About a year ago, I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family when their youngest was about a month old. You can check out that session here. It’s amazing how much little ones can change in just the course of a year and such a blessing to be able to meet up with them a year later for family portraits at Mellon Park in Pittsburgh.
This big brother was so sweet with his little bro and was a model subject. I think his mama must take lots of photos of him at home!
We started at some of the most popular locations for photos at the park before the crowds filled in for a festival that was being held there.
I love this park, it’s one of my favorites and most of the sessions I’ve done here have been closer to sunset. But coming here in the morning and working with the sun rising on the opposite side from where it sets presented a nice challenge in that I found some new and lovely spots that work well in the morning light, like this gate below.
Family portraits with little ones can be a little bit tricky getting everyone to smile and look at the camera at the same time. I love this more candid shot where mama was just tickling her little one. That got him to smile!
We wanted to capture some images of the boys together and getting them off of their feet is my go-to approach when they’re little like this, so this park bench in the lower walled garden was just the thing!
Throwing our kiddos up in the air is such a natural thing to do when we’re trying to get them to laugh and have fun. It just happens effortlessly in sessions and I love to capture this. It never gets old.
Look at these two handsome little guys sitting so nicely on this blanket!
And we ended this session with lollipops, which are such a great motivator for smiles. But the little bro dropped his and ended up forgetting about it so this lucky guy wound up with two!
What a great start to the day!
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2017-09-22 14:04:262017-09-22 14:04:26Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Mellon Park
A very good place to start! This session took place when this wee one was just 7 days old. And she was awake for almost the whole hour and was so content! We started in this family’s gorgeous foyer. It had ample window light and lots of room so that I could back up and use my favorite lens.
It’s so sweet to see parents swoon with delight when their baby yawns.
This might be my favorite shot of the session. I love seeing their faces so close together—the loving kiss of a mother and her baby so contented in her arms.
We moved out to their front porch on this unusually cool day in August. Just look at that sweet pouty face.
I love how the light highlights her features while she rests in her daddy’s hands.
And this lovely nursery is going to be home to some wonderful memories!
At just seven days old, it’s hard to stay awake long. So this sweet slumber is a perfect conclusion to our session.
Congratulations and blessings to this sweet family!
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2017-09-12 13:17:012017-08-25 13:17:19Pittsburgh Newborn Sessions: Let’s Start at the Very Beginning
I’m a huge fan of backyard portraits especially for families with young children. It’s less pressure on the whole family and it captures a place where the family has spent most of their time together. And in the particular case of this session, when it started to sprinkle, we didn’t need to reschedule and just moved inside until the rain stopped. Plus this bubbly little girl was so proud to show off her bedroom!
Just love seeing families walking together holding hands.
Big smiles coming from this little man on his swing.
Love how her personality is just beaming here.
Piggy back and high-fives!
What a sweet, unscripted moment.
And here’s the whole family sitting so nicely with their dog! And that’s one more reason why portraits sessions at home are awesome because it’s easy to just add in the family pet.
The giggles in this image were provided by their daddy, who would run up and tickle them and then run behind me. Sometimes as a parent of young children, you end up with a workout during a family portrait session.
This should be a must-have in all family portrait sessions, because it all starts here.
And this big sister really had her heart set on being photographed on mommy and daddy’s bed. It was a silly and fun way to end a great session!
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2017-09-07 10:42:052017-08-22 16:03:57Pittsburgh Family Portrait: Sometimes the Best Location is Right at Home
I got an email from this mama inquiring about a newborn session for her one-month old daughter. And the timing was perfect—I had an opening the next week. While there are a lot of recommendations out there for photographing newborns before they are two weeks old, I think this particular session goes to show the benefits of scheduling beyond those first few weeks.
Just the way she holds her head up and makes eye contact is so amazing! Babies learn and grow so quickly and it’s so neat to see how this baby girl is starting to interact with the world around her.
She’s looking into her daddy’s face and really studying him.
Love the lighting in this nursery.
And how baby girl is looking up at her parents!
One last image before wrapping up this post, this view from the top of their stairs caught my eye as we were going back downstairs, this window light was irresistible so we stopped for a quick portrait.
With a lifestyle approach to this session, there’s no pressure for tedious posing or outfit changes, and it’s ok if the baby is sleeping or awake. So it’s a much less stressful approach for the baby and parents! When I left their home, this dad mentioned that he had fun and was relieved that it went so smoothly. And the mom said she couldn’t imagine trying to pose a baby and was so glad for the lifestyle approach. With a pleasant experience and a natural feel to the photos, I wholeheartedly feel that lifestyle photography is the way to go.
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2017-09-05 10:38:302017-08-22 15:41:59Pittsburgh Newborn Sessions: Why Scheduling at One-Month Old is Not Too Late
First birthdays are one of my favorite milestones to photograph. At one year old, little ones are so full of surprises and parents are brimming with excitement to celebrate their baby’s first birthday. It’s such a sweet occasion and it’s hard not to smile when I’m editing the images.
I love the curiosity that this sweet girl has for this book and how mom and dad are so enjoying sharing it with her.
Getting this cutie pie to smile was effortless with her mommy and daddy at her side.
So loved!
We started this session at 7:30 a.m., what a great start to the day!
I love moments like these that aren’t real contenders for being framed and hung on the wall, but they show the sweet interaction that happened even when this family wasn’t looking at the camera.
And to conclude this post of non-stop sweetness, here’s a piggyback chase!
Happy birthday, sweet one!
https://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.png00kmillerhttps://www.captivatingimagery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Web-Use.pngkmiller2017-08-31 14:36:382017-08-22 14:38:18Cranberry Family Portraits: Celebrating a First Birthday
Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Mellon Park
/by kmillerAbout a year ago, I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family when their youngest was about a month old. You can check out that session here. It’s amazing how much little ones can change in just the course of a year and such a blessing to be able to meet up with them a year later for family portraits at Mellon Park in Pittsburgh.
This big brother was so sweet with his little bro and was a model subject. I think his mama must take lots of photos of him at home!
We started at some of the most popular locations for photos at the park before the crowds filled in for a festival that was being held there.
I love this park, it’s one of my favorites and most of the sessions I’ve done here have been closer to sunset. But coming here in the morning and working with the sun rising on the opposite side from where it sets presented a nice challenge in that I found some new and lovely spots that work well in the morning light, like this gate below.
Family portraits with little ones can be a little bit tricky getting everyone to smile and look at the camera at the same time. I love this more candid shot where mama was just tickling her little one. That got him to smile!
We wanted to capture some images of the boys together and getting them off of their feet is my go-to approach when they’re little like this, so this park bench in the lower walled garden was just the thing!
Throwing our kiddos up in the air is such a natural thing to do when we’re trying to get them to laugh and have fun. It just happens effortlessly in sessions and I love to capture this. It never gets old.
Look at these two handsome little guys sitting so nicely on this blanket!
And we ended this session with lollipops, which are such a great motivator for smiles. But the little bro dropped his and ended up forgetting about it so this lucky guy wound up with two!
What a great start to the day!
Pittsburgh Newborn Sessions: Let’s Start at the Very Beginning
/by kmillerA very good place to start! This session took place when this wee one was just 7 days old. And she was awake for almost the whole hour and was so content! We started in this family’s gorgeous foyer. It had ample window light and lots of room so that I could back up and use my favorite lens.
It’s so sweet to see parents swoon with delight when their baby yawns.
This might be my favorite shot of the session. I love seeing their faces so close together—the loving kiss of a mother and her baby so contented in her arms.
We moved out to their front porch on this unusually cool day in August. Just look at that sweet pouty face.
I love how the light highlights her features while she rests in her daddy’s hands.
And this lovely nursery is going to be home to some wonderful memories!
At just seven days old, it’s hard to stay awake long. So this sweet slumber is a perfect conclusion to our session.
Congratulations and blessings to this sweet family!
Pittsburgh Family Portrait: Sometimes the Best Location is Right at Home
/by kmillerI’m a huge fan of backyard portraits especially for families with young children. It’s less pressure on the whole family and it captures a place where the family has spent most of their time together. And in the particular case of this session, when it started to sprinkle, we didn’t need to reschedule and just moved inside until the rain stopped. Plus this bubbly little girl was so proud to show off her bedroom!
Just love seeing families walking together holding hands.
Big smiles coming from this little man on his swing.
Love how her personality is just beaming here.
Piggy back and high-fives!
What a sweet, unscripted moment.
And here’s the whole family sitting so nicely with their dog! And that’s one more reason why portraits sessions at home are awesome because it’s easy to just add in the family pet.
The giggles in this image were provided by their daddy, who would run up and tickle them and then run behind me. Sometimes as a parent of young children, you end up with a workout during a family portrait session.
This should be a must-have in all family portrait sessions, because it all starts here.
And this big sister really had her heart set on being photographed on mommy and daddy’s bed. It was a silly and fun way to end a great session!
Pittsburgh Newborn Sessions: Why Scheduling at One-Month Old is Not Too Late
/by kmillerI got an email from this mama inquiring about a newborn session for her one-month old daughter. And the timing was perfect—I had an opening the next week. While there are a lot of recommendations out there for photographing newborns before they are two weeks old, I think this particular session goes to show the benefits of scheduling beyond those first few weeks.
Just the way she holds her head up and makes eye contact is so amazing! Babies learn and grow so quickly and it’s so neat to see how this baby girl is starting to interact with the world around her.
She’s looking into her daddy’s face and really studying him.
Love the lighting in this nursery.
And how baby girl is looking up at her parents!
One last image before wrapping up this post, this view from the top of their stairs caught my eye as we were going back downstairs, this window light was irresistible so we stopped for a quick portrait.
With a lifestyle approach to this session, there’s no pressure for tedious posing or outfit changes, and it’s ok if the baby is sleeping or awake. So it’s a much less stressful approach for the baby and parents! When I left their home, this dad mentioned that he had fun and was relieved that it went so smoothly. And the mom said she couldn’t imagine trying to pose a baby and was so glad for the lifestyle approach. With a pleasant experience and a natural feel to the photos, I wholeheartedly feel that lifestyle photography is the way to go.
Cranberry Family Portraits: Celebrating a First Birthday
/by kmillerFirst birthdays are one of my favorite milestones to photograph. At one year old, little ones are so full of surprises and parents are brimming with excitement to celebrate their baby’s first birthday. It’s such a sweet occasion and it’s hard not to smile when I’m editing the images.
I love the curiosity that this sweet girl has for this book and how mom and dad are so enjoying sharing it with her.
Getting this cutie pie to smile was effortless with her mommy and daddy at her side.
So loved!
We started this session at 7:30 a.m., what a great start to the day!
I love moments like these that aren’t real contenders for being framed and hung on the wall, but they show the sweet interaction that happened even when this family wasn’t looking at the camera.
And to conclude this post of non-stop sweetness, here’s a piggyback chase!
Happy birthday, sweet one!