Meet the Marshall family! To say that new parents Shannon and Mike were excited for the arrival for their baby girl would be an understatement. When I first met them at the Walled Garden in Mellon Park, the excitement and love for the new little baby that they would be welcoming into the world was absolutely palpable! And they were so loving and comfortable with each other, I knew we were going to have a great session. Shannon had warned me before that both she and Mike did not always feel comfortable in front of the camera (to be fair, not many people do!) but I assured them that we would focus on them snuggling with each other and I would try to make it as easy as possible. The lighting for our sunset session was absolutely stunning and provided the best backdrop for their maternity photos. Shannon had requested a location with lots of texture - bricks, stone, gates - and Mellon Park is the best option for the type of the location they wanted. 

Dressed casually in jeans and simple shirts, both Shannon and Mike stayed true to their laid back personalities. Their outfits really allowed the connection between them and the landscape of the park shine through their photos. I offered simple posing guidance and took a step back to let them interact with each other. I have found this is a great way to capture the true emotion and interaction between a couple or family. I always prefer the natural connections versus a posed photo where everyone is looking at the camera, although we do also get those images too. It was so lovely to spent the hour with the Marshall's and it made me even more excited to capture the arrival of their baby girl!

Oh, sweet Maverick - what an amazing family you've just joined! As their fifth child, mom and dad are familiar with the process of welcoming home their newest addition, but with Maverick being born during a world pandemic, it was certainly a very different experience for the Hirschboeck family! 

When we were finally able to schedule our portrait session together, Maverick was already 5 weeks. While newborn sessions are typically done within the first two weeks after birth, we were able to accomplish a range of poses while Maverick slept comfortably. We started with family photos, including mom, dad and their four oldest children, in the family's backyard which was a perfect backdrop for this beautiful group! They were all so welcoming and sweet, with the older children sharing how their online learning and virtual activities have been going during quarantine. They were really adorable with baby Maverick and were doting all over him during their photos! After the family photos outside, we then focused on mom and dad with Maverick in his nursery. He had an adorably decorated nursery with neutral tones and natural accents. 

Mom had shared that she wanted to continue the neutral theme of his nursery for his posed newborn photos. She also  loved the idea of a variety of textures. So, when planning what materials and props I was going to bring with me, I chose a range of textured fabrics, wraps and natural bowls all within neutral tones to fit the family's preferences. Maverick has a beautiful full head of hair, which stood out on the neutral blankets. It was the perfect way to show off his gorgeous locks! 

Welcome to the world sweet Lila Lee! Delivered during the shutdown, Lila was my first newborn to photograph once we were able to open back up for business. Mom and dad wanted to capture as much of the newborn stage as we could even though Lila was already almost 9 weeks old. Patience and flexibility is important when photographing newborn babies, but especially with older newborns. Older newborns are more awake, alert and not as easily posable in those super squishy traditional newborn poses, so it's even more important to follow baby's cues during these sessions. As always, we started with the family photos first which also included their adorable puppy. Mom had a cute little outfit for Lila to wear during their family photos and the floral design matched the dainty floral decor in her nursery.

In their pre-session questionnaire, mom Maggie asked to use pink colors, flowers and anything feminine for props and backdrops. We were able to incorporate pink tones and floral touches to each of her set ups which provided a cohesive overall look to her final gallery. Lila started off awake and alert during her posed newborn photos, but this gave me an opportunity to photograph her striking beautiful blue eyes and facial expressions. Sometimes babies take time to settle in to being wrapped and posed during a session, but once she adjusted, she fell asleep and we were able to work through several set ups and poses. Mom loved the off-white wooden crate that I brought and Lila looked beautiful with the vintage style lace blanket and floral headband! She definitely preferred to be wrapped and cozy during her poses, but she was sleeping deep enough that I was able to wrap her in a way that showed her little fingers and toes. The perfect way to showcase those tiny newborn details!

At the time of our session together, our communities have been through a lot of uncertainty and stress. But I am so glad that I was able to photograph Lila and capture this newborn stage for the Matthews' family so that they have these fond memories to look back on during these uncertain times. Lila was such a sweet, beautiful baby girl and I am so happy to photograph their new family!

Evangeline is a one year old!! I first met this sweet girl and her parents for their newborn session so when mom contacted me about booking Evangeline's first birthday session, I was beyond excited! I absolutely love photographing families over the years because it's so fun to see how much the sweet two week old baby has grown into a one year old! 

When we booked her session in early May, we ended up with a chilly spring evening but had an absolutely gorgeous sunset. The trees were starting to bloom and the garden at Hartwood Acres was just beginning to grow. Evangeline was a little cold so I encouraged mom and dad to give her lots of snuggles to keep her warm. This also allowed me to capture some sweet, candid moments between mom, dad and their baby girl.

They brought a small cake for Evangeline so that we could photograph a few cake smash images. She did not want too much to do with the cake, which often happens with babies in their cake smash sessions. Some babies really go for the cake and others are more hesitant. So instead of cake smash images, we just took cake images to celebrate her first birthday! And anytime we can celebrate a birthday with cake is a great birthday!!