Oh Baby! More Newborn Photography by Captivating Imagery

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Ten years ago, I would have squirmed when someone handed me a newborn. When a baby found its way into my arms, it would cry! I’m just pointing this out because I realized recently that I’m a whole lot more comfortable with babies and I think I have photography to thank for that. While I mainly focus on weddings, I started photographing newborns about two years ago. I have to admit that my first newborn session was pretty nerve-wracking. I could sense the nervous energy from the parents and the baby definitely sensed it from me. Poor thing!

My nerves didn’t have anything to do with what was happening behind the camera, but with everything that takes place in front of it: making the baby and parents comfortable, figuring out how to get the baby to sleep, pose, smile! That’s a lot of pressure when you’re not really used to babies. Add into the mix the feeding routine and the little surprises that come with taking off their diapers and that about sums it up. In the end, the newborn portraits turned out great! And since then, I’ve grown more and more comfortable with newborns and what I can do to make the process fun and worry-free! I’ve really grown to love photographing newborns and hope to have one of my own someday!

baby portrait in a hammock

This post includes some sweeties from recent sessions that I haven’t had a chance to blog about yet. This set shows some of the neat props I’ve collected along the way and have also found that it’s fun to coordinate with parents and see what we can come up with.

baby portrait in knit wool hat
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Katie and Dan’s Uniontown Wedding

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Katie and Dan were married just over a week ago in Katie’s hometown of Uniontown, Pa., about an hour outside of Pittsburgh. Alex and I photographed this happy couple’s engagement session in Pittsburgh this past fall. And it was great to catch up with them again when we met a week before their wedding to go over the details and schedule of their day. When it came time for the big day, everything went smoothly and Katie was at ease and, might I mention, simply stunning. Here are some of the details we found while she was getting ready.

getting ready details

The portrait of Katie in her robe (above) is by Alex and she is lit by the window light from her childhood bedroom. It’s not often that we get to photograph brides in the homes where they grew up, so this was a really special moment. And here she is, standing by her front door.

beautiful bride

Katie and Dan were married at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Uniontown. I really like the style of painting at the front of the sanctuary there. It reminded me of something you’d find in an Alphonse Mucha opera poster. Although, it might be hard to tell in this composite—it’s tough to choose what goes in this blog, so I’m covering the ceremony in one fell swoop. Also, I’d like to note that Alex and I work together throughout the day and his work is scattered all throughout my blog. We each go into the day looking to capture certain moments and its always fun to find moments like the one below of Katie just minutes before she walked down the aisle.

wedding ceremony photography
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Evette and Jordan’s Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

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Evette and Jordan were married at Evette’s family home near Raccoon Creek State Park, about a 30-minute drive from Pittsburgh. We were tucked away on top of a wooded hill just outside of the park. It was such an intimate setting that it was easy to forget about the outside world. You might remember Evette from an earlier post on her studio bridal session. It was such a treat to photograph her wedding after spending some time with her at the studio. I’m crazy about her dress and it was a great indicator of the exquisite details to come at the wedding.

pittsburgh wedding photography

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Bellevue Christian Church Wedding Photography

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Dear friends of mine were married at my church here in Pittsburgh a little over a week ago and I won’t mention names at their request, but I will share some photos with their permission. It was a pleasure to be a part of their day and I have to say, they are one fun couple to photograph. The ceremony was officiated by my pastor and our church was packed like an 11 a.m. Sunday worship service. Plus they had a large bridal party that spanned the width of the sanctuary! Here’s a photo that was taken during the praise and worship portion of their ceremony.

wedding photography at Bellevue Christian Church

Here, the bride is reading her wedding vows in her groom’s native language.

wedding vows photography

It was a beautiful service and the bride and groom just beamed.

recessional photo
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Mexico Mission Trip with Esperanza Viva

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I’ve been MIA on this blog over the last two weeks and I just want to share a bit about where I’ve been. My church sent my husband and I and two other couples to help at Esperanza Viva in Puebla, Mexico. Esperanza Viva means living hope and that is exactly what this organization provides. It is an orphanage and not only does it provide for children’s physical needs, but also for their spiritual needs. The orphanage ministers to children who come from the streets or whose parents have been sent to jail. These kids are no strangers to drug use or sexual abuse. Currently, Esperanza Viva has 88 kids, but there is a plan to expand. They are celebrating the inauguration for the completion of their first phase of construction tomorrow. This is the dormitory where the kids and staff members live.

dormitory

The section with no grass in the foreground was one of our projects for the week. We planted grass, repaired sidewalks, and built a patio floor to hold a new water tank.

We attended Nations Church and many of the staff from Esperanza Viva were involved in leading worship.

worship

The service was very moving. The pastor spoke about how we are all God’s adopted children, not his flesh and blood, but that he chose us and we are called to live as children of God. This is awesome news! Although, it was a real tearjerker for me as I was thinking about our week ahead with the children. After church, we got to visit the orphanage for the first time. Here are some of the adorable faces we grew to love—and it didn’t take long. These kids just melted our hearts. We got to spend about two hours with them each day.

KM EsperanzaViva2011 358 -
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