lifestyle + documentary photography
I spent a bright and sunny morning with this amazing family last month. We blew bubbles, splashed in the water, and built sand castles. Oh yeah, and took a few family photos, too ;) I loved their outfits and the pale pinks and greens looked great in the sand and by the dunes. I love OCNJ and capturing memories for families at one of my favorite places is the icing on the cake :)
I am always so honored when I have the opportunity to photograph families I know. I recently did newborn photos for my husband's cousin's family. Lindsay was so peaceful and totally content in her parents' arms. We photographed her in her nursery and other favorite rooms in their house - including the kitchen! In this session, I love the bright and airy images just as much as the moody black and whites. We spent a great afternoon together and I can't wait to see this sweet girl again!
I bet you can't guess who locked Dad and I out of the house at the beginning of this session. Seriously, you'll never guess ;) This crazy guy was the best big brother a little sister could ever hope for. He was fun, energetic, kind, and gentle. He was so sweet to Maeve and loved loving on her. I loved spending the morning with this family of four (plus one furry one!). The light was beautiful in various rooms of the house but I think my favorite was the master bedroom. There is nothing is better as a photographer than a session with great light and a great family :)
We had such a beautiful night for this session and had plenty of beautiful areas to explore with the kids. I love to keep kids moving during our sessions so that they don't get bored and are always excited for the next place we are going to see. You never know how sibling shots are going to go, but I really love the ones we captured at this session <3
I worked with Noah and his family for his newborn photos and I was so excited to see them again for Noah's first birthday. We spent the evening exploring Longwood Gardens and even enjoyed a bit of cake ;) It's amazing how much babies change in the first year... but also how much they stay the same. I love getting to see all of these babies grow up!
Mom's first line in her email inquiry to me was, "I'm looking for photographers who can capture our family as we are." She said she loved "candid shots" and "real moments." My heart sang when she chose me. We decided to do a sunset shoot at one of our favorite places - Longwood Gardens.
I arrived as they were eating dinner, we took walks, we played, we looked for airplanes, and we ran. Fast. There were no formally posed photos... there were no fancy clothes. There were shy moments, snuggly moments, yogurt moments, and moments that had us all out laughing. They were perfect moments... real family moments... just as they were.
Towards the end of the session, I took a picture of Ellie's hand resting on her mom's hand. Ellie was tired and we were walking towards the exit. I stopped to show Mom the back of the camera and said, "As a mom, this is one of my favorites." They won't always sit on your arm with their diaper peeking through; their hand won't always be small enough to rest on yours. We were well past sunset and the image has a good bit of grain. But memories and little moments don't always need perfect light. Mom said to me, "You got it! That's just want I wanted: to capture us together and Ellie... just being little. Because, she won't always be little... she's so much bigger than yesterday!"
I love all the sessions I do, but this continues to be one of my favorites. I love sunset, I love families, and I love real moments. True documentary photography is where my heart lies.
If you are interested in capturing your family, as you are, I'd love to do that for you.
I met up with this sweet family a couple months ago to take some announcement pictures for their big surprise :) It was fun to capture this family of three as they celebrated motherhood and Adam getting ready to embrace the world as big brother! We even had time to play around with some pink glitter at the end. I can't wait to work with the again this fall for official maternity pictures :)
It's hard to believe that it had almost been a year since I had done this little guy's newborn session. We met up at the Haverford Duck Pond for this Simple Session and enjoyed exploring, looking for geese (we found some!), and catching up. We ended up with a beautiful morning after having to reschedule for rain and we couldn't have had picked a better spot.
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 was so excited to meet Evelyn at her newborn session. It didn't seem all that long ago that I was taking maternity pictures of her beautiful mama. I loved how much everyone in the family adored this sweet girl. We had a relaxed, easy-going session and just enjoyed newborn life. I'm excited to be in the process of catching up on this blog and sharing more from this session with you :)
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.
It was a super cloudy day when I met Finn and his family back in May. We spent most of the time in a bright downstairs bedroom, but we found a few pockets of light in other areas of the home too :) Finn was alert during most of our session but was so calm and easy going. I absolutely love these black and white conversions and the emotion they portray. It was a great day for a relaxed, lifestyle newborn session!
One of the things that surprised me most about running a business is reconnecting with people from my past. It may be one of my favorite parts of this photography journey. Maura and I went to the same college and had several common friends. During her daughter's newborn session it was fun to reminisce about college life and our old stomping ground. We had a relaxed morning and even got a few pictures with their first babies ;) I was so surprised when I walked into their home to find that our daughters have similar colored nurseries and the same curtains! We also had the same master bedroom furniture :) Great minds think alike! Enjoy these pictures of this super sweet and smiley little girl.
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 love getting to see clients grow up. I worked with Penny and her family last fall and I was so excited to see them again for Penny's one year session. She has gown up into such a big girl and was happy as can be at our early morning session. She loved to give high fives, get cuddles from mom and dad, and walk ALL over the place. She was a brave little explorer. I loved walking around with these three and hearing about their big move. Penny's mom is a veterinarian and recently got a job up north. I have no doubt that she is the sweetest most caring one around :) I will miss these guys!
It has been awhile since I've blogged but I've been excited to share this session since April! This session turned out to be one of my most favorite newborn sessions to date. I always talk/email with my clients a good bit before the session to determine what their goals are for the session. For this one, mom wanted to focus on alone shots of Henryk, very natural sibling interactions, and babywearing. We did the entire session on one bed, in one room. He nursed, we changed diapers, we played UNO, we talked about birth and babywearing. I adored the simplicity and how that allowed the focus of the images to be the newness of Henryk and the raw emotions of bringing a new baby into the family. I absolutely loved working with this family and it was fun to pull up these images again... it's really hard to believe how small he was :)
As much as we take photographs for our own personal memories, we also take them for our children to look back at years from now. Their favorite images will be the ones that stir up memories of their childhood: ordinary moments from everyday life. For me, these ordinary, often simple moments are the ones that make life extraordinary.
Lately, we love to take bike rides around the neighborhood. It wasn't all that long ago that Leah couldn't even figure out how to pedal her bike. All of a sudden, she's biking up hills. Sophie especially loves it when Dad is home; with an extra set of hands, she gets to "ride" her bike too, as opposed to being up in my wrap. I love family time out of the house - away from the draw of electronics, the stack of dishes next to the sink, and the never ending to-do lists. It's a time where we can just be us.
Up next in our "This Is Us" blog circle is Candy at Suga Shoc Photography. Please click through to see her gorgeous images and read a beautiful post about her daughter.
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.
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of capturing sweet Prim along with her family. She had two older sisters who just adored her and were still busy taking in all of her "newness." Prim's mom is also a photographer, and it's really hard if you're the one taking pictures most of the time, to be in the pictures with your children. We made sure to capture lots of family and Mommy & Me pictures during Prim's session. I love looking back at pictures of my hands holding each of my babies, and I wanted Prim's mom to have those as well. I can't believe this little girl is already a month old - these first few months really go too fast.
