Tag Archive for: Christmas

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

Studio Christmas Portraits

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I adore photographing this family and have enjoyed seeing their baby boy grow over this last year. He’s getting a little tougher to capture as he’s on the move now, but I think we found some sweet shots of him in their Christmas session.

peek-a-boo baby boy in reindeer hat

This is the first blog post I’ve shared from this family, so I’ll be going backwards this winter to catch up on some blogging, but for now, tis the season for sharing Christmas photos!

baby boy with J O Y

One of my tricks for active little guys and girls is to put them in a big chair that’s not too high off of the ground. This cutie pie was more adventurous than I thought, so we had to have mom and dad just off camera to be there to grab him when he got too close to the edge of the chair.

baby boy in big antique chair

And here’s the whole family. Aren’t they sweet?

Christmas family portrait

And this last shot is just a glimpse of him crawling out of the photo. Photographing a crawling baby or toddler is like an aerobic work-out for all involved. It gets easier when little ones can start to understand more and you can use motivators like candy! I’m not ashamed to say that I have candy on hand anytime I’m photographing my own boys! But I completely get it when a parent wants to wait until after their child’s first birthday to introduce sweets. I did that with my first son (my second got lucky that I caved in on that stance the second time around – his first lolipop was in our Christmas photos when he was 9 months old and it worked like a charm!)

baby boy on the move!

It can be challenging with a little one on the move, but what a precious time to capture that developing personality. And his mama cares very much about capturing all of these special memories! Many wishes for a blessed holiday!

Pittsburgh Christmas Family Portraits

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Here’s a bit of holiday cheer from a recent family portrait session featuring little Arleigh who is about to turn two. Her mama dressed her in a cute party dress and she really sparkled in front of their tree.

portrait in front of the Christmas tree

Arleigh’s daddy playfully told her not to tip the vase of Christmas bulbs (smart guy!). And she went for it with a sweet and mischievous sense of satisfaction.

portrait by the Christmas tree

It was pretty warm outside for the beginning of December, so we were lucky enough to do some portraits with them in front of their home, all decorated for the holidays.

family posing with a frame

In front of their home

I’m learning a bit about how to keep a toddler’s attention during a photo shoot. Having photographed brides and grooms over the last six years, this was never really a concern of mine. But now, I’m practicing a lot at home with my son and finding out what works and what doesn’t. Some people are naturals at this, but for me, it’s all trial and error. So during this session, I put a stuffed puppy on my head that barks when you snap or clap. And I think it was mildly amusing to Arleigh. Until the puppy slipped off of my head and fell to the floor. That was a very happy mistake. Now, how many shots could I get with this technique before it got old?

mistletoe photo

toddler portrait

children's portrait in front of Christmas tree

And this is probably my favorite shot of the day. We were in Arleigh’s bedroom when her mama and daddy told her to look outside at the blue bird in the tree. She was curious and played along with them for a few minutes and I love opportunities like this to capture these candid moments and her sweet personality. If you’re interested in scheduling a photo shoot like this at your home, I’d love to hear from you!

toddler portrait by the window

What a fun session! Thanks to Kristin and Travis for the opportunity to photograph your darling family! Merry Christmas!

How to Get Fabulous Christmas Cards Without Going Crazy

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I love everything about sending Christmas cards. It’s something I’ve enjoyed since my husband and I were first married. Every year, we’d plan a custom photo card and up until recently, our dog Brownie has graced the front of our cards (he was overlooked last year with the birth of our son, and this year, you can find him on the back of our cards…poor guy, but that’s how it goes). Anyway, I love coming up with the idea for the design and photos, all the way down to the details of the envelopes and stamps.

Mind you, I skimp on other holiday joys like baking cookies, but Christmas cards are kind of my thing. And there is a lot of work involved from beginning to end. And if you’ve ever created your own cards, I think you know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen the wearied faces of parents at the photo kiosk in Target trying to select images off of their thumb drive with those painfully slow Kodak machines. And even though there are lots of options with custom cards available online these days, it’s tough to beat having fun family portraits by a pro! So this year, I offered a set of 25 custom cards with my holiday mini sessions to make it easier for everyone to have fabulous Christmas cards with stunning photos! And I’d love to share Amanda and Chris’ card because I really love how they styled their wardrobe for this holiday mini session.

Aren’t they cute with their fun winter wear (and Chris’ hunting cap and jacket)? It’s the details like this that personalize a session. And what better attire for a photo session amidst fresh cut Christmas trees at Reilly’s Summer Seat Farm? We also used the greenhouse there for part of the session because it was a great place to warm up and it was brimming with poinsettias.

So just by booking a mini session, planning their attire, and coming out for a 30-minute photo shoot, Amanda and Chris made their Christmas cards to do list a breeze. After their session, they selected their three favorite images and the card design was emailed for their approval the next day and delivered the following week. And they had an online gallery of images to order prints from as Christmas gifts for their family! Check and check!

And I guess I’ll share our cards too for some variety since we didn’t want to take our son out in the cold with a cold. I set up a backdrop and some lights in our family room and lowered my expectations because it’s always tricky photographing your own family. But I was thrilled to find that Brennan actually enjoyed it (for the most part)! We spent maybe 10 minutes in front of the camera. Sweet!

And I think I’ll also offer on-location sessions like this next year so clients with young kids have the option of checking the session off of their list without having to leave the comfort of their home. If you’d like to be kept in the loop about opportunities like this holiday mini session and custom cards, please let me know so I can add you to our email list.