lifestyle + documentary photography
It's hard to believe that it had almost been a year since I had done this little guy's newborn session. We met up at the Haverford Duck Pond for this Simple Session and enjoyed exploring, looking for geese (we found some!), and catching up. We ended up with a beautiful morning after having to reschedule for rain and we couldn't have had picked a better spot.
It's amazing how quickly the first year goes. I did James' newborn photos a year ago and I was excited to catch up with him again now that he is a walking one-year-old! He was one of the smallest babies I'd ever held so I couldn't believe how big he was today! His 1st birthday party was over Memorial Day weekend and I loved capturing all of the little details that went in to the party. The kids absolutely loved the music and the start of summer fun :)
I was so excited to meet Evelyn at her newborn session. It didn't seem all that long ago that I was taking maternity pictures of her beautiful mama. I loved how much everyone in the family adored this sweet girl. We had a relaxed, easy-going session and just enjoyed newborn life. I'm excited to be in the process of catching up on this blog and sharing more from this session with you :)
I absolutely loved this documentary family session. We spent the morning walking around the borough of West Chester. The Q family lived in West Chester when they met and it was fun to share some of their favorite spots with their soon to be one year old! The brick sidewalks and beautiful town were a perfect backdrop for this session and I loved how it had a more urban feel. At the end of our session, we stopped by D'Ascenzo's Gelato for N's first taste of gelato. I think she loved it :)
I always love when I get to work with this family. I went to high school with these cuties' parents and I am so honored that they have chosen me to capture these memories for them. It's amazing how much their girls grow up between each session. I've loved being a part of this chapter in their lives. For this session, we explored Longwood Gardens early one morning. The girls love going here so we made sure to find some new locations for them to explore.
It was a super cloudy day when I met Finn and his family back in May. We spent most of the time in a bright downstairs bedroom, but we found a few pockets of light in other areas of the home too :) Finn was alert during most of our session but was so calm and easy going. I absolutely love these black and white conversions and the emotion they portray. It was a great day for a relaxed, lifestyle newborn session!
One of the things that surprised me most about running a business is reconnecting with people from my past. It may be one of my favorite parts of this photography journey. Maura and I went to the same college and had several common friends. During her daughter's newborn session it was fun to reminisce about college life and our old stomping ground. We had a relaxed morning and even got a few pictures with their first babies ;) I was so surprised when I walked into their home to find that our daughters have similar colored nurseries and the same curtains! We also had the same master bedroom furniture :) Great minds think alike! Enjoy these pictures of this super sweet and smiley little girl.
I loved doing a few Mommy and Me sessions this spring so that moms could get in the picture. It's easy to take pictures of your kids, but sometimes life is so busy that you have to make a point to get in the photos with your kids. We had a fun time at this quick morning session and lucked out with some beautiful trees.
I love, love, love sunset sessions. In addition to the gorgeous light, I just love that during these sessions, I can let kids be kids. They can stand (let's be honest...run!) any direction they want and face any direction and the light just works. I don't have to be as careful with lighting because I can get gorgeous images from any direction. I love mixing backlight, sidelight, and the unique shadows and warmth that this time of day gives. I end up with so many more natural moments and a few more cuddly ones too! Of course, sunset coincides with bedtime... but kids really do great. We play, we run, we are silly. They are outside in a new location and after a late nap and a good snack they forget all about sleeping to just have fun and explore.
I love getting to see clients grow up. I worked with Penny and her family last fall and I was so excited to see them again for Penny's one year session. She has gown up into such a big girl and was happy as can be at our early morning session. She loved to give high fives, get cuddles from mom and dad, and walk ALL over the place. She was a brave little explorer. I loved walking around with these three and hearing about their big move. Penny's mom is a veterinarian and recently got a job up north. I have no doubt that she is the sweetest most caring one around :) I will miss these guys!
It has been awhile since I've blogged but I've been excited to share this session since April! This session turned out to be one of my most favorite newborn sessions to date. I always talk/email with my clients a good bit before the session to determine what their goals are for the session. For this one, mom wanted to focus on alone shots of Henryk, very natural sibling interactions, and babywearing. We did the entire session on one bed, in one room. He nursed, we changed diapers, we played UNO, we talked about birth and babywearing. I adored the simplicity and how that allowed the focus of the images to be the newness of Henryk and the raw emotions of bringing a new baby into the family. I absolutely loved working with this family and it was fun to pull up these images again... it's really hard to believe how small he was :)
As much as we take photographs for our own personal memories, we also take them for our children to look back at years from now. Their favorite images will be the ones that stir up memories of their childhood: ordinary moments from everyday life. For me, these ordinary, often simple moments are the ones that make life extraordinary.
Lately, we love to take bike rides around the neighborhood. It wasn't all that long ago that Leah couldn't even figure out how to pedal her bike. All of a sudden, she's biking up hills. Sophie especially loves it when Dad is home; with an extra set of hands, she gets to "ride" her bike too, as opposed to being up in my wrap. I love family time out of the house - away from the draw of electronics, the stack of dishes next to the sink, and the never ending to-do lists. It's a time where we can just be us.
Up next in our "This Is Us" blog circle is Candy at Suga Shoc Photography. Please click through to see her gorgeous images and read a beautiful post about her daughter.
The photographs that are close to my heart are ones that happen between posed portraits. These ordinary moments are the ones that make life extraordinary.
I’d love to hear from you if you are in the Chester County or Main Line area and looking for a lifestyle newborn, child, or family photographer. I would be honored to capture these fleeting moments for you and your family.
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of capturing sweet Prim along with her family. She had two older sisters who just adored her and were still busy taking in all of her "newness." Prim's mom is also a photographer, and it's really hard if you're the one taking pictures most of the time, to be in the pictures with your children. We made sure to capture lots of family and Mommy & Me pictures during Prim's session. I love looking back at pictures of my hands holding each of my babies, and I wanted Prim's mom to have those as well. I can't believe this little girl is already a month old - these first few months really go too fast.
I recently joined a "This is Us" blog circle and I'm excited to share bits and pieces of our family life here on this blog. I fell in love with photography soon after my first daughter was born. I loved watching my family grow and capturing the little "stories" and milestones along the way. Lately, I've been getting so caught up in everything that needs to get done each day, that I've been picking up my camera less and less. I sometimes forget that this is where my passion lies.
On the Thursday after Easter, Leah remembered that we never actually dyed Easter eggs. We had a kit and lots of eggs, so during Sophie's nap, we had some fun. Now, clearly, this is not all of "us." In fact, it's just one of "us." :) But it's a start! It was fun to do a little documentary photography session in my own home and I'm hoping this project inspires me to start capturing more pictures of all of us... doing the things we love to do together.
Up next is Elaina B. Photography. I am always inspired by her photography. I love her rich tones and the way her lighting always draws you right to the subject. I hope you enjoy Elaina's posts as much as I do :)
The photographs that are close to my heart are ones that happen between posed portraits. These ordinary moments are the ones that make life extraordinary.
I’d love to hear from you if you are in the Chester County or Main Line area and looking for a lifestyle newborn, child, or family photographer. I would be honored to capture these fleeting moments for you and your family.
I met this family during my Christmas Tree Farm sessions last December. B didn't have a newborn session, but they still wanted to capture all things "baby" about him and photograph his adorable little nursery. So, we set up a lifestyle session once B was sitting comfortably (and since he's a mover and a shaker, he said, enough of this sitting business... I'm ready to crawl!). It was a lot of fun to see how much B has grown since December and capture little details about him and their life as a family of three :)
We had a gorgeous "winter" evening for this session. Yes, this was February!! We had a few warm days that month and we totally lucked out for this session. That morning, we decided to push the session back a half hour so we could be sure to catch sunset and I think it was worth it. Colleen is one gorgeous mama. She absolutely adores her son and he is so sweet. I really love working with kids and their endless energy. They really help give sessions a natural feel. I love taking a more documentary approach... and so do kids :)
I had the best time working with Henry and his family for his "newborn" session. He was technically nearly 12 weeks old, but he was the most relaxed baby ever! He was so content during his session and while he loved being held by both of his parents, you should see the eyes he had for his mama <3. My photography sessions are a mix of lifestyle and documentary. I do a little bit of posing, but the moments that really mean the most to me are the ones that happen between the more "posed" images. Years later, when you look back at the images from your session, I want them to take you right back to that day. Because, these days sure do go by too quickly.
I was so excited to work with Henry and his family again. I did Henry's six month session a few months ago and suddenly, he was one! He was the happiest little guy and I loved following him around the first floor of their house. He was eager to explore and just adored his big brother. We had so much fun capturing his little details and playing outside in the snow once his big brother woke up. We even had time for hot chocolate!
It was a winter wonderland at the Haverford Duck Pond when we got together to take one year old pictures of the twins (we had no idea we'd have such snowy luck when mom booked the session last October!). As beautiful and sunny as it was, it was so cold that morning!! The kids had lots of cuddles from their parents throughout the session to keep warm.
At the end of last fall, I did a secret "cousins" session. We wanted to surprise their grandparents so I didn't post any of the images from that session yet. These three were so cute together! It was fun to explore the warm conservatory and splash in the water a bit. It was also really fun to make the big kids laugh for a change :)
