Saturday night I headed over to River Road Park in Niskayuna to photograph a wonderful family.  It was doubly special because their baby boy was my first newborn session after I moved here to New York from Washington state last year.  He’s such a doll and it’s been so much fun to watch him grow up.  Mom was a little worried, I think, about finding the right outfits.  She did awesome–the whole family looked fabulous!  I must admit that even with bug spray, I came away with a few unwanted souvenirs from the area mosquitoes, but after looking at the images… it was totally worth it:).

Gosh, this guy is so handsome!

I am so in love with her red curls and sweet, sweet face.

A year ago, I used this basket at his newborn session.  Think he’s grown much?  Now:

Then:

Had to sneak in a fun family shot too–anyone else feel like this is pretty typical of life with little kids;)?

Thanks so much for such a fun session, guys!

I looked it up (that’s just how big a nerd I am), it’s really a word. From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

gorgeous: splendidly or showily brilliant or magnificent

-gorgeousness noun

I completely blame this client’s gorgeousness for my inattention to session variety.  I fell so in love with the way her hair fell around her gorgeous (there it is again) face, the perfect slope of her shoulders, her beautiful profile, that I totally forgot to take any belly shots.  Poor thing was such a good sport to get dressed back up again 5 minutes after the shoot when I realized my blunder.  But take a look–can you really blame me?

Total session favorite!

I think good looks are a family tradition:).

Okay, so even on the belly shots I cheated;).

Oh, how I wish I could be there to meet the beautiful baby joining your family.  Only my own could keep me from making the trip.  Best of luck!

I remember on my first wedding anniversary thinking back over the past year with my husband and just marveling that anyone can choose to get married based only on the feelings they have for each when they are dating.  In just a short year, my relationship with my husband had grown and intensified exponentially.  There was a couple at our wedding reception who came up to us and said something along the lines of, “You think you’re in love now, but you really have no idea what love is yet.”  They had about 40 or 50 more years of experience than we did, and I have quickly come to realize that they were absolutely right.

I was so honored to be asked to photograph a similar couple on the advent of their 40th wedding anniversary.  They were in town for a few days visiting one of their eight children while preparing to relocate from Bogota, Colombia to Hong Kong.  I can only imagine the life experiences that have made them and their marriage what it is today.  We headed over to the Rose Garden in Schenectady Central Park which is just beautiful in the summer.  A bit of a different session for me, as I love my newborns, but every bit as inspiring.

Best of luck with your move–it was wonderful to spend the evening with the two of you.

It’s pretty obvious that I love to photograph newborn babies.  I just love their perfect little button noses, those sweet lips, that beyond-soft downy hair, and their teeny-tiny toesies–it’s almost intoxicating.  I look forward to each and every newborn session.  Well, imagine my excitement when I pulled up to meet my newest (GORGEOUS) maternity client.  Seriously, with parents like these, baby boy can’t help but be adorable.  I may be almost as excited as the new-parents-to-be to for him to arrive.

I love silhouettes, but there’s just something extra-special about this one–LOVE it!

Thank you so much for such a wonderful evening.  It’s obvious how much you two love each other–you’re going to be fabulous parents!

I was supposed to have a newborn shoot last week with an adorable little one-week-old baby boy.  Unfortunately, my illness kept me from keeping that appointment.  Mom was wonderful about rescheduling for this week, but I am afraid baby Benjamin didn’t take being stood up by his photographer quite so lightly.

Just take a look at the looks he gave me:

And while the ideal time for a first photo shoot is always during that first week of life, we can still get some great stuff with a slightly older baby.  Benjamin may not have been ready for a typical sleepy newborn session, but he still looked dang cute with his gorgeous eyes open.

Don’t let the yawn fool you–he was not giving up that easily.

Right here is where he stole my heart, sigh!

And one more with his gorgeous Mama:).

I love my job!

What more can really be said of a family who agrees to get up at 6:00 a.m. so we can be out shooting in the desert of Utah before 7:00 a.m.?  Seriously, this family was a dream to work with.  And check out what they’re wearing!  Major kudos to Mom for choosing such fun outfits that went so well with the location they chose.

I just can’t get over how happy and cheerful the kids were:

Little bits here became my buddy right away and reminded me so much of my youngest:

Big brother looks so cool:).

And here is where all those good-looks are coming from–aren’t mom and dad just stunning?  Mom’s due with #4 and her maternity sneak peek should be up shortly.

My favorite family shot of the morning–this is real life:).

Thanks so much, guys.  Other than the whole “stepping on a cactus in flip-flops while staring through the viewfinder trying to get the right composition” thing, I had a total blast!

If my experience the other day shooting two different sets of two-year-old twins in one evening taught me anything, it’s that you CANNOT be over-prepared.  E and A were so super sweet but, like all two-year-olds, were able to find many, many things more interesting than a photo shoot with mom and dad.  Good thing I’ve got a two-year-old of my own and a few tricks up my sleeve;).

Seriously, how cute are they together?  I asked mom and dad if they were good friends and they responded with a resounding, “Yes!”  I think it definitely shows.

When staying in the same general vicinity as mom and dad started to lose its appeal, we brought out the bubbles.

And when the novelty of bubbles wore off, we brought out something even better–sugar:).  Look at those eyes!

Mom is an ASL interpreter, and I loved this shot we caught when I asked little E what the sign for candy was.  I don’t know what’s sweeter, the lollipop or his sweet, little face:).

I had so much fun with you guys.  Thanks for being so patient with me–there’s lots more to come!

Well, it’s been quite a week!  I came down with a horrible sore throat on the Fourth and it quickly escalated into what I will now refer to as “exploding face syndrome.”  You know that feeling where your sinuses are so congested that your eyes, cheeks and even teeth hurt?  Yeah, that was me all week.  After four straight days in bed (illness during pregnancy is always extra-fun), I think I am finally on the mend.  I hope to have a bunch of sneak peeks up in the next few days.  In the meantime, if you need a photo-fix, you can check out these links:

As I mentioned before, the Baby as Art workshop was just amazing.  It was beyond inspiring to be surrounded by so many talented women in the Baby as Art team and the other workshop attendees.  You can see our “class photo” here.

Also, while I was in Utah for the day on the way home from San Diego I had the supreme pleasure of meeting up with my good friend Tiffany from Follow Your Art Photography for some maternity photos.  Tiffany is just one of my favorite people and she has an eye for light, color and the perfect location that is rarely matched.  If you are anywhere in Utah and in need of some amazing portraiture, definitely look her up–you will not be disappointed!  Keep in mind that our shoot was sandwiched in between two plane rides and four sessions of my own, and she still managed to make me look and feel beautiful.  That’s some real talent:).  You can check my photos out on her blog here and here.  Thanks a million times over, Tiff!

So, I mentioned in my last post that I just got back from the most amazing workshop in San Diego with the Baby as Art team.  Carrie and Britt were an inspiration to watch and so generous with their time, talent and information.  Their creativity and attention to detail is simply unmatched, and if you don’t know their work you really need to go check it out.  I was understandably beyond excited to shoot my first post-workshop newborn session, and could not have asked for a sweeter, prettier or more compliant model than 11-day old baby Lily–pure baby perfection!  And with that, I’ll let the images speak for themselves:).

This might be my favorite:

Could mom be any more beautiful?!

I am almost certain I’ll have to post some more here on the blog, as this is just the very tip of the iceburg of a truly amazing session, but I still have three other shoots to proof from my trip.  Check back for more squishy sweetness in a week or so.

Well, I am just now starting to catch my breath after a whirlwind trip to San Diego to study with renowned newborn photographers Carrie Sandoval and Brittany Woodall.  It was an amazing experience and there will most likely be more to come regarding the workshop later.  On the way home, however, I stopped in Utah for the day and shot four sessions.  I think I am starting to become a bit too pregnant for such exertions because it’s taken me until today to regain the energy to post about the trip:).

The first sneak peek for the blog is for the family of an absolutely ADORABLE set of 2 1/2-year old twin boys.  Man, did those two keep me on my toes!  K and K were so much fun and so curious about all the bugs and birds and airplanes all around them.  I had so much fun with these two!

Gorgeous mom and dad, aren’t they?

I am a total sucker for, well, a thumb-sucker:).

Don’t they both just have the most gorgeous blue eyes?

Thanks for a great, busy, curious, and exhausting evening boys!