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!