A Musical First Birthday Cake Smash

Her name is Melody.  She loves music, singing, and dancing.  Of course we were going to do a musical themed cake smash for her first birthday photo session!

There are about a million and one reasons why I love cake smash sessions.  Cute babies, cake & creativity top the list.  I had this idea for a backdrop of floating hearts created from sheet music, and it came out just as beautiful as I had imagined it would.  I love when that happens!

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It wasn't long before Melody knocked the entire cake right off of the cake stand.  Let the smashing begin!  She really got into it -- just check out her toes in these next few photos!  I just love it when the babies get so into the smashing that it is all they can focus on.  So sweet!

music musical notes first birthday cake smash

pink, teal and gray cake smash

pink and teal cake smash session

baby cake smash birthday photo session

The end of the smash always gives us the most comical reactions from the babies -- "What do you mean that cake's all gone?  And you want to wash me?  No way!!!"

music musical notes first birthday cake smash

Want to see the birthday girl in action?   Check out this adorable video clip!  I'm pretty certain that Melody LOVED her birthday cake!!

[video width="320" height="576" mp4="http://nicolestarrphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/30-3380-post/video-1446218810.mp4.mp4"][/video]

Happy birthday, baby girl!

View the rest of Melody's birthday session & family photos here.

A Sparkly Birthday Cake Smash {Maria}

There's something so magical about celebrating your little one's first birthday. I'm not talking about the parties, the decorations, the gifts.  I'm talking about reaching that monumental milestone that marks your first year as a family of three.  365 days of weathering the ups and downs while getting to know who this little baby of yours is.  12 months of parenting success.   Victory.

I love it when families come to me for their baby's first birthday session, and I always make it a point to snap some gorgeous memories of the whole family together.  Think about your little one's first year.  You have a million photos of your baby, a couple of your partner with the baby... and you're not in any of the pictures, right?  Jump in the frame and show your baby that you were there, that you were loving and happy and present.

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

Doesn't Maria have the most amazing sparkling eyes?  I could photograph her sweet & soulful expression all day!  And this little blue romper of hers?  I'm in love with it!  It was the perfect outfit for her one-year session.

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

Maria's mom wanted to celebrate her daughter's first year with a little *SPARKLE*.  Of course, I was thrilled about her pink and gold themed cake smash and was so excited to pull together the most gorgeous set up for her baby girl.  Sparkle and NSP go hand in hand, as you well know.  ;o)  Enjoy a few of my favorites from her sparkly cake smash session!

WM pink gold birthday cake smash set up

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

This little miss LOVED clapping her hands together, and I'm pretty certain that half of the photos from her session have her cheering herself on and looking to us to continue the applause.  Such a little cutie!

boston saratoga photographer

boston saratoga photographer

Happy Birthday, Miss Maria!  And congratulations to her amazing parents on their first victorious year as a family of three.

Did you love Maria's girly-girl session?  Check out another sparkly cake smash photo shoot here!

Want to learn more about our birthday sessions?  Read about our first year & cake smash sessions.

WM pink gold birthday cake

Surf's Up! A Birthday Cake Smash Session

When planning any photo session, I always love talking with my clients to learn about their lives, their interests, and what they REALLY want out of their session.  For Jason's 1st birthday, his mom knew one thing -- she wanted a pineapple cake.  Pineapple was what she craved most during her pregnancy, and she always joked that her baby boy was made of pineapple.

I loved the idea of a tropical cake for her little one, and we used a beachy vintage surfer theme for the backdrop.  This summer I have gotten into hand-painting backdrops for our sessions, and I am absolutely loving it!  This was a simpler set-up, and the photos were adorable.  Little Jason was more interested in the dots on the floor than his cake, though.  A few weeks later at his birthday party, his mom and dad learned that it's not that he doesn't LIKE cake.  Not at all.  He just LOVES chocolate cake.  (Ours was vanilla.)

First birthday sessions are more than just a cake smash.  They are a celebration of your first year together as a whole family, and I always love capturing this evolving love on camera with some gorgeous family shots.  Jason was such an active little boy, and he loved the camera.  He was absolutely fascinated by it, and constantly had his eyes on me to see what I was doing with that big black square in front of my eyes.  So much curiosity!

There are a few of my favorite family shots of Nancy and Fabricio with their little boy.  I love it when families can just play, laugh, and love in the park by my studio and we capture these amazing moments of them together.

Did you love this birthday session?  Click on the "Contact" tab above and let's plan your baby's first year session!

Want to see more like it?

Check out other recent cake smashes here and here.

A Whimsical Pink & Teal Birthday

Look who's turning one! I had such a fabulous time planning Anna's cake smash with her mom.  Some families come to me and say, "I'm not the creative type.  I trust you.  I'm sure you'll come up with an amazing set."  Other families come to me in the planning stages and tell me a few ideas, we share inspiration photos, bounce ideas off of each other, and then I finish the final details in planning their session!

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Anna's mom knew that she wanted to do a cake smash birthday session outdoors, which I was very excited about.  She wanted something girly, soft, and whimsical for her daughter.  She loved inspiration photos that I sent her with pinks and teals, and fell in love with these tissue paper balls upon first glance.  That plus the perfect location (Larz Anderson Park in Brookline) with the most incredible light sparkling through the trees in the distance meant that we had the set up for a STUNNING cake smash!

I love seeing the cute little outfits that parents find on Etsy for the children's sessions.  This ruffled and lacy teal diaper cover was no exception, and it was just perfect with those pearl beads!

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Anna was so full of personality and I loved capturing her at this age.  The first birthday is such a milestone, and your little baby is growing into quite the little person!  Those rolls on the legs, her excited new clapping skills, and those teeth poking through are just a few of the things you'll want to remember about this age.

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While a little dainty at first, Anna quickly got all into her cake and was loving every single frosting-covered bite!  Her big brother Mikey wasn't one to just sit on the sidelines and watch his sister enjoy that whole cake to herself, so he jumped in.  These next photos weave together perfectly to tell such a comical story of Anna realizing that Mikey loved her birthday cake...

And just like that, Anna is all done!

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pink and teal cake smash baby birthday session boston_0018

See the rest of this family's beautiful session at Larz Anderson Park by clicking here.

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Did you love this cake smash?

Check out another sparkly cake smash session here.

Is your baby turning 1 soon?  Let's chat and plan their birthday session!  

Email me by clicking on the >>CONTACT<< tab above.

A Sunlit Family Session | Boston Family Photographer

Every time I go to Larz Anderson Park, I fall in love with a new hidden little area of their gorgeous, expansive park.  It truly is the perfect little place for photo shoots because no two sessions will ever be the same!  This time when I met the S family at the park, I was determined not to replicate any photos or locations I had used previously with another recent family session.  Looking at what we captured together with mom, dad, Mikey, and Anna, I'd say it was a success!

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I absolutely adore this photo of everyone cuddling together beneath a backlit tree.  When we do family sessions, the children are the priority and we keep it playful, fun, and light.  During our time together, Mikey and I talked about superheroes and ran through the trees where he found this perfect little spot for his family.  Tickles, laughter, and natural smiles.  What a fun session!

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During our ordering appointment, mom and dad both fell in love with this photo of their little loves on my vintage quilt!  This is one of my favorite props, a flea market score at the Brimfield Antique Fair last summer.  It comes with me to nearly every summertime session for that fun pop of color, cuddly, and vintage.

This 16x20 canvas is now bringing smiles and cheer to the entryway of their home.  Imagine down the stairs and seeing this every morning?  That's sure to start your day off right!

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Another thing that I love about regular family sessions is capturing your children's milestones!  Anna is just learning to take her first (assisted) steps, and now her family will forever be able to remember that when she is running around at full-speed in just a few short months.

Love their photos?  Check out the rest of their session with Anna's beautiful cake smash photos here in this post!

Eleanor Katherine {A delicate and floral springtime newborn session}

Eleanor Katherine

April 16, 2015  |  1:28pm

6 pounds, 3 ounces  |  18 inches

I was so excited to welcome Ellie and her parents for their newborn session.  This little girl's arrival to the world was much-anticipated and long-awaited, so we were so happy to welcome this tiny little girl into the studio for the perfect springtime session.

Eleanor was a dream baby.  Her parents followed my prep packet steps exactly, and she arrived to the studio all tuckered out, slipped right into a milk coma, and was in dreamland the entire session.  This allowed us to get so many adorable set ups of their little girl, and many of the specialty shots that the parents had requested for family members.

I always love starting with the family shots, and this has become one of my favorites of showing a baby girl in her daddy's strong hands...

Look at all that hair!

Cute new wrap, you say?  Why yes, it is!  Luckily my husband, Jeff, didn't mind browsing the scarf racks with me at TJ Maxx this spring when the perfect baby wraps were on sale.  He's a keeper.  ;o)

I love how tiny she looks in this one!

Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl!

She is perfect in every way.

Yianni {Blue and Teal Newborn Session}

John Eugene

March 15, 2015   |   12:16am

6 pounds, 8 ounces   |   20.5 inches

Little Yianni's family was in for a treat when they came for their newborn session in the studio.  With two big sisters at home eager to welcome home their baby brother, the K family was in for some BLUE.

We had an absolutely wonderful session together with this sweet little boy.  He slept the whole time and didn't even fuss!  I loved wrapping him up in our new springtime wraps, and using our brand new pageboy hat from Sleepy Baby Crafts.   Be sure to check out the Sleepy Baby Crafts page for unique, handmade hats, bonnets, and other cute little accessories for your next photo shoot!

Look at that little furrowed brow, and those teeny-tiny toes peeking out in the basket!  Love this shot of baby Yianni!

Congratulations to the K family!  I hope to see you again soon as your little one grows for a milestone session!

A Little Fox & Woodsy Newborn Baby Session {Boston Baby Photographer}

Andrew Stephen

March 17, 2015

9 pounds, 3 ounces

21 inches

Little Baby Andrew is not exactly "little"... all 9.3 pounds of him filled up my baskets, my newborn hats, and his mommy & daddy's arms.  This sweetheart was such a cutie with his head full of hair and his sparkling blue eyes, and I had such a fabulous time with his mom and dad in the studio during his session.  We got so many adorable little photos of him and I'm thrilled to share them here.  This first one of him in his daddy's strong arms will just melt your heart...

This handsome little guy was born on St. Patrick's Day, so it was only fitting that we get some proper green photos for this Irish babe.  LOVE how these turned out!

When I first talked with his mom to plan his session, I knew right away that we were going to get along fabulously.  She was so easy-going and excited about his session, and she had so many great ideas for his photos.  I love it when parents have ideas and themes they'd like top incorporate into their shoots!  She told me that she and her husband are "woodsy" and that they had had a rustic wedding with their closest family and friends.  After hearing about a sweet little fox set that someone had made for her baby boy, I knew just the set up to design for their little fox.  What do you think of the new nest?  You'll be able to see the first photo over on The Loving Nest's new website, an NSP partner.  Check them out!

Congratulations to Lindsay & Chris on their sweet little boy's arrival.  He is absolutely perfect!

Dreamy Family Session and Butterfly Cake Smash Birthday Session {Boston Family Photographer}

Really, now...  how cute is this family???

Mary called me soon after the HHP workshop in January, excited to plan a family session and first birthday session for her little girl Aubrey.  I absolutely adore this family, and I was so excited to capture them on camera again.  We met during a newborn contest I was running last year, and this was our third time together since Aubrey was born.  You can tell they're naturals at being in front of the camera now, can't you?  Plus, I was thrilled to be able to do my first full family session in the new studio space (more on that coming to the blog very soon!!)  I love how the photos came out, how much love these is between these four, and how gorgeous every single one looks!  Be prepared for photo overload...

This creamy set up was exactly what I had imagined, and it is absolutely dreamy...

Little Mr. Carter has so much personality.  The first time we met I told him he was a knight, Sir Carter.  He loved that!!  He was full of smiles and giggles for our latest session.  I'm pretty sure these laughs were all from talking about his sock-free and "stinky" bare feet!  ;o)

The sweet little bonnet was handmade by yours truly especially for this session.  The quilt in the photo below was used during Aubrey's Simply Baby session when she was 5 months old, and we were able to incorporate it into her latest milestone session!  What a special way to tie the photos together.  

And, what would a first birthday session be without a cake smash?  I loved having full creative reign for this set up since it was in the studio.  Mary and I planned this down to the very last detail, choosing the tutu and crown and coordinating all of the details.  I love how it turned out, and how we can see Aubrey's curiosity and wonder on full display in these photos.  Isn't she such a little princess in this tutu and crown?

Thinking of a first birthday session for your little one?  Let's plan something together!

Sign up for our newsletter using the pink tab on the left of the homepage and get in on the big birthday news coming later this week!!

Liam Alejandro {Boston Newborn Photographer}

Liam Alejandro

April 5, 2014

6:20am

7 lbs, 15 oz  |  20.5 inches

Jasmin and Nick are first time parents, and capturing their new family's love on camera was such a special moment for all of us.  She and I have taught first grade together for years, and I was excited to be able to photograph her little guy after 9 months of anticipation.  Jasmin entered my Newborn Session Giveaway in February, and she won a free session to document her little one's arrival.

Liam Alejandro was finally here!  He was SUCH a little cutie for us during our session, and once he passed out in a milk coma we were golden.  Behold, the ever changing hats of little Liam.

We captured some gorgeous B&W images of the new mommy and daddy.  I was so excited to capture this great "hands shot" of Liam in his daddy's hands showcasing his tiny newness against his dad's big, strong hands.  This shot is going up on my list of all-time favorite shots!

And those piercing eyes of his!  When he was awake, he followed me everywhere with those deep and soulful eyes.  What a charmer!

Congratulations, Jasmin & Nick!  I can't wait to watch this little boy grow up with your love and kind spirits.

Evelyn Marie {Boston Newborn Photographer}

Evelyn Marie

March 29, 2013

7 lbs 12 oz

21 inches

Isn't she lovely?  Little Miss Evelyn Marie was welcomed to the world at the end of March by a very excited mom and dad, and a big brother who was eagerly ready to take on his new role!  Mom Meesa and I have taught together for years, and we were both really looking forward to our newborn session with her brand new baby girl.  As I was driving up to New Hampshire for our shoot, I received news of the next newborn's arrival who's mommy also works with us at school (that post is coming tomorrow!).  What an exciting day!

Evelyn (Evey) was such a doll for our session.  She was alert for our family portraits, and fell right asleep once we got settled in and started posing her all cozied up in our warm blankets and baskets.  

This was my first full session with my brand new Nikon D610 camera.  I love the clarity of these images, and the soft feel that the next few have.  I came home absolutely in love with these shots right here.  What a sweetheart!  (Though, I will say that after holding my trigger finger on the shutter and supporting the camera weight for 3 hours straight took some getting used to.  I'm now working on new hand and wrist exercises!  Hazards of the job.  ;)   )

This next image was a new look and edit that I'm trying out.   I made the wrap from roving wool, and was going for a much more dramatic look than my typical photos.  I'll stick with the soft images that you all know in my style, but changing it up every now and then is fun.

This one makes me catch my breath every single time!  Lately there seems to be a theme of the little newborns I'm photographing with these piercing and soulful eyes.   Such a beautiful little girl.  Again, I'm using a one of my DIY roving wool wraps here for a new prop.  I've started DIYing my newborn props, and it is sooooooo much fun.  Thank goodness for summer vacation coming up so that I can get to work on many more ideas!

Welcome, sweet little Evey!

Congratulations, Meesa, Andrew & Big Brother Liam!

Camilo Jose {Boston Newborn Portraits}

He's here!  He's here! I've been friends with Isabel since our grad school days of analyzing Spanish literature in the basement offices of Boston University.  When she and Dallas were pregnant with their first child, she found her way into my kitchen at 7:30 on a snowy Saturday morning to share the news with me.  That first baby came along, grew up into a little boy, did a fun little photo shoot with me when I was first starting out, and before we knew it she and Dallas were back for a maternity shoot in the Arnold Arboretum last fall.

And now, I'm so excited to share photos my friends' newest bundle of happiness right here with you.  His arrival was marked with lots of loving, sweet little baby kisses, domestic and international flights, M&Ms, and mustaches.  (Read on, you'll see...)

Camilo Jose

11.12.13

7 lbs, 3 oz

18 inches

Oh!  Those soft little back wrinkles!

The dark hair and eyelashes on this little guy just have me mesmerized! What a cutie.  And this new soft gray background is admittedly one of my new favorites for newborn shoots.  Absolutely loving it here!

It was so much fun watching Camilo's big brother Nicolas learn how to be a big brother -- wanting to be involved, trying to give him kisses, seeking the attention of all the adults in the room, wanting to show off his baby, wondering why his baby brother was taking over his play room.  Such a fun time with these two!

(And yes, we may have resorted to carefully positioned M&M candies for a few of these kissy shots!  ;o)

Isa excitedly told me weeks before the baby was due about this adorable elephant hat and bottoms that a friend had hand-made for her and that her mom had brought over on the plane from Ecuador.  Such an adorable outfit!  Love this sweet and peaceful shot.

The boys were lucky to have their aunt visiting from Tennessee for the weekend.  We got a few beautiful backlit shots of them all together.  And a few more of that lucky baby boy in his family's loving arms...

(Yes, there was a mustache joke going on  ;o)     )

And finally, 'Tis the Season!

Wishing this family the most wonderful of Christmases with their two boys.....  And a Happy New Year to all of you!

Bienvenido al mundo, Camilo Jose.

Lowell Stanton {Newborn Portraits}

Lowell Stanton

7 lbs, 11 oz

21 inches

November 8, 2013

I was waiting on two November babies this month, and Lowell Stanton was the first to make his grand entrance into the world on November 8th.  He came a few days early, right in time for the weekend and for his mama to finish a full work week.  :o)  We got together 8 days later for his session, and he was such an angel.  What a calm little baby!

Honestly, photographing Lowell was such an amazing full-circle moment for me.  His big sister Genevieve was the first newborn that I ever photographed, and I was over the moon excited to be able to capture his first days on camera as well.    (Check out Genevieve's other sessions here and here.)

Those itty bitty toes just make me melt!

Lowell's mom Amy is known for her gorgeous hand-made quilts, and they have found their way into her babies' newborn shoots.  Love this robot one!

Big Sister Genevieve is figuring out what to do with this little baby that appeared magically one day, and capturing that curiosity on camera was so much fun.  (Shhhhhh, a little bit of ipad technology just might have been involved to get these shots.  You've gotta do what you've gotta do!)

Congratulations on your beautiful growing family!

Welcome to the world, Lowell!

Baseball and Babies

In case you didn't get enough of the little birthday boy cutie here at his cake smash, check out the rest of his session pics!  It was the last of the outdoor fall photo shoots I took this season, and we were thrilled to be able to go outdoors for a few family shots.

Sox or Yankees?  It's a friendly battle in this house!

And mama smooches are the best.  Just look at his little face and the way his eyes light up!  So adorable.

And finally, one for just the boys.  Happy 1st Birthday, Stevie!

Mark {6 months}

I was so excited to finally meet up with this sweet little family on a gorgeous fall afternoon by the lake.  The mother Katie and I had been planning our session since early in the summer, emailing back and forth between the States and Siciliy to share our ideas for her little baby boy's first photo shoot. ::: On a side-note, one of the many things I love the most about meeting and getting to know the families I photograph are all of the connections we are able to make.  While I was spending the summer on a military base in Sicily, Katie told me how she spent her vacations in her college years over in Italy when her own family was in the military.  After so many Italian phrases and food exclamations later, our session was on! :::

It was such a fun session!  The light was perfect and the colors and locations around the lake were just begging to be photographed.  Little Baby Mark (6 months) was happy, cheerful, and loving the camera.  He never took his eyes off of my lens!

I LOVED the family's outfits -- jeans, plaid, stripes, boots.  What a perfect fall combination.  This is an example of mixing and matching patterns and colors that works so beautifully.

I love this series of B&Ws.   We had the most fun taking these pics here.  We were standing on a bridge, and Mark's attention wandered off to the side and everyone burst into laughter and smiles.  It just so happened that a friendly jogger decided to come by and coax some smiles out of Mark by making silly faces at him.  Best reactions ever!

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Thank you for a gorgeous session!  I can't wait to work with you guys again!

Coming Home {Newborn Portraits}

It takes a village to raise a child."

A little while back I was contacted about the idea of a gift session for a beautiful family who had just adopted their youngest son and brought him home from Florida.  So many families came together to give this precious gift to them.  And then listening to the story of their adoption journey while seeing that little baby in their arms -- it really does make it plain to see that this little boy found his way home to his family.

Jase Leo

May 5, 2013,  3:10pm

7 pounds, 13 ounces

There's a funny story behind the top B&W photo up above.  What do you do when a newborn is just not that tired anymore and doesn't feel like being out of his mother's arms?  Well, if you have such an amazing mother as Jase's mom, the mother volunteers to jump underneath the backdrop and be his cushion.  We put Jase on her backdrop-covered chest, and her heartbeat and breathing calmed him right down.  I had seen something like this on a comical Pinterest board once, and I couldn't believe that here we were getting to do the same thing!  New strategy -- check!!

These ones of little Jase curled up with his proud big brother Ross are just so sweet.  :o)

Congratulations to Jase's family.  Your little bundle of joy was certainly worth the wait!

Ryan's 1st Birthday Cake Smash

This is my new FAVORITE type of session!  I'm so excited about all the opportunities that will come from this first birthday cake smash. I've been wanting to get into cake smashes for awhile, and when Kristi contacted me to schedule her little boy Ryan's 1st birthday cake smash, I was thrilled.  We exchanged so many emails before the session, planning it right down to the colors so that everything would coordinate with Ryan's little birthday outfit.  Check out his cute tie, hat, and diaper cover from Etsy!  I made the ribbon streamer backdrop to match!

We met at Hanson's Farm in Framingham, a gorgeous location that was very special to the family.  I happen to have an affinity for farms and barns, so I was in love with this location for our shoot!

After our gorgeous family pics....... out came the cake!  Kristi ordered the cake from the talented Jacqui over at Cakes by J & J in Framingham, MA.  Jacqui and I are now partnering up for future cake smashes and events!  So thrilled at this networking opportunity!

Ryan was all over this cake.  At first he was a little hesitant, but once he realized that you could eat it... wow, he went wild!

Ryan was absolutely adorable!  He really got into it, and Kristi and I were just laughing so hard watching him.  When your own two hands aren't enough, what's a boy to do?  Use his foot to hold the cake in place!  Limbs were flailing everywhere -- so sweet!

I loved capturing his amusement and wonder on camera.   :)

Just wait till you see what we did for Ryan's AFTER the cake smash portion of the session... check back tomorrow for more!  You're going to LOVE this!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Ryan!

This cake smash was so much fun.  I can't wait to schedule a few more!  There are so many creative options that we can do with this type of shoot -- what would YOU like to do for your child's first birthday cake smash?  The possibilities are truly endless.  Let's chat!

Classic B&W {Boston Newborn Portraits}

Beautiful little Sophia's parents asked me to come back and do an ENTIRE portrait session for them in black and white.  ALL B&W???  Seriously???? How could I possibly resist that temptation?  :o) While I adore color portraits and I believe that everyone should live out loud in color, there is just something so crisp and clean about a black and white photo that I love so much.  I have said on this blog more than once that some photos just BEG to be in black and white, they were just meant to be unsaturated with a play on highlights and shadows.  When I look around my own home, most of the photographs that I've chosen to hang on the walls are in some version of B&W.  So an entire photo session in B&W?  Sign me up!

I couldn't be happier with the images.  I'll let the photographs speak for themselves...

Is there something special you want in your session?  A dream you have for your photographs?  Please speak up and let me know!  I'd be happy to bring that dream to life for you.

Sweet Sophia {4 months}

Earlier this month I got to meet the absolutely darling 4-month old Sophia.  Her mom had contacted me to schedule a session after being referred to {Nicole Schwalm Photography} by a friend (check out baby Stephen's photos, here!).  That referral actually happened in the middle of baby Stephen's shoot and put such a smile on my face.  Word-of-mouth referrals are the best and are my favorite way to get in touch with new clients since you have an instant connection based on the referral.  Plus, the new clients already know exactly what they are looking for in their family's photographs since they saw their friend's session and could already picture how their own family's portraits would turn out, inspiring them to schedule their own session! I walked into Veronika, Alec, and Sophia's sunny home and met their loving and happy family.

Veronika already knew that she loved my B&W baby portraits, so we were sure to capture those classic and simple moments that always translate so well to B&W.  I adore the love that fills these photos, the soft back lighting that lends an airy touch to them, and the precious candid moments that I was able to capture between little Sophia and her parents.  Plus the light coming through those doors resulted in my two favorite characteristics in a photograph: beautiful bokeh AND catchlights... oh, be still my photographer's heart!  ;o)

Ooooh, and did we ever have fun playing dress-up with Sophia and these gorgeous little handmade hats that had been given to her!  I love the sherbet-colored bonnet and how it just pops against the white background.  It's reminiscent of Genevieve's Christmas session, but a touch more spring-like with the colors.

Sophia spent most of our session clasping her little hands together and bringing them up to her lips, a move her mother explained that she perfected in utero and that they saw time and time again in her ultrasounds.  So cute to now be able to see that in person and on film!

And I loved the B&W image and the color one so much that you get to enjoy both of them full-size right here, too!  Look at the way those beautiful eyes of hers sparkle and are full of so much depth!  THOSE are the perfect catchlights in her eyes.

Next came the adorable little pea pod hat and some tummy time.  Sophia was such a little model and was in such a pleasant mood, not fussing one little bit during her tummy time photos!  She was in love with the soft, furry background and just burrowed herself in it, smoothing it along her cheeks to feel how soft it was.  So cute!

And finally, another favorite from her tummy time.  This one is much more dramatic with the light and shadows!

I'll end with this gorgeous soft-lit frame of Sophia chilling in her dad's arms.  Her blue eyes really pop against his shirt!  Since she was so much older than the newborns I've been photographing lately, she really kept her focus on the camera the entire time and stares right into the depths of the lens in many of her photos.  Love the effect that has!

Thanks for a wonderful session, Veronika and Alec!  It was a joy photographing your family.

Remember, everyone... word of mouth referrals!!!  :o)

Stephen {Newborn Portraits}

Stephen made his grand entrance into the world on December 4, 2012.  To his parents Nichole and Stephen, little baby Stephen is their "tornado", and it was quite appropriate that the Little Big Town song came on during our session.  He has turned their world upside down in the two months since his arrival, and it was so clear that they are head over heels in love with their firstborn. At only 6 weeks old, I got the chance to photograph this newborn on a sunny winter day to ring in the new year (actually, "oldborn" is the term that photographers use for the littlest of the little ones older than 2 weeks).  I was thrilled to be able to capture his precious and fleeting newness on camera.  Stephen was very alert and pleasant throughout the session, which is rare for a newborn!  It was almost as if he was telling us, "So you made me get naked?  And you're putting hats on me?  And you're posing me in baskets and moving me around the house?  So what?  I can take it!"  Absolutely adorable, and his photos came out just precious.

And now, with no further introduction, the little baby boy with the sparkling blue eyes...

There's just something about newborns in black & white that is so classic...

(I couldn't decide which of the above edits I liked more, black or grey... what do you think?)

And the adorable, happy family.  Baby makes three.  I love the shots of the new mom and dad with their little guy.  You can just see the love pouring out of the photographs.  The candids are the best and their bond really shines through -- and being able to capture THAT is the reason I love this job!  :o)

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And finally, some soft toned photos to showcase those gorgeous sparklers of baby Stephen's!  Such a wonderfully fun session -- I can't wait to photograph this little guy in the future.  His mom and I were already talking about a one-year old cake smash!

And now that I'm in head-over-heels in newborn mode, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby C, the next little girl I'm due to photograph.  Everyone seems to be eagerly waiting for news of her grand entrance into the world.  Hurry up and get here already!  ;o)