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’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.

It is a privilege every single time that someone recommends me to a friend, and when said friend happens to have a home filled with love, antiques, a brand new BOB, and a visiting grandma who grows her own fruits and veggies, well, that’s a really good day before the first shutter click.

My grandmother used to have a sign in her kitchen that said, “A good hostess is like a swan ~ calm and serene on the surface, and paddling like h*ll underneath.” Being a new mom strikes me as presenting a lot of the same challenges. (Did I mention that this snuggly little bundle is less than two weeks old? Which, for those of you who aren’t into math, means that her mama delivered her less than two weeks ago.) But if this mama is paddling, it doesn’t show. Little Miss Sweetness is a happy, sleepy, thriving newborn whose mama has great timing and a reassuring calm that seems to pervade her home.

S&K, thank you so much for trusting me to capture Little Miss S’s photographic debut. She is simply wonderful. I have so many more, including quite a few in your lovely ivy, but these two just begged to be blogged.

~Beth

As always, please feel free to share these images via email, Facebook, etc. Please leave them as they are, with the watermark intact. They are sized for fast loading on the web and will not make acceptable prints.

This family session at Yates Mill was a blast. From playing keep away with dandelions to protecting The Chair from marauders to sharing stones and shovels, these brothers were happy, cooperative, and a delight to photograph. Mom did a great job of planning casual, fun outfits that suit the family’s style and the surroundings, and the boys really could not have been more helpful as we ventured out on a humid spring morning. Throughout our session, N looked out for his little brother, Z tried hard to keep up with his big brother, and Mom and Dad kept everyone happy and relaxed with a stroller full of snack and shoe options. A special shout out to Dad for toting and defending The Chair.

Thanks so much for choosing me to photograph your family as you get ready to head out on your next adventure. Knowing that these portraits get a spot in a family vehicle instead of in the moving van is probably the ultimate compliment, especially to a photographer who has packed for trips with her own toddler.

As always, these images are sized for digital uses, and you are welcome to copy them for email, Facebook, etc. Please leave the images and watermark intact. They are sized for web use and will not print well.

Two Charming Boys:

Who love their mama:

Walking through the world together:

Last night’s session was one of those that I almost can’t blog because I can’t do justice to how I feel about it. What started as an idea when I saw an N&O article about an Iraq War veteran became a relationship with a whole family as we plotted, planned, rescheduled, and finally created what I hope will be a very special family portrait.

I’ll try to start at the beginning: Operation Coming Home is an alliance of local real estate and home building professionals. Their goal each year is to provide one Triangle Area disabled combat veteran with a new home customized for their needs. When I saw this article in the News and Observer around Veterans’ Day last year, I thought that maybe I’d found the project I’d been looking for — a tangible, practical gift that I could give to a military family that had sacrificed tremendously for our freedom. A quick phone call and a few emails later, and I was in contact with Sgt. Roberts’ family, and we were talking about a making a family portrait. You have to love dealing with local people who are motivated, competent, and have the power to act — literally I spoke to one person at Operation Coming Home, and we were off to the races.

When I first talked to Stan’s wife Crissy on the phone, I knew immediately that we had a lot in common — we are both moms whose #1 goal is trying to do a good job of raising our children (and sometimes we wonder how well we’re doing at it), we both admire our husbands’ work ethic and strength, and we both treasure photographs and the memories that they hold. I was thrilled to learn that she and Stan had been talking about having a family portrait done to hang in their new home, and that they had a special place in mind to do a session.

Before I say anything else about photographing a real, live American hero and his (gorgeous) family, let me say that Operation Coming Home is working on its 2011 home as we speak, and you can find out more, including how to support their efforts, here.

When I came home from this session last night, my husband said, “Didn’t you start planning that at Christmas?” So I checked my calendar. I started thinking about this session around Veterans’ Day of last year. I met with Crissy and Stan around Valentine’s Day, and yesterday we got together to create a family portrait for their new home.

Luckily for me, they have some seriously charming, well behaved children. I could have stayed much longer photographing them just because they are a joy to be around. But in case you’re not local, it’s been HOT this week in North Carolina. Thank you guys so much for welcoming me into your home, for sharing your family’s story and your time with me, and for giving me the opportunity to do something small for your family as a way to say thank you not only for your sacrifice, but for the sacrifices that every American military family makes.

I’m going to wait to show you guys the family shot. I will tell you that I want to shout about Simply Color Lab from the rooftops — they told me today that they’re going to donate a large gallery wrap of your favorite image for your new home. In the mean time, here are a few of my favorites of your model gorgeous children to tide you over until we can sit down and pick out your gallery wrap image.

And the key to getting Crissy to smile when it’s 90 degrees and we’re at the end of our session? Looking at her husband. They are that cute.

Great job figuring out the details on the last Clickin’ Mamas puzzle — there was a large window to the left (as you look at the shot), and that is the only light used for that shot (below in the next post). Points to Devon and Meg, and the race is on : ) The “trick” in operation there was just to trap D in his high chair. Toddlers are notoriously hard to get good face shots of, as they are often engrossed in their activities. Or running away. I like the new ideas, too — cheese + Elmo = D’s attention

Here’s the last set of pics before Tuesday. Definitely feel free to ask questions here or to save them up for Tuesday.

Points for any/all of the following — you can just match the # of the lighting and the letter of the image. Hint: I tried to do at least one decent shot in each of the two spots.

1) overhead lamp
2) window light — used badly
3) direct on-camera flash — the nemesis of good photographs
4) window light — used decently, not to say award-winning (there are two)

Image A

Image B

Image C

Image D

Image E

Somewhat technical notes: I shot all of these today with a Canon 40D (so-called prosumer camera) and a 50 mm 1.4 lens (“normal” and not too expensive), and I tried to stick to settings that would be available on any common camera and lens combo. I shot in manual mode, with the exception of the flash shot.

What’s coming — I have this week’s 52 Project images and even have them processed — will probably double up next week. I have a senior portraits session on Sunday that I’m very excited about, and then a very full week that includes a family session and a trip to Richmond for a wedding.