It's Your Birthday- Let's Celebrate South Jersey!

Capturing Your Special Day:

Celebrating your birthday with a beautiful portrait session has become a cherished tradition at Shooting Star. As we step into a new year of life, I am filled with excitement and gratitude for the experiences that have shaped me. This portrait session serves as a meaningful way to freeze these emotions and the essence of the moment in time. The anticipation of selecting the perfect outfit, the meticulous attention to every detail, and the heartfelt conversations with the photographer all add to the magic of the day. With each click of the camera, I want you to feel a sense of empowerment and confidence, basking in the joy of being the center of attention. The resulting portraits not only capture your physical appearance at this milestone but also reveal the depth of your emotions and the radiance of your spirit. It’s an indulgence in self-celebration and a reminder of the beauty of growth and self-love.

Mommy and her daughter dancing among the cherry blossoms.

Hey! It's your birthday and we are going to party, like it's your birthday. Here at, Shooting Star Photography, located in beautiful, Maple Shade and Woodstown, New Jersey, we try and celebrate birthdays, to the nines!

Whether looking to capture memories of you and your family, to displaying large canvas on your walls, to enjoy years to come. We are here for you to assist all along the way!

Little boy celebrating his birthday celebration in Cherry Hill, New Jersey!

Each and every session, we create, is unique. We love consulting with our customers to ensure the best results out of each session. Our reputation speaks for ourselves!

We have trained under the best photographers in the world, to ensure you are getting the VERY best, no matter the location at hand. We've been trained to portray you and your family/loved one's in the best light. As a South Jersey photographer, for over six years, we always provide high quality imagery for all of our customers. It's why we see families back, year after year, and often-times a few times a year.

We love making our clients laugh and having them feel at ease. It's important to us because that gets captured on camera!!! We don't want to have any awkwardness. It's about having fun. I mean, that's what life is about, right? It's important for myself to capture this for my families. I love working with children and I have two littles of my own. Ages nine and six!

Celebrate your Birthday in Portraits!

Each birthday is a unique milestone, and our goal is to capture the joy, vitality, and personality of the individual as they commemorate another year of their life journey. Our portraits serve as a beautiful way to document the passage of time and the growth of an individual, creating tangible memories that can be shared with loved ones and treasured for generations.
Through our birthday portrait sessions, we aim to provide a personalized experience that reflects the individual's personality and style. Whether it's a playful and lighthearted shoot or a more contemplative and introspective session, our photographers work closely with clients to bring their vision to life.
Furthermore, celebrating birthday portraits at Shooting Star Photography is more than just taking photos. It's a chance for individuals to embrace and express themselves, to revel in the spotlight, and to mark the significance of each passing year. It's a celebration of life, growth, and the uniqueness of every individual.
With our expertise in capturing authentic moments and emotions, we are committed to delivering high-quality birthday portraits that encapsulate the spirit of the occasion. From candid shots to artfully composed portraits, we strive to create images that resonate and endure.
At Shooting Star Photography, we take pride in being a part of our clients' special moments, and we celebrate birthday portraits as a meaningful way to honor the journey of each individual. So, come and celebrate your next birthday with us, and let us capture the magic of the moment.

Celebrating a magical birthday!

Beautiful little Winnie the Pooh themed birthday session in South Jersey!

I hope to see you in 2021, as we are taking very strict cover precautions in every session we have been doing, for the past year! Let's create some magic!

Until we meet again and I hope you have a FANTASTIC weekend!

Dee

Shooting Star Photography

South Jersey's Premiere Family Photographer

Still Opening My Studio- 2020 Strong!

God gave you all a gift. He put that inside you. He gave you the gift of giving your absolute best with the minimal effort. Have you ever looked around you and said... "How did I get her in this point in life?" And where you can look around and see the blessings given all around you. Yes, you may have worked your booty off... but some of these gifts just come naturally in life.

Some of these gifts may include:

:Making people feel good 

:Making people laugh

:Photography 

:Intelligence- Always learning. Always growing. 

:Writing

:Friendship 

:Sunday Dinners 

Make 2020 YOUR YEAR. Own it. Taken in Medford, New Jersey.

I believe the gift I was given was to make people smile. Make them laugh. I am a total comedian at heart. I love capturing moments behind the lens and love reveling in moments and being in the moment sans camera. It's just always how I have been.

Even in this uneasy, crazy time... I still find humor. It's dark as we don't know what the future holds, but I have hope.

As photographers, you need to find your passion and what drives you as the artist you are.

Even doing a YOU series. Like individual adult portraits telling people’s love story. Or capturing the joy of family life. Listen to your heart and let it drive you to great heights.

Philadelphia Family Sessions. These bring me great joy!

Remember.... in the midst of this Corona virus. The person you are today... isn’t going to be the person you are a year from now or 10 years from now. Radiate love in every area of your life. Even if its at home at the moment.

I still plan to open my studio and make 2020 THE KICK BUTT YEAR. I may have been delayed, but it won't stop me from pursing my dream. Maple Shade, New Jersey here I come. I can't wait to be a part of the community. I'm very excited for what the future brings!

The Magic of Childhood

The Magic of Childhood

I love talking about people’s childhoods. When it comes to photography a lot of my childhood, I like to bring forth and to create a story. In my eyes, my childhood was magical and I wish that today's kids could enjoy the same childhood. 

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Wildflowers and moon watching at a gorgeous photo session in Mullica Hill, New Jersey.

My kids are at the ages of 7 and 4. They are now starting to inquire and ask how my childhood was and the things I did. Almost everything I talk about, my kids say they wish they could do this stuff today.

In a way, I feel bad for my children. I feel they are missing out on a real childhood. Everything just seems so planned and no surprises. With my childhood, I’d come home from school, do my homework, then head on out until the lights came on.

There was no need for texts or phone calls. You’d pop into a friend’s house and say hey, Mrs. so and so... is Jenny home? Jenny would come to the door and you’dsay, “come on, let’s go ride our bikes.” The next thing you hear is Jenny saying, “bye” to her mom and her mom screaming back, “come back before dark!” And off we went!

It was a time before the internet. We’d ride our bikes, usually in a big group. Head up to the school. Maybe play some basketball, or suicide (it’s a game with a tennis ball). When those Street lights came on, it meant it was time to head home. Have dinner. Wash up. Go to bed.

Through all these activities, it was very rare to see any parents around...

Weekends, we’d go the the mall, movies, dances, sleepovers (a ton of them) or roller skating.

If winter, you’d find us at Flower’s Hill.

Love my little monkey!

Snow portraits are the best!

If it was summer, we’d explore the forest, make forts, go crick stomping, hit up every friend’s pool, play knock knock zoom zoom, jailbreak and flashlight tag.

Of course there was sports, but today things are very competitive. We joined mostly to be social and to be with our friends.

Our only rule..was to stay out of trouble and to be home when the lights came on.

It was frowned down upon to be home and play video games all day long. We were generally encouraged to explore and be kids. I know some parents use to go as far as locking their kids out of the house until it was nighttime when I was growing up!

In a way, I feel sorry for how things are these days. It’s all about play dates and parental supervision. Sleepovers are rare, unless the parents REALLY know each other. Popping in, or stopping by, without a text, or a call is frowned down upon and basic blasphemy to do to anyone.

In my day, if you traveled to an area and knew someone and DIDN’T try to stop by... you were considered rude. It was okay to just show up and knock... if they weren’t home, it showed effort on your part and was respected.

Kids are now left at home to their own devices. Whether it be reading, video games etc. they miss the exploring and natural curiosities of just growing up and learning things on their own. I feel these kids are missing out with bonding with friends and exploring their own environments.

Don’t get me wrong, kids still do things, but I think they lose the social connection and there’s a big disconnect. Some kids are struggling with anxiety and lacking how to be social.

We didn’t need Facebook or the internet because trust me, if you did something bad... word somehow got back to your parents and hell would be leashed.

I mean kid parties now.... Parents are required to stay there. In my day, drop off, have fun, get picked up... or walk home afterwards..and that was that.

What the heck happened? Now, if kids did this stuff these days, most likely cps would be knocking. This is the crazy past, but it is what it is.

I understand a lot of it is becausebad things happen to little kiddos and there are bad people in this world. However, statistically we’re much safer than we ever have been. Due to technology.

So I guess my question would be... what happened? And why the shift?

More kids are staying indoors more than ever and obesity is going through the roof because of it.

Do you think things could ever go back the way they were? Even on a small scale?Or are we just all doomed? 😂

New Jersey Beach Sessions! Jersey Shore Beach Photographer

We truly love New Jersey Beach Sessions! It's actually our number one requested session to do each year. We've sold out every single year, since we started these. This year, we are actually teaching other photographers how to shoot at the beach and that was sold out within hours. We're even sold out this year for family, children's or maternity sessions (2019). There's no wonder they call me the Eastern Coast "Beach Queen" when it comes to stylized beach portraiture.It's honestly our goal to capture these beautiful pastel beach tones. I can't tell you how many photographers struggle with beach lighting and working at the beach. Elements alone are against us. From the wind, to the sand (that can seriously damage equipment), to very extreme harsh lighting due to the light bouncing off the sand and water. What we've done, is to find locations that work in our favor. We can manipulate light to work with us and we fly with it.  Shooting Star Photography travels pretty much throughout the entire central to southern coast of the New Jersey Shore. We do sessions from LBI, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Margate, Sea Isle, Cape May, Wildwood and everywhere in between. There are even some neat beach areas we enjoy on the western shores of Jersey, the Delaware Bay that we like to utilize for our sessions. It's honestly what is important to our client and what they are looking to do.  Beach sessions our favorite session that we do. There is something calming with working at the beach. I enjoy it being my office for the day!  The cool winds blowing off the ocean, the gulls a gawking. There's something very peaceful about the Jersey Shore.  

 Our social media game is strong and we're waaay behind on blogging sessions. This is from our 2017 Jersey shore beach sessions, just to give you an idea. However, I always recommend folks checking us out on social media for our latest and greatest work! Happy Shooting my friends! DeeShooting Star Photography   

Grandpa and me...

Every single session we do for our clients is truly unique. Not one photograph will look the same because we truly love making every single photograph a true keepsake and piece of art.It's honestly what we we trained to do in this business. As I reflect back on this 2018 year, I have to say it was the hardest year of my life. As I look back, I almost lost my mother, who is my assistant.. She was hospitalized for over a month. It was a nightmare during this time. We thought she may not make it and that she may no longer be with us. She's a huge asset to this photography business. She's the best assistant I could ever ask for and am grateful for everything she does. I am so elated she is still here with us and recovered fully. About 10 days after my mom came home, it was my husband's turn. He had flu-like symptoms and his condition got worse and worse. He was then hospitalized. The doctors were baffled as to what was happening. Every specialist they had on hand, he saw. His condition got worse and worse to the point where we almost lost him. He lost all bodily functioning, he lost his ability to walk. It was a very scary time. They put him on every antibiotic known to man. It was within two weeks, he started to finally show some life again and slowly got better. He was later transferred to an inpatient subacute rehabilitation center to learn how to walk all over again. It was later found out by infectious disease that what he caught, only effects about 2,000 patients a year with about a 60% mortality rate. He's lucky to be here. When I look back on the year, I see myself. I see how strong I was. As a wife, daughter, mother.. and I honestly don't know how I got through it all. I kept every single photography session that I had scheduled.  I did not cancel on anyone. In fact, the sessions were very therapeutic for me as I was going through this. It's true how art can soothe the soul. There were some delays on editing galleries, but very understandable in the situation and I did inform customers of the situation. Under normal circumstances, most folks would be able to take a leave of absence from their jobs. However, as a single business owner, I unfortunately was unable to do that. I just trucked through.  I realized how strong I really am and how I kept it together. I know most folks would crumble. I just feel fortunate to have both the folks I love dearly still here with me. In any event... as I look back and everything I went through. I realize how very important photographs are. I made a point to get myself photographed with my children this past fall.. as I didn't have any. I also made an appointment with a photographer I admire for 2019 and I plan to make an appointment with another one as well. It's very important. This is why I am sharing this... This is grandpa. He doesn't live in the US (hopefully, soon though) and I told my customer it was important to bring her father so that he could be in some images. This will be a keepsake for the family for years to come to remember. Our children get older every day and the folks that we love.. we continue to lose, year after year. Time does not stand still. This is why it's important to capture these moments. I truly hope this mama got this blown up and proudly displayed in the house. It's beautiful. Get those photographs folks. Capture these precious moments. One day you may not have your loved ones with you.. and all you have left are these. This is why I love what I do and why I got into photography in the first place. If you would like to book your family session, please reach out. We would love to customize something special for you!!! Happy Shooting, my friends!!!! Dee Shooting Star Photography