baby it's cold outside.

I shot my very first wedding as a professional today, and let me say right now that I'm not making a habit of it. Today was small, intimate, and not the first time either had been married, annnnnd he's my brother, so there's that. Here are some of the highlights. There was REAL snow falling, which makes these photos extra fantastic.

 

She's from California, he's from New York.

 

Being a photographer is easy with models like this one.

 

& then there were three.

newborn photography props.

I have been slowly collecting props for newborn photography, and officially have enough to show off. I do like the lifestyle aspect of newborn photography, where the babies are wrapped in their own blankets, in their rooms, with their own stuff, but I want to be able to give both experiences to clients, and etsy pretty much saved the day. Today I did a photo shoot with just props so those of you who want to try to create your own newborn photography can see how to set up and where to get your props. I am also waiting impatiently for a few babies to be born so I can test out my new loot, and this helped give me a little fix.

 

If I were to be setting up for a real shoot with a baby inside my basket, I would try to find a nicely lit, hardwood floor area of the house with neutral colored walls. That's not always going to happen, but you can make the best of any situation. I do have hardwood floors, but my bedroom was just the easiest place to take these photos, as I didn't want to move any furniture, so I just snapped them there. If I were to edit these photos to black and white, they would look amazing even though my walls are a crazy mint color. If you don't have hardwood floors or a neutral carpet, you could also place a blanket under the basket when you do your aerial shots.

The adorable knit hats were purchased from an etsy store called Carolina Hats.



 

I bought this pink furry blanket from Walmart.

 

This rose blanket (and also the furry tan one) came from Leighton Heritage on etsy, I would absolutely buy from there again. The blankets are wonderful. 

 

Both baskets used in these photos came from Michael's, and I had a 50% off coupon so they were super cheap.

 

Both stretch wraps came from MomnPopPhotoProp also on etsy. You can lay the wrap over the naked baby or swaddle them in it.

 



These newborn headbands came from Madison Bows on etsy, super affordable.

 

I purchased this white furry blanket from Amazon. I can't find a good one anywhere, and honestly this one isn't amazing, but it does the trick.

 

 

There is obviously much more that goes into newborn photography if you want to make it look professional. How to set your camera, what lens to use, editing, posing... but you can still shoot some great photos with the right lighting and a kit lens. Once some babies are born I will do a post on posing.

mister, mister.

I had a little engagement/save the date photo shoot with these lovely gentlemen and I have to be honest, the conditions were not ideal. It was the wrong time of the day, the wrong time of year. Sunny and freezing are not excellent conditions when it comes to photography. But we had a deadline, so we made the best of it. We shot for about 27 minutes before the frost bite set in.

 

 

 

 

 

The best time of day for an outdoor photo shoot is in the few hours after sunrise and the few hours before sunset. We had this shoot at one o'clock in the afternoon, breaking every photography for dummies rule imaginable. The sun caused some shadow issues and some fingers were frozen, but despite all of that, I just love these photos.

hugs, kisses & sweet wishes.

I attempted some Valentine's Day photos at my last session, just to see how it would go. Three-year-old Meya handled the whole thing pretty well, but 7-month-old Knox was all about smearing my chalkboard and having a good time. Putting them both together with a prop as easy to ruin as a chalkboard was pretty impossible, but I'm glad we attempted it and love the outcome. It's so easy to turn your photos into cute little valentine's for your family and friends from your sweet little kiddos. With or without props, they can still be really cute and original. I used Photoshop to edit mine, but there are free editing websites out there that allow you to use font in your pictures. Pic Monkey was my go to editing website before I upgraded to Photoshop.

 

Mama put a nice big smooch on Knox's cheek.

mama got a brand new lens.

I finally upgraded from my kit lens and got two prime lenses to play with. 50mm and 24mm, and I love them both. The 50mm is perfect for those blurred backgrounds I adore. Love these cuties I shot on Sunday. There's nothing like photographing kids in their natural habitat.

 

Meya was such a diva! Getting her to smile involved candy bribes, but my favorites of her were when she was just being herself. I love it! We went outside to try to get a shot, and it was a tad windy. The diva handled it though.

 

 

 

happy new year, love gia.

I take pictures of Gia once a month as part of a photo project I am planning for her first birthday present. This is Gia's four month photo shoot. New Year baby themed.