Riley and her mama - two peas in a pod! When mama, Melissa, contacted me to photograph a Mama & Me session for her daughter Riley, I was so excited! I photographed Riley for her Fresh 48 then her in-home newborn session so I was excited to see her again. It is always so much fun to see children again after photographing their newborn sessions - they grow so much and I love to see the little humans that they are growing up to be! Riley is a spunky, funny little girl who just loved to run around Mellon Park, play games with her mama and smell all of the gorgeous flowers around the garden. 

When I photograph toddlers, I always wear my running shoes - and Riley was no exception! She loved to run around, climb and explore the garden which made her session so much fun! We were able to capture those adorable giggles, big smiles and peek-a-boo games, plus LOTS of snuggles with her mama!! A perfect, summer day to explore the Mellon Park Walled Garden!

Meet sweet baby Owen! First born baby for the Lewis family and to say that they are already in love is a true understatement! Mom and Dad just gushed all over their sweet little baby throughout the entire newborn session and I loved watching how they interacted with their new baby. I always feel so honored to capture these moments for family - it's such a special time for a growing family!

Mom and Dad decorated Owen's nursery in an adorable animal theme, complete with absolutely beautiful watercolor prints of animals. His room was the perfect space to grow into, complete with a full shelf of books (I'm a HUGE fan of books with babies!!) He was so snuggly and comfy during his photos and he fell asleep easily in his mama's arms. We were even able to capture some images of him snuggled in his crib. I love photographing babies in their cribs, even when they are not using it yet, because the baby juts looks so tiny in the crib and they are only so small for so long! 

After we finished up photos of Owen with his parents, we moved on to his individual posed newborn photos. Mom requested to use neutral tones and dark green with fur textures for his posed photos. She also had a moses basket that she wanted incorporated in his session, including an adorable lion muslin swaddle blanket. Owen loved to be swaddled and warm, so we made sure to keep him wrapped during the session. And he gave me the biggest smile while posed on a little sweater knit pillow! He is just the cutest little guy and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to photograph little Owen and his proud parents!

Meet the beautiful Ackenbom family! When dad contacted me to book a portrait session for his family, he shared that after the arrival of their second son, they did not have a chance to get family photos done and wanted to capture their newly expanded family. Their son was already 6 months 'and getting older by the day' so they were ready to book a session as quickly as possible! We were able to schedule our session for a gorgeous August evening and chose a perfect location in North Park - a favorite spot for portrait sessions! The family was super casual and prioritized capturing their family together, relaxed and having fun playing in the field.

Little Sidney was not quite ready to show off his smile when we got started, but big brother Stokely was ready for his photos! He had a gorgeous smile and was ready to show it off right away! When Sidney needed a quick break, I took Stokely aside for some individual photos in the field. The sunset light looked so beautiful in the trees behind him and he was so fun and easy to talk to, we were able to capture some truly gorgeous expressions! Next, we focused our attention back to Sidney who was ready for his close up. He was sitting up well on his own at this point, so we put him in a shallow white bowl for some stability while sitting in the field. He wasn't quite sure what to think about this set up but his big beautiful eyes and serious expression sure provided some perfect portraits!

After getting a few individual photos of the boys, I then pulled each parent aside for some photos with their children. Dad showered Sidney with chubby cheek kisses and Stokely with rib tickles while Mom snuggled in with her boys, providing loving cuddles while sitting on a quilt. While I always focus on the family together as a whole during the sessions, I love to also get individual photos of each parent with their kids. I hope that it is something that the child can look back on years from now and cherish how special they are to their parent. And their own special relationship always shows through in these photos, which is super fun to photograph!

I am so excited to welcome little Alana to the blog!! I have had the pleasure of photographing the Pristow family after the arrival of their first daughter, Emilia. So when mom, Erica, contacted me about scheduling Alana's first birthday session, I couldn't wait to see them again! Getting to see my client families each year is truly one of my favorite parts of the job - it is so much fun to see how their children grow and develop over the years! Fortunately the family lives in a neighborhood with a beautiful common space with a pond, trees and a small garden. So in order to keep the girl's close to home for their sunset session, we met at the pond area which also happens to capture truly beautiful golden sunset light. 

We started with their family photos both posed and candid images. I like to set my families up in a general pose and then give them ideas on how to interact with each other to capture genuine moments and reactions. I am not always a fan of stiff poses where the families are looking directly at the camera but prefer those candid moments. I absolutely LOVE the families snuggle close, have tickle fights, give their kids lots of kisses and laugh throughout the session. Having your photos taken should be fun and easy and I really try to accomplish this during each of my sessions. 

The Pristow family is one of those families that just jump right in and enjoy this time with their girls. They play, laugh and know the best way to get smiles from their girls. It's always a blast to see this beautiful family and their girls are so much fun to photograph! After we finished up with some family photos around the park grounds, including some photos of the sisters together, it was time for some individual photos of Alana to celebrate her first birthday. Mom had brought another outfit for Alana so after a quick outfit change, we set her up on a little blanket for her cake smash! Alana dove right into the little cupcake and enjoyed all of the delicious icing and sprinkles! What a fun way to celebrate a huge milestone!! 

What a beautiful day for summer sessions! When I had originally contacted the owner of Pisarcik Flower Farm, we had scheduled my spring Mama & Me minis on their farm. But then COVID19 happened and the world shut down so those plans had to be placed on hold. Once our businesses were allowed to start back up and running again, a new date was set for family summer mini sessions and I am so excited with how the day turned out! It was a gorgeous day in July, with just a slight impending storm at the end of the day, but it was a day full of families, laughter and catching up! Each of the families that had signed up for a session were previous clients. I was absolutely thrilled to catch up with each of them, see how they were coping through the craziness of our new 'Covid world' but also see how much their children and families had grown. Some had new babies I was able to meet for the first time, children I had not seen since their newborn photos or older children starting school for the first time in the next few weeks! It was so much fun seeing all of these families again and it definitely brought back a sense of normalcy! 

The owners of the flower farm gave us free rein to use the greenhouses and space around their farm, which was so generous and amazing of them to do. This gave myself and each family an opportunity to walk around the property, explore their beautiful floral nursery and capture beautiful images among the flowers! Each child walked around with wide eyes and excited enthusiasm as they smelled each flower and gently touched every plant. The laughs, smiles and wonderment we captured was amazing and I am truly grateful for Pisarcik Flower Farm for letting us use their gorgeous property! It was the perfect backdrop for these summer sessions!