Welcome to the World, sweet Nora!!

In meeting Nora's parents, I immediately felt at home as they were so kind and welcoming as soon as I arrived to their home. We started with family photos in Nora's adorably decorated nursery. Mom had purchased a little outfit that she wanted to use, including a pink tutu, bow and a 'hello world' onesie. Nora was so adorable snuggling with her mama and daddy and we were able to capture some really sweet moments of their new little family. 

After finishing up their family photos, we moved on to the posed newborn photos of Nora. In her pre-session questionnaire, mom stated that she wanted to use colors that complimented her nursery as well as some fall colors to celebrate the season in which she was born. I brought a variety of colors and props for them to choose from and I loved the delicate, feminine choices we settled on for her posed photos. The floral and lace details coordinated throughout each set-up. For a fall themed setup, we selected a sunflower headband and complimented the headband with beautiful, rich jewel tones. I loved the overall colors and props that we included in each of Nora's setups - it was perfectly feminine for this sweet girl and matched the style mom explained while planning their session. I absolutely loved getting to know the Wessel family and their new baby daughter!

Oh, fall weather in Pittsburgh - it's a love/hate relationship for photographers! In planning for the Kerns family portrait session, we were scheduled on a day expecting rain storms and a pretty nasty forecast so after much back and forth, we changed the date and location in order to avoid the storms. After making some changes, the forecast changed to expect rain on our new date, but we decided to push through and chance it. I'm so glad we didn't cancel again because we ended up with a gorgeous, sunny afternoon in Sewickley Heights Borough Park!

As soon as we walked to our location to start the session, the Kerns sisters were super silly and fun to interact with for photos. I loved how the girls were immediately playful and had fun taking photos with each other and their parents. And they loved it! This allowed me to capture those candid smiles, laughs and true interactions within the family that I hope they will treasure forever!

I am super excited to share just a small sample of the images captured during this year's fall mini sessions! Fall in Pennsylvania is always so beautiful and a popular time of year to schedule family portraits. These mini sessions are my most popular round of mini sessions each year and it's a great time to catch up with families every year! 

This fall, I hosted minis in three different locations - all beautiful, local parks which were perfect for a fall backdrop. The first day of minis were located at the Mellon Park Walled Garden. This is one of my favorite city park locations as it offers a wide range of backdrops for portraits. And sunset sessions at this location is absolutely stunning! Next, I met families at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA. This park also offers a variety of beautiful spots within the park and is always a stunning location no matter what time of year you visit! Finally, the third day mini sessions were held at Adams Township Community Park. This park has amazing fields of tall grassy fields and there is always gorgeous fall foliage which adds the perfect pop of color to each portrait!

I am so grateful to the many families who joined me for fall minis this year - whether they were new clients or old friends. It's always so fun to catch up with previous clients and meet new families that I hope to get to know over the years! 

When mom Amanda contacted me about scheduling a portrait session for her family, she shared that she is a photographer from Delaware and would be visiting Pittsburgh for the weekend. In researching locations for her session, she fell in love with photos at the Mellon Park Walled Garden and decided that she wanted to do her session at this beautiful location. She also shared that her and her husband would be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, so these were not just a family portrait session, but a chance to capture special images in celebration of this important milestone! 

Their sweet boy William was such a ham and gave the biggest laughs when playing around with his mom and dad. When we have active toddlers who often do not want to sit still for family portraits, I always strive for those natural, playful moments within the family. Play peek-a-boo, chase, or even smelling flowers or counting leaves are great little activities that encourage closeness and give the toddler a chance to laugh and have fun during their photos. And they are often much more cooperative! This was the case with William who loved to explore and play silly games, running around Mellon Park. It was a really fun session celebrating their visit to Pittsburgh, 10th wedding anniversary and family portraits with their adorable son!

Introducing baby Arvin! He's the cutest little chunky monkey and I loved photographing his sweet family! Arvin is the first baby for the Hugus family and was totally doted on throughout our session together. In planning for their newborn session, mom explained that they have a very clean and simple style and would like to choose backdrops and props with smooth or very little texture. Mom had also selected some little sleeper sets she had purchased that she wanted to use, which were absolutely adorable! I love when parents select little items that match their style and preferences to include in their photo sessions.

We started with some lifestyle images of Arvin snuggling with his mom and dad in their bedroom and then his nursery. I find photographing these candid, lifestyle images of families with their new babies is the best way to capture those fresh, intimate moments. I loved how Arvin was awake during their family photos, so there are lots of images of Arvin looking up at his mama and daddy, which was really sweet! For his posed newborn photos, Arvin slept really well which allowed several poses and set ups. We used several shades of blue as well as neutral colors and a beautiful hunter green sleeper that mom had purchased. Arvin is such an adorable little guy and I loved the opportunity to photograph the Hugus family as they welcomed their new baby boy into their family!

After working with mom, Sarah, at Children's Hospital for a few years, I am always so excited when she asks me to photograph her growing family. I've had the opportunity to capture special moments with her family over the past few years, including the arrival of her son Cam and her precious daughter, Ada. And now we are celebrating Ada's first birthday! It's amazing how quickly that first year goes by and I always love these birthday sessions because it's a wonderful way to celebrate this huge milestone! 

We decided on using their backyard for their family session, which was such a perfect location for fall photos! We started with some family portraits, including their sweet dog Sophie. Ada did not want to sit for too long so we let her move around and play with her stuffies. One of her favorite things to do is roll around and hug her stuffed animals, which is super fun to watch because she had the BIGGEST smile and was having so much fun! After taking some individual photos of Ada, we moved on to Cam. He was so much fun to follow around, talk to and capture those sweet little smiles. Plus, he had his beloved stuffed kitty cat and he was super excited to get a picture with his special lovey.

After a quick outfit change, we moved on to some individual first birthday photos. Ada absolutely loves fresh fruit, so instead of doing a smash cake, mom decided on doing a 'fruit smash.' She filled a bowl with Ada's favorite berries with some delicious whip cream on top and Ada loved this fun treat!! Big brother Cam could not wait to jump in and enjoy her dessert and even helped feed her some of the berries. This was such a fun, colorful and tasty twist to the traditional birthday cake smash. And definitely perfect for baby Ada!! 

Introducing baby Hamza! I was first contacted by mom, Mary, to photograph her new baby boy with a lifestyle portrait session after he was discharged from the hospital. She and her husband wanted to celebrate their new little family and capture those early days together in their new home with their new sweet baby. The family had recently moved to Pittsburgh in order to receive the medical care they needed for Hamza, who was facing medical complications after birth. And now that they were home from the hospital, settling into their new home, they were ready to schedule a portrait session together.

As soon as I met this sweet family, I immediately observed the immense love and affection they had for each other and for their new son. Both mom and dad were really affectionate with Hamza and I did not have to give much direction on snuggling with him or giving him lots of kisses. Mom had shared with me that her priority was to capture really loving images of her family with Hamza so we focused on these intimate, candid moments, perfect in a lifestyle portrait session! Hamza loved to be wrapped and snuggled, so we were able to capture a few images of him sleeping in his crib as well as images of him awake, showing off those big, beautiful eyes. Their portrait session was such a great way to celebrate the arrival of baby Hamza, their move to Pittsburgh and growth of their sweet family!

I first met the Lowe/Dougherty family last year for big brother's second birthday session and to capture a few maternity photos. They were expecting their second child and wanted to capture some family photos with just the three of them before baby arrived. After baby Avery was born, the asked me to come take newborn photos, which I was super excited to do! I love getting to know families over time, especially for newborn sessions when I get to observe the family with their newest member. So then I was ecstatic when mom contacted me to book a first birthday session and family portraits for their daughter's birthday!

We settled on a location in Boyce Mayview Park and kept our fingers crossed for a beautiful evening full of that gorgeous summer sunset glow! We lucked out with such a wonderful night, where the lighting was perfect! Mom and Dad wanted to focus on capturing those real, candid moments of their children, especially playing around with their parents. So when we got to the park, we let the kids play around and I looked for their real smiles and expressions. I love this style of photography and feel like I get the best photos by letting the family interact to capture those really magical and natural moments together! And what a special way to celebrate their family and baby Avery's first birthday! 

Welcome to the world, Ella and Kaia!! When mom, Shannon, contacted me about a newborn session for her twin girls, I could not have been more excited! The family decided on booking my Luxe newborn package which includes both a Fresh 48 lifestyle session in their hospital room as well as an in home full newborn session, including posed newborn photos of the girls. It was really fun to meet the parents right after the arrival of their sweet baby girls and then see them again a week later once they had settled in to being at home. Having a baby really turns our world around, so I love that I was able to capture such fresh moments for them prior to discharge and then again once they have had a few days to adjust to this major life change! 

The girls are so beautiful and it was amazing to see both Shannon and Ian gaze at their new baby girls with such adoration and love! The immediate, intense love we have for our babies is so wonderful and always amazing to me! 

In preparation for their arrival, mom and dad created their nursery with teal and pink, each color corresponding to each girl. Mom also purchased some adorable floral headbands that she wanted to use in the session to coordinate with their theme. We incorporated the teal and pink colors in various ways, through wraps, backdrop blankets and headbands. It will be a great way to showcase the girls together and individually while using their theme throughout the session! One of the things I love about newborn sessions is that I work closely with the parents to design their custom portrait session. And I love when we are able to incorporate sentimental items or colors schemes that work well with their family style. It helps make every session unique and special to that family. Plus it allows me to be creative in how to use these special items in their newborn and family photos! 

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!