My name is Charise and I was born and raised in New York City. I come from a long line of picture lovers and the camera was never far away. I always enjoyed looking at all the photos after get-togethers, outings, and vacations. My mother was always behind the camera those days and saw the pictures as a collection of fun memories we could look back on years to come so we would never forget all that we did. After college, I began practicing with a digital camera and I had more of an interest in nature. I would go on hikes and photograph the scenery and wildlife. Later, I would decorate my home with pictures of the places and things I had seen. I saw them as a "frozen memory" of that moment just like my mother always said.

I started off by doing photography for fun and pursued a career as an Environmental Engineer. After getting married, my husband and I relocated to the Southwest. I found that the natural beauty of Arizona inspired me on a completely different level. I was honored to have one of my pictures used in the Pinnacle Peak Park Calendar in 2015. I also began selling prints of several landscape pictures I had taken. After having my two children, I began playing around with portrait photography. Suddenly I was bitten by the "capture the moment" bug that bit my mother all those years ago. I began photographing the two of them documenting places we had gone, things we had done, and also taking portraits to show how they had grown and changed. I was asked by family and friends to do real estate shoots and portrait sessions for them and that is where I am today.

I believe pictures not only capture moments in time, but that they create a historical record of a family that can be passed down the generations. Someday, the pictures I take will be "antiques." I like to think grandparents will show their grandchildren pictures of when their mothers and fathers were babies and how they grew up. It warms my heart to have been a part of it through the pictures I took. I also love when I see clients sharing the "blooper" pictures from their photo sessions. Those are the real moments when they are not posing or thinking about how they look. And finally, I love seeing how they decorate their homes and desk at work with the pictures. Family and memories of all the good times are what gets us through rough patches. Pictures really are worth a thousand words.