lifestyle + documentary photography
I met little Stella on a sunny February morning and she couldn't have been more sweet. She just adored her mommy and daddy and we had a relaxed session capturing life at three months old! She loved flying in the air, looking in the mirror, and playing on her play mat. We also made sure to capture her colorful and fun nursery!
As much as I love doing tree farm mini sessions, it doesn't come close to as much fun I have at a storytelling session :) During this family lifestyle session with the S family, I documented them cutting down their Christmas tree! We started the moment they hopped out of their car and ended with them packing the tree to go home. We captured some lifestyle portraits along the way too. This year, I will be offering two packages for Documentary Sessions: a half day "storytelling" session and a full "day in the life" session. If you are interested in finding out more about these packages, feel free to send me an email or submit a question on my contact form :)
I spent a frigid November afternoon with the H family next to their cozy fire. I love in-home sessions so much. They work so well for all ages... not just newborns. When we initially were email about the session, Erin said that she wanted to have a session that captures a day in their regular life - no fancy clothes, no fancy posing. It was wonderful and we captured so many great moments.
We had our second day of Tree Farm Minis mid November and we had amazing weather. It was so warm we were actually glowing ;) I love doing these tree farm sessions and look forward to doing them every year!
I did two days of tree farm sessions last year and they were so much fun! A tree farm is a great, casual backdrop for Christmas cards and the kids always have so much fun. We started mid day and I wrapped up right after sunset. I can't wait to do these again this year :)
As I sit here sipping hot tea and debating about plugging in my space heater, I thought it would be fun to look back at a session from August. It was SO hot this day and the heat index was over 100. These guys were such troopers and we embraced the heat, enjoyed the morning, and cooled off at the end in the children's garden. I love working with this family each year! They have been with me since I first opened and am so happy to have connected with them. I've loved watching Dylan grow from a toddler into a preschooler, capturing Zooey when she first entered their family, and now her one year old pictures :)
I've known Vera's mom since we were seven. We did summer swimming together, went to school together, and now are moms together. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to photograph my friends - new and old <3 I don't take that lightly. I loved spending the afternoon at Ridley Creek State Park with these five (!) to capture some images for Vera's first birthday. Vera adores her big siblings and always has her eye on them. Pretty soon, she will be able to keep up with them too :) Thank you for trusting me to capture these memories and fleeting moments for you!
It's amazing how quickly the first year goes. I did James' newborn photos a year ago and I was excited to catch up with him again now that he is a walking one-year-old! He was one of the smallest babies I'd ever held so I couldn't believe how big he was today! His 1st birthday party was over Memorial Day weekend and I loved capturing all of the little details that went in to the party. The kids absolutely loved the music and the start of summer fun :)
I absolutely loved this documentary family session. We spent the morning walking around the borough of West Chester. The Q family lived in West Chester when they met and it was fun to share some of their favorite spots with their soon to be one year old! The brick sidewalks and beautiful town were a perfect backdrop for this session and I loved how it had a more urban feel. At the end of our session, we stopped by D'Ascenzo's Gelato for N's first taste of gelato. I think she loved it :)
I always love when I get to work with this family. I went to high school with these cuties' parents and I am so honored that they have chosen me to capture these memories for them. It's amazing how much their girls grow up between each session. I've loved being a part of this chapter in their lives. For this session, we explored Longwood Gardens early one morning. The girls love going here so we made sure to find some new locations for them to explore.
I loved doing a few Mommy and Me sessions this spring so that moms could get in the picture. It's easy to take pictures of your kids, but sometimes life is so busy that you have to make a point to get in the photos with your kids. We had a fun time at this quick morning session and lucked out with some beautiful trees.
I love, love, love sunset sessions. In addition to the gorgeous light, I just love that during these sessions, I can let kids be kids. They can stand (let's be honest...run!) any direction they want and face any direction and the light just works. I don't have to be as careful with lighting because I can get gorgeous images from any direction. I love mixing backlight, sidelight, and the unique shadows and warmth that this time of day gives. I end up with so many more natural moments and a few more cuddly ones too! Of course, sunset coincides with bedtime... but kids really do great. We play, we run, we are silly. They are outside in a new location and after a late nap and a good snack they forget all about sleeping to just have fun and explore.
I recently joined a "This is Us" blog circle and I'm excited to share bits and pieces of our family life here on this blog. I fell in love with photography soon after my first daughter was born. I loved watching my family grow and capturing the little "stories" and milestones along the way. Lately, I've been getting so caught up in everything that needs to get done each day, that I've been picking up my camera less and less. I sometimes forget that this is where my passion lies.
On the Thursday after Easter, Leah remembered that we never actually dyed Easter eggs. We had a kit and lots of eggs, so during Sophie's nap, we had some fun. Now, clearly, this is not all of "us." In fact, it's just one of "us." :) But it's a start! It was fun to do a little documentary photography session in my own home and I'm hoping this project inspires me to start capturing more pictures of all of us... doing the things we love to do together.
Up next is Elaina B. Photography. I am always inspired by her photography. I love her rich tones and the way her lighting always draws you right to the subject. I hope you enjoy Elaina's posts as much as I do :)
The photographs that are close to my heart are ones that happen between posed portraits. These ordinary moments are the ones that make life extraordinary.
I’d love to hear from you if you are in the Chester County or Main Line area and looking for a lifestyle newborn, child, or family photographer. I would be honored to capture these fleeting moments for you and your family.
I met this family during my Christmas Tree Farm sessions last December. B didn't have a newborn session, but they still wanted to capture all things "baby" about him and photograph his adorable little nursery. So, we set up a lifestyle session once B was sitting comfortably (and since he's a mover and a shaker, he said, enough of this sitting business... I'm ready to crawl!). It was a lot of fun to see how much B has grown since December and capture little details about him and their life as a family of three :)
I had the best time working with Henry and his family for his "newborn" session. He was technically nearly 12 weeks old, but he was the most relaxed baby ever! He was so content during his session and while he loved being held by both of his parents, you should see the eyes he had for his mama <3. My photography sessions are a mix of lifestyle and documentary. I do a little bit of posing, but the moments that really mean the most to me are the ones that happen between the more "posed" images. Years later, when you look back at the images from your session, I want them to take you right back to that day. Because, these days sure do go by too quickly.
We had torrential rains off and on this day, but it was nice and dry in the Longwood Gardens Conservatory! I absolutely loved working with the H family on this extended family session. We did some posed portraits and captured some natural moments in between. It had been a while since they had visited Longwood Gardens so we enjoyed checking out the various gardens in addition to the holiday displays.
It was pretty easy to fall in love with sweet little Emma. She was six weeks old when I did this lifestyle shoot and was adored by her parents and big brother. My favorite part about this shoot was capturing the natural sibling photos as they happened. Some of my favorite shots were the ones that surprised us in the moment. I really love in-home sessions and capturing life as it is that day. I'm sharing a lot of my favorite images today so you can have a better glimpse into what a gallery would look like for my newborn and in-home sessions. One of my goals for these sessions is for you to be brought back to that period in your life as you look back on your images from that day. I try to capture the essence of what it's like in those early days with your baby and children. Enjoy!
Now that Christmas is over and cards are out, I wanted to share some more of my favorite pictures from the Tree Farm Mini Sessions that I held at the end of November. I had SO much fun doing these and hope to start doing them annually. Here is part one and I'll share part two tomorrow!
I had so much fun working with this family at the end of the fall season. It was a windy day and pretty cold in the shade. These kids were troopers though and we even found some leaves to play in at the end!
My nephew turned one last month and I took a few photos of him one afternoon to document this big milestone!
