I love photographing babies! Having had two myself, I can attest to how quickly they grow and change during the first year. It seems as soon as they begin walking, they suddenly lose that "baby" look and start looking like toddlers. It's amazing the changes that take place in just 12 short months! Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful little guy, Colin, and his family. Colin was around 9 months old when his parents brought him over for his portrait session and he was such a happy little guy! Since he was old enough to sit upright, we were able to take him out into the garden and get a variety of images of him in different little nooks. We used some vintage chairs, old wagon, and my flagstone pathway and just let him be himself. This is one of my favorite images of him from our set.
babies
Family portraits and audrey's 1st year portraits | martinez, ca
This fall was full of beautiful family portrait sessions and I’ve been dying to blog all of them! Now that the rush season is over, I am finally able to sit down and get some of my favorites up on the blog. So let’s start with Kendall, Nick and Audrey (and their adorable dog, Riley)! Aren’t they a gorgeous family? I met them when they were pregnant with Audrey and we have been friends ever since. This was our third shoot together and each one just gets better and better. Our original concept for this shoot ended up not working out this time because we had to reschedule due to Audrey not feeling well, then again for weather. Gotta be flexible when we are working with kids and mother nature! Before we knew it, the clock was ticking down for the holidays and we just had to get the shoot done quickly in time for Christmas cards and gifts. So we headed over to one of my favorite spots that I just love for way the evening light falls in the winter months. I brought my old crate and Kendall and Nick brought some peppermint hot cocoa and we had a great time! Even though this was a “pulled together last minute” session, it turned out gorgeous and we are saving our original concept for their holiday shoot next year, so watch out! ;)
Holiday Portraits for Shawn
Even though it is still about 8o degrees here in the Bay Area, it's not too early to start thinking about what you would like to do for your holiday card photos this year! I'm not a big fan of overly "themed" portraits, but I do love an image that will make your cards stand out. I picked up this old sled and the cute little ear flap hat and off we went to find a spot for baby Shawn that would give a holiday feel but still be "pretty"...meaning not a lot of bare trees and cold light! Because sessions are always done either first thing in the morning or right before sunset, the temperature was perfect so Shawn was not uncomfortable in his winter wear. Now we can easily use a few of the images with the hat and the sled for the cards, but because the images are nice and clean and the props are subtle, they will still make beautiful portraits that can decorate the home for years to come! I've got a few other ideas for unique cards this year and am quickly gathering my props, so expect more images to come in the next month as the holiday season gets under way!
Welcome Erin! 8 days old
I recently had the pleasure of photographing the beautiful little Erin when she was only 8 days old. A lot of people wonder why newborn photographers like to work with the babies when they are so new, so let me shed a little light on that! During the first week or so of life, babies are their sleepiest. And I don’t mean just sleepy, but DEEP asleep. That makes it much easier to pose a baby! Babies that are awake will tend to flail their arms and legs and kick out of most poses. Another reason we like them so early is because most of the time their skin looks great! Those of us who have had newborns before know that baby acne can set it after a few weeks, as well as really flakey skin. So under best circumstances, a newborn session is arranged for before your due date to insure that the window of time that would be best for your baby’s first official portrait session is reserved for them! Because I run a boutique studio, I work with a limited clientele and that gives me the flexibility to move around session dates as need be. Normally, we schedule the session for a date approximately 6 days out from your due date and then adjust as needed based on when your baby actually decides to enter the world! The session itself runs very smoothly. All I need you to do is sit back, relax, keep the baby’s tummy nice and full, and I will handle the rest.
A sweet newborn session...
What a pleasure it was to photograph this beautiful little newborn. David was about 18 days old when we did his shoot, which is a bit "old" by newborn standards, but because he was about 5 weeks early he was just the right size! Working with this family was extra special for me because David's mommy and I actually went to elementary school together!
Cooper...8 days old
More newborn love! How perfect is Cooper’s head of hair? My gosh, I almost didn’t want to put a hat on him. Of course I did, but my favorites were all of the portraits that showed off his gorgeous brown hair. And he smiled…like every few minutes! What a perfect little baby, almost makes me want to have another myself. But I will restrain myself, and just get my baby fix a few hours here and there when I have the privilege of photographing someone else’s sweet bundle of love. Congratulations to Cooper’s family! Enjoy!