Today I photographed a beautiful, intimate family party.  In fact, its beauty stemmed from its intimacy.  But I’ll talk more about that when I post the full session.  Right now I’m going to post a preview.  And before I do that, I’m going to talk about something technical. Shooting a party is different from a family session in pretty much every way possible.  If I arrive at your house for a family session, you can be pretty sure it’ll take you a week to put your furniture back in order.  I’ll move your sofa, your lamp, your drapes, the toys.  I’ll change your comforter, rearrange pillows and blankets.  I’ll strategically place books, food, flowers.  You get it- I’ll take over. But a party.  A party is a different bag altogether. I approach a party differently- I photograph it AS IS.  This is because I try to become an observer.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I talk to my subjects.  A lot.  A whole lot.  About life- theirs and mine.  But I don’t ask them to please move here into better light, I don’t rush to close the drapes or open them, I don’t arrange furniture or interrupt conversations (well, not unless it’s REALLY necessary).  I feel like my job at a party is to let them worry about enjoying themselves while I worry about working around harsh light, physical

This week on this blog will be Mothers’ WEEK.  No, this doesn’t mean my readers and I will get breakfast in bed all week (or does it…?) but it DOES mean that I’ll be discussing different aspects of motherhood. But first I’ll tell you about this EPIC Mothers’ Day which has set my standard pretty stinkin’ high for years to come. First, after a brief early morning interlude (Benjy demanded milk at 5:30 am then crawled in bed with me, dragging along his pillow, blanket, and four pacifiers- this lasted until 6:30 when I pawned him off on Olli and went back to bed), I slept in until 11:00.  That’s ELEVEN O’ CLOCK, folks, in case you missed that.  I haven’t slept in that late since…  Well, I honestly can’t remember. THEN, we went to a baptism.  Of a beautiful little girl of whom Olli and I are godparents!!  Yay! And THEN we went home and basked in the sunshine.  SUNSHINE.  It was so warm I was in flip flops and a skirt!! And Olli took these photo of my gorgeous children with me (there are precious, precious few of these). And THEN!  After the kids were in bed, Olli and I settled in for some Gilmore Girls (I am one of the most fortunate women on the planet- my husband not only likes Gilmore but LOVES it.  He actually

A couple of days ago, fresh off the plane from America (insert jetlag sympathy here, please), I had the esteemed pleasure of photographing a beautiful, relaxed, love-filled, tasty-edibles-galore (yes, I’m using that as an adjective- my grammar teachers may hang their heads in shame) Vappu/90th Birthday Party. Vappu, in case you’ve forgotten your Finnish trivia, is Mayday, which is celebrated in earnest in these Northern parts.  And a 90th birthday- well, it was really the combined ages of the respective hosts. The thing that I love about this family is what I noticed when I first met them last summer- their total lack of pretense.  They live in a gorgeous home in a gorgeous part of Helsinki.  Their furniture is tasteful, their aesthetic sheek.  And yet they decorate their house, at least in part, with the hand-made crafts of their children. Anyone who dresses a window with a blue felt cow is a-okay in my book.  Am I right or am I right? The party was in full swing when I arrived.  Food, music, people, smiles. And love.  Lots of love. Happy birthday(s), you crazy kids.  Here’s to many more happy years together! To book your own portrait, event, or wedding session contact me at sarah (at) pikkuarkki.com, 050 349

Yesterday was the annual AWC Family Christmas party, complete with a visit from Santa.  Oh, how I envisioned all the cute photos I’d be able to take!  Both of others’ kids and my own! Alas, while I did get shots of others’… All I managed to get of my own was this: Because as soon as Santa arrived, we had a total Christmas meltdown.  TOTAL. MELTDOWN. Benjy started shaking and screaming in the corner.  He wouldn’t even sit in the same room as Santa- we had to go to the FAR END of the other room, where he could hear nothing of the jolly fat man. I tried to get him to sit with Olli while I ran in and got some quick pics, but three minutes later both kids were screaming. Poor Olli- he gets father of the year for smiling through this

Ten years is a long time.  Long enough for your life to change completely.  I know that’s how Tracey and Tomi feel when they look back at their ten years of married life. I was lucky enough to photograph this event, lucky enough to see how possible it is for two people to love each other so much after ten years, three kids and, more traumatically, a major renovation to their awesome flat.  :) Their flat was finished JUST IN TIME for the party- and I mean just in time.  Days before it had been covered in tarps, with workmen randomly walking in and out.  And it looked marvelous for the party. Tracey and Tomi hired incredible musicians- Mr. C:  Kimmo Blom (vocalist) and Pekka Rautio (guitarist)- the same guys that played at their wedding 10 years ago.  One note told you why they hired them in the first place.  The music was DIVINE.  I mean, truly sensational.  I could have sat for hours and just listened to them sing one amazing song after another. And they set the scene for these lovely photos of the happy couple. And just to show you how truly impressive it was that Tracey could actually walk, much less DANCE, let’s zoom in on her footwear, shall we? The music inspired the other guests to dance… (ps.  One of my favorite photos of the

Alex and James, after ten years together, are now officially married.  Hooray! They tied the knot in August at the Pikkukirkko in Porvoo.  Their reception was right across the street at Hotel Onni, which is just about the best setting for a wedding anyone could possibly ask for.  It’s gorgeous and colorful and charming and “happily everafter-ish,” which is what everyone wants for their wedding, am I right? The whole day was spectacular- intimate, joyous, filled with love and good humor. I know you’re dying to see photos, so I’ll hush now and let the photos speak for themselves. ps.  These are by no means an exhaustive showing of my favorites from the day.  But if I had to post all my favorites, I’d be writing this blog for the next two years. Alex and her fair maidens getting ready… The ceremony… Alex with her bridesmaid (who happens to be her sister) and James with his men (who happen to be the funniest guys alive) The bride and groom in all their gorgeous glory. And finally some of my favorite shots from the reception.  James’s mom surprised Alex by buying a ton of bubble canisters.  If you want a bit of fun, if you want grown adults acting like carefree youngsters (and really, you do- trust me), buy some bubbles and let people go wild.  It was hilarious.  And memorable