I met Katie & Mark at Italian Lake on what I believe was the 4th or 5th heat wave of the summer.  It was a hot!!!  And to think the Wedding will likely be the polar opposite being in December.

Italian Lake is truly a sight to behold if you have never visited the park before.  It features an extremely large man made lake with intricate paver work, bridge and large patinad sculpture and is flanked by gorgeous landscaping and gardens.  It is stunning, just like Katie & Mark.  And with just a little use of the imagination you can enjoy a beautiful stroll in Italy right here in Central PA. 

As beautiful as Italian Lake is though, there is 1 flaw to the area that comes along with all those geese…

For more photos from Katie & Mark’s E-Session, please click on the image below!  Warning, lots of kissing and snuggling in there…

Central PA Engagement Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography 

I can’t believe we have been photographing this beautiful little girl for a whole year now.  And in a way even longer when her beautiful parents, with Mom glowing and expecting, walked into the Studio for their Expectation Session…

A teaser from her session, we departed from our traditional studio setting and dabbled with some outdoor shots.  There is an oat field near the studio that is full of fluffy heads right now that worked perfectly.

Mechanicsburg Baby Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

A evesdropping glimpse of a kiss in the park…

Duncannon Engagement & Wedding Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

It is a pleasure to introduce the Richardson Family.  They are a beautifully gentle & loving blended family of 5.  And let me tell you about this little guy Mason, he has this amazing head of hair and he is only 3 months old.  Mom told me the nurses at the hospital would give him a little James Dean curl in the front whenever they would bring him back to her from the nursery. 

Mason’s older sisters were so fun, much like lovely bursts of fireworks flitting around playing, singing iCarly songs, giggling and running around on their stick horses waving their cowboy hats around.  And what great big Sisters too, so gentle and loving to their baby brother.

Dad is the strong silent type but his face would easily melt into soft smiles watching the kids play and be silly with each other.  I asked Mom about his interests and she mentioned his old Ford pick up truck which is his pride & joy.  He owned it as a young man and sold it but ended up finding it again many years later as an adult and so bought it back and probably will keep it forever.  It makes for a good story.  I suggested that they bring it so we could use it for some photographs.  And with much pride Dad took effort into sprucing it up just for the photos which was awesome.

Mom works for the PA Game Commission and helps to edit and produce their magazine Game News.  She enjoys photography and has had many of her photos published in Game News.  Mom is also amazingly gentle and very nurturing, there is a kind softness that radiates from her beautiful smile and a tender love that comes across especially when she talks about and dotes on her baby boy.  Mason has Down Syndrome and Mom was candid with me about that.  And although the family is aware there will be challenges that they may be faced with in the future, this beautiful Baby Boy will always be surrounded with love and adoration. 

A very big thanks goes out to Ashley Foster for assisting at this session.

Harrisburg Family Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

This handsome little guy was born with a mane that would make James Dean jealous =)

Harrisburg Childrens Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

Cassondra and Matt are just a ridiculously gorgeous & sweet pair who exhibit all the wonderful qualities you find in that perfect couple.  And while no couple is perfect, they sure do take beautifully perfect photos together…

Shot at Fort Hunter on a sultry but beautiful summer evening dodging rain sprinkles =)   LOVED photographing you both, you both were so awesome & easy peasy to work with!

Looking forward to the Big Day, coming up very soon!!!

 For more delicious images that will make you want to run out and get engaged, click on the image below.

 Harrisburg Engagement Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Harrisburg Engagement Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

It is very unusual but once in a while I am handed an outdoor session that for whatever reason encounters delay after delay and some cases such as this session, more delays and delays =)

It was either too cold & windy for comfort, someone was sick, it was rainy, there was a black eye…  But we were determinded.  We almost rescheduled this one due to the little one having a breakout of hives BUT we didn’t have to and we were finally rewarded with a beautiful and fun evening with The Brooks Family that resulted in some gorgeous scenic portraits!

I loved every minute of photographing this family and especially interacting with the children.  Not only are they beautiful but the oldest had about 59 shot ideas (made my job much easier ) and the kids were so eager to help out & play with me.

Repeated rescheduling can take a toll on the excitement of a session, however once I knew the session was a go, my excitement shot through the roof and you bet I spread it around thick.

We shot these at Fort Hunter which is such an awesome & beautiful place to visit.  For those who love history and beautiful antique Victorian decor treat yourself to a tour of the Mansion.  And if you have children definitely check out Fort Hunter Day in September, it is such a great family event and free!  They have lots of other amazing events too, check it out, enjoy and if you can donate!

Enjoy Brooks fans!

New Cumberland Childrens & Family Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

I have to show off the page spreads from The Thomas Family Book!   Because:

• A.  The Thomas Family is SO AWESOME and GOOD LOOKING!  
• B.  I am just so thrilled with out the final layout of the book evolved!

This Book included a custom metallic cover & each page spread is lovingly designed & laid out based on how the images speak to me.  I design every page spread from scratch myself and this is one of my favorite custom products to make due to how unique each set of images are and therefore how unique each book will become.  The final product is also so exceptional in quality and cannot be compared to the photo books you would buy from popular photo sharing & buying sites.

It is such a perfect way to take home all the favorite images from a session in a captivatingly beautifully story-telling way. 

The photos were taken at the gorgeous Boyer House of Central Pennsylvania College.

For more Book views please click on the thumbnails below!

Mechanicsburg Family Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

The only thing that can make this sweeter is a shower of rainbow skittles =)

New Cumberland Childrens Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography