Tag Archive for: natural light

Time for a Portrait Update? Ready when you are!

Not sure if you should update your headshot or family portrait?  Here are a few indicator’s that it’s time: new hair, new glasses or switching to contacts, weight lose or gain!  Basically, does your last portrait look like you do now?  And if it’s your family, I recommend being photographed every year or at the least, every few years, because kids change fast.

Closing 2022 with Gratitude and Looking to 2023 with Great Expectation

2022 has been a good year for me; I was blessed to open a studio in June and fill my calendar with capturing so much beauty.  I’m looking forward to 2023 and especially excited to narrow my focus on maternity, newborn and families.  It’s what I know best and it’s so wonderful to help families celebrate as they grow.  

Pittsburgh Newborn Photography: Natural Light at Home

Capturing this sweet, growing family at a newborn session during the holidays this past year was truly a gift. The new parents chose their stylish home as the location for their newborn session, an ideal setting for the comfort and ease of the new baby and parents. Mom and Dad shared that they also had their engagement photos taken at home and hope to plan future sessions there to capture their family in the years to come.

Pittsburgh Newborn: Finding Natural Light in the Home

When possible, I love to use natural lighting for newborn sessions. When I first spoke with this mama, she was concerned about whether her home had enough natural light and I assured her that I’d do a quick walk-through to find some of the best spaces and bring supplemental lighting as back-up. But look at this first portrait of her and sweet baby by the window. So glad I didn’t need to get out my strobes until later!

mama and her baby at the window

Sometimes siblings of newborns are in a tender state as they adjust to life with a baby. For that reason, I love taking some time to make them feel special too.

dad and big sister

We still haven’t left their bedroom as it has lots of soft light and the bed is a perfect place to photograph the whole family.

family portrait on the bed

Just love how babies gaze at their parents and this little guy seemed to be very aware of his surroundings.

father and son

I’m not bashful about admitting how I love this arrangement for the parents and baby. My husband and I spent a lot of time on the couch, just checking out our little baby boys, so it comes naturally to suggest this.

baby looking up at his parents

And for a close-up of just the little guy, we snuggled him up in this blanket and placed the basket on the landing of the steps that was washed in bright window light. This baby boy was so close to falling asleep!

snuggly baby boy

Blessings to this sweet baby and his family!

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Real Moments = True Beauty

I’d like to be more like this mama—what I admire about her most is how at ease she is in her own skin. This session took place in their home a few weeks after this sweet bundle was born. A time in life when it’s easy to feel insecure or crazed from a lack of sleep and all of the anxieties that come with caring for a tiny baby. And she and her husband had just celebrated their fifth anniversary over dinner out the night before. How easy it would have been to let a special occasion like that slip by shortly after bringing their second son home? But this darling boy did great and barely fussed for his grandma while mommy and daddy got away for a bit to celebrate.

knit with love

baby in Moses bassinet

I just want to note that the images from this session have not been retouched. When I returned to work over a year ago (after a two-year break to focus on my family’s needs), I had a strong conviction to drop the retouching and emphasize natural beauty. So I changed my branding and session structure and I hope you agree that real moments like these are truly beautiful. My conviction came from looking back at photos of my own babies and regretting the retouching because it felt so unnatural.

bright-eyed baby

We sat in her bedroom by the window with gorgeous morning light and she held her son in hopes he’d fall asleep for a few photos.

sweetly sleeping

And after a few minutes he did fall asleep.

sleepy baby

She sure did make that look easy, but the clicks of my camera were stirring him. That happens a lot with a noisy shutter clicking away.

mama soothes her baby

I love this set of black and whites with dad and big brother.

doting mom and dad

big brother looking over baby

And we finished our session with some shots just outside their front door. What a lovely family! Blessings to you all!

outside their front door