I had so much fun catching up with the L family during our Holiday portrait sessions last week.  I’ve been photographing this gorgeous baby girl since she was in mom’s tummy, and if it’s possible, I love her more every time I see her!  I’m always excited to see the L family on my schedule not just because they are dangerously photogenic, but because it gives me an excuse to hang out with mom and dad, who always have me laughing.  S was dressed to the nines and looked perfect surrounded by the gorgeous fall foliage.  I’m not sure how they will ever choose for their cards this year, when I can barely choose favorites for a preview.  Can’t wait to show you the whole gallery, mom and dad!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

These images make me smile every time I look at them. Little C has SUCH a curious, bright, happy personality, and it shows in every single one! His little laugh is infectious, too- I don’t think I stopped smiling and laughing the whole session, either.

C’s mama and grandma came to the shoot, and you can tell he absolutely adores them both- in the shot of him and his mama, he’s beaming at grandma walking over. They helped by throwing leaves with C, which gave us the last series of the most adorable leaf throwing shots ever!

Thanks for hanging out with me at the park, C!

~ Mariah

Talk about a glowing mama! The HHP studio has known the W family since before the birth of C, who has been a fabulous model for every shoot he’s had with us. He was up for every shot we tried- including a new one with the whole family kissing. I love how it came out!

We headed outside to the local park for some foliage photos at the end. Love that we’re able to shoot with Fall wardrobe and leaves now!

We’ll see you soon, W family, and can’t wait to meet your new little one!

~ Mariah

It was a full house in the studio last week with 4-year old J, 2 year-old B, and 7-month-old F! These siblings were so good for us. We started out in the studio with some super-cute group shots, and went to the park at the end of the session to take advantage of the great weather!

J and B were such great big brothers to F. You can see in the last shot that they didn’t hesitate to give her kisses on her cheeks, and she clearly loved it. She smiled away for the whole session, and we managed to do three quick ‘baby’ sets for her while the boys were taking a break.

I can’t wait for you to see the whole gallery, P family! We’ll see you soon!

~ Mariah

I’ve had so much fun capturing K as he’s grown from a smiley baby into a curious toddler.  At our most recent session, he loved exploring the beach, looking for airplanes, and trying out all of the toys I brought along.  Much more fond of checking out our surroundings than sitting and posing, all of my favorite images from our time together are of K just being himself- even if it meant jumping right into the water to fly his airplane!  We did manage to grab him long enough for some adorable family portraits as well, but we’re saving those for Christmas cards!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

M’s first shoot with us was when she was pregnant with her first son, D. Heidi did her maternity shoot back then, and the newborn shoot when he arrived! Now, D is going to be a big brother, and the whole family is so excited to see if he’ll have a little brother or sister!

It’s always fun working with families that have been with Heidi Hope for years, because I can see how their families have grown through their pictures. For this shoot, I looked back through their other galleries, and we recreated some shots from the first maternity session. What a great way to connect both shoots and make new memories, too!

V family, we can’t wait to meet the new addition!

~ Mariah

This session was the last one of the night, starting at 7pm. We really caught that sunset glow, and I love how it lights little C and the water. Mom wasn’t sure how C would react to the shoot, as he doesn’t like sand on the beach, but he seemed right at home by the end of the session. He LOVED our jar of shells, and it helped that he had his furry friend, F to collect shells with! The last shot is him waving ‘bye’ to the beach at the end.

Great to meet you, E family!

~ Mariah

This little beauty gave us a workout on the beach! After a few serious, reserved shots, she discovered how fun it is to collect rocks in the sand. She ran back and forth with me and mom, and we ran right with her! We went though a few super cute outfits, but I think my favorite is her ruffled Strawberry romper. It’ll be so cute on her Christmas cards!

Thanks for joining us at our second beach marathon, H family!

~ Mariah

When I met with mom for our pre-session consultation, I never even wrote anything down.  All she really wanted was to capture S’s spirit.  She wanted her to have fun, be herself, and hopefully catch it all on camera.  I always tell parents that no matter what we do for a set, or how many props we drag in, their favorite portrait of the whole gallery will always end up being an expression that resonates with their heart.  It’s that certain look that tugs at you… every time… and you want to remember it forever.  Mom already knew that was what she wanted from our session, so while I gathered all of the toys to bring them into the shooting room, they weren’t so much props as they were, well, just toys.  Toys for S to have fun and be herself with!  We ran.  We sang.  We danced.  We played telephone.  I had so much fun spending time with S and I think we captured all the fun she had too.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Baby M’s family has been with HHP since before 2-year-old K was born! Heidi photographed their first maternity and K’s newborn shoot, and I was lucky enough to get to photograph M in her mama’s belly and in the studio.

M’s nursery is decorated with purple butterflies, and we wanted to subtly add a few to her sets. This butterfly looked right at home in our purple garden! M was also quite the social butterfly during her family photos, trying to stay awake to take in all the action.

Big sister K was so proud to have a baby sister, and held her, sang to her, and posed wherever we asked her to. I was impressed! Of course, mom and dad are stunning, too. Way to make my job easy, B family!

~ Mariah