Tag Archive for: family

Pittsburgh Family Portraits for Foster and Adoptive Families

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This is my second family portrait session with this beautiful family—they are in different phases of foster-to-adopt with their daughters. If you have an interest in fostering or adopting a child, I highly recommend you check out the post from their previous session. I thought about not blogging this session because this post will be limited to images that don’t show the girls’ faces (for their protection), but there’s so much good here (and I’m not talking about the photography!) that I couldn’t skip this opportunity to share a bit about this family’s story.

siblings hand-in-hand

The love they have for these children is so touching. Of course these darling children are lovable—and they will be loved as if they were biological, but what gets me is the risk families take in opening their hearts and homes to lovingly fill a gap in a child’s life, all without the guarantee of knowing that they’d be able to stay. That’s the thing about love, there’s always a risk. And true love isn’t about what you’ll receive in return, but the bravery and sacrifice that comes from the heart.

duck watching

This is their oldest and I was blessed to be able to photograph his adoption last year.

relaxing in the shade

If you, or someone you know is fostering to adopt, I’d love to hear from you! I’m planning a day of sessions for families who are opening their hearts and homes and would love to include you!

Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Keeping Sessions Stress-Free At Home

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This early morning family portrait session didn’t involve getting everyone out of the house on time, getting stuck in traffic, or irritated kiddos. It was peaceful and pleasant as in-home sessions should be. When I got there, the kids were well rested and just finishing up breakfast. Now, I should note that I’m a morning person and I’ve seen how morning sessions can really benefit families who are inclined to be up early anyway, but if that’s not you, an early evening session may be best for your family—because when photographing in natural light outdoors, you really want the best light at the beginning or end of the day. My only caveat to this schedule is photographing newborns indoors which can be done most any time of day. Ok, back to this sweet family!

front porch family portrait

This family just moved in to thier new home and the yard offered lots of variety without the need for going to a park.

mama and baby

Seeing little ones tossed in the air by their daddies never gets old, just look at how she’s smiling!

fun with daddy

I enjoy seeing loved ones cheek to cheek, and when we get cheek to cheek with a loved one, our faces tend to light up and you can just feel the love!

cheek to cheek

Swings are another favorite and natural photo op for littles!

on the swing

Isn’t it cute how this sweetie is admiring her big sister?

sisters

And then she turns to the camera and cuteness overload! What a fun session!

cuteness overload

If you’re interested in having your family photographed, please get in touch here—I’d love to hear from you!

Pittsburgh Newborn Photography: Keep It Simple with an At-Home Session

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The first few weeks after bringing baby home come with a huge adjustment—it’s a wonderful, yet sleep-deprived time, marking the beginning of that precious one’s life and the beginning of a family’s story. Being a handful of years beyond that time, I can look back and say that I’m glad I hired a photographer to capture my sons as newborns and that I could be in the photos! We had both photo shoots done at our home and I remember feeling relieved that we didn’t have to go anywhere, because that took so much energy! And since we’ve moved, our photos in our old home are that much more meaningful to us now. Here’s a newborn session from earlier this summer and as I talked with this mama, she mentioned that she hadn’t heard of in-home newborn sessions before and was so glad to be able to schedule one for her baby.

mama and baby on the couch

Their loft had lovely light and this baby was so content.

baby close-up

It’s so nice to see this dad’s feelings for his son.

father and son

We headed to the rooftop terrace in their building for a family portrait with a view!

First family portrait

This baby boy seemed to like the sounds and fresh air and how sweet to see this mom and dad enjoying this moment!

baby snuggles with mom and dad

If you’d like to plan for a newborn session in your home, I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me here.

Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Keeping It Authentic with a Casual Look

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When we first talked about what this mom had in mind for her family portraits, she mentioned almost apologetically, that they’d like to keep their look casual to reflect how they dress on a regular basis. And I said, “of course, please do!” because that is one of the things I love about being a lifestyle photographer—there’s no need to be anything but yourself, no pressure, no pretense.

dad, mom, and daughter sharing some laughs

While this family chose to represent their day-to-day look, they carefully chose their wardrobe with complimenting shades and a fun dress to highlight their daughter who just celebrated her first birthday.

pittsburgh children's portrait

We met at one of my favorite spots by the lake at North Park. It’s a great location for families with little ones, because there’s a decent variety of scenery within a short distance.

mother and daughter

walking hand-in-hand

No family portrait session with little ones is complete without dad tossing a kiddo in the air!

dad tossing his daughter in the air

Lately, I’ve had some wonderful luck with a dog walking behind me at just the right time. This was one of those times!

mommy and daughter portrait

Yay! This big girl even clapped on que. I think she enjoyed her first birthday photo shoot.

sitting on a park bench

If you would like to schedule a session, please contact me via this form – I’d love to hear from you!

Cranberry Family Portraits: Three Tips to Help Little Kids Make It Through Your Session

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Confession: family portraits with little children used to frighten me! I didn’t gain the experience I have today as a family portrait photographer until I had my own family. My two busy boys have taught me a thing or two about setting reasonable expectations, keeping them engaged, and making photoshoots fun! Thank you boys! I’ll use a recent photo from our beach vacation as an illustration:

boys on vacation

I picked out their outfits on a rare solo shopping trip months in advance. When we were getting them dressed, we had to bribe them to wear said clothing. We walked to the beach (this was our third day at the beach) and while I envisioned them sitting neatly together in the sand with the ocean behind them, they had other ideas. First, they HAD to frolic in the ocean and dig in the sand, so I photographed that instead. I had almost given up on my goal for that trip to the beach thinking we could just come back another day. But on the way home, I asked them to stop by this sand dune and with some silly charades from their daddy, this sweet photo is the result.

After having shared all of that, my goals for my own family are not the same for my client’s sessions. I spend time getting to know my clients’ desires and priorities for the photo shoot and am much more focused on making that happen within the time allowed. I just thought I’d share some background before getting into what I feel is most important when photographing sessions with little ones. Here’s a recent photo shoot with a family in Cranberry to give you a feel for what to expect.

family portrait in the woods

Ok, tip #1: Keep moving. There’s nothing worse than to plop a kid down and expect them to stay in one place for more than a few minutes. I like to pick locations that are conducive to walking and offer variety in scenery.

a stroll through the park

Tip #2: Less is more when it comes to props. Other than a chair, a book, or bubbles, too much attention is given to managing props. We didn’t need anything for this mommy and me portrait, just mom and her daughter so that the focus is on their special relationship.

mommy and me portrait

The same goes for this baby girl and her daddy.

daddy and baby girl

Tip #3: Have fun. To keep this little sweetie interested, we told her we were going on a nature walk. So when she found this walking stick, we went with it. When I engage with kids and they have an idea to offer, I want them to experience the pleasure of this process!

we called it a nature walk

If you’d like to talk more about scheduling a family photo shoot, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you!