Tag Archive for: family portraits

toddler and newbornCaptivating Imagery

Newborn Portraits: Two Seasons, One Album

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Over the past two years, I photographed this beautiful, growing family at newborn portrait sessions for both of their sons. Two weeks ago, I shared that being a mom and photographing my own family has enriched my ability as a newborn and family photographer.  Thanks to the help of my two sons, who keep me on my toes, I am able to remain calm and focused when babies and kids have a lot of energy. Capturing photographs of an active toddler and newborn requires experience and the foresight ability to make quick changes when needed.

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Wexford Family Portraits: Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

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There’s so much to love about this recent session in Wexford.  The colors, the season, and the love for this little guy who just turned one.  We visited a local orchard and let this little fella explore.  And if he could talk in complete sentences, I think he’d say that life is good!

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Pittsburgh Children’s and Family Photography: A Sweet Narrative

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It’s funny how sharing new work is the last thing on my list when I’m busy.  But I’ve been blessed with a busy spring and summer and after sharing the joys of photographing a lovely wedding last month, I’d like to share one of my favorite things to photograph.  This family portrait session marks the first birthday of this proud mom and dad. I love how in just an hour of photographing this family on a bright and early morning, there is a sweet narrative of interactions between these parents and their daughter. 

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Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Sessions in the City Are Fun!

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This family’s baby girl just turned one and so the time was right for an updated family portrait! We headed to the city for a change of pace and found some unexpected fun, like fountains and gardens, the train station, and an excellent opportunity to encourage these sweet kiddos with a treat of ice cream after the session was over: Millie’s Market Square Scoop Shop The next time I’m downtown, I want to check this place out, it was hopin’!

Anyway, we had lovely sceenery, happy children and fun times!

family portrait by the fountain

Part of the fun of downtown sessions is walking between locations. And I can’t get enough of seeing families walking together hand-in-hand.

walking through the park

Or silly moments! While this sweet girl is all giggles, big brother is busy styling dad’s hair!

giggles with mom and dad

When you’re one, it’s exciting to sit in a big chair, and mama is close-by to supervise!

birthday girl with her mama

Here’s a close-up of the birthday girl – look at those eyes!

birthday girl close-up

Big brother was excited to go to the train station. And to be sure that he felt special too, we stopped to get some portraits of just him with mom and dad too!

at the old train station

mama and big brother

dad and son

If you’d like to schedule a session in the big city, I’d love to talk with you! Please use this form to get in touch, thanks!

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.