photographer Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Pittsburgh Maternity, Newborn & Family Photographer

Small Business Photographer: How I Got Here

October 8, 2021/by kmiller

Honestly, this wasn’t on my radar 13 years ago. And I feel like a bit of an outsider, but I think that will change with time. I felt the same way when I started photographing weddings. Over the past year, I’ve had a lot of great opportunities to help small businesses with (captivating) imagery to market their business. And I think my experience of capturing many different types of portraits over the last 13 years translates well for small business photography. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes!

Pittsburgh Newborn Session – Shadyside

January 5, 2017/by kmiller

This Shadyside newborn session happened last fall and I still have warm and fuzzy feelings about it! When Nicole contacted me she was looking to capture mostly family photos and I definitely get that. I want to see the whole family too—as moms we’re not often photographed and it’s important to me to be able to see myself with my kids when I look back. Just look at this adorable little family and the cute baby with his head slumped to the side. He really steals the show!

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Here’s a close-up of him so you can relish the cuteness.

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I remember when my youngest son was born, just how much I wanted a photo of my two boys together, even though my oldest was two and a half and not yet feeling so great about becoming a big brother. And I see this desire in other moms too. We won’t let our toddlers hold the baby without the support of an adult, but we must find a way to capture just the two of them together! And a cozy corner of a couch or lying side-by-side are my safest bets to accomplish this. This big brother was having tons of fun with his baby brother snuggling into him. And I love how this sweet baby looks over at him!

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Being photographed with a baby is not easy, but this mama is rocking it!

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And we had to capture this little guy’s cuteness! He is going to be such a great big brother!

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My favorite shot from the session – everyone is happy and the boys couldn’t be any cuter!

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Blessings to you, sweet family!

Maternity Session at Hartwood Acres

November 10, 2016/by kmiller

When I received an email from Sara asking about scheduling a maternity session, my heart swelled. I photographed Sara and Nick’s wedding and love the opportunity to get to extend the story of their growing family through photography. They are such a sweet couple and their baby is one blessed child. I’m just catching up on some long overdue blogging and this precious baby is already a few months old. More of his newborn session to come!

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I love Sara’s dress and sandals.

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Hartwood Acres was particularly busy with photoshoots that day, but we all worked together and took turns.

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These two are real sweethearts!

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This garden is beautiful and very well protected with an electric fence. I only brushed against it and got a little zap!

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Below is my favorite shot from the session. It was right outside the parking lot, so I could easily grab my step ladder and change the perspective. Who doesn’t like being photographed from above?

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A Mother’s Boutique: Local Business Feature

May 1, 2014/by kmiller

I’m pleased to kick off a new series featuring some of my favorite local businesses that cater to new moms. As a newborn photographer and a mom, I love to pass on great finds like this first local business feature: A Mother’s Boutique. It is the byproduct of owner, Judy Masucci’s transition into motherhood, as she saw a unmet need for clothing for breastfeeding moms. While there are lots of chain maternity stores, Judy noticed that nursing tops were very limited and after countless hours of scouring the internet for stylish nursing clothes, she decided to do something about it and launched her business in 2007. Today, she continues her quest for the best products for new mothers including nursing bras, breast pumps, and baby carriers. And she’s become a real expert in bra fitting and even offers virtual bra fitting online for moms who aren’t within driving distance to her Wexford store.

One of the things I really like about Judy and her store is that she only employs moms so when you are there with questions, there’s always someone with helpful insight. And her team of experts includes birth and post-partum doulas and a certified lactation counselor. One of the reasons Judy decided to leave her corporate job and venture into small business was to help other moms with breastfeeding. She had some difficulties getting started with breastfeeding her own son and wanted to offer support to other moms interested in breastfeeding. Each purchase online or in person comes with very helpful and beautifully-designed informational pamphlets about breastfeeding. From the boutique’s blog, to the facebook group, to the mom’s group that meets at the store, A Mother’s Boutique is much more than a retail store. The store also hosts childbirth classes, and a cesarian support group called ICAN.

Since the start of her business, Judy has developed a niche in nursing bras and offers an extensive selection. Oh, how I wish I knew about this store before. I am definitely looking forward to shopping there for our next baby. I told Judy that I felt like an absolute slob the whole time I was nursing because I just tried to make it work with the clothes I already had and really didn’t know there were so many great products out there that make it so much easier to nurse in public and still look good! Anyway, back to the bras, she offers sizes up through N cups, so everyone can find a cute, well-made and functioning nursing bra.

Her products are made all over the world—from Australia to Singapore, and are mostly offered by other small business. Judy said, “they’re all moms who became a mom, saw a need, and did something to solve it.”

“We try to focus on things that moms need,” she said. “My goal is really to support the mom in what she wants to do. I try to carry products to empower moms to meet their own goals.”

Just this week, A Mother’s Boutiuque was featured on NBC Nightly News in a story called Built for Success about women-owned businesses, which I think is a just one more reason that this store is worth checking out! You can check out a YouTube video of the show here. Congrats Judy!

In-Home Maternity Session: Janelle and Andre

January 9, 2014/by kmiller

I mentioned photographing Janelle and Andre’s engagement session in a previous post about Janelle and Andre’s newborn session. I’m a bit out of order with this post because this session took place during the holidays at their home in Point Breeze, just two weeks before baby Lucas was born! I know they had a lot going on amidst the holiday hustle and bustle, but Andre was intent on making this session happen. He loved Janelle’s baby belly and wanted to be sure they’d have images to remember it by. Isn’t that sweet?

Let Your Love Show
In my post about baby Lucas, I recalled loving photographing Janelle and Andre’s engagement session. They’re just so comfortable with each other. So it’s easy to capture that natural emotion because they’re not afraid to be affectionate in front of the camera. Take this next shot as an example.

Bedrooms Are a Great Place for Maternity Sessions
We did most of these shots in a bedroom upstairs. And I wanted to show a bit of the gorgeous trees outside their window, so I mixed in some light with the natural light in the room.

Gosh, they’re so cute.

Belly Shots
Pregnant bellies are beautiful and these images are a great way to show children where they came from and that they were loved even before they were born.

Getting Ready for the Baby
When you’re expecting your first, there’s no doubt you’re going to accumulate lots of sweet details for your baby. Here are just a few items that are special to Andre and Janelle. They might not be able to hold onto the items themselves over the years, but a photo is a great way to hold on to these sweet sentiments.