A Rustic Family Photo Session with the Perfect Blue & White Wardrobe

Wondering what to wear for your family's portrait session?  Look no further than this family's stylish post!  

I was completely in awe of the beautiful styling that this mom pulled together to coordinate outfits for her family of five, and I love the shades of blue and complimentary patterns that really make her photos pop.  All families receive a what to wear guide before their session with helpful wardrobe tips, and they can also view this post for inspiration.  This mom pulled it off flawlessly, and I love how the colors look so amazing against our rustic scene, too!

This mom is always behind the camera capturing amazing photos of her children, and like many moms out there, she is rarely in those photographs with her kids.  I always encourage moms (and dads!) to get in the frame with their children and capture some special moments of all of them together.  Your children are going to look back on these photos in 20, 30, 40 years and they are going to love seeing how loved they were, how beautiful you are, and how happy everyone is together.  Plus, doesn't she look like a supermodel with the wind gently blowing her hair just so?  ;o)

Finally, I just love the personality that shines through from the big brother in this image!  Watching Jack & Lily with their baby sister was so beautiful, and seeing how they took care of her, watched out for her, and knew just what to do to get a smile out of her was absolutely amazing.  They truly are such a beautiful family, inside and out.

A Playful Outdoor Fall Photo Session at Larz Anderson Park

This is what happens when you bring two brothers outside for a photo session on a chilly November day: Giggles, laughter, wrestling, running across the park to warm up, and SO.MUCH.FUN.  Nathan & Noah were an absolute blast to capture on camera, and I am so happy that we fit in a last-minute photo session for these boys in time for their family's holiday cards.

These two arrived to Larz Anderson Park ready to play, and the beauty of our laid-back sessions is that playing is always an option.  It's even encouraged!  I always aim to capture the real you -- your real smiles, your real laugh, and the real way that you elbow your brother in the ribs when you think no one's looking.   ;o)  After all, these are the moments their mom will remember in 20 years, and these are the ones I want her to treasure right now.

I love the smirk in this photo below!

This next photo was captured after the boys were jumping off the wall, and I'm pretty sure they were trying to fly.  Any mom of boys knows that this is just how your photo sessions go.  So, like any mom of boys, this mom was worried about what we did or didn't capture during our session together.  Of course, I told her that it's not all of the crazy moments that we capture -- though we do get a few of those, too!  It's the millisecond in between, and knowing right when to click that shutter button to capture the photo of her boys that she will have on the wall for the next 20 years.

This one right here.  That's the one.

Are you a parent living in Newton, Brookline, Brighton, JP, Roslindale, West Roxbury, Chestnut Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods?  Check out Macaroni Kid -- Newton-Brookline!  The boys' mother, Ali, runs this weekly e-newsletter and website bringing you a list of local family-friendly events.  There is so much amazing information for families on their website, including DIY projects, recipes, local events & festivals, shopping guides, crafts for your kids, and coupons for some special savings for your family!

Macaroni Kid is also on Facebook, so be sure to follow their page for daily updates for family fun!

Macaroni Kid featured Nicole Starr Photography earlier this fall after hearing about our photo sessions for National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  Check out the featured post here.

Waiting for Baby {Maternity Photos}

Isabel, Dallas and I have been friends ever since Isa and I met each other 6 years ago by sharing offices across the hall from each other in our grad school basement.  We have had so many fun moments together over the years, and we have shared oh-so-much laughter.  They were one of the first families that I photographed last year with their little boy Nico, and when Isa asked me to do her Belly to Baby photos (maternity and newborn), I was thrilled to be able to capture these special moments on camera for them as they await the arrival of their second little boy. We met up for our session at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain.  Afterwards, Isa told me how much fun they all had "playing in the park" during our session -- because that's how it felt, like a play date that just happened to involve a camera.

I am absolutely 100% in love with all of their photos.  There you go, I said it -- and yes, photographers aren't supposed to choose favorites.  ;o)  Their session was so much fun, so natural and full of laughter, that as I was going back through my photos to edit and retouch I couldn't help but burst into smiles and laughter so many times at the beautiful (and sometimes comical... just wait, you'll see what I'm talking about) images that we were able to capture.

LOVE.  Pure and simple.

What a stunning mama.

And the love & laughter between these two?  It was contagious!  Dallas and Isa, you two are so wonderful!  I loved capturing your joy and laughter on camera!

This series of photos literally had me laughing so hard when I was clicking through and editing.  Isabel wanted to do some photos like something she had seen where Dallas would be waiting impatiently for the baby's arrival.  We goofed around a bit, and got in a lot of laughs.  Their expressions are priceless!  Apparently this is what impatient looks like.  ;o)  Their silliness here captures the essence of them and the fun that they create when they're together:

Congratulations on your beautiful growing family!  I can't wait for your little boy's arrival next month!  So happy to be your "photografriend".

Oooooh, BABY! {Arlene's Maternity Shoot}

Arlene is one of my friends from grad school, and we go way back to the days of sharing grad student offices in the basement of a building on Comm Ave in Boston.  Every time we get together we always stir up some mischief and have an absolute blast, so this photo shoot turned out to be one of the most fun shoots I've done in these past few months.  Entering her eighth month of pregnancy and eagerly awaiting the arrival of her little girl, Arlene was game for anything and everything. A few things I learned on this photo shoot:

• I must find a way to incorporate balloons into my daily life.
• Jamaica Plain = funky, colorful, and amazing backdrops for photos
• There are photos that just BEG to be in black & white.... and a number of them came out of this shoot.
• When Arlene told me she had a big family, she really wasn't kidding...

Let's start with the balloons.  I've always wanted to just bring a big bunch of balloons with me to surprise a friend, so I filled my car with pink and white balloons and made my way to Jamaica Plain with pink globes bobbing around and filling my rear view mirror.  We joked about how I wound up bringing her a klutz's dozen (11 - I popped one!).  Balloons have also been a photo prop I've been dying to try, so I knew that Arlene would be up for anything.  And wow, am I glad I brought them!  They added a nice punch to the photos and gave us something to laugh about while attracting all sorts of interesting looks.  Not to mention that it was an incredibly windy day, so Arlene had quite the challenge of reining those balloons in.

Those backdrops in JP...  There's nothing like city-living to give you an unlimited amount of backdrops and unique props.  All were discovered on the fly.  That gorgeous blue wall, vibrant murals, brick walls, librerias for this Spanish literature doctoral student, pink benches in front of hair salons.  The options were endless.

The black & whites...  There's just something about the shadows, the light, and the silhouettes in these photos.  :o)  When I saw Arlene's black maxi dress, I told her she HAD to wear it for these photos.  Simply stunning.  She is RADIANT.  Have you ever seen the movie The Family Stone?  The last ones in this little batch remind me of that old photograph of Diane Keaton.

Barefoot and pregnant.

A few more shots back at home..

Meet Nina, their friendly chocolate lab.  It took many, many clicks of the shutter to capture this one.  Let's just say that Nina doesn't pose on command!

Hahaha, a little fun with those last two chapters of What to Expect When You're Expecting.

Arlene wore the cutest T-shirt: Due for Delivery Sept 27, 2012 with her zip code on it.  So adorable!  Even the UPS man was chuckling when he noticed it while dropping off a package.

Oooh, and about that big family...  I posted two sneak peek photos of Arlene's session on my Nicole Schwalm Photography Facebook page, and by early the next morning they had been seen more than 600 times EACH by her family members.  Unbelievable.  That little baby is going to have so much love to welcome her into this world in September.  I can't wait to meet her!  Expect to be seeing a lot more of that little girl on my blog come the fall -- she is my belly to baby package!