I had a blast photographing our mini sessions last Friday! For anyone unfamiliar with our mini sessions, they are only about 1/4 of our regular sessions in time, lasting only about 15 minutes. With little time to warm up to the camera, we jump into the shoot feet first (literally!). Kids can run around, play and jump on the bed, all while I chase them around trying to capture all of those little expressions in between. High Energy! Mini sessions aren’t for the timid, that’s for sure! Of course last Friday turned out to be the DARKEST day in my studio all year. It was pouring rain outside and the light was terrible. Needless to say my camera settings were a challenge trying to photograph 12 children who were under 3 (hello slow shutter speeds and small fstop numbers)… but I do love a challenge! All of these little ones were absolutely fantastic. Sweet and fun and full of personality! Thanks for such a refreshing day!

Here is just a little glimpse of the fun I had with the G family last week.  They kept me laughing the entire session!  I don’t typically photograph families this large in my teeny studio, but our day turned out to be close to zero degrees with the windchill, so we were all happy to be indoors instead!!  There were so many different combinations that we photographed that I’m only sharing these two little previews so as to not leave anyone out…. or have a mammoth 2 page preview!  The love of this family was certainly a joy to capture.  Enjoy your preview.

These two little boys were so much fun to photograph. Mom and I actually went to highschool together, but with both our last names changed, I didn’t realize it until she walked in the door! It was fun catching up and meeting her two handsome boys. The session was mainly A’s 6 month portraits, but we got some adorable brother and family shots as well. I can’t wait to show you the rest!

I had so much fun with the R family this week.  We had a casual, easy-going maternity session that just flew by.  3 year old C is sure to be an amazing big brother, he did so well at the shoot!  I can’t wait to meet the newest addition to your family!

Oh brothers!  In her pre-session questionnaire all mom said she wanted was a picture of both boys smiling, with eyes open, looking at the camera.  Any parent of young siblings knows how hard that can be to capture!  Well I’m happy to report we got it!  It’s funny I took over 400 image at this session.  Most consist of T squeezing R and R crying, or R smiling and T running out of the scene!  haha  Of course those all end up on the cutting room floor and only adorable shots like these make it into the final gallery.  But, those outtakes do give me a good chuckle along the way!  Enjoy your preview and your two beautiful boys mom!

A and M visited the studio just before Christmas and after meeting them, I know Santa must have been good to them both.  They were both so sweet and fun capture on camera.  Their beautiful blue eyes stole every scene.  Enjoy your sneak preview F family!

We are so excited for our mini sessions today!  Just when we were beginning to get caught up with the holiday rush, Heidi looked at her calendar and saw that there would be some free time this week to shoot some minis.  Remember that friend in college who just couldn’t enjoy her vacation after finals, instead took a winter course or interned?  That would be Heidi.

In order for things to run smoothly we set up some classic neutral sets from some of our favorite shoots and wanted to share a sneak peek.  No wide angle lens on hand today but here are a couple photos of what the studio looks like today.  The mattress with our IKEA canopy is something new but we love how the images are turning out and plan on keeping it here permanently.

These Pottery Barn curtains are also brand new.  With the sun so low in these winter months it gets very bright in here.  Also with the glare from our snow, we didn’t want to risk having squinty eyes, but they also make the room feel cozier don’t you think?

And a sneak peek of our first session from today – adorable 4 1/2 year old and 6 month old siblings who loved jumping on the bed!

If you are interested in doing a mini session but couldn’t book with us before the spaces filled up, we will be announcing new dates on the blog February 1st.  One of our new years resolutions here at the studio is to post a monthly newsletter… EVERY month.  Sign up if you haven’t already and we promise you’ll be the first to hear about our specials and next set of minis before we post it on the blog.

4 1/2 month old A was such a smiley little sweetheart!  She flashed a giant gummy smile at just about everything we did.  We were able to capture some beautiful family portraits with a candid feel for mom and dad, and then some adorable portraits of A herself, stealing the show!  Enjoy your preview K family.

Sweet little K was one happy little girl.  I can’t even tell you how many images I have of her smiling.  It seems she cracked a smile in just about every pose.  She must have been having some sweet dreams.  Or perhaps it was just how very loved she felt.  The adoration of her parents was palpable.  I hope I captured at least a fraction of it!  Enjoy the Holidays with your greatest gift mom and dad!

Most photographers feel that 3 months old is one of the hardest ages to photograph.  They are sort-of “in-between” being an infant and a baby.  They aren’t young enough to sleep through the session, and are much to active to pose like a newborn, but they can not yet hold their heads up or sit for older baby poses.  We tend to photograph more and more 3 month olds lately and I must say, it has been getting easier and easier!  What is so special about photographing this age is that you can capture how tiny they still are AND you get to see those gorgeous eyes and first smiles in their portraits as well!  Take baby C for example.  She was a complete doll.  She gave us that gorgeous gummy smile and looked just adorable in every outfit.  We certainly wore her out as she couldn’t even keep her eyes open by the end of the session.  That’s when we even got a few sleepy shots, but I’m saving those for your final gallery mom and dad!  Enjoy your preview and Happy Holidays!