WELCOME !
Thank you for visiting my photo journal. I am excited to share with you news about Nanine Hartzenbusch Photography, sneak peeks to client sessions, photo tips, family-friendly travel ideas and recipes. Please come back and visit...often...and feel free to leave a comment or join my Facebook fan page. All the best, Nanine
Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in 2015! Over the holidays, I was honored to photograph the wedding of two very special friends. The light shone brightly on this wet, cloudy winter solstice day, the church filled with an abundance of happiness. There was so much to celebrate that day: the marriage of two sweet people, with their families and friends, music, verse, flowers and candlelight. It was, indeed a lovely way to end the year and now we have photos to start the new year!
Today is Mother’s Day – a day to honor all mothers. I wish you all a happy day! Last month, we celebrated a little early, with an afternoon of mini-portrait sessions to benefit The Lunch Project, at the McGill Rose Garden. For three years we have been photographing beautiful families in a lovely urban garden to support The Lunch Project. We raised $850, which supports ten days of lunches for the school children in Lemanyata School in Arusha, Tanzania ~ 9000 lunches!
I am so honored to support The Lunch Project and all my wonderful friends that are volunteering in so many ways to build this philanthropic effort. And I am thankful. Many thanks to Rebecca Wofford for having the vision and courage to start The Lunch Project; to Kate Hindin for her tremendous support and good cheer; to Karisa Pennell who makes it possible for us to hold our event at the McGill Rose Garden; and to my sweet family ~ with me every step of the way. And last but not least, thank you to all the families that participated in our mini portrait sessions. We had so much fun ~ and here are some images from our special day:
I had so much fun photographing three siblings in the garden. We chose the early morning hour for the best light and optimum time (right after breakfast)! The colors were gorgeous, the light so soft and their smiles so sweet. I photographed this lovely family when their little brother was a baby and I hope to return again and again! I love watching my client families grow up so nicely. And these are my favorite images from their garden portrait session ~
I was delighted to photograph sweet baby M last week and her parents and older brother! We had a great time photographing indoors, outdoors, in color, and my favorite – b&w- to capture her preciousness on day seven of her life. What a privilege it was to spend time with this beautiful family. I was so honored to photograph these moments. And without further ado, here are my favorite images from our afternoon portrait session ~
Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Today we’ll take time to smell the roses and stroll the paths at the McGill Rose Garden in Charlotte, a Mother’s Day family tradition. If you have not been, please consider visiting today or any other day. It’s a lovely city block filled with roses and lots of other flowers, trees, bushes, grasses, sculptures and even a rail car. An oasis in the city, an unexpected surprise, a place of peace and contemplation. Last month I spent an afternoon photographing ten mini-portrait sessions to benefit The Lunch Project, a Charlotte based philanthropy that helps feed school children in Tanzania a hot lunch. I am thrilled to write a check today that will support ten lunch days at the Lemanyata School or 9,000 lunches. It costs $85 to feed 900 children a lunch. Please visit The Lunch Project on Facebook or their website to learn more about this wonderful organization. Our portrait mini-sessions included children, families, moms, dads, dogs, giant cookies and lots of laughs. It was a fun day and everyone received a matted gift print ready for gift giving or for keeping. Here are some portraits from our special day in the garden ~
I enjoyed photographing this beautiful family ~ in the outdoors of midwinter. Mom and Dad wanted nice portraits of their oldest son, who is graduating from high school this year – for his senior portraits and to mark this important milestone, and they also wanted keepsake portraits of their whole family, the siblings and each child. I strive to bring out the best in each of the families I photograph, and we had a lot of fun that afternoon! People often ask me when the best time is to photograph their children and I say the time is NOW ~ children are precious at any age, in every season, and commissioning a portrait is the best gift you’ll ever give your family. Spring is just around the corner and a great time for family portraits, so take a look at your calendar and send me a message {nanine@naninephoto.com} so we can book a special time for you! As for this sweet family, their portraits have been ordered and are getting framed as I write this! Can’t wait to deliver them! But in the meantime, here are some of my favorites from our afternoon in the great outdoors ~
I love sharing my craft and skill with all sorts of families ~ Big families, small families, siblings, newborns ~ and my own family. When my cousin Adele called me a while back to commission a portrait of her mother, I was thrilled! I love to spend time with Adele and her mother Patsy and of course Adele’s dog, Sophie! Not only is Adele my cousin (actually officially she is my first cousin once removed – my grandmother and her mother are cousins) but I am proud to call her a close friend and confidante. Even though she lives a few hours away, she has always been there for us. Adele wanted a few framed portraits of her mother to cherish for years to come, and holiday cards for her mother and for herself. Patsy is sweet, fun, smart and a joy to be with. I wanted to capture her sense of fun, loveliness and her sweet smile, so here are my favorite images from our portrait session ~ 
I look forward to each January as an opportunity to reflect on the past year and anticipate the gifts this new year will bring. Best lesson of 2012 – There is no substitution for “being there.” Spending time with good friends whom you cherish … Being with family near and far … Truly living and breathing in the moment … Helping a friend in need. As for 2013, I am excited for all the things to come. I’ve started teaching Photojournalism at the Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte ~ It’s such a privilege to share the craft of visual storytelling with my students. I’ll be updating my website at Nanine Hartzenbusch Photography with new images ~ and I’m very excited to share the best of the best with you. I look forward to working with clients, new and returning to bring lasting keepsakes to be treasured. Look for a spiffed up newsletter, special Limited Edition Photo Sessions, and stunning, elegant ways of displaying your family portraits. As I was going through my recent images, I came across this one, symbolizing the road ahead, open and inviting. Just as my son was anticipating beach fun, I look forward to a year full of hope, opportunity and dreams fulfilled. Happy 2013 to all of you, I wish you all the best this year.
I really enjoyed working with this lovely family. We chose to stroll through Charlotte’s Freedom Park because of its beauty and varying vistas. Mom and Dad had been wanting to have family portraits for their home and for gifts to give. We had a wonderful time capturing some nice moments in the later afternoon light at the park. I photographed them in color but we chose b&w for the simple beauty of the images. We chose unique shapes for a few of their wall portraits, wide horizontals and square shapes, to create visual variety for their portrait walls at home. Here are some of our favorites from our family portrait session ~
I am really excited to share these latest portraits with you ~ photographed near Indianapolis this summer during our travels. I was so happy to be able to visit my friend and her sons ~ they are our family friends ~ and photograph them outdoors as the sun was setting. I last photographed these brothers five years ago – (they may look familiar to those who have seen my website ). I enjoyed my time with them, bringing out the best in each brother and photographing them together also, in different outdoor settings. Mom had a chance to update family photos and also share them with relatives. Here are some of my favorites from our portrait session in the garden:
