Say hello to this beautiful bright-eyed baby boy I had the pleasure of photographing recently. This 4 month old is at such a great age and, as I did his newborn portraits, it was exciting for me to see him again and see how much he has changed.

As anybody who has had children knows, a baby changes so much during the first year. That is why it is so imperative that you capture each stage through photography, videos, journal entries -- anything to remind you of the fleeting moments and the joy your children bring you each day. Even if you can't do professional portraits regularly, grab your point and shoot and get those smiles, the first laughs, the drool and even nap times on film or a CD or something that you can look back to in order that you never forget these days.

I was talking with my sister-in-law just yesterday about our kids and found myself admitting that it is difficult for me to remember my now 5-year-old when she was between 12 and 24 months. For some reason my mind just can't conjure up what she looked like when she was that age. She has changed so much since then and it's just difficult to picture her without the long bouncy curls and tall-but-still-pudgy body. I am so thankful that I am a professional photographer and that I am always pointing my camera at my own children. As a result, I have books and books of child portrait photography and journalistic photography that remind me of those days with only a glance through the pages.

As a child photographer, working in Alpharetta and Milton, I am so glad to be able to bring the gift of fine portrait photography to my clients so that they too can preserve the precious memories of their children at all stages.

The smiles of your baby are priceless and to be able to bring them out and capture not only the grins and giggles, but the look in a child's eye when he is amused or just simply happy just makes my day.

I had a great time photographing this sweet baby boy. He was calm and happy and made my job easy and enjoyable. Hisbright eyes, chubby cheeks and full lips photograph beautifully and I just had to share his baby portraits with you.

As you can see, he is also one to have some fun. He giggled when we put this hat on him at the end of the shoot and seemed to love having his picture taken in it.

Thank you to his Mom for bringing him to my Milton/Alpharetta portrait studio and I hope to see you again soon!

A couple of weeks ago I photographed the cutest little cousins who reminded me how nice it is to have a close relationship with family members. They were the children of two sisters -- sisters who are clearly not just sisters but good friends.

I first met one of the sisters four years ago right after her daughter was born. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do her newborn shoot and have enjoyed the family as clients and friends ever since. You will recognize her beautiful big hazel eyes as they grace several of my galleries on this site and my other site at www.photosbykirsten.com.

My client's sister had her first baby -- a boy -- around the same time and I was asked if I could combine shoots. Of course, I happily agreed and met this cutie when he was only one year old. I still remember the day he came to my home studio in Alpharetta, Georgia and we got some great child portraits of him sitting on an old suitcase.

A couple of years after our first newborn sitting, my client had another baby -- a boy this time. I did his newborn portraits at Christmastime and was so impressed to see how much his big sister adored him. The cousins, however, had moved to another state :( and were not available to do a joint portrait session.

The sisters/mothers were clearly in sync as the one who moved away also had another baby shortly thereafter. While I was not able to do newborn photographs for this adorable little boy, I was very excited when the sisters called me to take advantage of my friends and family special I ran last year and they signed up for a year's worth of portraits.

The love and patience this little girl has for her baby brother is inspiring. She clearly adores him and is happy to hug him, let him climb on her back or hold his hand. I always have so much fun with them and this May afternoon was no different.

The weather was beautiful, despite a threat of showers and with the Spring flowers blooming and the grass nice and thick, the kids had fun playing outside while I followed them around with my camera.

I left this shoot looking forward to the next time we meet, which will be in the Fall. Meanwhile, you can be sure I will be adding these beautiful children to my child photography sections on both of my websites.

Kirsten Hunt Kowalski and ddkportraits bring you natural, lifestyle portrait photography. Kirsten is available for newborn portraits, baby photography, child photography, family portraits, senior portraits and special event photography in Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Marietta, Atlanta, and Scituate Massachusetts during the month of July.

Well, its that time again -- time to head to the beach for summer vacations!

With the warm sunsets, white sand and blue water, the beach has always been a favorite location for portrait work. Whether you are looking for photographs of your child, family portraits, formal portraits or more of a laid back journalistic approach, I can help you capture those beach memories so you can enjoy them all year round.

Remember, that ddkportraits is available for beach portrait work in St George Island and Appalachicola, Florida during the month of June (and at various times throughout the year) and is available for beach photography during the month of July in Scituate, Massachusetts, Cohasset, Hingham, Duxbury and surrounding areas.

To see Kirsten's portfolio of beach portrait work, please visit www.photosbykirsten.com and click on the "Life's a Beach" gallery. Of course, you can view beach photography right here at www.ddkportraits.com throughout the site.

Also, because I love the beach and ocean so much and typically feel sorry for myself being landlocked in Altanta, I am available to do child photography, family photography, pet photography and journalistic photography at other beach locations in the Southeast. If you have a vacation scheduled in Myrtle Beach, the Outer Banks, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Destin or other Gulf or Atlantic locations, please call me to schedule and ask about my special beach rates -- as I said, I'm just looking for excuses to get to the beach!

For those of you in Scituate, please be on the lookout for the specials I wlil be offering on both Minot Beach and Humarock Beach.

For those of you in the Apalachicola area, I will be staying on St. George Island the first week of June and am currently accepting bookings for sittings in the area. Please call me as soon as possible to reserve your time slot.

If you are looking for a place to stay in the area, please visit http://www.ficklingofflorida.com

to find great vacation rentals.