Oh how I loved baby P!  She had the biggest smile in the world and it was (and still is) completely contagious.  How could you not look at that gorgeous face and smile?  On top of her bubbly personality, baby P also had the most amazing blue eyes.  This little girl is sure to steal the show where ever she goes.  Thank you for such a fun day B family!

J was such a pleasure to meet and photograph last week. I just adore this age. They still have some toddler silliness in their systems, but they don’t require quite as much chasing after to get the perfect shot! J was fun to chat with as I snapped away and to top it all off, we celebrated her 4th birthday with a fabulous cake smash. She even picked her favorite colors for the set. I love watching older kids get into their cake. They are usually much more enthusiastic then the one year old crowd because they actually know how much of a treat it is to have their own giant cake! Enjoy your sneak peek!

It’s only two weeks before Shaun, Giuliana and I have our first professional family portraits taken and I’ve been shopping for our shoot since January.  Outfits have come and gone and I’ve changed my mind at least 100 times.  Now I understand how my clients feel.  You know you’re about to make a big investment on artwork in your home… you want to coordinate, but not overly match… you want to show your style, but still appear timeless… you want colors that flatter you, but also look good on your wall.  So much to consider.  It’s no wonder that clients often resort to all white!

Perhaps my biggest problem in selecting family wardrobe is that I am a match-a-holic.  I want everything to coordinate perfectly.  Unfortunately, that makes for a pretty boring portrait.  So I had to stray from my compulsive need to seek out exact dye lots and choose items that varied in tone, texture, and value.  Well, not surprisingly, me and my credit card were up to the challenge.  Blush was a big color this spring, and given the style and processing of my photographer, and the colors in my home, I decided to run with the color.  It’s also relatively neutral (baby steps with the color mixing!).

Usually my designer Christina comes up with our what to wear guides, but after spending months picking out my family’s outfits for our photo session, I thought I would share them on the blog with you.   So here are my summer portrait picks… well almost… Some of the items that I bought this spring are no longer for sale so I had to find similar replacements when preparing this post.  I also added in my picks for a little boy to round out the selections so they can be applied to any family.  Mom’s wedges wouldn’t be my first pick of all the shoes out there, but I already have them in my closet, so that’s what I’ll be wearing.  Just a note on my love for wedges as I must give them their due respect.  I often refer to wedges, even the 5 inch variety, as my “flats.”  Wedges are my short girl flip flops.  Comfier than stilettos, but still provide me the height I need to not blend in with the 8 year old crowd.  I appear taller, yet can still chase after my daughter if necessary.  Win, win!  If your photoshoot is outdoors and you are mortified by the thought of getting photographed next to your husband in flats, wedges are certainly the way to go.  A few other notes: Giuliana’s actual skirt for our shoot is closer in color to the ruffle chucks and has a bow on the side.  It was originally purchased at Jcrew where I found the similar one pictured below.  I’d make dad and son a bit more casual by cuffing the sleeves of the sport coat and shirt. Even leaving them unbuttoned and layering with a pop of color from a t-shirt underneath would look great.  And of course I still need to decide on accessories… but that’s another can of worms!    You’ll get to see how these outfits look in our portraits in just a few months!

Vendor List

Girl:  Outfit: Jcrew, Shoes: Nordstrom

Mom: Tank top: Gap Skirt: Free People, Shoes: Nine West

Dad: Jcrew

Boy: Jcrew

Gorgeous baby A came to visit the studio this week and her session was one of my favorite 3 month old sessions to date!  She was A: Gorgeous, B: So happy, and C: Incredibly adored by her parents.  We focused the session on capturing their family bond and of course had to snap a few of just A herself.  As you can see, she’s the steals the show!

This little peanut looked just like a doll! She had the most tiny delicate features and long lashes. Once we got her to sleep she slept right through to the very end of the shoot. I especially love the images of her in the garden. We are just about to retire that set so she is a perfect way to end our run with it! Enjoy your preview!

What a joy it was to help welcome baby A into this family.  Big brother C was so amazing with her.  Young children always react differently to a new baby.  C was sweet, patient, and gentle throughout our entire 3 hour session and I was so impressed with him!  The family shots are some of my favorites from the whole day.  Baby A was a social butterfly as the session started but with the help of the binky, we were able to get each shot off!  She finally fell into a nice deep sleep and then we really had fun.  Enjoy your preview R family!

Pregnancy is such a miracle.  And I feel it every maternity session I photograph.  T and P are about to be blessed with a double dose of miracle.  That’s right, another set of twins to photograph soon!  Can you believe how perfect her belly looks with not one, but two babies in there?!  T, you were positively glowing!  Enjoy your preview.

Sweet Indulgence and Heidi Hope Photography love to keep in touch with all of our fans on facebook!  To thank you for following along with our work we are thrilled to be partnering together for a giveaway worth over $3600!!! All you need to win is simply become a fan! Hopefully you are already, but if you aren’t please click the buttons below and “like” us! This opportunity is too good to miss and ANYONE can win!

At Heidi Hope Photography and Sweet Indulgence we know that life is full of reason’s to celebrate!

• Sweet Indulgence will be giving away a dessert table for your next event worth over $1800! Getting married? Planning a party? This is an amazing opportunity to have Kerri Cupcake design and cater your event with a one-of-a-kind dessert table that all of your guests will be raving about. COMPLETELY FREE!!!
• Heidi Hope Photography will be giving away a studio or local outdoor portrait session of any kind. Engagement, Boudoir, Newborn, Family, Children, Senior Portraits, you name it! After your session you’ll receive our most popular package including ALL of the high resolution digital images from your session, a custom image box with every 5×7″ print from your session, and a beautiful fine art gallery wrap canvas to hang in your home! Together this prize is worth over $1800!
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We know you’re excited, and we’re excited too! We’ll be giving away this amazing prize to one lucky fan as soon as both pages hit 10,000 fans! It’s as simple as that! You can help us get there sooner by clicking the “share” button on our facebook page and telling your friends about this amazing opportunity!

Of course we can’t forget the photographers who are part of our facebook community!  We’ll also be giving away a seat at our next After The Shoot online webinar (a $500 value) to one lucky photographer fan on facebook!  All when we hit 10,000 so share the love!

Thank you for understanding that our standard mileage restrictions still apply to workshop attendees.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Baby M surprised his parents with an early arrival!  I didn’t get to meet this cutie pie until he was almost 3 weeks old.  Though he was older than the newborns I usually photograph, he was still such a peanut!  I loved seeing him curled up in his parents arms and just look at how tiny his toes look compared to his parents’ rings.  I love taking that portrait for two reasons.  First, it shows the scale of how teeny baby is, but more importantly I think of the parents, looking at their wedding ring years from now and remembering the day when their baby’s toes were just a fraction of the size.  M was such a sweet baby and a joy to photograph.  Enjoy your preview.