Natural light + soft sheepskin + sleeping baby = newborn photos. It’s a simple recipe but one that works. I photographed Gabriella when she was just one week old, and she was the sweetest baby that slept so well during the session. I will add it took a little while to get her to sleep which is totally normal and all part of newborn photography – I do have some tips and tricks of course to help. I’m sure she’s grown already since the session but it was my pleasure to photograph her when she was so new and tiny.

See the full set of images in Gabriella’s gallery here which you can view and order from for two weeks. While you’re at it, visit my facebook page and join in on the coversation.

Before I do a full post on Ryan + Christie’s session I wanted to share this image in particular, taken with my lensbaby. If you’re not familiar with cameras you are probably wondering what in the world a lensbaby is… and to find out more you should follow the link. The basics are that the lens moves and allows you to have one point in focus with everything else being dramatically out of focus (I guess you could say it’s like a trick lens…  like when you listen to the song and start to hear robotic voices… that’s what I’ll compare a lensbaby to). Anyways, when I bought my lensbaby I was excited but it took me a while to use it. Since it can create such dramatic images at first I think I didn’t use it because I wasn’t sure it would meld with my style and the other images I captured. I didn’t want robotic voices in the song for the heck of it (and we’ve all heard those songs + seen those images), but after seeing what I captured (from the ones that are in focus – it’s super tricky manual focus) I love how it looks. Now you can expect a few robotic voices, just enough to keep things interesting.

We were determined to make the session happen. After meeting up after the wedding I shot in Rome, NY we drove to our planned location and it immediately started to downpour. We waited it out for around 15 minutes until the rain died down, although it was still a challenge to find the right spot for pictures. After a few tries we found our way to a quite overlook where we could avoid the glances and stares of passerby’s – no one wants a crowd. So finally with no rain, no crowd, and a nice setting this is what I captured, starting with some classic boy + dog images…

this just looks so classic to me! their dog is hilarious and obviously very good with kids.
the Stevensons obviously already have one very cute son, so I can’t wait to see what their daughter looks like!

Diane looks fabulous! Even though it took me a little longer to finish these photos… they weren’t taken that long ago. I want to look this good 4 weeks before having a baby!

I’m glad we were able to meet for this session and I wonder what my chances are at photographing their newborn… too bad I don’t live closer! Either way next time I’ll plan better weather :)

I’m spending a few days in New York for several photography jobs before I head over to Michigan for Kate + Chris’s wedding. This morning I went over to some dandelion strew fields for Eva’s one year old portrait session. With a birthday coming up soon, it was time for some updated photos and I’m sure her family can’t wait to see all of the images! I hadn’t seen her since the newborn photos I shot when she was just a week old, so it was awesome to see  how much she’s grown. Enjoy the preview and check back for the full set soon. (special thanks to the Cool’s for letting me borrow their wagon! I need to stock up on props like this)

UPDATE: So last night I posted the photo below, as a quick edit after downloading the images from the shoot. I looked at it this morning and knew I had to do a few edits to finish the image and wanted to show you the difference. The one above I’m happy with and looks so much better I’m kind of embarrassed I posted the one below but that’s what you get for a late night post. As you can see below the grass was just too blue, and I added a little warmth to make it sunnier. I feel soo much better.

I don’t know about you, but in my family* everyone except me and my brother in law have a birthday in between a one month span… starting Dec. 24 until Jan 25. So, not only is this a busy holiday time, it really is birthday season. It started with my niece’s birthday on the 24th, who is just as adorable as in the picture above. Sitting in her birthday outfit – that I picked out, thanks to target – she was delighted and puzzled at the presents and attention. I can’t believe she’s one already and wish I didn’t have to live so far away from her!

Today we celebrated the next birthday, my mom’s, and after eating the gourmet dinner we cooked up Sarah played several rounds of happy birthday on the piano and we dived in to a lemon chiffon cake (recipe from the cookbook of our famous cousin Jen and her restaurant Hell’s Backbone Grill. Ours didn’t look as good as the picture so I’ll have to call her for tips.) Tonight’s activities ended with a rousing came of scattergories and it was good to be at home. Next up: my husband! His birthday is in mid January and I’ll admit I don’t have much planned as of now. Anyone want to email me some good ideas?

With the holidays the days have blurred together, workouts fell by the wayside, and it’s been a struggle to switch back to work mode. Things have picked up although I’ve enjoyed some nice time off that was much needed after a very busy year. Today I had a great time shooting some engagement photos and have included one below for you. Elizabeth and Jared were so fun to photograph and I can’t wait to come back to Michigan in August. I’m getting ready for my wedding this weekend and am looking forward to finally celebrating New Years with friends in Rochester New York. Lots of plans are being made for next summer, and like many people I heard stories of fabulous engagements over the holidays. If you want to check my schedule and get some more information email me sooner than later so that you have first choice on the date and I can work out the details with you. I can’t wait to complete my 2010 wedding line up and already have some fabulous brides I’m so lucky to be working with!

I squeezed in a holiday mini session with the Drew’s when I was up in Rochester, and I’m so glad I did. I’m just as excited about these photos as I think they are, and Henri is now ranked #2 behind my niece Julia in my cutest baby standings. We headed over to the George Eastman House to use their gardens as our setting, and the color of the leaves was just perfect. I just love how vibrant the red is, it’s festive at any season.

oh, Henri. Can’t wait to see what they use for their Christmas card and all the people lucky enough to receive one better watch out, I’m sure it will be a keeper!

Talk about personality. Norah had tons of it which really showed up in all of the photographs. I met up with Norah and her family in Rochester at Highland park and we went over to the Warner Castle and used their gardens for a great location. It was a crisp fall day and although the leaves weren’t completely turned the bright green and yellow gave us some beautiful color to incorporate. You’ve probably noticed I do like to incorporate color in any setting or situation and use it to my advantage in composing photos. Composing? I’m referring to the composition of the photo -  you know, how you arrange everything within a frame and where you choose to place people, things, and even color… there’s quite a lot of decisions to make when you really break it down. For more on that topic, here’s a little article I found on the basics of composition.

see what I mean? Some of the best shots are the candid moments that happen in between shooting something a little more posed. I love this interaction.

…ending with a classic. It was wonderful to photograph your family and I hope Norah had a great 1st birthday! Family and friends can login in at my proofing site for the full set of photos – enjoy!

This weekend when I was in Michigan for a wedding I also had a great time visiting family. Luckily I’ve been going back about every 3 months which is perfect timing to also take some photos of my adorable niece. The trip was busy, and I almost didn’t get photos in, but I decided to go over and document bathtime. Being an essential part of every child’s life, this was much more photo journalistic in nature but no less creative and fun.

Julia didn’t disappoint and not only had a blast in the tub, but looked adorable every second. Perhaps that’s my unbiased aunt opinion but I’m sticking to it. Her little woodland nymph hairdo is pretty hard to resist… and that’s after 2 haircuts! Not bad for almost 9 months.

It was so fun to see her personality come out and I need to go visit Michigan more often so I don’t miss her growing up – who wants to take me there, any more Michigan weddings need photography?