Glitter & Gloves: Pretty but fierce hockey portraits to celebrate a 7th birthday

I was so excited when Samantha’s mom reached out to plan her annual birthday portraits. She told me how Sammy had fallen in love with playing hockey this year, and she really wanted to plan an extra special birthday session for her daughter in her hockey gear with a Tutu du Monde dress.

Ummmm, YESSSSSSS!!!

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little extra sparkle and glitter.

We had so much fun incorporating her helmet, hockey sticks, guards, and pucks into the session. Sammy loved putting on her tough face and her fierce face, and kept bursting into giggles, too. It was truly the perfect session and such a blast to photograph!

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Penelope's 7 Month Milestone Session with a Strawberries & cream milk bath

I love catching up with our Baby Plan babies for their milestone sessions halfway through the first year, and I was so happy to welcome little miss Penelope back into the studio.

First, I couldn’t even get over how much hair this sweet girl has at only 7 months old, and second she won me over with her smile, tiny little teeth, and the cute little cleft in her chin.

Her mama bought this pretty pink outfit for her when she was pregnant — it was the very first outfit she bought for her baby girl. So of course we had to capture some portraits of sweet Penelope in it at the studio!

I love this phase when they lay on their backs and discover how much fun their toes are!!

Then we used a beautiful new watercolor romper from the STUDIO CLOSET that her mama saw on my Instagram stories and fell in love with. Doesn’t Penelope look so sweet in this?

This happy baby girl finished up with a strawberries and cream milk bath, perfect for a summertime baby!

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A 6 Month Studio Session for Baby Charlotte

Charlotte is one of our Baby Planners, and she came to the studio for her 6-month milestone session with the cutest outfits and the most adorable smile!

I love this age so much! Once babies start sitting up they really start showing off their personalities, and Charlotte was such a gem. She is a very playful baby and she showed us so many different smiles & expressions. It was hard to choose just a few favorites from her gallery!

I always love including these shots with mom or dad’s hands reaching in to catch or help support the baby. While some photographers might edit that out or throw the shot away, I love capturing this little moment that shows how you were always there for your baby. You have their back, you always catch them, and you’re watching right over their shoulder as they slowly start to gain independence and try out new skills, ready to help if they need it.

2015 Year in Review Video by Nicole Starr Photography

2015 has truly been an incredible year, and I want to thank all of you for sharing so many magical moments with me!  

Enjoy this beautiful little video of some of our favorite images from the year.  I look forward to another beautiful year of storytelling in 2016!

To every family that asked me to tell their story: thank you.
To every mom who let me cuddle her newborn baby: thank you.
To every dad that wanted to surprise his wife with a keepsake gift: thank you.
To every creative entrepreneur that connected, laughed, shared, asked, taught, and learned with me this year: thank you.

And to every single person that connected with the stories in my photographs, commented on my images, shared their own stories with me, and let these beautiful families into their hearts through the images that I shared with you: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

A Personal Post: From Teacher to Photographer

You know what I loved about being a teacher?  The one thing that absolutely fired me up and never got old?  Bulletin boards. I was the first grade teacher that fell in love with bulletin boards long before I ever had my own classroom.  As a child, I loved the stacks of colored construction paper in my third grade teacher’s closet and the way they magically transformed into a beautiful scene on our walls overnight.  At 16 I started working at a preschool center, and it wasn’t long until the owner was paying my sister and I to come in extra and decorate the lobby with seasonal and thematic murals made from cut paper.  In college, our education professors actually graded us on our bulletin board creations, and by then they were these elaborate 3-D projects.

And then I had my own classroom, and I was the teacher that found pure bliss in having a room filled with 24 students, the floor covered in construction paper, and the children running to the hallway eager to place their creations on our bulletin board.  Whenever the week was feeling a little too long, you know what we did?  Art Day.

I was the teacher that found value in teaching my first graders how to cut, glue, trace, follow step-by-step directions, collaborate, and negotiate amongst themselves.  I loved the sense of pride that they developed when they marched into the hallway and pointed out their handiwork to their peers.  I loved the wonder and the exclamations of “WOW!” when they turned the corner and saw their hard work come together in a beautiful creation.  I loved the sense of ownership that was fostered, and the little community that grew from our Art Days.  I loved the way that from those bright squares of construction paper, a fun & whimsical scene was born that really pushed their imaginations while brightening up the bare cinder block walls of our school.

So, yeah.  Bulletin boards.

But what does that have to do with photography?

Well, yesterday I spent the entire day crafting.  The floor of the studio was covered in tiny paper hearts.  I was up and down a ladder, hanging fishing line from the ceiling for my next studio set up.  At one point I had to hang up the phone because of what can only be described as a “tissue paper explosion”.

The past two weeks have been spent hand-painting frames, giving a vintage high chair new life, creating a dreamy Christmas bed, drawing Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss’s books, and prepping for a cake smash.  I make more trips to AC Moore in one month than I do to the gas station, and my collection of upcoming projects for the winter months just keeps growing.

Pure bliss.

I feel so fortunate to enjoy a job that I can do with such passion, weaving together all of the things that I love:  creating, storytelling, and working with babies & children.

My husband came home from work yesterday and told me about this meeting and that meeting, these customers, this paperwork… And I told him about the floating hearts in our Valentine’s set up, the Dr. Seuss backdrop for the next baby boy’s cake smash, and the styrofoam cake I’ll be making tomorrow (more on that later) for one sweet little boy.

So while I may not be a teacher anymore, I’m happy to see that the one thing I have always loved is still a huge part of my day-to-day life.  After all, when you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work.

Here’s to many more playful days spent crafting and creating.

A Rustic & Magical Session | Boston Child Photographer

We did a family session for this sweet girl's family last spring -- mom and dad, her older brothers, grandma and grandpa, her aunt and uncle, and her little cousin.  It was such a fun session, and we captured so many gorgeous photos for a stunning wall gallery in their home.

But sometimes, you just want to focus on one child at a time.

When Maddie's mom learned about my Simply Baby sessions, and she was so excited to get together with her little girl for a short & sweet session focusing just on her little one.  We planned the perfect rustic session, and I was thrilled to be able to use the beautiful twine lanterns that Jeff and I decorated with above our wedding ceremony last June.

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Maddie is a funny little girl.  She loves laughing, pretty dresses, twirling, and of course, the Frozen song.  (I'm pretty sure "Let it go" played on repeat in my back pocket for most of her session.)  This little sweetheart was a little shy at first, but the moment her mom stepped away she opened right up and showed me the most playful and spirited personality.  I absolutely adored our session together, and I love the whimsical photos that we captured!

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I love the energy in this photo!  What a fun capture!

We walked to the "enchanted forest" and played hide & seek among the tall oak trees.

My favorite photo is this one here, hand on the hip, a breeze in her hair, and a little sass in her expression.  I love it!

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To complete the magical set up, I set up a pretty little lace teepee for part of Maddie's shoot.  These backlit photos of her inside are so beautiful, and they show her expressive and playful spirit!  I love her little profile shot in the last one.

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Check out another magical toddler session here -- with glitter, crowns, and sparkly dresses!