When I started photographing The Art of Real Life sessions, I didn’t really have a plan for how they would fit into my studio ~ I just loved the idea of documenting families’ lives and wanted to start making photographs asap. The response to these sessions has been really exciting, both from the families who have been kind enough to let me spend a morning as a fly on their walls and from the people who have seen the resulting images.

I’ve had a lot of questions about booking The Art of Real Life sessions, but I wasn’t quite ready to go live with them until recently, and I wanted to do so in a way that would celebrate the little things that can go unnoticed, but that make life worth living. I’m fortunate to spend quite a bit of time around amazing mothers, and they are high on my list of the “things” that enrich my everyday existence in big and small ways.

So, officially introducing The Art of Real Life sessions to A. E. Wiley Photography seems like an especially appropriate way to celebrate Mother’s Day, and to give a meaningful gift to the mothers and grandmothers out there who often find themselves behind the cameras rather than in the pictures of their families.

If you love what a friend calls “the preciousness of real life” and would like to have yours photographed professionally, you can drop your husband a hint in the form of a link to this post or pass along my email address ~ beth@aewileyphotography.com ~ or my phone number (919.624.1633). I’ll be happy to chat with him about the specifics and to reassure him that he can wear whatever he wants in these photographs.

The Details | Mother’s Day Art of Real Life Session Special
2 hours of photography in your Triangle-area home
A custom 8×8 album of your favorite ten images
$485 (regularly $625)

The number of sessions available is limited. All sessions will be scheduled based on mutual availability and must be photographed during 2012. You will receive a gift certificate to present on Mother’s Day and, we are guessing, quite a few points in the thoughtful husband (or son) column.

And because it isn’t a good blog post without some images, a few photographs of The Art of Our Real Life from the past few days:

This session had several of my absolute most favorite things in the world to photograph ~ a six(ish)-month-old, fancy little girl dresses, and a pretty setting with special meaning to the family. In this case, the setting was their home (with my favorite sun room ever) and included antiques that do what antiques do best ~ sit comfortably in their spots, live a life well used, and remind us of the people who gave them to us.

H seemed to know that she was indeed queen of the morning, and she posed perfectly wherever we set her down. It is amazing to me how much babies change and how rapidly, and at the same time how apparent a person’s defining characteristics are even in the earliest photographs. I’m guessing that this sweet baby grows up into a graceful little girl who instinctively sits like a lady, uses proper table manners, and generally makes all of our grandmothers proud.

Little Miss Regal couldn’t have been more cooperative, and I have made a mental note to take her mama shopping with me when/if I ever get my act together to dress my daughter like a girl. Now if I can just talk her dad into putting a name decal on our nursery wall…

Thank you so much for the chance to photograph your happy life.

As always, please feel free to share these images digitally. Please leave them as is, with the watermark intact. They are optimized for the web and will not print acceptably.

It is always a privilege to photograph a tiny little bundle, and I know that this little guy may just be leaping small buildings by his six month session. In the mean time, it was so much fun to spend time with him (and his parents), where he is already surrounded with care, attention, and generations’ worth of handmade things that show just how loved he was even before he arrived.

W is a cooperative little guy ~ he slept through the M-Dogs’ attentions and barks, got photographed with a combination of heirloom and brand new outfits chosen especially for his first portrait session, and is almost certainly going to root for the Blue Devils. So, I may be a little in love.

Given that at a couple of months old he’s been throwing things out of his crib and rolling over (!) for several weeks, I think that he’s earned the nickname Baby Superman.

Here are a few of my favorites…

One of my favorite newborn portraits ever. (I’ll try to snap a shot of W’s canvas that arrived yesterday, too ~ can’t wait to see it on the wall.)

I love those sweet moments between a new mother and her child.

And an adorable outfit made just for Baby Superman.

I love few things as much as I love photographing newborn babies. My preference is for the real life stuff ~ swaddling, soft blankets, and a basket here and there, an heirloom or a favorite book. Little Miss Laid-back was perhaps the most content newborn I’ve ever photographed ~ a little food and a little shhh’ing, and she was good for whatever. Need her to sleep? She was out. Sit in a rocker with her sister? She was cool with that, too. Maybe it was having a relaxed mama and a doting family around, or maybe she just really enjoyed that warm fall air, but she was definitely a go with the flow baby.

One of the best surprises of this session was being greeted by Little Miss L’s big sister in a princess dress that she had chosen herself ~ a carnation pink confection worthy of any dance recital, Disney trip, or tea party in these parts ~ and that was perfect for photographs.

Together and separately, these partners in cute made a really fun morning of photography and soaking up the little girl atmosphere that my home (at least for a few more months) lacks. Not that the basketballs and Wolfpack t-shirts that dominate my decor aren’t cute in their own way, too. But there’s just something about little girls…

From the tiny bundle that “posed” so cooperatively

From the Big Sister outfit that I could not have planned better myself,

To the care that Big Sis showed when she *finally* got to hold her little sister

Thank you for inviting me into your home to photograph such a fun session.

I had a great time yesterday meeting lots of Triangle mamas and their little ones at the first Fit Mama Fest held at the new Stroller Strides storefront space at Cary Towne Center (near Dillard’s). Jen, the owner of Stroller Strides of Raleigh, has done an awesome job transforming the space into a kid- and mama-friendly area for exercise, play, and yesterday’s big event.

If you’re a local mom, be sure to check out the Stroller Strides of Raleigh Facebook page for more information about the workout schedule, Body Back (a new fitness program to help mamas get back into shape months or years after having little ones), and kid-friendly events going on all the time. This organization and its events are one of my best local “finds” since becoming a mom ~ I’ve met lots of people I count as good friends (and co-conspirators as we team up to thwart tantrums in the mall).

Thank you to all of the moms who entered the drawing at my table yesterday. I’m excited to announce that Crystal won the A. E. Wiley Photography portrait session drawing, which includes a session and a matted, signed 8×10 Signature Print. Crystal ~ I just sent you an email with the details and am looking forward to photographing your little ones!

Here is the play by play of D choosing Crystal as our winner!

The entries:

Making his selection:

We have a winner:

Showing off his choice:

Double-checking ~ Reminiscent of Florida in 2000:

I’m still catching up on blogging my sweet, busy, crazy fall of portraits (and weddings). I have known P + J since we were all young, cool, and out after 8 PM on more than one Saturday night each month (quarter). It was such a treat to catch up with their growing family and to photograph sweet M when she was a brand new bundle. (For the mamas-to-be who are reading, one of the keys to great newborn portraits is to schedule them ~ with the date TBA of course ~ before your baby is born so that you don’t miss that two week window when your baby is still sleepy-curly.)

Sibling shots are often one of my favorite parts of newborn sessions ~ I love the challenge of navigating the New Sibling Invasion and the psychological stuff that it can bring (Jonathan and I are both oldest kids, after all), and I find that some of the most tender moments that I get to photograph occur as a big brother or sister is contemplating the newborn that just arrived… to stay.

I have to say that my favorite newborn sib shot of all time is one from this session ~ read on to see the image and the reason why it gets a super superlative.

But first, meet The Divine Miss M

Her fun-loving family

And her delightful big brother

And the shot that made me tear up when I shot it ~ Big Bro S is pretty attached to this blanket, but M was fussy, and he thought that his new baby sister might need it. So, with his parents watching (but with no prompting whatsoever) and me scrambling to get my camera focused without intruding, S offered M his special blue blanket.

Little Miss Curiosity is one of my favorite little people. She is sweet, cute-turning-beautiful, a talker, and most of all a lady of action. When I first met her, she reminded me of a gazelle ~ all legs and growing grace. At our session, she investigated Yates Mill, from the water to the leaves to the decking to the mill to the rocks, very thoroughly during our session this fall. I love photographing children at this age ~ she is just a tiny bit younger than my son ~ partly because it’s the time when their personalities really start to shine, partly because I love the challenge of getting a mix of expressions sans cheese, and mostly because it’s a precious stage where the last little bit of “baby” is giving way to toddler, and portraits offer a chance to hold on to the baby while looking forward to the emerging little person.

One of the coolest things about our planning for this session was that LMC’s parents brought up getting some shots of Mom and Dad in addition to our main focus of capturing some toddling adorable. I try to talk all parents into doing a few of these ~ how easy is it to be caught up in parenthood and to forget that you are married rather than partners in Raising Baby, Inc.? ~ so it was great to know that couple shots were also a priority. The last shot is one that I especially love because it is just fun to photograph a man who adores his wife. For myself, it is a little too easy to get lost in the day-to-day of running a household and a business, and I treasure the reminders that I actually am in love with this other person who lives at my house. The taller one too, not just the little one. Probably T and M have more perspective and don’t need these reminders quite the way that I do, but anyway I like to catch a guy looking like he is the luckiest man around because he found *this* woman and convinced her to marry him. Fortunately M looks like that a fair amount, so I got several opportunities.

As an aside, T has great portrait fashion ~ these are definitely on my 2011 list of best family photograph outfits. Everyone looks comfortable, stylish, like “them,” AND they mesh well with the environment.

So, without further writing from me, here are a few of my favorites from a recent session at Yates Mill (where all of the mill restoration and most of the tornado repairs seem to be complete).

By the time that I sat down at D+R’s kitchen table to plan Mr. Personality’s one year portrait session, I knew that theirs is a family that has its priorities in order. I got to meet several generations within minutes of getting to their house, saw military honors tucked neatly into discreet displays, and noticed that Grandpa’s first year series photographs and an array of other family snapshots were on the walls.

So it wasn’t any surprise, really, that Mr. Personality very cooperatively walked, ran, smiled, giggled, and then smashed a cake in a photogenic way.

I’ll say officially that I’m jealous of the day-to-day that W has with his (doting) grandparents and aunt, and of the fun and easy way that you all have with each other. That kind of love is a treasure, and enjoying it every day is priceless. The love that you have in your home is obvious, and it is a privilege to document it in portraits.

I have to give a quick shout out to D, who planned W’s birthday party, celebrated a b-day of her own, and hosted a baby shower all at the same time that she was the mastermind behind getting great outfits (and the awesome smash cake) together for Mr. Personality’s one year session. It’s a testament to your work beforehand that the session was so much fun to photograph.

And so, for those of you who are scrolling, Mr. Personality’s one year session…

When your mom looks like this

And your dad looks at her like this…

The odds are that you are going to be part of a pretty happy family

Where people cheer your big moments

Enjoy the little moments just being with you

And will always offer a shoulder to lean on

And an introduction to the best things in life

Happy first birthday to a very lucky little cake-faced angel boy.

Well, this is a bittersweet post to be sure. I have known Little Miss Sweetness’s parents for quite a while (again, B, thank you for not being in any classes that I taught), and I have been photographing her since she was born. These are her one year portraits ~ which means that we have the fun of going through a year’s worth of sessions and designing her one year album ahead, but also that I will probably get to photograph her a little less frequently now that she is a big girl. Which I’m a bit bummed about ~ not the big girl part, but the less frequently part.

Maybe the most fun in doing baby’s first year plans, to me, is getting to watch what changes and what is constant. Babies hit the developmental milestones in a blur, going from wrinkly newborns to sitting up to walking so fast that it is hard to catch a breath. But it never ceases to amaze me that so many of their facial expressions remain constant even as their baby faces give way to toddler faces. (And if you want to speed that transition up, get them a hair cut. Unbelievable.)

So, I know that Little Miss Sweetness’s mama is waiting to see a sneak peek, and you guys were so patient to handle not one but two hurricane-induced reschedulings. Here is a little glimpse into LMS’s one year portraits, complete with a little look back.

Little Miss Sweetness was a beauty when she was teensy

With a name full of meaning

Who grew into a china doll and posed perfectly for one of my all-time favorite portraits

And is now a gorgeous little girl who knows where her toes are, loves “Twinkle Twinkle” and still has parents who seem to kind of like her

I had the best time photographing this family. A local group of photographers that I’m part of got together to play with off-camera flash in an urban setting ~ two things that I don’t often get to combine in my sessions ~ to create portraits for this family. I always gravitate to the kids, and these two were completely adorable. Very engaging, cooperative, and totally entertaining to chat with… They were pretty much my ideal subjects. Mom and Dad were very fun to photograph, too!

Thanks, Z Family, for making this such a great session and for giving me the opportunity to make some family portraits in downtown Raleigh. I know that you braved some bugs and debris, so hopefully the final product makes it worthwhile!

As always, you are welcome to copy and share these images via email and Facebook. Please leave the studio logo intact. They are sized for fast loading on the web and will not make acceptable prints.

When we first arrived, the sun was filtering through the clouds and hanging low in the sky, so I waited a bit on the flash so that I could photograph this…

I love what a hint of flash can do to open up a portrait as the sun is setting…

Or to allow me to shoot basically in the dark with a gravel path or a bumper crop of weeds for a backdrop…

Because you never know when adorable is going to turn a bit ornery and need its picture taken.