I get a lot of calls from clients asking where we should meet for family portraits. Montrose Park? The Mall? Well, when Noble Baier called me looking to schedule a session, she knew exactly where she wanted me to meet her and her family: in her house, in their bed, wearing pajamas and drinking hot chocolate at 8:00 am.

Though the idea seemed odd at first I now realize--and you can see for yourselves--how slyly brilliant it was. No pretense, no backdrops, just real.

And speaking of beds, my daughter Alexandra has been known to say some remarkable things late at night. (Some of you might remember that she once said, when prompted to close her eyes and go to sleep, "Daddy, I think I need to ask my doctor about Lunesta.) Last night I was telling her a completely made-up-as-I-went-along story about a boy who finds a peanut. The peanut turns out to be magical.

So, I say, the little boy looks at the magic peanut and says, "How do I know you're really magic?" And with that the boy's arm lurches upwards and the two of them take flight into the sky.

"But daddy," Alexandra interrupts, "what if he gets lonely up there? What about his family?"

"Oh, they'll come back down to his house when they're done," I say.

"No, daddy, I'm talking about the peanut."