When R’s mom called to book a Little Star session with us, the girls at HHP were excited. “She’s so cute, and so polite!” they said. I was really looking forward to getting to photograph her myself.

When the day came, we got a beautiful Summery morning down by the beach to shoot. The girls at the studio were right- she was sweet as can be, holding my hand as we walked to each location. From playing with bubbles to duck-watching, she breezed through her session, and was a dream to photograph. We got some shots with and without her glasses, which reminded me of the ones I used to wear as a kid.

M and R, thanks for spending a morning with me! Enjoy your preview.

~ Mariah

I’ve been photographing this adorable family for the past three years, starting when big sister D was just days old.  Last week it was time to celebrate little brother W’s first birthday with a colorful cake smash!  Both little ones have birthdays close together and their party this year is a little buckaroo theme.  How adorable!  We planned a fun cake smash outdoors to match and Sweet Indulgence made us the perfect little cowboy cake to match.  W enjoyed his cake like no other.  He couldn’t get enough, as you can see below, and between each bite he just kept saying “mmmmmmmmm,  mmmmmmmmm”   I’m laughing just recalling how adorable he was.  It was so hard picking favorites for this preview because I honestly wanted to share them all!  Can’t wait to show you the rest mom and dad :0)

Mariah, here! Heidi and I wanted to test out a few outdoor locations this morning, so we thought- why not do a maternity shoot while we’re at it? The weather was perfect, and we headed just down the road from the studio to a little spot by the bay. I love the location, and the reeds and water matched the pastel styling perfectly. We brought some Organic Bloom frames for props, that you may recognize from a certain gender reveal shoot!

Needless to say, Heidi, Shaun, and Giuliana made my job pretty easy, and I love the results.

- Mariah

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.

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!

Well here it finally is!  We’ve had to keep it under wraps since before Christmas, but we are finally ready to share whether we will be painting the nursery pink or blue.  To make our gender reveal extra special, we decided to let Giuliana smash a cake and have the inside color announce the baby’s sex.  Thank you so much to The Organic Bloom for the beautiful frames, Sweet Indulgence for the delicious cake, Gigi’s Glitzy Boutique for Giuliana’s adorable outfit, and Eden XO for pampering me and making me look my best (as I was very hesitant to jump in front of the camera)!

And the inside is PINK!   Giuliana is so thrilled that she is going to have a baby sister… can’t you tell?!

I had such a wonderful girls day with A and her mom at the studio last week.  I clearly have a weakness for babies, but I truly LOVE when I have the opportunity to step outside the box and create portraits of older children.  3-year-olds happen to be so much fun.  They love to play, dress up, and act silly…. all of which are specialties of mine!  Not only was A fun to spend my morning with, she is also such a beauty.  Mom scheduled this session to create artwork for A’s room and after looking at this session again, I think we could wallpaper the whole house!  A doesn’t take a bad picture.  Enjoy your sneak peek.’

Happy New Year everyone!  After a much needed week of rest last week, we are back in full swing at the studio and I have some fun previews to share with you as we get caught up.  3 1/2 year old R and 2 year old M were one of my last sessions of 2011.  They were full of energy and like all kids of this age, much preferred playing to having their pictures taken.  So that is exactly what we did!  R loved my toy airplane and M opened right up when you placed that guitar in her hands.  She gave us the most adorable concert I’ve ever seen.  We started the session with some family portraits and ended our time together with a guaranteed way to get any toddler to smile…. lollipops!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

The S family was so fun and full of energy!  I have a special place in my heart for 3 year olds right now because my daughter is 3.  I love their big personalities and the challenge of getting them to do what you want in a photo while they still think they are calling all the shots!  L was a tough cookie to crack, but once I got her smiling, she was fabulous in front of the camera!  1 year old V was a totally different story.  She had a huge adorable smile that was contagious, you just had to catch her on the move to get it!!  We started with some family portraits and finished the session by pulling out all of our girly props and letting the girls just play.  I can’t wait for mom and dad to see their full gallery!

The C family visited the studio for a session last week, but the weather was so gorgeous, we decided we had to head outdoors.  We had a perfect day and FINALLY a little foliage to work with as our backdrop.  It was mid-day sun, so we had to hunt for the perfect little spot of shade, but I’m pretty certain we found it!  I love all of the golden tones in these and the light filtering through the leaves.  Enjoy your sneak peek!