Fresh 48 sessions are quickly becoming some of my favorite sessions to photograph and I was so excited to start officially offering these sessions this year! I put out a model call for a family who would be open to me taking their photos in the hospital and include them in my portfolio. That's how I got to meet Baby Zara and her sweet family! I wanted to be able to add photos in my portfolio for Fresh 48 sessions including older siblings. These sessions are so much fun for so many reasons, but my favorite is because it's a chance I have to capture real, raw, lifestyle images at a time that is so fresh for a growing family. For any parent, we know how it feels be to be handed this fresh little baby and feel that overwhelming emotion and immediate love for this new member of your family. We go through so many emotions and experiences after giving birth, which become a blur as time goes on. That is why I wanted to be able to start offering these Fresh 48 sessions. They're meant to be taken between 24-48 hours after giving birth, before the family is discharged from the hospital. These are also minimally posed, lifestyle photos....siblings meeting baby for the first time, first bath, snuggling together on the hospital bed, and capturing those little details of a fresh new baby! 

When I met Zara's family, big sister was a little shy at first but once she warmed up to the camera, she became the most expressive little girl! She loved looking at her baby sister in the bassinet and interacted with baby from the comfort of her parent's arms. It was so wonderful to photograph the Steven's family as they welcomed their newest daughter into their family and I am very grateful for the chance to include them in my Fresh 48 portfolio!

Seeing as how today is Valentine's Day, I thought I would share a bit about me, who I love and what I love doing! I've been sitting on this blog post for a few months, trying to decide when and how to share my personal story and introduction with you all. As a photographer, it can be pretty daunting to be in front of the camera. I've been working as a photographer for 6 years now but have always been the one behind the camera. Looking through photo albums from teen years through college, I'm usually the one taking the photo. But I know now, as a mom, just how important it is to be in front of the camera. Not only to take photos of my daughter but to be in the photo WITH my daughter. What a great gift to pass on to her and something to look back on with her!!

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved photography. I used to look through photography coffee table books and even would receive them as gifts. I would obsess over each image - looking at the composition, lighting and the storytelling before I even knew what these words meant. I started taking my own photos with a simple point and shoot camera when I was a pre-teen and entered my first contest - the local county fair. I won the Tri-Color ribbon, Best Overall, for photography when I was a young teenager. That's me holding up my sunset photo! 

I graduated high school and went on to college to study child development. I completed my bachelor's degree and went on to graduate school to follow my path in becoming a Child Life Specialist. All the years I had been working with children in various settings led me to a career in child life and I was in love!!

My husband and I started traveling after we got married and I have had the opportunity to take photos in some pretty amazing locations: Germany, Amsterdam, Hawaii, Alaska, Spain and locally in Texas and Pennsylvania. I had been so focused on finishing graduate school and starting my career as a Child Life Specialist, photography went on the back burner. But traveling really helped spark my love of photography again and I bought my first DSLR. I took a few classes at the local community college in order to learn how to use my camera properly and understand the mechanics of a digital camera. Then my friends started having babies and I thought about how amazing it would be to combine my love of photography and my passion of working with children, so I officially started my photography business in 2013. 

We had our daughter in 2014 and my love for documenting childhood and families grew exponentially. Because of my education in child development and years of experience in working with children of all ages, I completely understood just how quickly children grow and develop, especially the early years. I could always appreciate the importance of documenting those first few years of life, but it wasn't until we had our daughter that I could really grasp just how important that time is and how crucial it is to capture those moments. My daughter is now 4 years old and I look back on those early images and, through the fog of early parenthood, I cannot even remember the moment but I'm so glad we have the images to document that time with her!

So, last year I decided to hire a local photographer that offers business branding photography. In planning our session together, she really helped me decide on how I want to brand my photography services and how to best capture what I love about photography and the services that I can offer. I came to the conclusion that my biggest focus in on family. Our daughter is the center of our world and I wanted that to come through, not only in how I photograph families, but also in what I share with my clients and future clients. Family means everything to me and I wanted that concept to be my 'brand.' So we decided to not only take some business headshots of myself, but to also take family photos here in my home, with my daughter, husband and our dachshund. I am an on-location, traveling photographer, meaning that I meet my client's where they are: their home, backyard, favorite park or even the hospital where they just gave birth. And because of this, I do not have an outside studio or office. I work from home and edit right where my daughter is playing. Oftentimes, we're playing together while I'm answering emails or editing sessions. She especially loves to play 'beauty shop' and brush my hair or put in bows while I'm working on my laptop. This is my crazy life and I wanted to make sure we captured 'behind-the-scenes' of what it's like to work from home and run my photography business. 

So, this is my family, my life, love and passion. They are the driving force to better myself as a person and as a photographer and I love passing this passion on to the families I photograph each year. I am so grateful for the many families who have given me the opportunity to photograph their sweet new babies, growing toddlers and families. And I look forward to the chance to photograph previous clients and new families in the years to come!! 

There were so many beautiful images from this lifestyle first birthday session, I had a hard time deciding which ones to share! I first met baby Emilia and her parents for their newborn session and I immediately fell in love with this sweet family! Mom and Dad are so kind and made me feel so welcome in their home. I also really loved Emilia's nursery and the adorable watercolor design they chose for her decorations. When I came back for Emilia's first birthday session, I again felt so welcome and comfortable - and it was so great to see how much Emilia had grown over her first year! We focused on some lifestyle images of Emilia in her nursery.... playing in her crib, reading books with Mom and Dad, and playing with some ONE balloons that Mom had hung up to celebrate her first birthday. Emilia was so engaging and fun - we captured the best smiles and interactions between her and her parents! 

After some playtime in her nursery, we headed downstairs for the cake smash. They had an adorable little cake made with lots of sprinkles. Every birthday deserves a cake with lots of sprinkles! Emilia was not too sure about the cake at first, but once she got a taste of the cake, she dove right in! Some of my favorite shots in a cake smash session include all of the little details. The lips pursed while covered in frosting, fingers shoved inside of a cake, a fist squishing the cake between her fingers, little feet and toes with crumbs of cake and icing all around. Babies grow into toddlers so quickly, I really love capturing all of those tiny details because they won't be so tiny much longer!!