I first met this little princess at her newborn session 2 years ago and I’ve adored watching her grow and capturing her big personality ever since!  At 2 years old, A is at an age full of curiosity and playfulness.  She loved trying out every toy in the studio.  Mom warned us ahead of time that A might not want to make a mess with her cake so we came up with the perfect way for A to have her cake AND keep her table manners; a cake smash tea party!  Complete with utensils and wipes, A enjoyed celebrating her 2nd birthday sans mess.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I sometimes get a little nervous having toddler siblings on the schedule.  Will I manage get them both together for a shot?  Do I have enough tricks up my sleeve?  With E and D I had nothing to worry about.  They are just the sweetest siblings!  They laughed and played and were so good to each other.  We danced our whole session away and ended up with some gorgeous portraits.  I can’t wait to show you the rest mom!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

Last week 2 year old J and his family visited the studio and we had such a nice morning laughing and playing.  J loved to explore the shooting room and all of our toys.  In between playing he was quite the ham.  About half way through the session we asked him to smile and he would actually drop what he was doing and flash a giant, adorable smile for the camera.  After a half hour of making animal noises like a fool, I was amazed that all I had to do was say “smile” to get the perfect shot!  Go figure!  J’s expressions were priceless and his big brown eyes completely melted me.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Sweet baby V looked like a little doll in between her big brothers W and T.  At 3 and 2 years old, V’s big brothers were adorable cuddling their tiny 6 pound bundle of joy.  I love the portraits we captured of them all together and I’m pretty sure those will be mom’s favorites too!  Of course after all of the energy of sibling portraits, it was time for V to snooze and make her own debut.  She was full of smiles no matter what pose she was in and I was lucky enough to catch some on camera.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

19 month old J cracked me up at his session last week.  He was such a little man!  He was very busy exploring the studio, not so much into sitting in one spot and having his picture taken.  We thought we would get smart and try for a suitcase shot (which generally contains toddlers for a few seconds at least).  Unfortunately we were outwitted and J climbed right out and picked up the suitcase to run with it!  The best thing you can do with toddlers is go with the flow, so we let him carry that suitcase all over the studio.   Turns out, it was pretty adorable!  His other favorite toy was my antique camera.  He looks like a little tourist playing with the two.  Is he our next assistant???  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Rain, rain, go away!  M visited the studio last week on one of the darkest mornings we’ve ever had!  Our session started right at 9, so we worked with what we had for light.  M had fun exploring the studio and playing with the fun set we created.  He especially loved our toy plane!  We decided to capture more of the session in another week and our fingers are crossed that we get some sunshine for brighter weather for some real WOW portraits.  Until then, here is a little peek of adorable M from last week.  I am so excited I get to spend more time playing next week!

I have loved watching these two grow over the past two years!  I first met this family for A’s newborn session 2 years ago and I have had so much fun capturing them together ever since.  These two are always gorgeous subjects and mom always has them dressed to the nines.  We had a fun morning just before Christmas playing at the studio.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I’ve loved watching little miss I grow over the past 2 years.  I first photographed her when she was just 3 months old.  I still remember how those gorgeous eyes stole the show.  She was as smiley and easy-going then as she is today.  Mom and I chatted before the session and she sent me some swatches of the dress she was making for I.  I was so excited when I saw the colors and by mom’s request for a “woodsy” set.  It was too cold to head outdoors into the real woods, so we brought the outdoors into the studio instead and it worked out perfectly.  Shaun thought I was a little crazy hiking into the woods to cut down branches over the weekend, and wasn’t exactly thrilled when I made him lug them all to the studio, but I think once he sees the finished pictures, he’ll “get” my vision!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I look at parents who have 3 or more young children in awe!  We had our niece and nephew (2.5 and 4) sleep over with my 3 year old daughter last weekend and I was exhausted after 24 hours.  When I saw the ages of these three little ones on the schedule last week, I said a little prayer.  “Please let me get one good shot of them together!”  When they showed up at the studio, I was so excited to get started.  They were so adorable, I could have photographed them all day.  We ended up with so many beautiful portraits, it will be hard to narrow down.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Usually when I meet new people and tell them my profession, the first thing they say is “you must have so many beautiful photos of your daughter!”  Truth be told, I don’t.  The ones I do have however are cherished.  They are proudly hung in our home and they bring a smile to my face every. single. day.  With life moving so quickly I have to make a real effort to take portraits of my own family.  While I finally hired a portrait photographer to take our family portraits this summer (go me!), with G’s 3rd birthday already approaching I decided I had to schedule a shoot in my own calendar or she’d be in preschool (gasp!) before I got her back in front of my lens.

I’m so happy I did.

I am in love with this session.  I am in love with this girl.  These portraits are the first time I’ve looked at her face and the thought “my girl” replaced “my baby.”

Don’t get me wrong.  I was tired after shooting all day.  My wrist hurt from editing.  The enthusiasm for this set that I had while shopping had long since past and I’ll be really lucky if my body isn’t covered in poison ivy in 48 hours.  And let’s not forget that 6pm is not a toddler’s most stellar time of day by any means.  But I sit here looking at these images and I feel like I did the impossible.  I sit here mesmerized by them.  The thought “my girl” is replaced by “my angel.”  I captured something intangible.  And I feel it every time I look at them.  And I will forever.

And I’m so happy I did.