Oh sweet JJ - he's just perfect! Upon entering their home, Ashley and Matt were both so welcoming and inviting as we took a look around the house to find the best spot to set up for their lifestyle photo session. They shared that they wanted to capture snuggly, candid images with their new son as well as some sweet individual photos of JJ, particularly of him in his crib. 

We started with the family photos in their living room, cuddling together on the couch with their son swaddled in a soft white wrap. Both Matt and Ashley were both relaxed and casual as they snuggled together. I absolutely love seeing how new parents interact with each other and their new baby! Welcoming a new baby home, especially your first child, is such a special experience and I truly love observing how parents interact with their newborn at home.

The family also has a dachshund, which we have in common as a fellow dachshund owner, and are big fans of dogs. JJ's nursery was even decorated with adorable puppy sheets and a dachshund print over his crib! Capturing photos of him in his nursery was important to the family so I focused on little details in the room as well as photographing JJ all wrapped up in his crib. Babies always look so tiny in their big crib but I love taking photos of baby in their crib because one day they'll be jumping around in (or out) of there and it'll be hard to remember baby being that small!! For some of his individual photos, mom and dad requested that we use a baseball for a small prop. Dad used to play college and minor league baseball, so the sport is very important to him and his family. I loved being able to use a prop in JJ's photos that is so sentimental and special to his family!

It was such a pleasure to photograph the Iannazzo family and their new baby boy James!

I was so excited to learn that the Sabey family would be welcoming a baby boy to their family. I first met them for big brother Luca's newborn session and couldn't wait to take newborn photos of baby Vincent! With an active 2 year old big brother, we focused on lifestyle family photos with lots of playtime for Luca. Toddlers can be tricky to photograph and I find that it's best to embrace their playfulness and offer lots of breaks when taking their photos. So, whenever Luca wanted to run off and play with something else, we shifted our focus to taking pictures of mom and dad with baby brother. And when Luca was ready to sit near mom or dad and play, we captured those candid moments! It is so important to be flexible and patient when photographing children, especially toddlers!

After capturing some family photos, we started to set up for Vincent's posed newborn photos. In their pre-session questionnaire, mom stated that she would like to use dark blues and neutral tones for his photos. Also, she had a custom knit hat made with his name on it, just like one she had made for Luca's photos, and would like to incorporate the hat into his photos. Vincent loved to be wrapped and snuggled for his photos and slept so well during each wrapped set up. He did wake up for a few photos, which gave the perfect opportunity to photograph his beautiful blue eyes and facial expressions. He was also very comfortable being posed on his belly, which allowed for several backdrops and poses. Not all babies like to be posed on their belly and I find that it's incredibly important to follow the baby's lead in which pose works best for them. Sometimes parents have certain poses in mind that they would like to photograph, but their baby may not tolerate a certain position. I will do my best to attempt a pose that the parent requests, but ultimately it's up to baby about what will work best for them. Vincent did really well in various poses, so we were able to capture a variety of images for his family to cherish for years to come! 

Welcome to the world, baby Madalyn Elizabeth! She is the fourth baby for the Peglowski family and it was truly beautiful to see just how much her big sister and brothers love her already! They were calm and attentive to her during the photos of Madalyn with her siblings. It was really sweet to watch!

For her posed photos, mom requested that I use pink tones, neutral colors and simple set ups. She also wanted to try and use a basket for Madalyn to snuggle into for a few photos. When I arrived, I helped mom narrow down the choices of props we would use in the posed photos. I absolutely loved the dusty rose wrap and matching headband we selected to coordinate with the neutral fur blanket. She was just so comfy and snuggly in that soft wrap! Mom also chose a light pink rose lace backdrop with a neutral wrap and dainty bow headband. When I am working with parents on selecting materials for the posed photos, I love to mix textures. Texture adds such a beautiful and interesting element to the photo! It is so much fun to mix a variety of textures and colors while keeping with a coordinated style. But mom also wanted to use simple set ups, which is what we did with a soft cream blanket, cream pillow and pink felt headband. Sweet and simple to bring the focus back onto beautiful baby Madalyn!! 

With the Morgan family, I was able to incorporate so many of my favorite aspects of photography into their sessions - lifestyle images, maternity photos with first time parents, pictures of their dogs and of course posed newborn images of their sweet new son, Hudson!! When they contacted me about photography, they knew that they wanted to book my Belly to Baby photography package which includes both maternity and newborn sessions. In the anticipation of welcoming their first born son to their family, they wanted to be able to capture these important milestones! 

I first met Kim and Andrew at their home for a lifestyle maternity session. It was a cold but sunny January morning and I immediately felt welcomed into their home. We first discussed different areas of the house that they wanted to set up for photos, including the baby's nursery and their living room which had large windows, full of natural light. The nursery was decorated in an adorable woodland animal and nature theme, perfectly cozy for their new little boy to grow up! Kim and Andrew are definite animal lovers and had two beautiful dogs that they wanted to try and include in some of their photos. Kim is also a veterinarian so obviously animals are an important part of her life! 

Once Hudson arrived, Kim contacted me to schedule his newborn session. I could not get over just how adorable he is with his dark hair, button nose and gorgeous smile! We captured lots of snuggly pictures of Hudson with his mama and daddy. He was swaddled and comfy held in their arms! In planning for their session, mom decided that she wanted to use dark blue, green and neutral colors that would coordinate with his woodland nursery theme. Mom had also purchased a rainbow wrap and matching hat for photograph Hudson as he was their rainbow baby and she wanted to celebrate her babies. Hudson slept so well during his session that we were able to move through several prop set ups and poses. I absolutely loved the dark navy blue color coordinated with his skin tone and hair color. He'll definitely be a stunner in blue!!