Tampa Baby Photographer - Celebrating with Baby L.

What do you get when you combine one of the cutest babies ever and one of the most adorable little birthday cakes I've ever seen? That's right ... you guessed it ... a super-fun smash cake session! 

You all remember Baby L. I know he has a small fan club out there. I've even had people ask me, "Who is that little boy with THOSE EYES!" Not only those eyes, but that hair and that smile ... how could you resist this little guy? I simply adore him and am so lucky to capture his big first-year milestone.

When I showed up for Baby L.'s smash cake session, our time was limited. It had just stopped raining, and, luckily, we found 30 minutes in between storm fronts to run out in the backyard and have ourselves an awesome time. Baby L.'s Gigi made him this amazing chocolate cake (which I was secretly wishing I could grab a piece of!) I absolutely love when families add special elements like this to their shoots. When his mom set Baby L. down on the blanket, we quickly learned that he LOVED fondant! Before we knew it, he grabbed the #1 and went to town. Hoping that he'd take a stab at the cake, we kept putting the #1 back in place, and then he went for the fondant polka dots instead! Once we removed about four of those from his mouth, he wasn't feeling it anymore and went for the ever-so-popular super-leg cake smash (really in an effort to chase after his mom).

So, to get this little guy back into cake-smashing, we did a some reconstruction on the cake and moved over to a little bench under a tree, thinking that maybe a change of scenery would get us back on track. Based on the variety of duck noises that Baby L. made during this part of the session, along with that amazing smile, I'd say that he was a happy boy.

This time in a baby's life is so bitter-sweet - their first birthday. As a parent, you're sad to see your little baby grow-up, but at the same time they've become this little person who is starting to walk and talk and be silly and smash cake! That why I love the smash cake sessions so much. It's a special time to capture that moment ... and their personality. Time flies way too fast ...

I'm honored to be photographing this little guy's birthday party this weekend. His parents are so creative and came up with an awesome idea to celebrate his beautiful head of hair. I won't let the secret out, but I can't wait to share those photos with you all! Stay tuned ...

Tampa Pet Photographer - Little Pup, Big Personality

What do you get when you mix a spunky chihuahua with a sweet dachshund?

Meet Rocky. The name says it all.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Rocky a couple weeks ago, and it turns out he's pretty photogenic.  Those sweet, innocent, adorable eyes made me spoil him with cookies. I couldn't help it. My dear friend, Emily, was with me, so she could confirm. Rocky is very persuasive in his cuteness. I found myself talking in a voice that resembled Cookie Monster, which Rocky may or may not have enjoyed, but as long as the cookie flow was available, Rocky was a happy boy.

I honestly wanted to take Rocky home with me, but I fear that his 2-year-old playmate would be very disappointed. So, instead I can reminisce with these photos, and in my best Cookie Monster voice, I say, "Roooooocky. I loooooove you."

And, yes, I'm a little bit of a dog dork. If you invite me to take pictures of your pups, you'll not only get some fun pics, but also some loving memories of me making a fool of myself.

Tampa Engagement Photographer - Dana & Ryan are Getting Married!

I love hanging out with couples that have chosen to spend the rest of their lives loving each other. Each engaged couple that I photograph in one way or another reminds me of my husband, Tom, and I, and how love changes and grows, but never dies. It seems like every time I go home from these sessions, I want to tell Tom how much he means to me and reminisce about our life together. I just love it.

In addition to me being simply mushy, I also love getting to know my couples and see how their love comes through in the photos. I try to capture those moments that they are not expecting, when they are just being "them". For this engagement session, I met up with Dana and Ryan at North Shore Park in St. Petersburg. This couple is so sweet and a lot of fun - you can see the love in their eyes and in their smiles. Plus, they are really good sports. In the first thirty minutes of the session, we fought the crazy bright sun, probably the hottest day in Florida (at least in my book) and some not-so-photogenic ants that were trying to sabotage our banyan tree shots! So, to treat ourselves for all of our hard work, we headed over to Dana and Ryan's favorite coffee shop, Kahwa, for come delicious refreshments. Dana and Ryan love frequenting this coffee shop on the weekend mornings, which made for some really sweet and loving shots.

Congrats Dana and Ryan! May your love for each other continuously grow and stay as strong and sweet as that yummy cappuccino I devoured at Kahwa!

Tampa Family Photographer - WWWhat?

That's right everyone. I said WWWhat? There are lots of exciting Internet happenings with Howie Mac Photo lately. Read on and find out what's so exciting!

We just recently launched our brand new full website at www.howiemacphoto.com. Check it out to find everything (and probably a bit more than) you need to know about Howie Mac Photo and yours truly. More pictures, more dorkiness, more details. That's also accompanied by me having a new email address for inquiries - tina@howiemacphoto.com. Send me a note. We'll chat. It'll be awesome.

And, to make things even easier on you, we've created a Howie Mac Photo Facebook Fan Page! (insert high-pitch screams here!).  Go ahead. You know you're on Facebook right now and you want to "like" us. I've even added a Facebook badge to the right that will take you directly to our page. We always add sneak peeks on blog posts and current sessions, so you'll be the first to know.

That's all for right now. I'm working on an awesome engagement session right now, so keep your eyes open for that one coming soon. Really sweet couple :)

Tampa Baby Photographer - Smash Cake Celebration

I've been taking my time editing my Baby L.'s smash cake photos, partially because of time, but also partially because I can't deal with the fact that my baby girl is turning one. I've been staring at these photos wondering where the time has gone. Seriously? Where did the year go? I feel like I was just on leave, learning how to be a new mom. Now all of a sudden, I've got this little person squawking and talking and giggling and running around. I look at Baby L and just get overwhelmed with how much I love her. I didn't even know this much love was possible.

So, to celebrate my little one's birthday, as well as my obsession with birthday cake, we decided to do a smash cake session. For those of you who don't know what exactly a smash cake session entails - it involves a baby or toddler, a small cake, a big mess and a LOT of fun!

Baby L. really didn't know what to do with herself when we sat her in front of the cake. You put the girl on the beach and she shoves handfuls of sand in her mouth, but give her something edible and she's stumped :) She did, however, do the ever-so-popular super-slam down on the cake, which made her mama very proud. After a while, Baby L. got a handle on the cake-eating portion of the session, but that quickly led into her spinning in a circle and somewhat sitting on the cake. That's my girl.

I got Baby L's adorable smash cake from a local bakery called Sweetie's Delights. If you are in the Brandon/Bloomingdale/Valrico/FishHawk area, you HAVE to check them out. My family stops by there to indulge in their cupcakes and now they are becoming a family tradition with our birthday cakes. As you may know, I love cake, probably a little too much, so having a bakery like this so close is one of the little joys in my life.

I have to say that these are some of my favorite pictures of Baby L. They are 100% her and I know that next year, I'll be looking at these photos wondering where the second year went...

I love you little bean. Please don't grow up too fast.

And then there is this one ... I love this one. The color is complete different, but it's my favorite.  I look at this one and cry. I know that look, and I melt every time I see it. That's my beautiful little girl.