If you love Pinterest like we do, you’ve surely seen some of these portraits pinned.  It has to be one of our most popular shoots of all time!  Kerri Cupcake and I planned it all out back in 2010.  We wanted to do something creative and fun just for ourselves.  Kerri and Sweet Indulgence designed this amazing confections table with every treat imaginable while the HHP team and I transformed the studio into a Mermaid paradise with hanging lanterns, silk pillows, soft streamers, a real sand floor and bubbles galore!  We gathered up a group of adorable girls ranging from 2-5 and we let them dance and play in their dream world.  Most of them didn’t want to leave.  This shoot made a beautiful spread in the 2012 issue of Bliss Celebrations magazine and has made countless pin boards and blogs since!  Here it is, The Heidi Hope Photography and Sweet Indulgence Mermaid Party from early 2011.

Photography: Heidi Hope Photography

Confections Table: Sweet Indulgence

Shirts: Gigi’s Glitzy Boutique

Pettiskirts: Dreamspun Kids

I had so much fun planning this first birthday session with mom!  Both baby A and her big brother B have December birthdays so she wanted to create something fun and Holiday inspired for our cakesmash that she could take out and display as part of her Christmas decorations each year.  She also loves candids and natural smiles (me too!) so we filled our session with plenty of playing and laughs.  Big brother B is at that age when kids see a camera and automatically make a “cheese face”.  I know it all too well with my four year old, and just about every little one I photograph at this age.  The trick is to make them forget they are having their picture taken!  Usually I make a complete fool out of myself in the process.  After taking lots of fun family portraits, we focused on the birthday girl, baby A.  She was so full of personality and very quick crawling around the studio!  I love all of the expressions we caught and all of the fun memories of our session.  Enjoy your sneak peek! 

The adorable G family has been traveling a long way to the studio ever since biggest sister C, now 3 1/2, turned 1 year old.  Since then, I had the joy of helping them welcome  little sister S, now 2 1/2, as a newborn and then celebrate her first birthday.  I was thrilled to hear that they were expecting a baby BOY this year to complete their adorable family!  Little brother L was adorable, a great sleeper and adored by his two sweet big sisters.  They were so full of excitement around him that I’m surprised we nailed a shot with them standing still for a moment!  The carriage image was especially important to mom because we used the very same carriage when S was a newborn.  Thanks for coming to visit us again G family!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I adore when these two little ones come to visit us for photos!  Big brother M is a complete sweetheart.  Take the day of our session for example.  He asked mom to stop and pick up donuts and delivered them down to us in our office.  He’s just as kind to his little sister, as you can see below.  Gorgeous little sis M always steals the show with her smile.  Last year she was so busy during our session that I was always chasing after her.  This year she LOVED the camera.  Total ham!  We had fun running around the studio and catching up with mom and dad… and we got some pretty perfect photos while we were at it!  Enjoy your sneak peek.  These are going to be some fabulous Christmas cards!  ~ Heidi

K and little H did a surprise photoshoot for H’s daddy, who’s deployed in Japan right now! We went to the park for some casual, fun shots with the foliage.

H was such a ham, and has such a fun personality! He made us laugh with his poses, smiled on cue, and danced and jumped for me. He was such a sweetheart with his mom, too- hugging, kissing, and running into her arms. 

These will be such a great gift, K! Thanks for spending the afternoon with us, and safe travels back from Hawaii!

~ Mariah

Oh, how I love the colors we’ve been able to work with at the park this past week. It takes a really dry Summer to get bright red leaves on the trees here in NE, and we’re so lucky that 2012 has been a dry year so far!

J had a blast collecting apples in our basket, playing in the leaves, and running around with me! His one-month old baby brother M made an appearance at the end of the shoot, and we kept him snuggled up in blankets while J loved on him. Too cute!

~ Mariah

The H family was so much fun to hang out with! They loved all the props I brought to the bay, and were up for anything…even jumping together. The littles were really into the shoot, too- suggesting poses and things the family could do in front of the camera. “How about we all sit on that rock?” and “Let’s hug each other!” I love subjects that suggest poses for me!

Mom wanted candids of the kids playing together, and I love how they came out. I can tell these two are great friends and siblings to each other already!

Enjoy your sneak peek, H family!

~ Mariah

What an adorable family! I love how this whole session came out. 3.5 year old B and 7-month old M were so good with each other, and I can’t believe how many sibling shots we got where they’re both looking at the camera! Quite impressive. We played with boats, the sand, and ended the session with a dip in the water (not me!).

Great to work with you, P family!

~ Mariah

Last summer I had the pleasure of photographing this adorable family during the kids’ birthday week.  We had a fun session at the park, playing guitar and running around!  This time around we headed down to the bay to play.  We had one HOT session!  It was mid day, almost 90 degrees, humid and we had virtually no shade, but the whole family were troopers and we got some adorable photos.  I broke out lots of fun toys to match their vintage style T-shirts at the start of the session, then we switched to classic nautical for some family photos.  At the end, we just couldn’t resist cooling off with our toes in the water and getting a shot of the littlest man in his new big boy pants!  That one totally melts me.  Enjoy your sneak peek and happy birthday kids!!

These two were unbelievably cute together. All I had to do was make one laugh, and they’d both dissolve into fits of giggles and look at each other laughing, then laugh even more. Big brother A sweetly held K’s hand, kissed her cheek, and shared blocks with her. I hardly had to ask him to put his arm around her!

K watched everything A did, and loved following his lead. At 1.5 and 3.5 years old, it’s already clear that they’re best friends and perfect partners in crime. This connection will be so fun to watch as they grow, and I’m so glad I got to capture it for them and their mom!

~ Mariah