Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Knowing When to Reschedule

March 16, 2018/by kmiller

I have been waiting to photograph this session since before my friend was pregnant—I just knew she’d be a good mom and was so excited when she shared her news with me! Well, the session was just as delightful as I had anticipated. Actually better, thanks to this mama trusting her gut instinct!

This little sweetheart has been having tummy issues and just wasn’t feeling good, so her mommy new it would be best to reschedule. And thankfully with the prayers and support of her friends and the wisdom of her doctor, this sweet baby is feeling so much better! Her mom said she was uncomfortable most of the time, so for her baby to go from being mostly unhappy to only crying when she needed something was a huge blessing!

I just love the personality of this sweet girl at just over two months!

She even smiles for her first family portrait! Disclaimer: this is not the norm for any newborn, but being slightly older helps!

After a few portraits by the light of the front door and some of them on the couch, we moved to mom and dad’s bedroom which had lots of lovely natural light. Isn’t this a sweet scene? Watching your baby sleep is such a joy!

And I like this image too because while it could seem like it should be an out-take, my friend is looking at her husband to see his reaction. It was a moment where I feel like she was thinking, “should I pinch myself? Is this real?” I should ask her if that was what she was thinking, but I think that’s part of a natural response to becoming a parent.

We moved this little sweetie three times during her nap and she would rouse each time, but her mama had all of the soothing tricks down and could easily help her baby fall back asleep.

When they were pregnant, they chose not to find out the baby’s gender and decorated the nursery with an outer space theme. What a beautiful and creative idea to inspire their little girl as she explores her world!

My friend has many talents and this planetary mobile is one of her many inspiring creations!

It’s Nearly Springtime, That Means Wedding Season is Soon Here!

February 25, 2018/by kmiller

I’m just a tad bit exited for the 2018 wedding season! After a few years of working for another great company photographing weddings while my children were little and needed more of my time, I am excited to begin offering wedding photography again through Captivating Imagery! And to kick things off, I’ll be at the Cavanaugh Bride Show in Cranberry today to say hello again to fellow vendors and meet new brides and their trusty sidekicks!

And just to reassure that this comeback to photographing weddings for Captivating Imagery isn’t a coming out of hiatus, here’s a smattering of some of the weddings I’ve photographed for the unmentioned, yet awesome, company I worked with for the last few seasons.

d-10

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Photo Shoots can be Exhausting for Babies

February 23, 2018/by kmiller

This recent newborn session was chock-full of cuteness with a sweet baby girl and her siblings. So I’ll just start with my favorite: I can’t get enough of seeing these siblings love on their baby sister.

What better place for a family portrait than a couch, especially this one with lots of nearby windows and soft natural light!

This baby girl is in for lots of kisses and tickles from her big sibs!

This session was such a breeze, but this baby girl wasn’t able to fully sleep though all of the passing back and forth and an outfit change or two. So I suspect she was ready for a long nap after I left!

Isn’t it sweet to see a parent look into their baby’s face? It’s such a sweet expression of love! I love photographing newborns one-on-one with mom and dad for just that reason.

And I hope that mom and dad got some rest too! Life sure looks busy with three little ones!

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Getting Comfortable with your Photographer

December 15, 2017/by kmiller

It was an absolute treat to photograph this new family. I know this couple from church and I am blessed to witness their family grow.

For every session, I try to identify a take-away that I can offer to anyone reading my blog that might be helpful to apply to their next session. Usually it’s clearly titled after the colon in the title of the post. And for this session, I really felt the biggest benefit I noticed is that this new mom and dad were totally comfortable with me. Now they have an advantage in knowing me from somewhere else, and hopefully have the sense that I will support them and encourage them in this exciting and sometimes challenging thing called parenthood. But I want the same for every family I photograph and I try to show my support and encouragement throughout the session. So what I’m getting at is when my clients trust that I support them, they can relax and that is very evident in their photos.

We spend so much time admiring our babies, so it’s natural to spend a lot of time doing just that during a newborn session. And I think it shows the love that a parent has when they welcome a child into the world.

We also spend lots of time lounging on beds or couches because it’s comfortable when holding a baby.

This session took place in November on a mild day, so we were able to get outside and get some fresh air.

Its so sweet seeing babies look into their parents’ eyes.

And when the baby turns to look toward the sound of my camera’s shutter, I’m always happy to get a bright-eyed close-up.

This dad is pretty smitten.

And this little guy is getting lots of love from his mama.

Love this shot of them walking in the alley behind their home!

Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Mellon Park

September 22, 2017/by kmiller

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!

Tag Archive for: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Knowing When to Reschedule

It’s Nearly Springtime, That Means Wedding Season is Soon Here!

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Photo Shoots can be Exhausting for Babies

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Getting Comfortable with your Photographer

Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Mellon Park

Recent Posts

Planning & Pricing Guide

Subscribe