. You can view the rest of the images from her session here in her gallery on our website.

Kids change so fast...

compare this photograph to the next one taken a few yeara ago...

We photographed just the grandchildren, the entire family with all 3 generations, and then each family alone. They are an energetic group so it was a lot of fun!

Just a few openings left for the Glamour Girl Portrait Session January 29th

2011-01-21T01:31:00.000-05:00

Glamour Girl Portrait Session

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift (Valentine's Day is coming!).

Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

A reminder not to wait for the perfect time!

2011-01-17T00:16:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

This is a reminder not to wait for the perfect time...

The New Year is full of resolutions and often family photos fall to the bottom of the list waiting for a better time. But your family is changing and your children are growing, so the best time is right now!

I read this great article on another photographer's blog -- wow! I just had to re-post it to remind everyone of the importance of family photographs -- do not wait for the perfect time for photos.

It’s so easy to say

–I’m too fat.

I have too much going on.

we’re too busy.

maybe next year.

but I just want to say STOP IT!

We need to take the time to appreciate the value of family photos, if not for ourselves (because we’re too fat or whatever), then for our children. In 20 years, your children are not going to say,

"I really love this photo of my family but i wish my mom had waited until she lost some weight."

Please just get a family portrait done because these photographs are so important to those who love you!

http://www.debsphotographs.com/photoblog/?p=957

We never know what tomorrow will bring our way.

and life is quickly racing by; before we know it, our kids will be grown and leaving the house.

NO, THERE IS NO PERFECT TIME.

I hope that this will inspire someone, who might be waiting for that perfect time or waiting to lose a couple of pounds, to book a photographer…today!

Leilani 19 months old

2011-01-16T00:06:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to photograph Leilani twice in three weeks...

Check out her at 19 months old

You can view more images from this session here on our website

One Month to Valentine's Day

2011-01-15T00:53:00.002-05:00

One Month left until Valentine's Day, surprise your loved one with Valentine's Day portraits of YOU and/or your children. Dads -- this makes the perfect gift for the woman you love. Tell her that you love her with this special session.

Valentine's Day Portrait Session $120 includes in Studio portrait session and one image printed on 24 5x5 or 5x7 Greeting Cards (with envelopes) and on ten wallets. Additional portraits and canvases can also be ordered. Call us (203-288-8151) now to book YOUR session.

Ladies, you can also get a special portrait of yourself and give that to the man in your life.

Glamour Girl Photo Shoot

2011-01-14T00:26:00.004-05:00

Glamour Girl Portrait Session

**Special $50**

Includes skin care and/or makeup by Paula’s Mary Kay Unit, followed by a portrait session by BREA Photos. Also includes 2 copies of one edited JPG file (one copy formatted for printing and another for the Internet).

Display YOUR best image on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites; print it on your business cards or give someone a great photo gift (Valentine's Day is coming!).

Call or email Paula Murphy today to reserve your session 203-996-6312 or Paula-Murphy@comcast.net

Sneak Peak Leilani 23 months

2011-01-13T04:01:00.001-05:00

I just had to share this from yesterday -- a Sneak Peak Leilani at 23 months old -- too cute!

Mom and her two sons

2011-01-13T00:46:00.002-05:00

We had Ryan (12) and Conner (9) and Michelle into our Studio over the weekend. We had a lot of fun!

You can view the rest of the images from their photo session here on our website. Here are a few highlights.

We are offering "FACES" as a session add on. Capture all those great affects and personality!

Comes with a canvas (16x16 or 11x14) of 9-16 different expressions!

I just love this image of the three of them

(Dad will come in next time for an updated family photo of the 4 of them).

Just for comparison, here are some of these two boys from two years ago -- kids change so fast! Every time I see Ryan he is taller and taller! We photographed both Ryan and Conner as newborns and now Ryan will be a teenager this year! Whew!

Signs for Weddings, etc.

2011-01-12T00:47:00.001-05:00

Please note that these photographs are not ours, they are from the company's site, but these would make for a great prop for an upcoming wedding or other event!

WEDDING SIGNS and CUSTOM SIGNS

Thank you, Mr and Mrs, lawn signs, chiar signs, signs to hold, make custom photo cards, etc.

We specialize in unique, hand crafted wedding, reception and your house, signage of different styles appealing to a variety of brides and any one else who has a home.

Welcome to "Our Hobby to Your Home & Wedding" Etsy Shop. We are now taking orders for 2011 Weddings. Get on our "To Do" list soon, before "Wedding Season" is here!!! This shop is a family owned and operated business. Thank you for your support!!! Every sign is handmade by my two daughter's and myself. You won't be disappointed with our quality hand crafted workmanship from start to finish.
Our ' Last Name and Welcome' signs make great Christmas Gifts for just about anyone on your List. Order early to ensure that you receive your sign in plenty of time. Let us help make your upcoming wedding or special event a little more personal. If there is anything that you don't see that you are interested in, just send us a message with a picture attached or a description and we will work together to create the perfect sign for you. If you are a Wedding Coordinator, Event Planner, Party Planner, Florist, Photographer, Homemaker or a Bride-to-be, you are sure to find something just perfect for you or the client you are working with.

We have over 50 color choices, for a list of our colors http://www.etsy.com/listing/47647728/our-hobby-to-your-home-and-wedding-paint

The majority of our wood is recycled, which can sometimes add character to your sign. All of the wood is solid, no plywood. With most pieces of wood you could not tell that it is recycled. If you want a "new" piece of wood which is not "Recycled", just convo me and we can make a custom listing for you. It may cost an extra $2.00-$5.00 depending on the size of the sign.

We usually ship 14-21 business days after payment has been received. Each sign is unique, individually hand crafted for you upon purchase. If you need a sign sooner than my normal timeline, please convo me to workout the details for a Rush Order.

♥ Our "Little Mini" signs will be featured in the January 2011 issue of "the knot" magazine.

We will be revealing those signs soon. They are a perfect addition to any Wedding Reception, Bridal Shower, Baby Shower, Candy Buffet, Cake Table, Cupcake Table or Birhday Party....♥ We will be decorating for a Wedding in October that will be featured in Seattle Metropolitan Bride and Groom Magazine.

Don't have an Etsy account? Its simple and fast to get one!! https://www.etsy.com/register.php
Look for one of our "Thank You" signs that the photographer's at the beautiful Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas have used. Signs from Our Hobby to Your Home and Wedding have been featured on Etsy's Front Page. Here is one example: http://www.etsy.com/listing/40085820/table-numbers-for-any-occasion-this-item

Our Thank You signs: http://www.etsy.com/listing/59238719/wedding-signsbeautiful-thank-you

We were recently featured on ETSY Weddings weekly picks. http://www.etsy.com/listing/53510610/diywedding-sign-kitfeatured-on-etsy

We look forward to having you as our customer
Thank You for looking. Have a great day!!!
Shelley, Jess & Stephanie, Mother and Daughters

What to Wear

2011-01-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

We have a new tab on our Blog -- what to wear. Check it out!

We will also be posting some outfit ideas every month.

Belly Cast

2011-01-07T00:02:00.000-05:00

Remember Cameron from the summer? Her mother did a belly cast while she was pregnant and then brought it in with her as a prop for the newborn session. This would make a great shower gift (or a present for yourself)!

Chris and Anne's Wedding

2011-01-02T00:50:00.085-05:00

Anne and Chris had a wonderfully serene and romantic wedding. You can view many more photographs from their wedding here on their gallery on our website

Here is a video from their wedding -- love the song "Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel -- just a wonderful song and perfect for the two of them. If you are a subcriber and do not see the video click here to view this on the Blog itself. The MP4 can be downloaded and shared with friends and family.

It was a pleasure photographing Chris and Anne's wedding.

Simple and Elegant with attention to detail evident everywhere.
http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/

This next one was one of Tom's all time favorites!

This one of Anne looking in the Mirror at the Grassy Hill Country Club is one of my favorites. You might just find it in our Studio on the wall as a Studio sample...

It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding!

Classic Elegance!

I love the fact that because Tom and I shoot together we can be in two places at once. This works well for so many aspects of the wedding, but this is especially awesome for the ceremony because I can get the groom's reaction while Tom is photographing the bride walking down the aisle.

You can see the progression here...

Chris looking a tad nervous and biting his lip to anticipation to his great smile to an aire of amazement as he realizes that he is in love with this beautiful woman soon to be his wife. Wow!

I love Black and White photographs for people in general, but for weddings especially so. This wedding was particularly well bent for Black and White photographs.

That is not to say that the color images are not also compelling.

This next collage would look great as a canvas collage above their sofa or fireplace! You can almost feel the love and the comfort that these two have when looking at these images...

Tom has been really having fun creating distinctive images like these backlit photographs of the first dance.

Father-Daughter --- Mother-Son

Tom especially loves using the prime 2.8 lenses and creating those selective depth of field photographs (like the middle right image with the two of them dancing), but I can also do similar effects in post-processing, check out the HEART bokeh on the top two images.

And we had fun taking a photograph of them holding their cell phone at the reception and then putting a photograph of them at their ceremony into the phone later.

I just love, love, love this next image! It compels me. Anne is such a carefree kind spirited person and most of the images reflect on her beautiful soul, but this one seems to capture her spirit as well.

I loved this wedding for so many reasons, but it was also great because Anne and Chris were willing to take some extra time to create some awesome photographs in the lobby and outside at the Grassy Hill Country Club. The day goes by so fast so we were in heaven when Anne and Chris made the time to allow us to create some of the images on the grounds of the reception.

OK, the color version of this just POPS, the red, the royalty, etc.

but this mocha version just has a timelessness about it.

Such a debonair looking groom!

As you can see from looking at their galleries we had fun with the post-processing of their images too -- many special effects!

For a limited time you can purchase photographs from this wedding for yourself and as gifts on sale. You can view all of the images from their wonderful day here in their gallery.

Meet Alessa

2010-12-30T00:58:00.002-05:00

We had such an awesome session with Alessa -- her parents brought her in at one week old and she slept through the first hour!! This combination enabled us to get some of those "Miracle images". It is hard to get out within those first few days, but babies are only truly newborn for a short time. Within the first ten days they stop sleeping so soundly and so much, they discover their legs and are not curled up anymore.

The session went so well and we took a LOT of photographs! What an adorable baby girl. These parents are definitely blessed with this little angel! You can view more images from her session here on our website.

I love when they sleep and you can mold them like playdough. Mom brought this hat (from Etsy) in with her for the session. Can you get much cuter?

Her birth announcements...

I love the angel wings!

You might see that one on display in our Studio, one of my favorites.

This Christmas hat was big enough to allow us to cover her from head to tush...

We post-process this in photoshop to make it look this way, she was an inch away from a bean bag and safe at all times

Special Delivery...and she is looking right at us.

Angelic baby!

Mom and Dad ordered the middle photograph as an 16x20 for their wall. I love the little feet!

The bottom one is the result of the fast lens and wide open settings that were used. Cute little toes. Tiny.

The most romantic proposal!!

2010-12-28T13:15:00.000-05:00

After a decade of being together, Sid finally proposed to my long time love Sara.

The following movie trailer was shown on December 12th 2010 at 4pm at the Red River Theater in Concord NH. Sara had no idea.

He ordered custom-made muppets resembling each of them, made this movie trailer, found a theatre that would preview it, got Sara to the theatre -- and proposed!!!

If you cannot see the video then click here

Read the whole story here: http://ceaserphotography.com/blog/archives/192

Summer 6 months old

2010-12-14T00:53:00.001-05:00

Remember Summer? We photographed her when she was just 9 days old and also when she was in mom's belly. Such a happy baby! Too cute! Nicole brought in an adorable outfit for Summer. Precious...

You can view more images from her 6-months-old session here on our website.

So...

Which is your favorite images?

Holiday cards

2010-12-10T00:42:00.000-05:00

We have been getting lots of orders for Holiday cards! Order yours now!

Photographic 4x8 cards, with envelopes
25 for $35

Check out some new templates for cards -- Holiday Cards, Save the Date cards, Wedding Thank You cards, Birth announcements, Seniors, Graduation : http://ourcardproducts.blogspot.com/ LOTS to choose from!

Press printed:

Prices: Flat Cards -- 5x7 or 5x5 or 4x8.5, with envelopes
24 for $80
100 for $220

Prices: 5x7 or 5x5 Folded, with envelopes
24 for $125
100 for $370

Want a simple design for your press printed cards -- with just one photo and some text, no artwork, deduct $15.

Want just the edited JPG to print your own cards you can purchase JPG file with rights to print for $50 each.

You can even use the edited JPG file to make your own postage stamps at http://www.zazzle.com/

Here is an order that I received today for Photographic 4x8 cards

We were so happy that they chose that image, one of our favorites. I just love that photo -- it is likely to go onto the wall in our Studio!

Julianne and Jake

2010-12-08T00:02:00.002-05:00

We had a lot of fun photographing Julianne and Jake. Julianne had such a beautiful dress on and a great smile, someone who smiles with her eyes not just her mouth. And Jake just sat in one place and let us take lots of photographs of him alone! You can view more images from their session here on our website.

This was our personal favorite from the session. I think that you could hold a caption contest for this image "My sister works as Santa's helper?"

"where's your reindeer?"

"are you my sister?"

"If you are Santa's elf then what does that make me?"

"I'm cute even when I am not looking at the camera"

I just love it!

This next one might is another favorite.

We enjoy collages like this -- so many expressions!

So hard to be an older sister when your cute little brother gets all the attention. But when she left we asked Julianne if she would come back again and she smiled and said yes.

Isn't he most adorable?

Tom & Lisa Cuchara win awards for their photography at 2010 Tops in Connecticut

2010-12-03T02:54:00.001-05:00

For Immediate Release

Tom and Lisa Cuchara of BREA Photos in Hamden recently won awards for their photography at 2010 Tops in Connecticut. Lisa and Tom run BREA photos, a Hamden Photography Studio. The 2010 Tops in Connecticut (the 26th edition of this every two year event), sponsored by CAP (The Connecticut Association of Photographers) was judged on Sunday, November 21, 2010.

500 total photographs were entered and 100 were accepted. Four of Lisa and Tom's photographs were accepted for the show and Lisa's photograph "Holding Precious Newborn" earned Best Portrait.

Contact: Tom and Lisa Cuchara
203.288.8151
http://www.breaphotosblog.com/
http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/

Samantha 5 days old!

2010-11-18T03:21:00.000-05:00

We photographed Samantha when she was in Mom's belly, well here she is! Adorable! Welcome to the world little one...

You can view more images from Samantha's session here on our website.

Samantha in Daddy's arms

Such a good baby!

and because she was only five days old we were able to get in some of those awesome "miracle shots"

I was so excited to use the column! So classic!

Wedding rings on the toes...they will look back some day and say

"Was she really THAT little?"

How adorable!

Again, because she was so young she slept most of the time, therefore we were able to mold her and get these adorable shots of her sleeping on her hands...

The newest sling. I ordered red for something different and wasn't even thinking about Christmas!

You can see her tiny little foot pressing inside the sling

The sling is really an inch from the beanbag, but we edit out the beanbag and add the height in post-processing.

This column shot is only possible with a soundly sleeping baby (and even as usual we we have spotters on both sides for safety). I love it!

Mom and baby!

Her mother brought this cute frilly dress in with her. We typically photograph newborns in the buff, but finishing up this session with this dress was just icing on the cake...

It was touching to see Dad with his new little girl, so gentle and in love with this precious little girl. And Mom was just serene, she seemed to me in awe of this little one so dependent upon them. A miracle of life!

Sometimes, said Pooh, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.

You can view more images from Samantha's session here on our website.

Art and Ann -- 25th Wedding Anniversary

2010-11-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

We were very touched Tuesday to be present when Art and Ann renewed their vows for their 25th Wedding Anniversary.

My favorite image of the night is the one when Ann and Art are saying their vows -- just look at the way she is looking at him (top image of the second collage)! Everyone should be so lucky to be THAT in love -- ever, let alone after 25 years!

You can view more images from their vow renewal and anniversary party here on our website.

Thanks to Laura and Bob and Linda for setting up this group shot!

Maternity session: Baby Girl on the Way...

2010-11-04T00:43:00.028-04:00

We photographed Marsha last week and had a wonderful session. She came dressed in a purple shirt and also brought a purple dress and both looked awesome on her! We also took some photographs of her with just scarves wrapped around her and wow! You can view more images from her session here on our website.

We had a great time photographing her and the time went by fast. We are glad that we could document this momentous time in this mom-to-be's life.

Professional pregnancy photos capture a woman's special beauty during this time. Every woman's pregnancy is unique and she can look completely different from her first pregnancy to her second one. Pregnant women have a beautiful radiance about them and that radiance will show in your treasured maternity pictures. We love to capture that glow!

We cannot wait to meet and photograph her daughter this weekend!

You can view more images from her session here on our website.

Holiday Cards, Save the Date cards, Wedding Thank You cards, Birth announcements, Seniors, Graduation

2010-10-30T00:57:00.002-04:00

Check out some new templates for cards -- Holiday Cards, Save the Date cards, Wedding Thank You cards, Birth announcements, Seniors, Graduation : http://ourcardproducts.blogspot.com/
LOTS to choose from!

Press printed:

Prices: Flat Cards -- 5x7 or 5x5 or 4x8.5, with envelopes
24 for $80
100 for $220

Prices: 5x7 or 5x5 Folded, with envelopes
24 for $125
100 for $370

Want a simple design for your press printed cards -- with just one photo and some text, no artwork, deduct $15.

Want just the edited JPG to print your own cards you can purchase JPG file with rights to print for $50 each.

You can even use the edited JPG file to make your own postage stamps at http://www.zazzle.com/

Kim and Nic (and Samantha on the way)

2010-10-23T08:14:00.002-04:00

http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/Portraits/Maternity/Kim/14277309_XH84Uhttp://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/Portraits/Maternity/Kim/14277309_XH84UWe had the pleasure of photographing Kim and Nic. Kim is just an absolutely radiant mom-to-be! We captured some fun and some classic maternity photographs. To view more of their session take a look at their gallery on our website. This was one of those portrait sessions that yielded so many "artists' favorites" that I had trouble picking which images to post here on the Blog.

We cannot wait to meet Samantha in a few weeks!

Professional pregnancy photos capture a woman's special beauty during this time. Every woman's pregnancy is unique and she can look completely different from her first pregnancy to her second one.

Pregnant women have a beautiful radiance about them and that radiance certainly show in these treasured maternity pictures. We love to capture that glow, especially with black and white pregnancy portraits.

Jessica Wedding Dress

2010-10-21T01:58:00.043-04:00

We were lucky enough to photograph Jessica in her mother Kim's wedding dress at Booth Memorial Park. What a great place for photographs!

What a great smile!

See more in Jessica's gallery on our website

We just loved this weeping willow tree as a backdrop.

Wish that we could have one for all our photo sessions!

You can see the difference in the background between Tom's photo, left, with the blown out background and great bokeh (taken with his 70-200 f 2.8) and mine taken with the 24-105.

They give such different effects and that is one of the great things about us as a husband and wife photography team, we can take "the same photograph" and each come up with something unique.

All portrait sessions and events have a place for both styles so you get very complimentary photographs...

I have dreamt about taking a photograph of a bride against a red barn for a long, long time.

Wow!

I saw these stones as we first drove up and could not wait to get Jessica against them. Love them!!!

The building next to the brind stones was also very interesting and made for a unique background.

I really had fun processing these, making them look very contrasty...

Another example of moody and contrasty...

Thank you Jessica!!!

http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/Portraits/Jessica-wedding-dress/14244375_QrcZY

Jessica in the Blue Dress

2010-10-19T00:04:00.033-04:00

We photographed Jessica in a lovely blue dress over at Booth Memorial Park (what an awesome place for photographs!). You can view more images from her session in her gallery on our website.

Jessica was absolutely wonder to work with and has an amazingly awesome smile !

I have been to Booth Memorial a few times before but somehow I have never seen this particular area before

This stone alter was a wonderful backdrop for Jessica.

The colors of the fountain just complimented her blue dress -- wow!

So late in the year and yet the roses and other flowers were still blooming. There were also a lot of birds and we saw a few people there with spotting scopes but did not get to talk to them to ask them what birds they were looking at. I just love the way that the wind is blowing her hair in the photograph on the right. With Jessica and that single we took photographs from a few different angles and it was hard to choose which I liked best. There is one in her gallery where she has the rose in her hand and is looking straight at the camera...

Kimberly's Senior Portrait Session

2010-10-17T20:08:00.000-04:00

Here are a few highlights (Artists choice) of Kim's Senior Session. Do those eyes look familiar? Remember Nicole, Kim is Nicole's sister and they have the same awesome eyes! For Kim's session we used three different backgrounds and she wore three different outfits. As you can see from the photos some were serious and some were just plain fun!

Check out the rest of Kim's photographs in her gallery on our website.

Check out Kim's video here, great a variety of expressions, etc. We had a fun session!

As you can see below Kim looks great when she is being serious and when she smiles.

I just cannot decide if I like the next one better in B&W or in color....

Her wonderful long hair was almost a prop in and of itself.

We just LOVED her shoes (see the last image too, it is likely to adorn our walls)!

whether looking at the camera or looking down and away, just beautiful!

I can think of a dozen different titles for this next one!

This next pose (and hair style) was one of Tom's ideas

I love the post-processed effect of this next one, almost looks like a sketch.

This next one looks like the cover of a magazine, definitely one of my favorites...

Nicole's idea was to use this white fur as a prop and contrast if with Kim's hair -- great idea! The color versions of this are equally effective, but these high contrasty versions reallt popped for me

Kim has hundreds to choose from. Which ones will she put in her yearbook? And which ones will she select for her album? choices, choices, choices...Check out the rest of Kim's photographs in her gallery on our website.

Ashley and Mike -- Engagement session

2010-10-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

We photographed Ashley and Mike two weeks ago for their Engagement session. Wow, what a session! They wanted the portrait session at Quinnipiac because they both graduated from there and the grounds are awesome so we met at the Mount Carmel Campus and afterwards went to the York Hill campus. Ashley and Mike were so easy to work with, and that fact combined with the awesome venue, meant that we took a few hundred photographs! You can view the highlights here in their video

You can view our top 100 favorites here in their gallery on our website and all of the photographs from their session here in his this gallery on our website.

Ashley's father also surprised her and purchase a few printed photographs and gave them to the wonderful couple yesterday at their Engagment party at the Victorian House in Cheshire. One of the photographs was this bottom image of the two of them on top of the QU marble. The original image (top) was SOOC (straight out of the camera) while the bottom image was the final result of merging three images and creating a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photograph.

This next image looks like something on the cover of a magazine...Tom took this with that awesome 70-200,, f 2.8 lens -- gotta love what that lens can do for selective focusing! Love it!

This next image had a "fairytale" effect applied to it and I really like the way that it turned out!

These next two photographs were Tom's idea.

He had Ashley and Mike sit and look a tthe blank black screen in the York Hill campus center, knowing that we would add in a photograph of them via Photoshop! Fun!

We had an absolutely great day photographing Ashley and Mike! What a fantastic couple!

Leilani 18 months old

2010-09-12T00:11:00.000-04:00

We photographed Leilani inside her mother's belly, at 8 days old, at 4 weeks old, at 9 months old, at 10 months old, at 15 months old before her Daddy went overseas for the war and now at 18 months old. How she has changed, she just gets cuter and more adorable every time we see her. Doesn't she have the most adorable smile?

Hannah's senior session

2010-08-28T23:14:00.025-04:00

We had an awesome session with Hannah. She brought in a few different outfits, including her winter parka!

We got to photograph her on our brand new Graffiti background. Wow!

You can see the rest of the photographs from Hannah's senior session here in her gallery