Birth photography -- Sneak peek #2

Here's a sneak peek of my second birth photography experience. This is the M. family. I met Mom Erin for the first time at a Gymboree class last year. Then, several months later I learned that she attends our church, too! She has a sweet 2-year-old son named Finnegan who you'll see when I share the other photos from this session. For now, here's a glimpse at the first part of the day Erin and her husband Ken welcomed their daughter into the world.


Getting prepped outside the OR.


Erin and Ken, soon-to-be parents of TWO adorable children!






They're ready to meet their daughter!

And here she is! Penelope Jean was born on September 23.

Daddy checking out his first daughter.




I am so honored to have been able to capture this momentous event for my friend Erin and her family. I'm grateful to have gotten the chance to know Erin better and I can truly say she amazed me with her calm and courageous attitude, her positive outlook and her upbeat personality the whole morning. Erin, I so look forward to getting to know you better this year! Stay tuned for more photos of this birth session with the M. family!

Baby Katelyn

This beautiful family is the Raymond family. Little Katelyn was only 2.5 weeks old when I got to take pictures of her and her parents Christin and Dan.
Christin and Dan had great suggestions for things we could do for Katelyn's pictures. These with Dan, Katelyn and Dan's military helmet are some of my all-time favorite pictures. Also, this one below was their idea, too.

The Raymonds had this little picnic basket that we fit Katelyn into. I still need to collect some good baskets, bowls, soft pillows, hats and blankets to use on my newborn shoots. I also saw this adorable little doll cradle at Ikea that would be SO CUTE to pose sleeping newborns in.



Katelyn was awake for the majority of our session, which lasted three hours! She took teeny little cat naps but was such a trooper for so long. We were hoping she'd stay sleepy so we could pose her a bit more but this alert little one was much like my own sweet explorer -- she wanted to see everything we were doing. Look how alert and focused her eyes are at only 2.5 weeks old!



Oh, how I miss snuggling a newborn!

Oops, how'd this one sneak in here? :) I just adore these! We took these in Katelyn's room. The green on her walls was so pretty and worked wonderfully as a background in these.



Aww. Think she feels safe right there? :)

Pure bliss.





















Christin and Dan had tattoos on their ring fingers under their wedding rings. There's a D on Christin's hand and a C on Dan's hand. Isn't that a fun idea? I love this one, of the two of them basically holding hands as they cradle their firstborn.

Staring up at her daddy...

In Katelyn's nursery.

Christin and Dan, thank you for welcoming me into your home and introducing me to your sweet daughter. I loved all the ideas you had for your pictures and it was truly an honor to take Katelyn's first pictures!

4th Avenue Media, Take II

I met up with Lucas and his team from 4th Avenue Media again last week. They needed a few more headshots for their website and I also got some pictures of the team working together. I used my SB-800 flash for most of these pictures (not the one above). I'm so glad I have this flash -- I wouldn't be able to capture many of the moments that I have been able to capture recently if I didn't have this flash. My 50mm 1.8 lens is awesome and I couldn't shoot without it. But recently, the flash has also been a friend to me.


I have never seen Lucas not joyful. He always seems to be so happy. What makes that even cooler is that his wife Lauren, my friend from Sea Gals, is the same (check them out -- they're the adorable couple in my header photo at the top of this blog). They're such cheerful people and not at all in a fake way. They always appear genuinely happy with life. It's so energizing to be around them and it's pleasure to get to see them both more often. I have another shoot for one of Lucas' clients on Monday and I'm looking forward to it.

Lucas & Lauren question

Quick question ... do you like these two pictures better in black & white or color? I can't decide and I LOVE them both!

Okay, now it's time for more birthday fun for my little cupcake who turned ONE today! I still have more Lucas & Lauren pics to share for later so don't be a stranger! :)