Baby O and His Mysterious Key to Happiness

So today is a day of firsts for me in a few different ways. The first way being that I have never before…and I mean NEVER…posted a sneak peek of a session on the same day I shot it. It is a goal that is typically not worthy of attempting to achieve because it requires editing until your eyes bleed or until you develop carpel tunnel, whichever takes you down first. However, I felt that if ever a new mama needed to see a sneak peek of her newborn baby’s first photo session, it was Baby O’s mama. You see, he gave us all a run for our money today. From the start, things were looking fantastic. He was awake, but perfectly quiet and content. We scooped him up, started taking some photos, and realized something unfortunate….He DID NOT like to be moved. Now that can work okay for a few shots, but the truth is that when shooting newborn photos, you have to move them around a good bit so that you are not just taking the same photos over and over again. Variety is important and something I really strive for.

So what do you do when a baby gets fussy? Well, you nurse him, change him, rock him, turn on the space heater, crank up the white noise, swaddle him, unswaddle him….rinse and repeat. This all would work for a few minutes, he would drift off, and then promptly wake right up with each little shift or noise. Poor Baby O was not a fan of the art of newborn photography! With time and patience, I have never met a baby who does not eventually zonk out for enough time to get all the shots I want to get in…until today! That was, of course, my #2 “first time” that I experienced with this session.

Then came #3…just when we had all given up, we decided to just take photos with his cute hats on while he was crying. Hey, we figured we might as well go for the angry baby look if the peacefully slumbering baby thing wasn’t going to happen! So I had mom sit and hold Baby O in her lap while I asked his dad to put on the hat. Then I said, ” why don’t you hold his head still from behind and I can snap a quick shot”  Well, we made a crazy discovery with that request. Apparently, Baby O finds it immediately calming to have BOTH his parents holding him at the same time. I am not kidding when I say that he immediately stopped crying and remained completely happy and calm for the rest of our session. It was nothing short of amazing….and a little frightening too! I have visions of his mom and dad both having to hold him at 3 am when he wakes up tonight! So that is why I am posting this preview so soon after the session. I know Baby O’s mom and dad were a little worried that they wouldn’t get enough non-crying shots from today. I hope that this gives them all the reassurance they need that even with all the fussing, their sweet baby boy actually made for one heck of a baby model. I hope they love the photos and that you all do too. Here are my top picks from today:

Family Session at Wadsworth Mansion

This great family session happened post-Thanksgiving at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. The brother and sister team in these photos was so fun to work with. They did a great job of making each other laugh whenever I needed them too. There were a million things that I loved about this session: the children who were well-behaved, fun, and looked like little Ralph Lauren models, the location surrounded by trees and stone walls, and the sunlight….which at first I was not so thrilled with because it was making crazy shadows everywhere with all those trees surrounding us! However, it ended up giving these photos a really beautiful, sun-washed look that I immediately fell in love with. I also loved how this session was the perfect mix of photo card worthy, posed shots and very laid back, candid shots. One of my favorites is of the whole family holding hands and walking back towards the mansion from the trails. Here are a few of my favorites from the day….

The trees, the light, the kids…..could it be any better?

Holiday Session Follow Ups…..Continued

Okay, back to the holiday sessions follow ups! I had a great time shooting this family for their holiday cards this year. There were tons of great shots of them, but I just wanted to share a few of my personal favorites. When I saw the holiday card they created with our session photos, I was impressed. The R family made an exceptionally beautiful card that easily ranks as one of the best I have seen all season. If I ever get a few extra minutes, I will have to scan theirs in and post it here (with blurred out names, of course!!). It would be a terrific example of what makes a really elegant, yet fun holiday card. Tough combo to achieve, but they did it!  Here are some top picks from their session:

A Few Months Older and Cuter Than Ever

This past fall, I photographed a gorgeous family and their newborn baby girl. This weekend, I was thrilled to be invited back to their home for a second photo session to get some new shots of their two daughters. Little Baby G is a few months older now and has changed quite a bit. She has gone from a tiny, sleepy newborn to an adorable, chubby-legged, smiling baby. This session has reminded me of how incredibly fast babies change in that first year. I am so happy that I was able to help this beautiful family capture these latest changes in Baby G and her big sister too.  Here are some of my favorites from our session:

Holiday Sessions from 2011

It is 2012 and this year I am determined to do what I have not done in past years… I am planning to post some samples of my holiday sessions from this past year. Like most people, I am very good at doing something if I do it right away. However, the more time that passes, the less likely I am to go back and get caught up. But my New Year’s resolution for 2012 is to be a good little blogger and get some samples of my work up here for everyone to see.

Holiday card season 2011 was super busy this year and tons of fun. The weather was unbelievably cooperative which helped me to get everyone done in time to make their cards. What I have realized this year though is that even with perfect weather, getting your session done early is absolutely the way to go. There is really nothing better than late October or early November for holiday photos. You can dress in cozy, warm clothes, but you won’t be freezing with red cheeks and runny noses. There are still some leaves on the trees and you have plenty of time to work on creating cards. I have found that the best card deals happen right before Thanksgiving, or in the next few days following it. By the beginning of December, the discounts really are nowhere near as good. Just a little tip for all you planners who want to be even better prepared next year!

So back to the photos. My first post is a gorgeous family that I shot right after Thanksgiving. They were an absolute dream to work with. The children were well-behaved, cooperative little angels, which gave me the opportunity to get tons of beautiful shots for them to choose from. Here are a few of my favorites from their session:

Back to Boston for Newborn Baby T

Yesterday, I traveled to the Boston area to shoot a gorgeous newborn baby boy and his family. Baby T was easily the most laid back baby I have ever seen, which made my job very easy. He snoozed or sat quietly, ready at all times to pose for his first big photo shoot. There were so many fantastic photos of him that it was a challenge to choose which ones to share. I hope you enjoy my top picks and thank you to Baby T’s family for inviting me to document these precious first few days of his life. Here are my favorites:

Sweet Mommy & baby moment…

Big smiles…

Here is his thinking pose…

Baby R and her Fabulous Hats

This past Friday, I was thrilled to be invited to a beautiful home in the heart of Boston to photograph the adorable Baby R.  I was a little concerned going into our session that Baby R would be tough to photograph, as she had already passed the two week window that is ideal for shooting newborn photos. But I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that she was actually a sleeping machine! Her excellent baby behavior allowed me to photograph her with a fantastic collection of hats and props. Baby R had a knit lion hat, a strawberry hat, a Yale hat (her Daddy’s alma mater), a Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel (her mom’s favorite team), and a smiley stuffed Tigger doll to represent her nickname. We had time for it all! So here are a few highlights from Baby R’s first photo shoot….Enjoy!

Tigger and Baby R both smiling away….

More smiles….

She was staring so intently at her mom that I just had to sneak behind her and snap a photo from that perspective….

I hear there are some Patriots fans in Baby R’s family. Hope this next shot doesn’t start a football war in the family!

A New Baby Owl in the Nest

This weekend, I had a newborn photo session with a beautiful baby girl and her gorgeous older sister. They wore coordinating knit owl hats which were beyond adorable. The new mom and I definitely had our work cut out for us with trying to get a four year old and a newborn to cooperate at the same time for photos. As I am sure all of you moms with more than one child can relate to, it is a challenge to get two or more children posed the way you want them, at the same time, without tears, and getting them to look at the camera and appear happy to top it off. However, I find that with patience, a little creativity, and the right type of encouragement, you can always get the photo you are hoping for. I am thrilled to report that this session was no exception to that rule and I got some amazing shots despite the challeges we faced that day. Here are my very favorites from the session:

Baby Boy Perfection

I had a newborn session this past weekend with a one week old baby boy. He was perfection in every way. Seriously, he was a really beautiful baby with the sweetest little face. He was also ( like many of my past newborns ) a bit of a party animal. He slept for approximately 3 minutes out of the 2 hours I was there!! It was impressive to say the least.  He just wasn’t interested in missing out on any fun….except for maybe when we put on his dog hat…as you will see in my photos below, he didn’t think that was a fun look at all! I hope you enjoy the sneak peak of my session. Thanks again to Baby A’s parents for inviting me to be a part of this exciting time in their lives. Here are my favorites…

I love how the dog is still posing for his family photo, even when Mom, Dad, and Baby are taking a break….

He finally got a hold of that hand…

He REALLY disagrees with this puppy hat situation…

But then gives me a super cute pose anyway!

Back to School Senior Portrait Session

So today I had the opportunity to photograph an adorable young woman who is about to start her senior year of high school next week. Before she heads off to school, we met up for her senior portrait session….which turned out AMAZING!!! I couldn’t have been any happier with the photos. It is always a pleasure to shoot someone who is both beautiful and easy going. We had a great time and I am so happy that she and her mother asked me to capture this moment in time for them both to enjoy and remember forever. Here are a few of my favorite photos from our session: