Beyond the Newborn Session: Capturing the First Year of Milestones

I don’t know what it is about parenthood that makes time fly by, but I know that ever since my son was born, I’ve blinked and another year has gone by. As a mom and a professional photographer, I understand the value of portraits of my child from the newborn stage and beyond. Newborn portraits are one of the things most parents put on their “parenting to-do list”. That first year is fleeting and I think it’s so important that everyone has a chance to document their precious baby. But the documentation shouldn’t end there.

When I was a new mom, I constantly had my camera out to capture every little moment and changes in our son after our newborn portraits. Looking back, I’m so happy that I have truly beautiful and classic baby portraits of my son, in (and out) of the studio to document those stages, too. Every time he started on a new milestone or learned a new skill, I wanted to capture it forever.

Our babies change SO much in the first year of life - more than any other year as they grow. They grow their first teeth, laugh for the first time, and learn to sit up, crawl, and walk. Capturing all of those milestones truly matters. We all say we never want to forget those stages and changes - and with studio portraits, you never will. You’ll have those dimpled cheeks and baby giggles documented forever to enjoy.

As babies grow, they enter into my favorite stage, the “Gerber Baby stage”, when they’re 6-10 months old. This is one of the most popular milestone sessions in my studio. Babies are sitting up solidly, they're happy and expressive, they interact with you and play into all of the games (peekaboo, tickles) to let us capture their amazing smiles. They're not that mobile yet so they're not running away from the camera - so it works out for us. These are often some of the best portraits to capture your little one’s personality as they start to figure out who they are.

After the “Gerber Baby stage”, our babies inch even closer to turning one… and then comes the super popular cake smash session! These cake smash portraits are always a lot of fun. They’re a celebration of your baby - and of your family’s journey over the last year. I love watching babies and their families interact during their one year milestone and cake smash portraits in the studio. It’s also the perfect time to document something your baby is interested in, when you choose your cake smash theme.

Capturing your baby’s first year is so important. These studio sessions are the perfect way to document each of your baby’s milestones along the way - and a great way to ensure you’ll always have stunning portraits to remember each sweet baby smile by. Our baby’s first year always flies by… make sure you don’t miss teh chance to document it all!

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Save it for later:

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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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.

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!

One and Wonder

Happy 1st Birthday, Genevieve!

One year ago, Genevieve was the first newborn that I had ever photographed. She was also in my much-liked photo of the Christmas lights baby.  I've learned a lot since then, though it's hard to believe that a year has gone by already!  Genevieve's first birthday was on May 18th, the same day that two of my other baby clients also turned one!  A popular day for first birthdays, that's for sure!

So when she was 366 days old, I went to her home and photographed her in the same sunroom where we had been a year earlier with baskets, quilts, and a newborn who wondered what in the world was going on around her!  This time was a bit different -- Genevieve is so curious and inquisitive, and I loved being able to capture that on camera!

She was wearing a handmade sweater that had been her mother's when she was a baby.  When her mom was planning the shoot, the only thing she knew she wanted for sure was for this sweater to be on her little girl.  We joked that it didn't matter what the temperature was, and it didn't matter if she'd have to squeeze into it -- she was going to wear that sweater!  And it came out so adorable and precious in the photos of her with the same handmade quilt from her newborn photos.  I love when you can use heirlooms like that to tell the story through your family's portraits!

It's a big untraditional, but this is definitely my favorite image I captured of Genevieve's little family.  Such a sweet moment capturing a one-year old's wonder.

Kyle's Family {An Olivia Act Session}

What is The Olivia Act? It's kindness.  It's a smile on a deserving family's face.  It's capturing a moment that wouldn't otherwise be captured.  It's a rapidly growing "pay-it-forward" movement of photographers all around the world giving away a free session and the photos to so many wonderful families.

The Olivia Act, named after one of the children killed in Newtown, was started by a photographer who wishes to remain anonymous. Olivia’s family had pictures taken a short time before she was killed, which are now priceless to them. Upon hearing this, one photographer was moved to give away a 30 minute family photo shoot and has challenged other photographers to do the same.  As a first grade teacher AND a photographer, this proposal hit me double time.  We all go about our daily lives, day in and day out, and we often don't take the time to enjoy the small things and soak up a moment.  Many families don't have the time or the resources to have their children's photos taken professionally.  I chose to give away a session and capture one family's moments in time for that reason, to pay it forward and put a smile on one family's face.

It started with a proposition in mid-December.  I asked for nominations, and was pleased that there are so many kind people out there generously nominating their friends, family members, and neighbors.  The kind letters came flowing in, each story touching and moving in it's own way.  One that really struck a chord was written by Christine about Kyle's family.  A short excerpt:

The world is blessed with many beautiful and happy babies, but Kyle is special because he is a blessing. He is a constant reminder of faith, family and love. His positive attitude is remarkable and he's such a joy for anyone to be around; he loves his cat Stitch, his family and practices his pitching arm any chance he gets! The most infectious thing about Kyle is his laughter. Whenever Kyle laughs everyone knows that to be truly happy is to be grateful and to live in the moment because for someone so young he's been through quite a bit.

Kyle has been in and out of hospitals since he was one month old due to a congenital heart defect and a slew of other side effects associated with this complication.  His family has shown such resilience and love, and I was honored to be able to capture that for them.

His mom had the perfect idea to incorporate hearts in his shoot, not just for Valentine's Day but because February 7-14 is also Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.  I couldn't be more pleased with the way his photos turned out!

How do you keep an 18-month old still?  Give him his dad's iPhone with the Gangnam Style song playing.  Apparently it's his favorite!  He definitely started bopping around to that one!

And finally, this strong little guy is so close to walking!  Such a huge milestone.  :o)

To Kyle, Laura, and Greg: Thank you for welcoming me into your lives for the afternoon and allowing me to capture these beautiful moments for your family.

To Christine: Thank you for such a beautiful nomination letter.  Kyle and his family are lucky to have you!

To learn more about The Oliva Act, please visit the website at http://www.theoliviaact.blogspot.com/ or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheOliviaAct?fref=ts.

Fellow Photographers, please consider taking part in The Olivia Act!

'Tis the Season

Fa la la la la la la la la. Awhile back I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with Noah and Ravi and their moms, two teachers from the school I work at.  The playdate buddies were such hams for the camera.  The second I had the backdrop and lights set up, Ravi walked right over there and plopped himself in the middle, intent on showing off for the camera.

Tis the season...

.... for shiny gift boxes to be used as toys.

.... for sparkly holiday lights and wooden trains.

.... for The Polar Express.

.... for December clementines... and one-year olds realizing that the skin doesn't taste so good!

.... for adorable little boys dressed up in bowties.

.... for childhood wonder and magic.

.... for cute footsie PJs.  And for tackling your friends to get closer to the book!  (Noah is practically reading on his own anyways, so it's no surprise here he's clearing the pathway to the story!)

Hope you're all enjoying this merry season and all that it has to offer!

Happy Holidays!

Colin & Alexa

Legos, radio flyer wagons, jumping on the bed, and parents' promises of homemade chocolate chip cookies after the shoot... life for a kid doesn't get much better than that, does it?  ;o)

Colin and Alexa's photo session was a blast and I had so much fun with these two little firecrackers.  They were on the go for the entire session and their parents and I did all we could to keep up with them.  Colin was so excited to show me all his favorite toys and he'd crack himself up with this full-faced grin and a bubbly laugh.  His little sister Alexa just turned one and wanted to do everything her big brother did.  Her favorite activity seemed to be jumping on the bed, and she'd just bounce up and down and fall over laughing.  Such a fun morning!!

We got some great shots in their classic Radio Flyer wagon.

And Alexa was a gorgeous little model with those sparkling eyes of hers.  Love the blurred background and bokeh in this one!

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A few of my fave black & whites from our session...  Truly, some photos just beg to be in black & white!!

This was the family's first time doing a photo shoot outside of the portrait studio at the mall, and they really loved the freedom and flexibility of it.  For all those moms who are thinking about their holiday photos this year - why confine your kids to a 6x10 space where they're out of their element, tired, fussy, and uncomfortable?  And why rush yourself working around someone else's fast-paced schedule?  Portrait sessions at home are so much calmer, usually last 60-90 minutes, and really let the kids be themselves and their personalities shine through.  The photos are much more personal -- they show their real smiles and expressions, their favorite toys and pastimes, and those candid moments of playtime and interaction between siblings that you often cannot capture at an in-and-out chain store. In the end you're not just printing out photographs but creating memories that you'll look back on with a smile many years from now.  After all, isn't that the sign of a true photograph?  One that brings you back to that moment and lets you relive everything about that time?

Contact me to set up a holiday session for your family today!

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Shutter Session: Ravi

Those hot July days were good for one thing -- some fun-filled photo shoots with friends!  Last week I got to photograph my friend's son Ravi. He just turned one, and he is the most adorable little boy ever with these huge dark eyes that just make you melt when you look at him.

He's a very independent, spunky little guy who's sure on his feet but is always looking around to make sure his mama is right behind him.  I love these black and whites of Ravi, especially the second and third that show him with his mom.

He was a blast to photograph and we definitely had a lot of laughs -- and outfit changes! -- during his photo shoot. Ravi is one of those kids who will have a million toys and will manage to play with each and every one of them at the same time.  His mom's been talking about the "path of destruction" he leaves in his wake.  Always being on the go, I can see how that might happen!  Here, a few adorable shots of this little guy.  Note how DIFFERENT they all look -- that on-the-go nature of his really made that possible.

At one point, somewhere between the kiddie pool and the jungle gym, we busted out the colored bubbles.  Have you seen these yet?  Crayola makes them, and they put all these warnings on the bottle about wearing play clothes and not using them at weddings.  (I keep imagining the poor bride that didn't read the directions.)  They are messy -- WARNING! Only do this with friends' kids  :o) -- but they are so much fun in photographs.  Ravi was more interested in chewing on the wand than playing with the purple bubbles, so his mom decide to shake things up and cover him with the purple liquid instead.  From there, EVERYTHING was purple.  A little bit messy, but a lot of fun!

Mr. Independent.

I absolutely love the soft, hazy sunlight in the two photos below.  Plus, the expressions on his face in each one are so unique!  Above he looks a bit mischievous, and below he's just happy and bubbly, lost in his own little world while sitting in a pool of sunshine.

Ravi was such a joy to photograph.  Already looking forward to our next session this month!

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!