Mother’s Day Portraits in Honor of Help a Mother Out

Hi friends - a charity that I support and volunteer for is having a fundrasier in honor of Mother's Day. Get your family portrait done and support a great cause at the same time. If you donate and come to the sessions, I'll greet you there and make you smile for the camera!

Los Angeles photographer and owner of Litetrap Studios, Michael Murphree, has offered Mother’s Day-themed mini sessions as a priceless gift for the moms in your life with all proceeds going to support Help a Mother Out’s efforts in Los Angeles. (Incredibly generous!)

Portrait by Michael Murphree

For a donation of $100, up to 20 mothers and their children will receive a 15-minute portrait session on Sunday, May 17, two 5 x 7 prints, and a custom Facebook timeline photo.

Michael Murphree has 20 years of experience as a commercial and celebrity photographer, starting his career as apprentice to world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz. It was when Michael had his own family that he fell in love with photographing his wife and twin babies. This led to the creation of Litetrap Studios, where Michael takes joy in capturing the special moments in other families’ lives with the goal of creating cherished heirlooms that pass on through generations.

The mini-sessions are available to up to 20 mothers and their children, and children of any age. Want a priceless memory of you with your own mother? This is a wonderful opportunity to have a true artist create a portrait of you, and help another mother out at the same time.

Studio space is generously provided by Books and Cookies, a bookstore and play space in Santa Monica.

To reserve your sitting appointment or to arrange for one as a gift to that special mom in your life for Mother’s Day, make your donation here. (If you are not available to come to a session, you can still make a donation to this great cause.)

Mother’s Day Mini-Sessions with Michael Murphree
May 17, 2015
Books and Cookies
2309 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
To purchase, click here
For more information please contact me or Kim Tracy Prince at [email protected]

Answering More Questions

It's been a while since I continued the "Getting to Know You" questions from this article. (Previous questions answered here.)

Today's questions are:

16. What do you value most in a friendship?

Openness. Being able to laugh or cry together (or both at the same time). Being able to say "hey it really bummed me out when you said XYZ" to a friend and not have it be a fight. My closest friends share similar values in self discovery, they are working toward knowing themselves deeply, making positive change in their lives and sharing that journey. 

17. What is your most treasured memory?

This is tough. I've had a great life so far, so many good memories to treasure! So, you know when you do proofs in geometry you have givens? Well my givens are the obvious things: Harper being born, our wedding party, etc etc.

But the memory that popped into my head when I read the question was from 1985. It was Valentine's Day and in chapel (Seabury Hall is an Episcopalian school.) my favorite teacher/woman/person was speaking about love, giving, selflessness, aloha spirit. And as she did, she was stringing a lei to symbolize that. Then she said that she wanted to give that lei to a person who embodied all those traits - Julia? Could you come up here?

I cried.

That was powerful, wonderful, amazing. Not only did I get recognized for something I didn't even realize I was, but recognized by someone as inspiring to me as this woman. Wow. That is a treasure that lives forever in my heart and I work to pay that forward as often as I can.

18. What is your most terrible memory?

Sadly, that's an easy one. The morning my sister died. (Seven years ago this month.) I can still hear my niece's hysterical voice on the phone telling me the news, her dad in the background weeping. Then I had to call my mother and tell her. Then I had to call my sister's father and tell him. Horrible, brutal, awful. 

19. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?

I would book tickets to many places in the world and travel travel travel. I would visit friends and family and squeeze all that I could from that year.

This is something I am actually going to start doing very soon. Harper is getting old enough to do some traveling and it's been over five years since I used my passport and that is just not right! I've made new friends that I have not yet met in real life, babies have been born and are half grown who I've never seen. Travel has always been a priority in my life and I've not been focused on it for a while. That changes now.

20. What does friendship mean to you?

A friendship is another kind of marriage. It means commitment and support, in good times and back, for richer for poorer, sickness and health. It means honesty and letting go of fear, not worrying what the other person thinks of you when you are at your worst, knowing they will be there for you when you come out the other side.