A Classic Maternity Session with Saratoga Springs Maternity and Newborn Photographer

I just love it when husbands plan portrait sessions as a surprise gift for their wives! It’s extra thoughtful, and really the best gift!

Zach reached out to me to book a maternity session for his wife when she was 13 weeks pregnant. He was so excited about their little one’s upcoming arrival that he wanted to surprise Katie with portraits of her pregnancy, and we started planning this top secret session months before we would actually take their portraits to give that baby bump some time to grow. :o)

They came to our Saratoga Springs portrait studio, and basically won the award for cutest and most in love couple ever. How sweet are these two?!?!

Katie wore a few of the gowns from our Mama Wardrobe, and she was absolutely breathtaking! This mama has such a calm presence about her, and really has the sweetest personality. I’m so excited to capture her with her baby boy soon!

Aliya, Adlani & Norah

The leaves may all be gone now after the hurricane and the snowstorm that we just had, but going through this session brought back all those fun colors and crunchy leaves that come to New England each fall.  For such a beautiful season, it is much too short-lived.  This was such a fun shoot -- we scheduled it right in the last week of the full-color season and decided to meet on the quaint town common in Framingham with all of the interesting buildings to lend texture to the photos. The Common was in full color, every inch of space filled with orange and yellow leaves... Amazing color and instant props -- a photographer's dream!  I was greeted coming out of my car by Adlani, Aliya, and Norah.  They were full of energy and excited for our shoot with promises of leaf fights, tree climbing, races, and handstands.  At one point I found my hair being decorated with leaves by the youngest, Norah.  You never know what you're in for with this job!

I really like the next two images... look closely and you'll see the "before" and "after", telling you exactly what it is they're laughing about!

These next two images of Aliya and Norah are a few of my favorites, too.  Love this angle with the leaves and the grass surrounding their smiling faces!

And finally, what would a shoot of mine be without a couple of images that just begged to be in black and white?  :o)  Love Adlani's laughter in this one, and the serious expression on Norah!

Happy Fall, everyone!

Laughter & Leaf Fights

  While I loved the summer for all it's warm ocean breezes and hazy light, the fall is also quite the dream season for a photographer!  There's just something about that crisp air, the warm and cozy sweaters, and those bright harvest colors that beg to be photographed.  A few weeks ago I was able to bundle all of fall's goodness into a deliciously fun session with this family.  Can you believe how beautiful these two kids are?

Katie was a student of mine my first year in the classroom, and I was lucky to get to photograph her now as she's turning into quite the young lady with her little brother Gordon.  (Look at his little toothless smile, above!)  We had such a great time during our session and they were both so eager to be my assistants and scout out the next amazing location for each of our shots.

I love Katie's fiery red hair in these shots.  It really pops in these fall photos!  She was great for the whole session, just going around her backyard exploring and coming up with creative places for our photos.  She's quite the scientist and I really enjoyed watching her in action!

Gordon is a little firecracker. He was full of energy and had so many things to say.  He took his "assistant" job very seriously and even found himself climbing a couple of trees to show me his ideas for photo locations.  Such a great kid!

My favorite was when he ran up to their porch and called out, "How about we do one like this?" and just popped this cute little pose out of nowhere!

(Above: Gordon's melting face!)

The best way to work with kids through a photo session?  Promise them a leaf fight at the end!  :o)  Actually, looking back on the photos, I'm pretty sure their mom was the first one to throw the leaves and the rest was history!  So much fun -- love the whirling colors and the look of pure exhilaration and wonder on their faces in these ones...

Before...............................................................................................................   And after!!!

Happy fall!!!  Next year I'm making sure to book lots of fall sessions in advance while we still have all of these gorgeous leaves to work with.  I can't wait!

Shutter Session: Liam

When his mom told me how much Liam loved the water, I didn't believe her at first.  There were stories of Liam teaching himself to blow bubbles in the bathtub, his first trip to the beach, and how his first word even had to do with water - DUCK.   She also told me how much he loves loves loves to eat sand.  Well, after our photo shoot at Lake Cochituate last week, I believe her.

The mischievous little guy after eating a mouthful of sand.... because really, a sandy goatee is irresistible for a photograph!

The second Liam changed into his swimming gear (which, by the way, makes him look like a handsome little surfer dude!), he knew what was coming.  As we approached the water, his feet started running even though his mom was carrying him in her arms.  He knew where he wanted to go.  And we let him head right into the sand and the water.

An expression of pure ecstasy in the shots above. If you give a one-year-old boy some sand, he will certainly find a way to cover himself in it.

Liam was a blast to photograph.  I rolled up my jeans and got into the lake to get just the right angle of this little boy in his sandy element.  He was fascinated by the water -- this water boy, as his mom told me, even loves getting the water poured on him during bath time!  Here, a few of my favorite water shots...

Somehow, we did manage to get some dry pics of Liam on land, too.  I love his sparkling eyes in this one, and his cute little one-year-old teeth peeking out!

And of course, he made a toy out of the pine needles that covered the ground.  I'm starting to see a pattern in all his toys created from nature.  ;o)

Love the lens effect on this image, above.  Completely loving my new 50mm lens!!

Such a fun little guy!

Addison Caroline {Boston Newborn Portraits}

A few weeks ago I packed my bags (again!) and hopped into my car.  500 miles later, I let myself in through the back kitchen door and a newborn was placed into my arms.  After a few minutes with that blanketed bundle, I looked up at my dear friend Wendy and told her that, if I had to get back in my car right now and drive home, it would have been worth it just for those few precious minutes with her daughter. Luckily, I didn't have to turn around and drive back to Massachusetts and I had a couple of days to snuggle with that lovely little girl and her big brother, Zack (check out his post, here!).

Going through Addie's photos I have rediscovered the beauty of black and white.  Here, a few of my favorites...

She has the most piercing blue eyes, and such an intense gaze!  Plus, did you see that head of hair?  Her brother was famous for his natural mohawk, a subject of his momma's blog for many months when he was born. Though little Addie may not be going down the mohawk path, her tresses are already noteworthy.

One of my favorite moments that I captured was this little exchange between my best friend, the momma and her daughter.  Such a sweet moment to capture in the perfect photo.

And what would life be without a little color?  A few more of little Addison Caroline, who has already stolen so many hearts...

Below, my newest photo prop addition: a beautiful picture-frame-turned-chalkboard.  Love this!

And lastly, let's not forget about Addie's big brother, Zachary.  That little guy has been amazing his momma and daddy for 22 months.  The day that Addie came home from the hospital, he decided that he wasn't about to let her steal the limelight and he took his first steps... all SIX of them!

The Z-man also stole the show with my newborn props.  I love that when I looked back through these pictures I found that itty bitty droplet of baby drool coming out of his mouth in the photo on the left.  He was concentrating oh-so-hard on erasing that chalkboard, and it shows!!

Little Addie is lucky to have such a wonderful big brother!

Genevieve {Boston Newborn Portraits}

Welcome to the world, Genevieve Elizabeth.

Born on May 18, 2012

8 pounds, 6 ounces

On Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing 8-day old Genevieve Elizabeth.  This was my first newborn session.  I read all the books and pored over all the blogs, I assembled a variety of props, and I went into it ready for anything.  ("The books," by the way, say to expect to get peed and pooped on.... I am happy to report that neither of those occurred during our session!)

Since it was my first newborn session, there was inevitably some of this happening:

But everyone made it out unharmed, and had some fun in the process!  :o)  Genevieve was a little angel and I truly enjoyed photographing her.  Her parents were excited to show their own interests and hobbies in her portraits, and they supplied their own collection of props, including mom's handmade quilts and sock monkeys, and dad's Lego rocket ship.

Here, a few of my favorite sock monkey pictures...

And here, one for Genevieve's dad.  He went out and found this rocket ship just for her!  She was fascinated by it the entire time and stared at it, completely mesmerized.  She was also quite shocked the few times she reached for it when it found its way crashing down for a landing!

Once Genevieve was quite comfortable in front of the camera, we confused the poor thing by having her do some naked baby shots.  But they turned out absolutely precious!  She showed so many unique and adorable facial expressions in these ones.  There are too many to choose just one favorite!

Notice the handmade sock monkey quilt Genevieve's mother made for her in the photo below!  Absolutely adorable.

I was so excited to catch her little wink, below.  So sweet!

This little girl with sparkling eyes was such a joy to photograph.

Shutter Session: Daniel

A Sunday afternoon beneath the spring trees with a guitar-playing little boy...

Daniel will be going into first grade next year, and he is oh-so-ready for that big step.  He's a little boy filled with curiosity and a playful spirit, and his session was filled with games and playful moments sprinkled with serious moments of calm like the one above.  I loved capturing those moments of him, completely lost in his own world.

Daniel came completely prepared with his own arsenal of props... all of his favorite toys!  His dad is teaching him to play the guitar, so he brought that along with his favorite blocks.

He is such a typical little boy and he spent the afternoon turning over the bark on tree branches to shriek about the insects hiding underneath, running through the shadows in a red-light-green-light game, and constructing tall towers while his sister sat beside him building Snow White's castle.

I love the above shot of him.... such a serious engineer constructing a tower with his blocks!

Later I busted out a secret weapon from my own arsenal of tricks.... soap bubbles!  For some reason, watching those shiny bubbles float through the air and watching them pop is always a fascinating hit!

And finally, a hazy late-afternoon shot of Daniel playing soccer in the dandelion-filled fields with his dad.  I love the sunlight's haziness in this shot.  It really makes the puffs glow, and you can almost see the beams of light shining down...

Engagement Shutter Session: Kara & Greg

What do you get when you mix together a diamond ring, a fun-loving couple, a whole bunch of quarters, and a photographer?  And then you stick them in downtown Boston?  A few weeks ago I spent many fun-filled hours photographing Kara and Greg around the Faneuil Hall area, and despite the fact that I had to run back to my car and feed the meter not once but THREE times (!!!), we had an amazing session and I got a number of great shots.

I had a feeling right from the beginning that these two would be up for anything when I told them that the first place I wanted to photograph them was down this desolate alley off the marketplace.  They were in!

Downtown Boston has always been one of my favorite places to photograph, so I was excited that Kara and Greg chose this location for their engagement session.  Mixing a couple into the photos lends a whole new perspective to this photogenic city!

It was clear how much fun Kara and Greg have together.  The afternoon was filled with piggy back rides, carousels, a little bit of car hijacking (kinda, sorta, maybe!), and some dancing.  Case in point: Give them a bubble lamppost in a crowded marketplace, and they will find a way to make it work!

Apparently their laughter rubbed off on others around us, and a college student came over asking to take the same photo for a class project of hers.  As Kara said, who was she to stand in the way of this girl's poor graduation?  :o)

(Above: This is one of my favorite shots!)

I love these bench shots!  The benches and the chains were the perfect frame for these two Bostonian imports.

Bricks are quickly becoming my trademark:

I loved working with this creative couple.  They had the fun idea to do some miniature portraits.  It lends a li'l bit of sass to the session!

To showcase their playful nature, we headed over to a nearby playground.  Greg proposed to Kara after one of her trapeze shows last December.  We found some fun playground equipment to incorporate into their photos, reminiscent of her trapeze acts.  The tricky part was trying to "steal" the bars away from the children!

A little bit of dancing in the park...

Congrats, Kara and Greg!  Such a joy to photograph!

Shutter Session: Princess Cristina

I had the honor of photographing a lovely brown-eyed princess this past weekend.  The second she got out of the car, little Cristina was telling me all about her fancy sandals and showing me her pink toe-nail polish.

As the afternoon wore on, she became my own fashion stylist.  I should have known that would happen when her mom called me an hour before the shoot and recommended I run upstairs and throw on a pink shirt.  :o)  Cristina spent the afternoon admiring the roses on my camera strap and telling me how to style my hair (which, by the way, means no ponytails or sunglasses allowed in this royal tot's court!).

The light on Sunday was BEAUTIFUL and worked wonderfully in our photos.  We're going on a ten-day rain streak here, so this was a nice reprieve from the clouds.  What a perfect way to spend the afternoon.... in a gazebo (or rather, Snow White's castle!) with a fairy tale princess.

The park was filled with dandelion puffs.  Literally filled.  I love the above shot, which was actually inspired by the title page photo of Kelle Hampton's beautiful new memoir, Bloom.  If you haven't read it yet, check it out!

Later, Cristina pulled out her guitar from El Salvador to play alongside her brother (shots from his shoot are coming soon!).  I absolutely love everything about the hazy light in this shot, the way her dress flows, the sparkles on her princess tiara...

She is a very independent little girl, and insisted on holding it upside down in her left hand while strumming along.

And finally, one of my absolute favorite shots of her.  I busted out the bubbles, and she and her brother were entranced.  At one point I looked over at her to see this mischievous sparkle in her eyes, a sly smile on her lips, and the bubble container between her teeth.... "It's a trumpet!" she exclaimed!

Such a fun bubble-chasing, princess-smiling kind of day!

Shutter Session: Watch Factory

I live near the old Waltham Watch Factory, and it's my new favorite place to photograph.  I love the old bricks, the view of the Charles River, the way the sunlight streams through the old mill windows.  A few weeks ago Sehily and I spent a fun morning at the Watch Factory, and I got to see whole new parts of the area that were oh-so-photogenic.  I loved finding ways to use the reflective windows, the gigantic flower pots, the gravel paths, and the crumbling piles of bricks to help make some fantastic photographs.

I've always loved how bricks photograph!

Really love the depth of field in the above photo.  It was tricky to get it just so with the lighting, though!  This was actually taken way up high on the wall to where the sunlight was shining, since the bottom half was covered in shadow.  To get up there, THIS is what we had to do...

Just another Sunday morning spent scaling walls!

And another of my favorite photos from the session.  I had Sehily walk away into the path of the sun, and then turn around and come back so I could get the angle of the building behind her.  The laughter there?  Yeah, I totally started singing the "Pretty Woman" theme song at that point!!  hahaha, it definitely got a laugh out of her and the best expression in this photo!

After the Watch Factory, we moved on to a cluster of dogwood trees.  This was the last week they were in bloom, so that timeline definitely spurred me to photograph them.  I love the shots here of the metallic fence against the smooth petals.

As we were leaving, guess what we found?  Oops!