Rustic Family Photos at a Saratoga Springs Farm

Sometimes the stars align and you luck out with a perfect fall evening like this one for your family's portrait session.  Crisp fall air, a gorgeous golden sun, and the most beautiful foliage all came together for this family's session in Saratoga Springs.  

When Lynsey first contacted me about planning her family's fall portraits, she knew she wanted something rustic.  I'm sure the words "barns," "fields," and "weathered wood" all came up in conversation.  I immediately thought of the perfect location for their portrait session, one that I drive past almost every day where I can't help but pull over to the side of the road to watch the sun set because it is just so beautiful as that golden ball of fire slips beneath the line of trees out at the edge of the field.  I reached out to the owner of this local Saratoga Springs farm to ask about photographing on their property, and thankfully, they said yes!  

The tall corn fields were one of my favorite backdrops at the farm that day.

Aren't McKenzie & Taylor just the cutest together?  After our session, McKenzie's mom told me that McKenzie spent the whole next week talking about when she would get to play with her "big friend" again -- haha, that's me!  

She definitely had a lot of fun running & playing on the farm during our session, and her personality really shines through in these images.  She takes such good care of her little sister.  Plus, those pigtails just make your heart melt, don't they?!?!  She could totally be in an advertisement for Janie + Jack with that adorable outfit she's wearing!

I love our family sessions because there are so many opportunities to laugh, cuddle, play, giggle, and just relax with your loved ones.  Imagine getting to look enjoy this image and soak it in every single day for the next thirty years...  pretty amazing!

We're now booking family sessions for 2017!  Our spring & summer months fill up quickly, so plan ahead and email me today to chat about your family's memory-making adventure.   hello@nicolestarrphotography.com

A Cake Smash & Splash Session at our Saratoga Springs Portrait Studio

For Ryan's birthday session, we tried something a little different for his cake smash... by following it up with a SPLASH!  This little boy absolutely loves the water, so it was only natural to have a smash & splash, with a bubble bath after his session to capture a few more adorable photos of him as he celebrates his first birthday.  I was thrilled to finally be able to use this vintage washing tub that I found at the Brimfield Flea Market last year, and to use our brand new wooden boards backdrop for the very first time in our new studio!

Ryan's family came to our Saratoga Springs studio to celebrate 365 days of parenthood.  365 days of smiles, 365 days of cuddles, and 365 days of an amazing little boy who has brought so much light to their world.  Seriously, this little boy is ALWAYS HAPPY.  He smiled the entire time we were together, and he never got fussy for even a moment.  That is a rarity when photographing little ones (check out some upcoming blog posts — we are going to show you ALL of the crying babies!), and I was thoroughly impressed.  I could photograph happy babies all day, every day!  

Ryan LOVED his cake.  His mom told me before our session that he loves to eat, and she wasn’t kidding.  He ate more of his birthday cake than any other baby I’ve ever photographed.  Ryan set a record in our studio for being the very first baby to devour his entire cake.  And then, he was looking for more cake by leaning in to lick every crumb off of the cake stand.  What little bit wasn’t stuck between his toes and fingers was inside of his belly, and at the end of his session there was no solid cake left on our seamless paper!  We couldn’t stop laughing at his eagerness to devour his sweet little birthday cake, and we were so glad to capture that excitement on camera during his cake smash.  

If you loved Ryan’s cake smash, you should check out these other birthday babies:

A Superhero Cake Smash

A Where the Wild Things Are Cake Smash

Oh the Places You'll Go First Birthday Cake Smash

Is your baby turning one in the next few months? 

Email us at hello@nicolestarrphotography.com and let’s chat about planning the perfect birthday celebration for this milestone! 

Use the contact tab above to get in touch, and you can also browse more cake smash inspiration in the “Sessions” tab above!

Oh The Places You'll Go First Birthday Cake Smash | Happy Birthday, Mallika!

One of my favorite things about being a cake smash photographer is when I get to work with clients who are just as excited about planning their baby's birthday photo session as I am!  

When Mallika's mom first contacted me about her daughter's cake smash, I instantly knew that we would be a great fit.  She had so many beautiful ideas for her daughter's birthday session, and it was really important to her that we create just the right look & style for her cake smash set up.  After many conversations, we decided that what she really wanted was a simple, classic, and minimalist look with a focus on the baby.  That is just my style!  :o)  Bring on the pure white seamless paper!  She also wanted to incorporate the soft colors and a quote from her favorite book, Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go".  

After I saw a picture of her beautiful little romper from The Stag and the Swan, the whole set came together in my mind and I loved bringing it to life!  I've been dabbling in calligraphy ever since attending a hand-lettering workshop with Sip & Script Boston (check out their page for a fun ladies' night out, and a new alternative to a paint night!).  Creating this calligraphy backdrop was my largest project to date, and I couldn't be more pleased with how it all came together for this charming little girl's birthday.

The little birthday girl, Mals, sure looks like she loved it too, doesn't she?  

One of my tried & true tricks for engaging one year olds during their photo session is to hide puffs in the frosting or on my white flokati rug.  If you are around any babies at all, you know that puffs are everyone's favorite snack and they are always a huge hit with these little ones.  Plus, they blend into the carpet or frosting, are small enough to fit into their tiny hands, and they do not leave a trace of crumbs on their teeth.  They are the perfect photo shoot snack!  

Mallika loved her puffs, and they kept her quite entertained while sitting on my curved bench prop.  I just love that in this photo, she has everything she could ever need -- a helping hand from her mom, and a snack within reaching distance.  Full bellies make for happy babies!  

This is the face of a girl who LOVES her puffs:

In typical one-year old fashion, it's not uncommon for our cake smash sessions to end with a couple of tears.  After all, if someone gave you an entire cake and let you go to town on it, and then took it away from you just when it was starting to get really fun, wouldn't  you want to cry, too?  I think that these moments are just as cute & frame-worthy as the happy clapping, the bubbly laughter, and the sparkling eyes.  I always make sure to keep shooting when the tears start to come out, and it definitely makes for some fun memories!

Finally, a couple of family photos to celebrate surviving (and thriving in!) their first year of parenthood.  Congratulations, P. family!  Your family is absolutely beautiful, and I am so thankful that you invited me into your lives to capture this milestone for you to enjoy.

A Lilly Pulitzer First Birthday Cake Smash: Saratoga Springs & Boston Baby Photographer

When Kennedy came to the studio for her first birthday cake smash, we had the perfect theme for this classic New England coastal baby.  Her mom loves the bright colors and patterns of Lilly Pulitzer, and when she mentioned that she had found a few cute Lilly dresses, we knew that Lilly Pulitzer would be the perfect theme for her birthday portrait session.  

I loved creating the backdrop for this cake smash, hand-painting the popular Lilly "She She Shells" design on the backdrop.  With the busy patterns in her design and outfit, it was important to keep the cake simple with just a classic white buttercream.  I make all of the cakes for our cake smashes, and I've loved rediscovering my love for cake decorating through our studio sessions.  This one has turned out to be one of my favorite cakes to date!

After the first few bites of frosting, Kennedy REALLY got into the cake and truly smashed it!  I love how excited she was during her cake smash!  Sometimes we have babies that are hesitant and swoop at the frosting one finger at a time...  This little girl was not one of those babies!  She loves cake like I love cake.  :o)  

I love her expressions in the images below...  While eating her cake, it's the best day of her life and she is as happy as can be!  But when you tell her the cake is all done, cue the scrunched up angry face and baby tears!

As with every cake smash session, we also make sure to capture beautiful family portraits to celebrate your little one's birthday.  Just think, how amazing that you will be able to look back on these photos in 20 years and show your child how loved they were as a baby!  My favorites from this session are with Kennedy and her mama.  I love the fashionable sense of style that they share, and the silly moments that peek through, too.  These photos showcasing their shoes & feet just melt my heart, and I hope that they'll show these photos of their baby girl at Kennedy's wedding one day.

Is your baby celebrating their first birthday soon?  Let's chat about celebrating with a portrait session and cake smash!  I would love to hear your ideas for the session, plus now that it's warming up, we have the option of heading outdoors for some amazing portraits, too!  

Check out this beautiful cake smash at a local park from last spring!  I'm already dreaming of a few new sets with flowers hanging from the trees and the perfect bit of sparkle in your session... let's bring those dreams to life!