charlotte-family-photographer | Fall Mini Sessions

Family portrait sessions are always a fun change of pace for me and of course fall is the busiest time of the year for family portraits. It's also come to my attention though that fall is a crazy busy time for newborns as well - I don't know what was going on 8 or 9 months ago but man have I been fielding newborn calls left and right lately. How can I pass up the opportunity to photograph in the gorgeous colors we always have around Charlotte and Harrisburg though, so I knew I had to come up with a plan to squeeze some family photo sessions in during October. 

This year has been an extra crazy time for me personally as we are in the process of moving into our new home and my new studio space. Since we weren't quite sure of how that was all going to go down I decided to offer a weekend of mini sessions for my fall family bookings and I have to say I think it worked out great! Despite the fact that we got rained out one day and had to push into the next weekend I managed to photograph a bunch of families and get them all turned around prior to our move - no delayed Holiday Cards for my clients!!!

I am so blessed so have great clients that trust me year after year with these precious memories! Here's a quick peek at some of the great families, both new and return:),  that I got to create portraits with this year!

charlotte-newborn-photographer | baby r is here!

This little guy was so sound asleep when his parents walked into my studio that I popped him right out of his carseat and straight into shooting. I don't think I saw his eyes for the first 90 minutes that I had him posed!

He was absolute perfection from start to finish. I almost swooned every time I looked at the back of my camera - especially during the family portion of our shoot. It never ceases to amaze me how you can make the love between parents and their baby come to life in a still image. 

To the R family - I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed being in my studio as much as I enjoyed photographing you! Thank you so much for trusting me with your sweet little man and I hope that you treasure this amazing images of your new family for many generations to come!

If you are interested in booking a maternity, newborn, baby or family shoot in and around the Charlotte, Harrisburg or Concord NC areas please contact me for more information!

charlotte-newborn-photography | little miss b makes her debut!

I loved loved loved this little munchkin!!! She was so precious and her little face was just divine! We even managed to get big brother in on a few shots and up the cuteness factor into overload! Seriously, this family was just gorgeous all together and I could feel the absolute adoration that both mom and dad felt when they held that sweet little miss and just took a moment to breath her in. Congratulations on your sweet baby girl and may you all be blessed with in joy and love!!!

charlotte-newborn-photographer-baby safety and compositing

One of the first things I always go over with my newborn parents are my rules for safety. Every baby's comfort and safety are my top priorities in a shoot - as it should be. 

With a bazillion options in newborn and baby photographers, not just here in Charlotte, but everywhere across North Carolina and around the country, I think it's so important to know that the photographer you choose for your session understands all of the aspects of how to keep your precious little one safe while achieving those perfect shots. It requires an understanding of newborn and baby development and physiology as well as an expertise in the use of editing software. There are so many people advertising as newborn photographers that it's easy to forget that many of them may not understand all of the things that go into keeping a newborn safe during a session.

There are two main areas of safety concern when it comes to photographing babies for me; one when they are placed on my large shooting bag which is about 3 1/2' wide and second when they are placed in any prop (basket, bin, bucket, moon, etc.) 

I generally shoot newborns with a 35mm lens when I am working. This allows me to be within arms reach of baby at all times after I have perfected a pose on my beanbag and if baby starts to stir it's simply a matter of placing my hands on them to make sure that they continue to be stable and safe from going anywhere. If for any reason I have to step away from my bag to grab an item I always have mom or dad step in to replace me and keep a hand on baby. While they seem small and you can't imagine them moving that much, newborns can be surprisingly strong with their legs and can very much move themselves forward by "frogging" or pushing their feet behind them into the surface and scooting forward. The other time I ask parents to help me with newborns on the bag is when I have them positioned so that they are facing forward with their head supported by their arms or wrists. Those heads are wobbly and I would never expect a baby to be able to maintain that position without gentle support or else they could easily flop to the side. Photoshop allows me to remove helpers hands and arms in editing.

Here Mom is holding baby's head from behind with her fingers applying very gentle support at the back of the head. Prior to this shot I had her holding baby's forehead as well and asked her to move that arm up out of the frame for 3 seconds and then replace it. The final image is below.

These same rules apply when baby is in a prop of any kind as well as a few other basic rules for safety. Generally mom or dad is sitting directly to the side with a hand on baby the whole time. I also will only attempt prop shots when baby is in a nice deep sleep. Babies that are awake or fussy can easily throw their arms and feet out causing props to become unbalanced. I add weights to the bottom of all of my props regardless and make sure never to put baby in anything that has sharp or rough edges. 

As you can see, these rules should extend all the way up to older babies and toddlers. Many babies celebrating their 6 month and 12 month milestone sessions still require support and close adult supervision in order to feel safe, stable and comfortable.

So while you will obviously have lots of decisions to make when it comes to choosing a photographer for your newborn or baby, I think one of the most important is how they will safely handle your little one when working to get you those perfect moments. As a mother myself, more than style, price or anything else, that would be the most important thing you could know!

charlotte-family-photographer-family m at the farm

I had the awesome opportunity to photography this family at their family farm, just a ways north of Charlotte here in North Carolina and let me tell you it was ahhhhmaaaaaaazing!!!

My hubs works with Steph and has been telling me for months how terrific she is. Uhhhhmmmm yeah, he's right she's pretty great:) - and I couldn't believe it when she told me that she didn't have a family portrait with their son Luke!!!! 

My whole family took the trip to Slippery Rock Farms and we got to ride through the pastures and fields down to this very special spot by the creek. As my kids and hubby played and had a ball I spent some time getting to know these guys and capturing their fantastic family connection. And the best part is we got to do it all in a setting that was not only gorgeous but has very personal meaning to them. 

Stephanie - you are a wonder woman and I am so thrilled to have gotten to know you. Thanks for letting me share an afternoon with you all - I hope that the images we got will become a part of your family's treasured heritage!