Introducing baby Aiden James!! The first baby for the Smith family

Please meet sweet baby Evangeline!! First of all, I am absolutely obsessed with her name and as equally obsessed with this sweet girl! She was absolutely precious, snuggling and so very cuddly during our session - it was so hard to stop taking photographs of this gorgeous baby! In planning out the details for their session, Mom, Krista, knew she wanted to incorporate purples and lavender as this is the color they chose for her nursery. So while I was making the choices of what to bring for her set ups, I selected several options that worked well with lavender, neutrals and feminine details. With a name like Evangeline, I had to go with beautifully feminine details! 

When I arrived, Mom and Dad were still getting ready and settled into the morning, so I went ahead and started with Evie's posed newborn photos. She was such a great little sleeper that we were able to get through several poses, both wrapped and unwrapped. Mom requested a rainbow set up so I found a local vendor with a gorgeous mohair rainbow headband I was able to purchase as well as another local photographer who had the matching rainbow basket stuffer that I could borrow. It was the perfect set for baby Evie's rainbow photos! 

After Evie's posed newborn photos, we moved on to the family portraits. They have an adorable pup that they wanted to include, if possible. I absolutely love including family pets in the portraits and he was such a little ham and so easy to photograph! He was naturally curious about his new baby sister so it was easy to capture some images of him up close next to Evie. What sweet images for the family to look back on, with their fur baby and brand new baby girl snuggle together in their now expanded family!

I look forward to these spring Mama and Me mini sessions every year and really enjoy capturing such sweet cuddly moments between mamas and their babies! It is so easy to grab your phone or camera and take a quick photo of your child and then you realize you do not have any photos of yourself with your kids! We all do it and I'm definitely guilty of this! So, this is why I look forward to these motherhood sessions every year so I can focus on that beautiful relationship between mom and child. It is such a great way to celebrate Moms! 

This year, I had five amazing families for the Mama & Me mini sessions. One new client, a few newborn clients and some previous family session clients. There was also a great mix of ages of children - from babies up to pre-teen....you're never too old to get photos taken with your Mama!! In true Pittsburgh spring fashion, the weather was unpredictable and slightly uncooperative. The first few families had to deal with some rain  and soggy grass but then it stopped raining and got pretty humid. But overall, we had a beautiful morning at Beechwood Farms! There was some beautiful wildflowers starting to bloom which made a gorgeous accent of color in the background of the photos! There were lots of snuggles, kisses, 'Ugga Mugga's,' and hugs from all of the gorgeous moms and their babies.

I first met the Elder family at last year's Mama & Me mini sessions. So when Mom emailed me that she was expecting another baby and wanted me to photograph her son's newborn photos, I was really excited to catch up them! It really is so much fun for me to photograph families repeatedly and over time. It's amazing to watch a family change and grow as they grow their own family. When I first met them, they were a young family with an adorable toddler and now they had a new baby brother! Big brother Max is just as adorable as when I first met him!! He was so excited to love on his baby brother Leo and hold him for some hugs. Photographing young children with their new baby siblings can sometimes be tricky, but he was happy to hold Leo for a few quick photos before he was ready to run and play again. As a family and newborn photographer, I've learned how to focus on those quick moments, however fleeting, to capture the memory that the family can cherish for a lifetime!

After taking a few family photos of Leo with his parents and big brother, I started to set up for the posed newborn photos. When walking into a client's home, I first look for the best lighting. I look for lighting and the best room to set up for family photos but also a great big window with natural light for the posed newborn shots. Since I only shoot with natural light, finding the right light in their home is crucial. Sometimes that means I'm crammed into a doorway, kitchen or playroom. For Leo's session, I found a great spot in the corner of their living room, right in the middle of Max's toys. But he was understanding and let me move his toys around so I could set up my big bean bag pillow, which he of course wanted to jump on! I always let siblings check out my bean bag when I put it out....it's so tempting to play on! Mom decided she wanted to use gray, black, white and mint as those were the colors used in Leo's nursery. I brought lots of color options for mom to choose from and we also decided to use some different shades of blue in some of the set ups. Mom also had a few special quilts that were made for the family by her grandmother. I really love it when families want to include a personal item in their photos - it really makes their images extra special and unique!

When I met baby Connor, it was one of those sunny, beautiful March mornings in Pittsburgh. My family had just returned from a trip late the night before, but I loaded up on coffee and headed over to the Jordan family's home to photograph their new baby boy. We started with their family photos and had to include their sweet dog, Samson, in the photos. Although I do not think Samson would have allowed us to take too many photos without him in them somewhere! He was super cute, very curious about baby Connor and was eager to check him out in the crib! We captured some lifestyle images of the new family together in Connor's nursery and made sure to include Samson. Connor's grandparents had gifted the new parents a beautiful painting of The Velveteen Rabbit, one of mom's favorite books as a child, that was hung over his crib. They wanted to try and capture some images together in front of the painting as it was so special to their family.

Once we finished the family portraits in the nursery and their living room, I started setting up for the posed newborn photos. Mom decided that she wanted to incorporate neutral colors and various shades of blue in his posed photos. I brought a variety of options and we selected some fabrics, textures and colors that she would like me to use. He was already swaddled in this beautifully textured neutral wrap from the family portraits, so I went ahead and started with the bucket prop set up and went with neutral and brown colors. I also used different textures, like fur, burlap, and wood which added an interesting in the set up. Connor was sleeping so well, I was able to move through a variety of fabric backdrop set ups and poses which gave the family several options in their gallery. He was a dream baby to photograph and I loved capturing his little details and features, including the best baby belly rolls!

When mom, Deepa, contacted me about booking the Belly to Baby photography package, she knew she wanted to capture their maternity session in the snow. I was really excited because even though we live in Pennsylvania, I do not often get families who want to take photos in the snow. So this was a great opportunity to take advantage of this gorgeous backdrop we only get for a few months during the year! We settled on a location that had a large, beautiful field with tall trees and tall grass that would hold onto the snow really beautifully. This park in Adams Township is one of my favorite locations to offer sessions because it has a variety of looks to keep the photos interesting!

Booking a maternity and newborn package together is such a great way to capture these important moments, while also building a relationship between photographer and client. I knew I would be able to get to know the couple together first during the maternity session before baby arrived and everything in their life changed! Especially as first time parents, I really enjoy getting to know the couple as individuals and together during such an exciting time in their life. The anticipation of welcoming the newest member of their family is so strong during a maternity session!

Once their sweet baby boy arrived, we scheduled the newborn session and finalized the style choices for his posed newborn photos. Both parents had ideas of where they wanted to do their lifestyle family photos and they really wanted to incorporate details from their room and some of the sentimental items that their family and friends had created for their son. For his posed newborn photos, we focused on neutral, gray and blue set ups. His skin tone is so gorgeous, I really loved using the neutral wraps and light colors which really brought out his dark hair and golden skin tone. And his hair! So full, dark and gorgeous!! 

This was such a fun family to get to know during the sessions and I really loved observing them grow from a strong, loving couple into a family, caring for their sweet baby son!

I am so exited to share images from the Abel Family's session and introduce baby Maggie! I first met this family during my Christmas Tree Farm minis last year, but mom had already booked a newborn session for baby Maggie. So it was a great opportunity to meet the family and get to know the girls before I came to photograph their newborn session. Maggie would be the third girl in their family and in planning her newborn session, mom shared details of Maggie's floral designed nursery and the outfits that the family would be wearing that day. We settled on light, feminine and floral props for Maggie's posed newborn photos and mom had an adorable light pink gown and bow hat she wanted Maggie to wear in the family photos. 

We started with some family photos in the parent's bedroom. I love getting super snuggly photos of the family together, loving on the newest little addition to their family. Next, we moved over to baby Maggie's nursery which was absolutely beautiful! The floral accent wall, light colored furnishings and adorable floating bookshelves provided a well-coordinated and gorgeous little room that Maggie will be able to grow into as she gets older. I absolutely love capturing images of baby in their crib. They are so tiny and often appear even smaller when placed in the center of their large crib. But it will be a fun reminder in the years to come when she learns to pull herself to stand in the crib or even tries to climb out of it one day. I also loved that Maggie's big sisters wanted to crawl in the crib with her and they did not need any prompts to snuggle their new baby sister once they lay down next to her. 

After finishing up the family portraits, it was time to focus on sweet baby Maggie's posed newborn photos. One of the hardest things about being a traveling newborn photographer, who only uses natural light, is that I never really know what sort of situation I will be faced with once I arrive at my client's home. Luckily, we found a great spot in their dining room with a large window that was perfect for natural light and enough space to work around my props. The family also had some extended family in town visiting so it was a full house with lots of other children running around and having a ball while we shot Maggie's photos. At one point I looked up and saw three toddler and preschool girls, sitting in chairs all in a row, eating snacks and quietly watching me work. It was such a cute moment! Maggie was such a great little sleeper that I was able to push through and incorporate a variety of set ups, poses and props for her portraits. She was the best little model and I am super excited to share these images with the Abel family!

Fresh 48 sessions are quickly becoming some of my favorite sessions to photograph and I was so excited to start officially offering these sessions this year! I put out a model call for a family who would be open to me taking their photos in the hospital and include them in my portfolio. That's how I got to meet Baby Zara and her sweet family! I wanted to be able to add photos in my portfolio for Fresh 48 sessions including older siblings. These sessions are so much fun for so many reasons, but my favorite is because it's a chance I have to capture real, raw, lifestyle images at a time that is so fresh for a growing family. For any parent, we know how it feels be to be handed this fresh little baby and feel that overwhelming emotion and immediate love for this new member of your family. We go through so many emotions and experiences after giving birth, which become a blur as time goes on. That is why I wanted to be able to start offering these Fresh 48 sessions. They're meant to be taken between 24-48 hours after giving birth, before the family is discharged from the hospital. These are also minimally posed, lifestyle photos....siblings meeting baby for the first time, first bath, snuggling together on the hospital bed, and capturing those little details of a fresh new baby! 

When I met Zara's family, big sister was a little shy at first but once she warmed up to the camera, she became the most expressive little girl! She loved looking at her baby sister in the bassinet and interacted with baby from the comfort of her parent's arms. It was so wonderful to photograph the Steven's family as they welcomed their newest daughter into their family and I am very grateful for the chance to include them in my Fresh 48 portfolio!

Seeing as how today is Valentine's Day, I thought I would share a bit about me, who I love and what I love doing! I've been sitting on this blog post for a few months, trying to decide when and how to share my personal story and introduction with you all. As a photographer, it can be pretty daunting to be in front of the camera. I've been working as a photographer for 6 years now but have always been the one behind the camera. Looking through photo albums from teen years through college, I'm usually the one taking the photo. But I know now, as a mom, just how important it is to be in front of the camera. Not only to take photos of my daughter but to be in the photo WITH my daughter. What a great gift to pass on to her and something to look back on with her!!

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved photography. I used to look through photography coffee table books and even would receive them as gifts. I would obsess over each image - looking at the composition, lighting and the storytelling before I even knew what these words meant. I started taking my own photos with a simple point and shoot camera when I was a pre-teen and entered my first contest - the local county fair. I won the Tri-Color ribbon, Best Overall, for photography when I was a young teenager. That's me holding up my sunset photo! 

I graduated high school and went on to college to study child development. I completed my bachelor's degree and went on to graduate school to follow my path in becoming a Child Life Specialist. All the years I had been working with children in various settings led me to a career in child life and I was in love!!

My husband and I started traveling after we got married and I have had the opportunity to take photos in some pretty amazing locations: Germany, Amsterdam, Hawaii, Alaska, Spain and locally in Texas and Pennsylvania. I had been so focused on finishing graduate school and starting my career as a Child Life Specialist, photography went on the back burner. But traveling really helped spark my love of photography again and I bought my first DSLR. I took a few classes at the local community college in order to learn how to use my camera properly and understand the mechanics of a digital camera. Then my friends started having babies and I thought about how amazing it would be to combine my love of photography and my passion of working with children, so I officially started my photography business in 2013. 

We had our daughter in 2014 and my love for documenting childhood and families grew exponentially. Because of my education in child development and years of experience in working with children of all ages, I completely understood just how quickly children grow and develop, especially the early years. I could always appreciate the importance of documenting those first few years of life, but it wasn't until we had our daughter that I could really grasp just how important that time is and how crucial it is to capture those moments. My daughter is now 4 years old and I look back on those early images and, through the fog of early parenthood, I cannot even remember the moment but I'm so glad we have the images to document that time with her!

So, last year I decided to hire a local photographer that offers business branding photography. In planning our session together, she really helped me decide on how I want to brand my photography services and how to best capture what I love about photography and the services that I can offer. I came to the conclusion that my biggest focus in on family. Our daughter is the center of our world and I wanted that to come through, not only in how I photograph families, but also in what I share with my clients and future clients. Family means everything to me and I wanted that concept to be my 'brand.' So we decided to not only take some business headshots of myself, but to also take family photos here in my home, with my daughter, husband and our dachshund. I am an on-location, traveling photographer, meaning that I meet my client's where they are: their home, backyard, favorite park or even the hospital where they just gave birth. And because of this, I do not have an outside studio or office. I work from home and edit right where my daughter is playing. Oftentimes, we're playing together while I'm answering emails or editing sessions. She especially loves to play 'beauty shop' and brush my hair or put in bows while I'm working on my laptop. This is my crazy life and I wanted to make sure we captured 'behind-the-scenes' of what it's like to work from home and run my photography business. 

So, this is my family, my life, love and passion. They are the driving force to better myself as a person and as a photographer and I love passing this passion on to the families I photograph each year. I am so grateful for the many families who have given me the opportunity to photograph their sweet new babies, growing toddlers and families. And I look forward to the chance to photograph previous clients and new families in the years to come!!