4th of July Portraits Over the Years with Red, White, & Blue Backdrop

In 2018, I created this backdrop for a cake smash session. Since then, it’s become a family tradition to pull it back out and capture 4th of July portraits of my son, Grayson. Now that we have another new member of the family, it will be fun to see how they both grow each year!

Since 2018, I loved watching Grayson grow and seeing his personality evolve over the years – especially through these images. As a mom and photographer, it’s been fun to work on this series over the last 4 summers. I’m so happy that now we get to include our daughter, Adelaide, in this tradition, too. 

Since Grayson has been with me for the last few years as I’ve grown the studio, any time I get to document him is incredibly special to me. This fun summertime tradition is something we both look forward to all year long! Summer is already a great time full of family moments and traditions – so these red, white, and blue portraits are one more thing to enjoy about these hot summer months! Enjoy a peek into our family’s summertime tradition! 

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Getting in the Picture: My Quarantine Self-Portraits with Grayson

Recently I shared a “Letter to All Moms: Please Get in the Picture!”. I talked about how important it is to make sure we document the fact that WE WERE THERE in our little one’s childhoods. In fact, we are often so “there” in their daily lives that we never have any pictures to prove it!

I get it. I truly do! During Grayson’s first year I had only a handful of photos of me with my baby. There was nothing I ever wanted more in life than to be a mom, and I spent my days documenting everyone else’s motherhood, but I barely had any photos of my own experience with my baby.

So I set out to change that.

I took an online course in self-portraits. I purchased a tripod. I learned how to use the interval timer on my camera, and how to nail the focus when looking through my lens at the empty spot on the floor (or chair, or steps) where I would be. I joined online communities for inspiration & encouragement. I started sharing these photos, talking with other moms, and holding each other accountable for getting in the picture more often so that our babies would have memories to look back on one day, and so that we could look back on this stage of motherhood 20 years from now and remember what it felt like when our littles held our hands, sat on our laps, and curled up close to us.

And I am so glad I did!

During the coronavirus quarantine I created many goals for myself, and one of them was to get in the frame more with my little boy. I wanted to capture our daily lives. At the beginning of quarantine, we spent a lot of time indoors because it was so cold and rainy outside. This giant cardboard box became a reading nook, a hiding place, a soccer goal, a train car. So we got inside for a few photos!

Grayson’s room is the one room in the house that gets the BEST LIGHT all day long. I especially love the way the light streams through the windows in the mornings. We always cuddle up in this chair to read three books before nap and before bed, plus many more books throughout the day. Our little guy loves books! So of course that was something I wanted to document, too! Plus, look at him with his little purple ball! He always finds a ball to hold!

We have spent soooooo much time outside in the yard. He helped me with yardwork in the early spring, trying to “rake” leaves with his tiny snow shovel, and picking up stray sticks to put them in a pile. Then we started gardening, planting flowers, watering flowers, and planting tomatoes & strawberries. I do not have a green thumb, but every year I wish I did! So we’re trying it out, and he’s getting so excited to watch everything grow! Plus, he discovered that he really likes to play in the dirt — even though he hates being messy!

We have baked SO MANY THINGS during quarantine! I’ve always loved to bake, and he has been my little helper in the kitchen since very early on. We made him a learning ladder/stool when he turned one, and he has been standing and helping at the counter ever since! He especially enjoys baking, and he gets so excited and yells “Yayyyy! Baking! My favorite!” whenever it’s time to bake, running into the kitchen and climbing right up on his stool.

I wanted to document our baking adventures, but our little baking corner of the kitchen is so dark and narrow, so I moved everything to the table where we get great light through the patio doors. Grayson helped me scoop and measure. He can name and identify all of the ingredients, and he counts the eggs when passing them to me. Somehow we haven’t broken a single egg yet, but I’m just waiting for the day we have gooey egg dripping down the side of the bowl!

Another realization in this self-portrait process?
Apparently I own A LOT of striped shirts!!!

The official taste tester in the Starr household! He takes his job very seriously!

You don’t need anything fancy to get in the photos more with your own kids. Set your phone up on the counter and press the timer, then run into the frame and love on your kids. Hand your camera off to your partner and ask them to snap a few photos of you doing something you love with your kids.

Just get in the picture. You will treasure these memories forever!

Baby Starr | Peekaboo! A Simple White Studio Session with a Blanket

Grayson gets more expressive by the day, and these 9-month portraits are some of my favorites from the year so far! He received this handmade blanket as a gift at our baby shower, and he had so much fun playing peek-a-boo on the bed in our studio.

Grayson has two bottom teeth, and he has started doing a little crooked smile to show them off. It’s so cute!

This month he also started doing an adorable head tilt when looking up at us, and I am so happy I captured that on camera. This portrait is definitely going up on the wall!

Rolls upon rolls upon rolls! At 22 pounds, there is so much squish to love and kiss on our little guy! I can’t even decide which I love more — the arm rolls or those LEGS!