Introducing baby Arvin! He's the cutest little chunky monkey and I loved photographing his sweet family! Arvin is the first baby for the Hugus family and was totally doted on throughout our session together. In planning for their newborn session, mom explained that they have a very clean and simple style and would like to choose backdrops and props with smooth or very little texture. Mom had also selected some little sleeper sets she had purchased that she wanted to use, which were absolutely adorable! I love when parents select little items that match their style and preferences to include in their photo sessions.

We started with some lifestyle images of Arvin snuggling with his mom and dad in their bedroom and then his nursery. I find photographing these candid, lifestyle images of families with their new babies is the best way to capture those fresh, intimate moments. I loved how Arvin was awake during their family photos, so there are lots of images of Arvin looking up at his mama and daddy, which was really sweet! For his posed newborn photos, Arvin slept really well which allowed several poses and set ups. We used several shades of blue as well as neutral colors and a beautiful hunter green sleeper that mom had purchased. Arvin is such an adorable little guy and I loved the opportunity to photograph the Hugus family as they welcomed their new baby boy into their family!

After working with mom, Sarah, at Children's Hospital for a few years, I am always so excited when she asks me to photograph her growing family. I've had the opportunity to capture special moments with her family over the past few years, including the arrival of her son Cam and her precious daughter, Ada. And now we are celebrating Ada's first birthday! It's amazing how quickly that first year goes by and I always love these birthday sessions because it's a wonderful way to celebrate this huge milestone! 

We decided on using their backyard for their family session, which was such a perfect location for fall photos! We started with some family portraits, including their sweet dog Sophie. Ada did not want to sit for too long so we let her move around and play with her stuffies. One of her favorite things to do is roll around and hug her stuffed animals, which is super fun to watch because she had the BIGGEST smile and was having so much fun! After taking some individual photos of Ada, we moved on to Cam. He was so much fun to follow around, talk to and capture those sweet little smiles. Plus, he had his beloved stuffed kitty cat and he was super excited to get a picture with his special lovey.

After a quick outfit change, we moved on to some individual first birthday photos. Ada absolutely loves fresh fruit, so instead of doing a smash cake, mom decided on doing a 'fruit smash.' She filled a bowl with Ada's favorite berries with some delicious whip cream on top and Ada loved this fun treat!! Big brother Cam could not wait to jump in and enjoy her dessert and even helped feed her some of the berries. This was such a fun, colorful and tasty twist to the traditional birthday cake smash. And definitely perfect for baby Ada!! 

Introducing baby Hamza! I was first contacted by mom, Mary, to photograph her new baby boy with a lifestyle portrait session after he was discharged from the hospital. She and her husband wanted to celebrate their new little family and capture those early days together in their new home with their new sweet baby. The family had recently moved to Pittsburgh in order to receive the medical care they needed for Hamza, who was facing medical complications after birth. And now that they were home from the hospital, settling into their new home, they were ready to schedule a portrait session together.

As soon as I met this sweet family, I immediately observed the immense love and affection they had for each other and for their new son. Both mom and dad were really affectionate with Hamza and I did not have to give much direction on snuggling with him or giving him lots of kisses. Mom had shared with me that her priority was to capture really loving images of her family with Hamza so we focused on these intimate, candid moments, perfect in a lifestyle portrait session! Hamza loved to be wrapped and snuggled, so we were able to capture a few images of him sleeping in his crib as well as images of him awake, showing off those big, beautiful eyes. Their portrait session was such a great way to celebrate the arrival of baby Hamza, their move to Pittsburgh and growth of their sweet family!

I first met the Lowe/Dougherty family last year for big brother's second birthday session and to capture a few maternity photos. They were expecting their second child and wanted to capture some family photos with just the three of them before baby arrived. After baby Avery was born, the asked me to come take newborn photos, which I was super excited to do! I love getting to know families over time, especially for newborn sessions when I get to observe the family with their newest member. So then I was ecstatic when mom contacted me to book a first birthday session and family portraits for their daughter's birthday!

We settled on a location in Boyce Mayview Park and kept our fingers crossed for a beautiful evening full of that gorgeous summer sunset glow! We lucked out with such a wonderful night, where the lighting was perfect! Mom and Dad wanted to focus on capturing those real, candid moments of their children, especially playing around with their parents. So when we got to the park, we let the kids play around and I looked for their real smiles and expressions. I love this style of photography and feel like I get the best photos by letting the family interact to capture those really magical and natural moments together! And what a special way to celebrate their family and baby Avery's first birthday! 

Welcome to the world, Ella and Kaia!! When mom, Shannon, contacted me about a newborn session for her twin girls, I could not have been more excited! The family decided on booking my Luxe newborn package which includes both a Fresh 48 lifestyle session in their hospital room as well as an in home full newborn session, including posed newborn photos of the girls. It was really fun to meet the parents right after the arrival of their sweet baby girls and then see them again a week later once they had settled in to being at home. Having a baby really turns our world around, so I love that I was able to capture such fresh moments for them prior to discharge and then again once they have had a few days to adjust to this major life change! 

The girls are so beautiful and it was amazing to see both Shannon and Ian gaze at their new baby girls with such adoration and love! The immediate, intense love we have for our babies is so wonderful and always amazing to me! 

In preparation for their arrival, mom and dad created their nursery with teal and pink, each color corresponding to each girl. Mom also purchased some adorable floral headbands that she wanted to use in the session to coordinate with their theme. We incorporated the teal and pink colors in various ways, through wraps, backdrop blankets and headbands. It will be a great way to showcase the girls together and individually while using their theme throughout the session! One of the things I love about newborn sessions is that I work closely with the parents to design their custom portrait session. And I love when we are able to incorporate sentimental items or colors schemes that work well with their family style. It helps make every session unique and special to that family. Plus it allows me to be creative in how to use these special items in their newborn and family photos! 

Welcome to the world Makenzie! She is such a sweet and beautiful little girl and I was so excited to photograph the Rinehart family as they welcomed their first child! Mom contacted me over the summer to book a newborn portrait session for their baby girl and we had fun planning the details for her session. Makenzie's nursery design included gray and yellow with watercolor safari animals. And mom had a beautiful gray and yellow quilt that she wanted to incorporate into some of the posed photos of their newborn girl.

When I arrived, Mom and I worked together on selecting the colors, blankets, wraps and headbands that she wanted to use in the session. We settled on neutral tones with little pops of feminine color and details, like a lace backdrop or dainty headband. In preparing for newborn sessions, I always communicate with the parents before I even arrive to their home to discuss their color preferences, family style and specific requests for poses or props. This really helps me narrow down my selections of what I bring during a session, so that it is designed specifically for their family. Once I arrive to their home, I work with the parents to further narrow down their choices and we make all final selections on props and colors for the posed newborn photos. I really love including the family in making these choices because it gives them an active role in the set ups and creates a session unique to their family and style preferences. I rarely ever have the same set up for different families and I love that each baby's newborn photos are different and unique to them!

Dad arrived later in the morning, once he was finished with work, at which point we started to set up for their family photos. We decided on using the nursery as well as their bedroom for the family photos. For family photos, I try to use a combination of posed family portraits as well as capturing those candid, lifestyle images. I especially love those the lifestyle images as they tend to tell an amazing family story. The baby snuggled against mom's chest, or being held in dad's large protective hands, even those intimate little looks between mom and dad as they share in the love and amazement of their new baby. These are the true moments that I try and capture in a portrait session! 

Sweet baby Avery is now a one year old! I first met mom and dad for their maternity session and then photographed Avery for her newborn photos. I am always so surprised just how quickly the first year passes by and I am so grateful when I get the opportunity to capture such precious milestones for families! 

In planning their family session this summer, mom decided she wanted a location that focused on natural elements like tall grass and wildflowers. We settled on using Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve because it offers a wide range of beautiful, natural backdrops with gorgeous lighting for a sunset session. As soon as they arrived, Avery was super smiley and such a happy little girl. She was so much fun to photograph and gave the best little facial expressions! Plus, she loved showing off her new trick: holding up her finger when asked how old she is. She really loved snuggling with mom and dad for their family photos and we were able to capture the biggest smiles from her, especially when playing around and swinging through the air with dad!

Mom brought two outfits for Avery, both super adorable, flowery and perfect for a summer portrait session. The little dresses coordinated well with the natural landscape at Beechwood Farms, especially with the wildflowers and pops of color in the background. Towards the end of the session, we took a few individual images of Avery and captured some of those little details to celebrate this new one year old. Her tiny feet, clapping her hands, her long eye lashes and big beautiful blue eyes! She was so much fun to photograph and I had truly enjoyed capturing such important milestones for Avery and her parents over the past year!

Welcome to the world, Ezra! I cannot describe just how much this little guy is loved in his family. From the moment I walked into the door of their home, I could feel the love for him. Big brother Noah was sitting with him in the living room, loving on him and speaking soft, quiet words to him. And while I was setting up my backdrop blankets and props for Ezra's individual photos, big sister Lydia was kissing and cuddling him the entire time. They just could not get enough of their new baby brother! It was so sweet to see older siblings be so in love with the new baby and want to help take care of him as much as they did. And they could not wait to take photos with him! They just snuggled right in and cozied up to him for their sibling photos. So adorable!!

For Ezra's posed newborn photos, mom decided on various shades of blues and neutrals. We settled on a variety of props to use, including a handmade knit blanket that mom's grandmother made special for their family. When I am preparing families for their newborn session, I always suggest including a sentimental item or special prop that we can use during the session as it makes their photos that much more unique to their family. We incorporated this little baby blanket into a prop set up with a rustic wooden bowl that mom picked out, which complimented each other perfectly!

I truly loved working with the Shriver family, photographing their newest baby and spending time with big brother and sister. It was so much fun watching this sweet family interact with each other and love on baby Ezra during the session. I am sure Noah and Lydia will make wonderful older siblings for Ezra, helping their parents with taking care of him and playing with him as he grows. They are already such wonderful older siblings!

This was my first year offering summer sunset mini sessions and I am so excited to share some of my favorite images from the sessions! We had two absolutely gorgeous evenings and beautiful sunset lighting for these mini sessions. On our first night, we met at Adams Township Community Park - one of my favorite local spots for portrait sessions. We started with Amelia who loved to twirl and spin and hunt for flowers among the tall weeds. Then came the Ramirez boys...who absolutely loved to run, play and make silly faces! It was so much fun chasing these kiddos around the field!

The next night of summer mini sessions were held at Pine Community park. There's a great field with tall grass and wildflowers that photographs beautifully at sunset, so it was the perfect spot for our sunset minis! I started with Brooklyn, a really sweet 2 year old who has the most infectious smile! Next, I photographed the Krenz kids - a brother and sister who were super playful and so much fun! I especially love the snuggly photos of them together!

I want to say thank you to all of the families who participated in this year's summer minis - it was so much fun photographing all of these sweet, fun kids!

​All images by Becca Baker Photography
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania newborn, maternity, child & family photographer
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*Becca Baker Photography specializes in newborn, infant/child, maternity and family photography in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas.*
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Meet the Wasynczuk Family - a super sweet family who booked their first session with me to celebrate their youngest daughter's first birthday! I actually met mom almost 2 years ago at a local playground. Our girls were playing together so we began chatting about our kids and lives (as most moms do on a playground!) She took my information and then followed me on social media. After having their second daughter, mom contacted me to book a portrait session for their family and some first birthday photos for Olivia. Mom knew she wanted to use a more natural location, possibly with a field of tall grass and wildflowers, so I started to come up with a list of recommended spots. I was driving through a local park and saw an open field with beautiful white wildflowers and it happened to be the same park I met her in two years ago! I was so excited when she agreed on this location! 

They brought their adorable dog with them and we made sure to capture some family photos with her included. We took a range of photos on a secluded road and empty hillside and then drove over to the grassy field with wildflowers. The sun was starting to set over the back of the hill and field, so by the time we got to the cake smash photos with Olivia, we had a gorgeous golden glow over the tall grass! Olivia had no problems jumping in and eating her cake. Some babies just know to go for it and others need a little convincing....but she needed no help at all! And big sister Emily was standing by waiting for the go-ahead from mom and dad to jump in and help Olivia with her cake! I love the images of the two sisters sitting in the tall grass with a gorgeous sunset behind them, eating cake together...and Olivia's reactions are just priceless! 

It was so much fun catching up with the Wasynczuk family and capturing these fun memories for them!