Happy Birthday, baby J! This little guy has the sweetest personality, as you can see in his photos. He was hesitant of the camera at first, but quickly got into the photoshoot groove, playfully interacting with the camera for the whole session.

We’ve had a lot of nautical cake smash themes this year, but nobody had done an ‘under the sea’ set until this one! I loved making all of the creatures, and J was mesmerized by the fish swimming around him. Thanks to Sweet Indulgence for the friendly shark cake!

Remember this cutie with his planes and snowboard? Throwback Thursday is my good excuse to share more family photos from K’s session. We wanted the session to be really fun, candid, joyful, and kinetic, so we laughed, smiled, and kept things moving. Don’t you almost want to be a part of this family after seeing these? So stylish and fun!

~Mariah

When mom showed me the adorable silver tutu she brought along, I died.  I said, “I have this really sparkly background that would look amazing with, want to try it?!”  Mom was all for it.  It was perfect!  Baby J was so teeny tiny and she slept right through our whole session.  She had the most perfect little doll features.  She snoozed in our pretty spring garden full of brightly colored hydrangeas.  She curled right up into the arms of her adoring mom and dad.  I could have photographed her all day!  And isn’t her mom one of the most gorgeous new moms on the planet?!  They were such a beautiful family and we had a great morning together.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Mother’s Day is so special to us here at Heidi Hope Photography because our community of clients and online friends is comprised of so many amazing, inspiring, and loving mothers.  We’ve all had a tough week in the Greater Boston Area.  We have dear friends, family, and clients who call Boston home.  Shaun’s family was standing directly across from the marathon bombings.  They were cheering on his cousin who was just .2 miles away from finishing, near the second explosion.  In a week of heartbreak for our community, we can’t help but hold everyone we love a little closer.  We wanted to do something special this Mothers Day for the mothers who are such a big part of our life at HHP.

Often times, the moments we have with our children go by so quickly in the busyness of life.  We’re so busy LIVING those moments, we don’t have the time to stop and take a picture.

We want everyone to have a portrait with their children to treasure.  Our Mother’s Day gift this year is to thank our 2012 and 2013 clients with a free Mommy-and-Me portrait party!  We want to catch up, see how you are doing, or get to know you before your upcoming session.  Come enjoy sweets from our generous friends at Sweet Indulgence, chat with Heidi and Mariah, and smile for a picture you’ll love looking back on!

Happy Mother’s Day Heidi Hope Family!

Mommy and Me Party:

Thursday May 9th from 10am-2pmLocation to be announced via email (within 5 miles of our studio, or in studio in the event of rain)

To sign up for our Mother’s Day gift:

• You must have a booked session with Heidi Hope Photography during the years of 2012 or 2013 (so our party size remains manageable for us!)
• please email mariah@heidihope.com with your time preference.  We will email you back with the times we still have left available to take your picture (first come-first served for appointment times).  Current availability is from 12-1pm.
• Email us today, we are almost completely full!
• Your portrait will be delivered to you via facebook
• One photo per mama (with up to 5 children)

Sign up for our Newsletter to be the first to know about our future events and giveaways!

Last week ended on the sweetest note with gorgeous 6 month old B and family visiting our studio.  I last got to photograph her back in the fall as a newborn, and was so excited to see the beautiful baby she’s grown into!  She was a natural in front of the camera and the session flew by.  We started with an adorable tea party with her favorite teddies, and then decided B might want a turn on the swing too!  These swing pictures are a little bit of photoshop magic because baby is always safely supported by plenty of helping hands at the studio.  B was a perfect little breath of spring!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

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 loved meeting the W family last week.  They are one of our newest 2013 Baby Plan families!  Their sweet baby girl was a social butterfly.  Approaching 3 weeks old, she wanted to take in the world around her.  She loved to be held and cuddled and fed.  She looked like a living doll with the most gorgeous head of hair and pouty lips.  I had so much fun getting to know her and I can’t wait to spend a year celebrating her as she grows.  Mom and dad were completely in love with their new little one.  We started our session with plenty of family portraits where she cooed and smiled for us.  After 2 hours she finally drifted off to sleep and we captured plenty of dreamy images to end our day.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I’m a pretty good secret-keeper… when I have to be!  From new pregnancies, to gender reveals, to proposals, we often get to be “in” on some of life’s best surprises!  I was so excited to be let in on the secret of J’s pregnancy back in the fall.  I’ve been photographing their family of 4 for a few years now, and I know just how much this baby will be adored (and already is!).  Big brother and sister are all ready to welcome new baby and I could feel the excitement they had throughout our session.  They are some of my 2013 baby-planners, so get ready to see this baby celebrated into 2014!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

If you’re a local mom, you probably already know about one of our favorite local businesses, Bellani Maternity.  If you haven’t stopped by to do a little shopping there, you must!  From helping you to register for your baby shower, to picking out the perfect backpack for your preschooler, their amazing staff can help you through every step of parenthood.  We’ve loved showcasing our work on their walls and are so grateful for the community of Bellani moms that we’ve stayed in touch with over the past years.  We wanted to do something fun to show our appreciation for all that Bellani has added to our community and give away a complimentary Heidi Hope Photography session to a lucky Bellani family in 2013!

Enter to win!

Anyone who visits Bellani Maternity during the month of February and spends $100 can be entered to win a complimentary 30 minute Heidi Hope Photography session including all images in 2013.  There is no additional purchase necessary!  Simply fill out your entry card after purchase and we’ll draw a winner on March 1st 2013.

Get out there and shop, because we can’t wait to meet you!

I first met this happy baby girl back in 2011 when she and her big brother visited our studio for portraits.  We stayed in touch online and through the wonderful community of moms at Bellani Maternity over the years.

We were on our Holiday break this year when I saw the story spread over facebook.  A family in our community was struggling with the recent diagnosis of their young daughter.  She had gone into the doctors with a stomach bug and then their world had changed.  I soon found out it was Belle and her final diagnosis was pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) .  I just couldn’t wrap my head around the sudden news.   I sent mom a message as soon as I heard.  Whenever she was ready, whenever Belle was ready, I wanted to be there for them in any way that I could.

I have worked with many families fighting childhood illness through The Tiny Sparrow Foundation over the past few years.  It has been the most meaningful part of what I do as a photographer.  I know how much photos can mean to families fighting through treatment and recovery.  I also knew how much Belle’s beautiful curls meant to her mom.  Not for their physical beauty, or the soft way they framed her baby doll face, but because they were a symbol of Belle’s babyhood.  They were a symbol of Belle before their world was turned upside-down.  I know I would have felt exactly like Belle’s mom did.  Yes, those curls will grow back, surely more beautiful than ever, but I would have wanted to hold onto them as long as I could.  I had to get to the hospital and capture Belle’s curls.

Belle and her mom are some of the strongest girls I’ve ever met.  Mom has been incomprehensibly positive and tenacious for her daughter.  They amaze me and everyone else they meet.  Belle had already fought through over two weeks of treatment and wasn’t feeling great the day I visited.  We had endless fun, girly, dress-up toys to make her smile, but she mostly wanted her Elmo, her mommy, and her cozy blanket.  You know what?  That Elmo and blanket looked pretty perfect to me and there is nothing more beautiful than a mother’s love.

Plus, this isn’t the last photo shoot you’ll see with Belle here.  We’ll be catching up again, when she’s feeling much better.  She has plenty of tutu-twirling ahead of her!  This summer, her hair will be growing back and I probably won’t be able to keep up with her as she runs around outside.  For now, I’m happy to have captured those sweet curls before her next chapter begins.  You can read more about Belle’s story in her mother’s words on the Kent Macaroni Kids Blog.

If you would like to help Belle and her family, please visit  Belle’s Youcaring.com Page or check back in with us for the many opportunities to make a difference for Belle in the coming months.