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 know I say it a lot, but one of the things I love most about my job is watching families grow.  Capturing each new baby as they enter the world and join a family amazes me every time.  This family has been coming to me for portraits since mom was pregnant with her first.  Big sister A was one of the first newborns I photographed ever (perhaps a Throwback Thursday post to come?).  They were back again with the birth of little brother J, now 2, and I was thrilled to hear the news that a third sweet baby would be joining the family.  All in all, this was their 9th session with me!  It’s no wonder that I love these kids like my own when I see them again!  Baby L was just as perfect as her big brother and sister… only, I was very surprised to see a full head of brown hair on this one!  Other than that, she looks just like her big brother and sister did as babies… lucky girl!  Enjoy your sneak peek P family.  Thank you for another perfect “session” as A would say!

I have been loving our Newborn and Family sessions lately.  Watching big siblings welcome a new baby into the world has to be one of the greatest moments in the story of a family.  I can see these photos being pulled out at high school graduations and on wedding days.  Of all of the photos from when my second daughter Grace was born, my favorites are the portraits I have of Giuliana holding her.  The wonder and joy on the faces of children as they love on their new baby is so beautiful!  We started our session full of family fun and then it was C’s turn to steal the show.  After all of the commotion, he was worn out!  He loved posing on the bean bag, and with some serious cluster feeding, he even slept like a champ for our last few sets.  Enjoy your sneak peek!  ~ Heidi

Everything about this was so fun for us- from designing the sets to hanging out with so many of our clients in one day! Anyone that booked a 2013 session with HHP was eligible for one of these free Valentine Mini sessions, and it was so awesome to be able to gift this to them. Thanks to everyone who helped us kick 2013 off with love! 

~ Mariah and Heidi

“Do you think I’ve gone round the bend?”

“I’m afraid so. You’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

It never seems to happen like I plan.  The idea for this shoot started out as something completely different.  I found the skirt last year at a time when Giuliana was obsessed with ballet and princesses.  I could picture the joy on her face when she got the chance to twirl around in it.  I thought it would be amazing for Grace’s newborn portraits.  I envisioned Giuliana finding her new baby sister swaddled in a basket, deep in the woods.  That shoot never happened.  It turned out to be much too lofty a goal for a sleep deprived new mother.

The summer came quickly and I had a new vision for the skirt.  I could see Giuliana running down the beach at sunset, the tulle of her skirt skimming the shallow water, stomping in tide pools, twirling in sunflare.  That never happened either.  Then autumn approached and I pictured Giuliana as a woodland fairy gathering fallen leaves and picking apples.  You guessed it… never happened.

And so, the skirt collected dust atop a pile of props in our studio basement.  Every time anyone tried to pull a prop, the skirt fell down and consumed them in a maze of tulle.   Everyone began asking me, “Are you ever going to use that skirt?”

I was.  But when?

I had started thinking that perhaps I would wait for a snowy day and finally get the pictures of Giuliana in the skirt before she outgrew it.  I was waiting for the perfect winter day.  I needed fresh snow cover, but warm enough temperatures that my kids wouldn’t freeze or be miserable.

Coincidentally, this past Friday I started looking around for a favorite photograph I took of Giuliana in the snow a few years ago and found that the original is gone.  All I have is the watermarked version from Flickr.  Do you remember this one?

Still grieving the loss of my favorite snow photo, on Saturday morning I saw the forecast for the weekend and decided I would FINALLY use that skirt for once and for all!  While I was at it, I would recreate my old favorite portrait and include Grace in it as well.

Contrary to popular belief, Giuliana does not like modeling for me and no amount of bribery will change her mind.  When I tell her we are going to take pictures she gives me a giant “aaaawwwwwww  I don’t want to!” and proceeds to hide behind the nearest large object while sucking her finger.  She’s a typical four year old, only probably worse because she’s had a camera in her face her whole life and she’s a pretty shy kid.  I actually showed her the “Princess Skirt” that I bought thinking it would be her dress-up dream-come-true and she immediately whined, “Mom, I’m not wearing that!  It’s silly.  It’s too big.  I don’t want to do pictures.”
Given her aversion to having her picture taken, whenever I do a photo shoot with her, I have to turn it into something fun so she forgets she’s having her picture taken.  As I hurriedly shopped and plundered the studio for the shoot, the idea for a scavenger hunt came together.

Giuliana ended up having a ball running through the woods, trying to sound out the words scribbled on tiny slips of paper and finding each of the treasures I had hidden for her amidst the snow.  Sweet Indulgence was the icing on the cake, giving us some sweet little confections to scatter throughout our set.  G has never met a jellybean she doesn’t like!  We even brought Grace out at the very end for a quick snap to pull off the infamous bunny tea party, version 2.0.

It all came together even better than I could have planned.  Sometimes, things just happen that way.  Here is my Alice, in her winter wonderland.

“Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.”

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

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

Who would have known that this location was our Plan B?    We had another location all planned out, but as luck would have it, the whole team pulled up just in time to be told that it was closed for maintenance for the afternoon! Of course, we weren’t going to just cancel the shoot- Heidi’s family was styled, and we had our videographer, Joe Maggiolo, in tow, to capture the whole shoot on film.

So, we packed up the team and drove just down the road to a little field we had seen driving in. Plan B became Plan Awesome as we realized that the field was even better for Fall portraits. The color, the grass, the light- everything just came together for an awesome backdrop. I couldn’t love the results more! (Phew!)

Why did we have a videographer? We recently announced “A Birth Story”, our newborn sessions captured on film by Joe Maggiolo. We’re expanding our video portrait product to encompass all types of sessions- even outdoor family sessions! Your family is captured interacting on film throughout our photoshoot, and the footage edited as a professional movie set to music. We wanted to show just how stunning the result is, so we invited Joe along to capture Heidi’s family creating memories! We can’t wait to show you the video. In the meantime, there are a few behind-the-scenes shots sprinkled into the family shots below to give you an idea of how we work with Joe.

Ready for an epic Fall family post? Here we go!

~ Mariah

Before the M family arrived I turned to Caroline, our studio assistant, and said, “These kids are THE BEST!”  I love every shoot with them because they are so sweet.  4 year old A always takes such great care of his little sister, who just turned 1.  They loved playing in our vintage sled and running around the fields surrounding the farm, but I’m pretty sure their favorite part was the Sweet Indulgence Gingerbread cookies they were able to share in our tent.  Enjoy your sneak peek!  ~ Heidi

These gorgeous girls came to play with us last week in the studio! Mom wanted to do a pink and turquoise theme, and I LOVE how cute the turquoise pettiskirt and ruffle romper look together in our damask chair. They’re sporting our signature Heidi Hope Blossom Bands, too!

Both girls were so photogenic! C was a great model and big sister, helping little A through the session when she was unsure of having her portrait taken. W family, enjoy the preview!

~ 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