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!

Birth photography -- sneak peek #1

Unbelievable. That is the word that keeps coming to mind when I remember what it was like to shoot my first birth. It also is the same word that I use when I describe what it was like to shoot a second birth just a week and a day after the first one. I have a feeling every experience will be just as remarkable, just as beautiful, just as unforgettable.

I had the privilege of photographing the birth of my sweet neighbor's fifth child last month. And then, I had the honor of shooting my new friend from church's c-section birth shortly afterward. I am still going through all of the images from both experiences (thank you for being so patient, April & Erin!) and I LOVE editing these. I also LOVE that both of these amazing women welcomed me into the room with them to capture one of the biggest days of their lives. I love how brave and unbelievably strong both women are and I will never forget the opportunities they gave me to be included in their "birth days."



For first peeks, here are the pictures of the birth of Cole Z., the third son (fifth child!) of my awesome neighbors, April & Dan. The photo above of is April and her best friend Mandy, who has been present at all five of the Z kids' births! What a lucky gal! Below is April and Dan holding their own baby pictures. April has made it a tradition to bring in baby pictures at each of her births -- ones of her and her hubby but also of her other kiddos when they were newborns. She said she loved to compare what each sweet babe looked like when they were first born.

I cannot express how patient, how strong-willed and how beautifully transparent April was throughout the whole process. She was a week overdue and her labor was long and slow ... up unti the very last hour and a half, when things just went super fast!


Walking the halls with Mandy.



Baby Cole, born Sept. 16, 2009. April brought that child into the world naturally -- without any epidural at all. It was her first completely natural birth in all of her five.





Apparently all of the Z. kids had that same little quivering lip.





The proud daddy and his new son.


Thank you so much April, for EVERYTHING you are to so many people. To your family, your friends, your neighbors ... you are an inspiration to me in so many ways and I am blessed to be your friend.

Stay tuned for more pictures from Cole's birth as well as pictures from the c-section birth of little Penelope!

Baby Eva

I had the privilege of meeting Baby Eva and her mom Jo and dad Vinod. I use the word "privilege" because it truly was. This family was so kind and thoughtful. Their interactions were so sweet to watch and Baby Eva was SUCH a happy baby!
I would estimate that Eva smiled approximately 94 percent of the time I was with them. She was so happy and her little grin was just contagious. You couldn't help but smile when she looked at you.
We started the session out at Jo & Vinod's home, which had several things in it that reflected their Indian heritage. The lighting in their home was a challenge for me and it made me realize how much I really do want an extra camera body -- one with a little more power to shoot at high ISO's for better results in low-lighting scenarios. Even so, Baby Eva was so cute that we were able to get some adorable shots.



Vinod and Eva loved playing together. He was especially fond of tossing her gently up into the air and I could see why. She giggled so well every time he did that. It was always a sure-fire way to get her to grin that beautiful baby grin.



Hi there, Eva! She was a very curious baby and I could tell immediately that she was very sharp. She was so observant and when she looked into your eyes, it was obvious this girl was studying everything about you. It almost felt like she could read my thoughts. Good thing all I was thinking was, "You're so cute, little one!" :)

Jo wanted to get a few pictures of her and Eva in traditional Indian attire, complete with the bindi (a symbol of beauty, associated with feminity and sometimes with marriage) between the eyes. When Jo first put the bindi on her daughter, she was so moved. She told me that the first time she'd worn a bindi was at her own wedding -- to see her daughter wear one at such an early age was touching and emotional for her.



Look at all of that hair little Eva has! My daughter at 18 months has probably a third of what Eva had at six months. :)

The whole family hanging out in their dining room at home.

Something about this picture is so striking to me. It's not a perfect photo and I usually go for the smiles, but something about how pensive father and daughter looked as they were waiting for Jo to join us outside just got me. Eva was so content just sitting in her Papa's arms.

She was also pretty comfy being held by Mom, too. :)

We walked to a nearby park to get some more family shots and Eva quickly showed signs she was ready for a nap and pretty much done with posing for the camera. So we tried to work quickly.

Vinod was ready to interest Eva with music and videos from his MP3 player. That bought us some more time to play. :)

Then, this is what happened on the walk back from the park:

Then, after we got home, this:

Jo and Vinod, thank you for letting me take pictures of your sweet girl. Thank you also for taking care of ME before I left your home and sending me off with lots of chocolate and snacks to munch on during the drive home. I so look forward to meeting up again with you soon and having some more fun out at the park!

Payne Family

Whew. I'm so many posts behind ... I've had lots of wonderful clients this summer. So many kind families, cute babies, toddlers with immense personality ... it's so fun to see how each family member reacts in front of the camera. This particular cutie is Cruz. I worked with the Payne family back in June and Cruz's mom Courtney has been a huge help in so many ways.

She's given me great feedback and I've learned several good lessons from my time with this family.

It was so warm this day in June and the sun was very bright outside. We tried to shoot a lot in the shade and Cruz definitely preferred that to squinting in the sun. :)

Here Courtney's letting Cruz get a closer look at some ducks at the water's edge. Courtney wanted to do their family pictures in her parents' back yard, which is a gorgeous property right on the edge of Lake Sammamish. It was just beautiful. Courtney's mom is an interior decorator and her home and yard were just stunning with all the colors she'd incorporated.

Courtney also picked out a great wardrobe for the family to wear. All coordinated but not too matchy-matchy. I loved the turquoise, orange and white!

While Cruz took a little snooze, we ventured out into some woodsy areas to get some mommy/daddy pictures. I made the two of them trek out into a really weedy area and both Courtney and I were totally scared we'd encounter some sort of snake (apparently they'd seen several in that area before). We made Courtney's husband Matt go out there and clear out the area of all potential snakes before we'd follow him out there.

I love these pictures in this little stairway alcove.





When Cruz woke up from his nap, we had a little fun near the hot tub. The water was pretty cold so we weren't able to let Cruz take a little dip but everyone got their feet wet for a few pictures.

This was one of the most fun parts of the session because Courtney's mom took a break from the gardening she'd been doing all morning to come out and help us get Cruz's attention toward the camera. She was dancing all around behind me, shaking toys and making funny noises. I laughed so hard -- it was hilarious, appreciated and so cute.

Courtney made this quilt Cruz is laying on here and in a few other pictures in this series. It is a BEAUTIFUL, intricate design and I was so impressed with it. It is a remarkable work of art.





Thank you once again, Payne family, for letting me spend that beautiful afternoon with you and also for your patience with all of the things you helped me work through in regards to our session. Thanks also to your mom, Courtney, for letting us invade her beautiful home and entertaining ALL of us!