Thank You for a Great Year: The Best of 2017

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2017 has been a blessed year for my family and my business and I’m so thankful to my clients for the opportunity to document so many wonderful memories from weddings, to babies, to high school seniors. Thank you so much for reviewing my business on Google, for referring your friends and family, and for liking my posts on Instagram and Facebook! I’m so grateful to get to work for people like you! I’m proud to share this recap of my work over this past year and blessed to note that I’ve been able to run this business from home on a part-time basis. Which compels me to say, God is good! Just wanted to give the Lord credit for all that is good in my life: my husband and children, my extended family, and friends. Thank you all for your support. Ok, onto the photos.

As we prepare for a new year with new beginnings, what better place to start than some brand new babies!

newborn portrait from above

baby and siblings

newborn and parents

mom and dad kissing and embracing baby

mama kissing her baby

baby in onsie

sleeping baby

mommy and baby snuggles

baby sandwich

daddy and baby looking into each other's eyes

And it goes so fast…
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McConnells Mill Engagement Session: Choosing a Location to Match Your Style

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Earlier this month, I enjoyed getting in a quick trip to McConnells Mill State Park for an engagement session. I have loved coming to this park since I was a child, but when my clients choose it as their location, I do a little happy dance. I feel so blessed to be only a 30-minute drive from this lovely park. Now as I was getting to know this couple over the course of a phone call and a few emails. I offered some options for locations ranging from a park with a mansion to a main street in quaint town nearby. And with this couple’s plans to wed in a beautiful log cabin lodge in the fall of next year, McConnells Mill fit their style best.

kissing engagement photo

One of the great things about coming to McConnells Mill in December is that there is no shortage of color with the evergreen trees and mossy boulders. Meanwhile all of my other favorite spots are grey and brown unless it happens to snow.

Sitting on an old log

This covered bridge over the stream is lovely and so is this couple!

kissing by the covered bridge

This calls for a straight-up portrait. In my experience with photographing weddings, the parents always appreciate a traditional portrait like this.

engagement portrait

And modern brides and grooms usually prefer something like this:

whispering sweet nothings

One of the fun things about photographing sessions at this park is the getting to walk on this lovely trail through the woods.

a walk in the woods

And these next few images just feature more of the loveliness of this engagement session.

embrace by the white waters

walking between huge boulders

amidst the mossy boulders

I really love this last shot of them laughing amidst the evergreens. It really sums this session up.

in between the evergreens

Congratulations to this happy couple!

Merry Christmas from the Millers: Lifestyle Photography for Holiday Traditions

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Christmas time is special for families because there are lots of wonderful traditions to be passed down. And I love these traditions and enjoy documenting them so that I can look back on them with with happy tears when my sons are grown. Each year I think to myself, “it’d be great to create a whole album of photos telling the story of our Christmas traditions.” And then I remember that I have two-years worth of photos to print (that’s my New Years resolution). So maybe next year I can get around to making a Christmas album? But for now, I’d like to share some of the traditions we’ve documented this year.

going to get our Christmas tree

Our traditions start right after Thanksgiving with the search for the perfect tree, which in our family, is one that’s not too wide or tall. Something like this:

we found the perfect tree!

This is the first year we cut our own tree and I’m so glad my husband suggested it, because my boys loved watching their daddy “chop down the tree.”

daddy cutting it down

It is so sweet to see my boys want to help their dad.

going to get our Christmas tree

Then comes the family portrait. You might think this is a breeze for me being a photographer, but I have to be honest—self portraits with my family generally make me grumble under my breath. I set the camera on a tripod and use a remote shutter. The running back and forth to check my settings and forced smiles alternated by frantically coaxing our children to look at the camera, should be enough for me to plan ahead and hire a photographer next year before the busy season kicks in. After all of my grunting and fussing, I’m glad to have this shot. And I’m totally fine with the smirk on my youngest. His day was not going the way he wanted it.

Christmas-traditions-photography-7

Now that my oldest is learning to write, I will definitely be taking annual photos of letters to Santa. I’m so proud of his new skills and someday I will love looking back on what he was requesting.

Letter to Santa

We are very blessed to have Santa visit our new neighborhood and I prefer this image over a photo with Santa at the mall any day. What a sweet moment!

Santa's visit

And when you’re the mom and photographer, sometimes your camera gets messy. With our cookie baking tradition, my camera had a light dusting with flour…

making Christmas cookies

I love this shot of me with my son. I handed my husband the camera and he captured this sweet moment and I don’t mind if its a little out of focus.

mommy and son cutting out cookies

These cookies still aren’t iced as I type this post, but that’s ok, we’ll get to it tomorrow.

Christmas cookies

Wishing those who celebrate a very merry Christmas!

Christmas at Home: What Better Place for Your Christmas Portraits?

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As the holidays near, families are looking for that Christmas card-worthy photo. And what better place to do that than in your own home? This year’s photos are a fun mix of families and kids and babies with the excitement and cheer that only Christmas can bring. My favorite shot of the season is with this family in their Christmas jammies. This mama has a ton of Christmas spirit and her family is in for a treat over the holidays.

family in Christmas jammies

And Christmas time is so much fun for babies too. This baby’s mama mentioned that she pre-cleaned this strand of lights before their session. So cute!

baby with Christmas lights

I’m sentimental, so it means a lot to me to photograph my sons in front of their own Christmas tree. I think the mama of these cuties pies feels the same way.

by the Christmas tree

And this little sweetie even had a reindeer ready for her photos! I love seeing all of the fun families have with getting their kids excited about Christmas!

little girl and reindeer

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Getting Comfortable with your Photographer

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It was an absolute treat to photograph this new family. I know this couple from church and I am blessed to witness their family grow.

mom, dad, and baby on bed

For every session, I try to identify a take-away that I can offer to anyone reading my blog that might be helpful to apply to their next session. Usually it’s clearly titled after the colon in the title of the post. And for this session, I really felt the biggest benefit I noticed is that this new mom and dad were totally comfortable with me. Now they have an advantage in knowing me from somewhere else, and hopefully have the sense that I will support them and encourage them in this exciting and sometimes challenging thing called parenthood. But I want the same for every family I photograph and I try to show my support and encouragement throughout the session. So what I’m getting at is when my clients trust that I support them, they can relax and that is very evident in their photos.

baby talk

We spend so much time admiring our babies, so it’s natural to spend a lot of time doing just that during a newborn session. And I think it shows the love that a parent has when they welcome a child into the world.

admiring their son

We also spend lots of time lounging on beds or couches because it’s comfortable when holding a baby.

family portrait

This session took place in November on a mild day, so we were able to get outside and get some fresh air.

family portrait outside

Its so sweet seeing babies look into their parents’ eyes.

looking into mama's eyes

And when the baby turns to look toward the sound of my camera’s shutter, I’m always happy to get a bright-eyed close-up.

baby's close-up

This dad is pretty smitten.

father and son

And this little guy is getting lots of love from his mama.

mama kissing baby

Love this shot of them walking in the alley behind their home!

going for a walk