IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LIGHT...

...streaming in through a window onto a sleeping baby's cheek, glowing from candles on the birthday girl's cake, setting the afternoon sun ablaze on the faces of a family walking on the beach. It's great light that transforms a moment into an unforgettable memory - all captured in a photograph.

Marcia Ciriello specializes in natural light photography, in an organic, non-posed setting.

"My goal is always to take pictures that tell a story... a little boy enjoying an ice-cream cone, a couple in love, a quiet embrace between a mother and her child. The picture should make you feel like you were there, and the emotions of the moment should jump out at you. When that happens, I'm really happy."

Marcia was born and raised in Rhode Island. In college, she bought her first camera, a used Canon AE-1 for $300, and instantly caught the photography bug.

"I was working in Newport, and became fascinated with everything around me - the America's Cup sailors getting their boats ready for a race, the surfers at Easton's Beach waiting for their next wave. It was the first time I realized how much the light, at different times of day, could completely change a photograph."

Marcia went on to a career in banking and a life in California, and her photography continued as a serious hobby. After 15 years, she moved back to New York City, got married, retired from banking to raise two children, and made her passion for photography a career.

Marcia specializes in portraits of both children and adults, but she also loves to shoot events, actor and author headshots, and architectural photographs.

In April, you will once again find her covering the red carpets and other celebrity-studded events at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. Marcia began working for the Festival in 2007 and is looking forward to her second year as in-house, staff photographer hired to cover New York's most influential film festival.

Marcia is available for assignments in New York City and the tri-state area.