Top 10 Tips for Clients Before their Holiday Mini Session

I’m so excited to be welcoming families to the studio in just a few short weeks for our holiday and Santa sessions. They’re some of my favorite magical moments as a photographer and I love being able to create an atmosphere that is fun and joyful. While there is a lot that falls on me to create that space for the children (and families) that enter my space, there’s a few things that parents can do to help us have a holly jolly good time together during their holiday mini session! Below are my top 10 tips for planning, scheduling, and enjoying your holiday mini session!  

1. Schedule wisely around your children’s nap times.

Timing matters!  Schedule your session for a time when your children will be well-rested.  If your photographer is offering morning sessions, the earlier time slots usually work out best for little ones when they’re still coming off of a good night’s sleep.

2. Fill those bellies up with snacks & a full meal before the session.

Hungy kids are cranky kids, but full bellies will yield lots of smiles and cooperation!  Trust me on this one.  ;o)

3. Keep your phone (and any apps or Youtube videos) hidden during the session.

Mini sessions are short & sweet, and your photographer has a whole arsenal of tricks to capture your child’s attention and get the very best smiles from them.  Pulling out the phone to put on their favorite song or video often leads to more time spent trying to get the phone away from them than actual smiles in front of the camera.  Tell the photographer ahead of time if your child has a favorite song they respond to, and your photographer can cue it up on their phone or on the Alexa in their studio.

4. Coordinate your outfits.

Choose outfits that complement each other without being completely matchy-matchy.  Stick to a cohesive color palette.  For holiday sessions, I am a huge fan of neutrals, deep forest green, gold, silver, navy, a hint of red (but not with Santa because he will be all in red!).  You may even consider unexpected and rich jewel tones for a fresh take on holiday portraits.

5. Try on everyone’s outfits ahead of time.

From shirts and dresses, to tights and shoes.  Try on every piece of clothing and give every accessory a test-run so that your children can be comfortable in them.  Particular “pain points” that I’ve had families experience who have not tried everything on are: sweaters or tulle dresses that are too itchy (put a layer underneath them to protect the skin); baby pants that are too tight on the waist so they cannot sit up comfortably (most common on babies 6-12 months); forgetting to plan for shoes in the dressy portraits (barefoot is fine for holiday pjs).

6. Think ahead for holiday cards.

If you have a certain template that you love, keep in mind the layout of the card when choosing your favorite family portraits for the card.  This is especially important if all of your favorite portraits are horizontal/landscape orientation, but your template is vertical/portrait orientation.  Be flexible, or let your photographer know ahead of time that you mostly want a particular orientation of family portraits.

7. Be prepared.

Arrive a bit early to get everyone settled. Bring snacks, water, and any comfort items for younger kids. Consider packing a change of clothes for little ones in case of spills. Being prepared will help everyone relax and enjoy the experience.

8. Keep it fun.

The most important part of a mini session is to have fun! Keep the mood light and playful. If kids are involved, don’t stress if they’re not posing perfectly—some of the best moments happen when they’re just being themselves. A bit of silliness can result in some truly memorable photos.

9. There is so much more that you can do with these photos than just holiday cards!

Ornaments, framed prints that you display every winter, a keepsake album to look through every year as your children grow, and gifts for family are just a few ideas.  Just remember that the possibilities don’t stop with a 5x7 card.

10. Enjoy the moment.

Finally, remember that this is a time to celebrate your family.  Take a moment to breathe, enjoy the time together, and focus on each other rather than just the camera.  Your love and connection will shine through in the photos, making them even more special and treasured.

I can’t wait to welcome you to the studio! If you still need to book your holiday session, check out all the details here! 

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Photographer's Child Syndrome: Holiday Bloopers with my own kids!

One of the things that photographers who are also parents hear all the time from others is, “Oh, you must have so many amazing photos of your own kids!”  And while I’m lucky that I have been able to capture a lot of great portraits of my little ones over the past 5.5 years, there are also a lot of…. shall we say… bloopers.  

My little angry elf! ;o)

In the photography world, we have a phrase that is shared often among photographers when talking about taking photos of their own children.  We call it “Photographer’s Child Syndrome.”  Let me explain.

It’s a different ballgame when it’s mom behind the camera.  And when your toddler only wants to be held by mom, that means mom can’t get a picture of the toddler because they will just cry until mom picks them up.  Or when your older child enjoys practicing all sorts of silly smiles and knows all of your tricks already that would get a natural smile or laugh, then you’ll only capture weird expressions on his face.  

I wanted to share this blog post today to show the funny (though sometimes exasperating!) side of being a mom & a photographer.  These are my holiday portraits of Grayson and Adelaide.  And while yes, I do have a lot of great pictures of my little ones, I also have these funny moments to look back on. Grayson tried sooooo hard to be patient with his little sister, and the last photo in the collage below makes me laugh every time where he’s like, “Enough already!” and gets up and runs off!

P.S.  You can bet that the crying Santa picture and the crying sibling one made it on our holiday cards this year!

P.P.S.  My sweet girl was literally THE ONLY CHILD ALL DAY to cry at our Santa sessions in the studio.  All because she wanted to be held by me, the photographer.  Not a single other baby or toddler cried.  So, I guess we’re just lucky like that that it was our own little girl!

These next few I actually love, and they made it onto our holiday card this year!

The day Santa came to the studio was a whole fiasco in itself. My kids had their turn with Santa in between our other clients, and after a whole morning of happy little ones (though occasionally nervous, but never fussy!), this was what we got. The chaos of the sibling portion I can only laugh at. But the PURE MAGIC that unfolded between my son and Santa Claus made every single part of the planning and executing of these sessions worth it, times 1000.

Waiting for Santa…

Adelaide spotted him sneaking over, but Grayson still had no idea.

Such a funny moment. Both completely unaware that Santa was standing right behind them.

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When Grayson received his letter from Santa a few days before he came to the studio, the first thing Grayson told me was that we needed to bake cookies for him so that we could give him some cookies when he came to visit. My little baker LOVES helping in the kitchen, and he was thrilled to bake chocolate chip cookies for his favorite jolly fellow.

Adelaide kept her distance the rest of the time we were with Santa. She was mildly curious about painting the nutcrackers with the “magic paint,” but even that couldn’t convince her to step back onto the backdrop where Santa was sitting with her big brother. Grayson, on the other hand, had the time of his life and wore the biggest smile through every second of it!

We did take exactly one photo of Adelaide with Santa at the very end, and it lasted maybe 2 seconds.

Would you believe that ever since Santa visited us, Adelaide shouts “Studio! Studio! Ho ho ho!” every single day, running excitedly over to the studio door and asking to go downstairs to see Santa. Yep, I can’t believe it either! She’s been doing this for about 5 or 6 weeks now, and I don’t see her stopping any time soon.

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I know this blog post is different from our regular posts, and I hope you enjoyed the humor in this little series of outtakes from my sessions with my own children. Click on the heart button or leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

Personal Post: Christmas Portraits of My Two Little Loves!

This year the holiday season feels extra special because we have a baby in the house again! Every year since my son was born has been more and more magical and I truly love watching the holiday season unfold through his eyes, and now we get to do all of those fun holiday traditions with Grayson AND his baby sister, Adelaide.

I was a little late in getting my own children’s holiday photos done (what’s that they say about the cobbler’s children having no shoes? Yeah, same thing for the photographer’s children!) but we finally made it happen and they were so smiley and cheerful. I may have forgotten to plan shoes for my son, and we might have improvised with a super simple wreath for the backdrop, but everything about these portraits leans into my minimalist style of photography and I love the moments we captured of these two for their very first Christmas together.

As I have always believed, this proves that you don’t need much for a great portrait besides beautiful light and connection between the subjects, and not too many props or colors to clutter the background and distract from the people you care about in the photo!

These are some of my favorite sibling portraits of my two little loves this year, and I’m excited to share them on our holiday cards, as prints for the grandparents, and with you on the blog!

We also did a VERY FUN photo series with headshots and holiday ornaments for each child. I absolutely loved this setup, and it was so much fun to create and pull off. Grayson really enjoyed setting it up with me (I love how excited he gets about the photography studio!) and he was eager to see how his portraits turned out. Isn’t this so cute?!

And then Adelaide’s had gold, rose gold, and sparkly pink ornaments. These looked so beautiful with her creamy skin and bright blue eyes, and I loved using a dress and headband from the studio wardrobe!

We’re off to continue celebrating the holiday season and filling each day with a little bit of holiday magic. Thank you for following along on our journey this year and for supporting this small business, and I hope that your family enjoys this beautiful holiday season!

From my family to yours, happy holidays!

2022 Holiday Sessions in Saratoga Springs

Happy holidays!! I’m so excited to share a little sneak peek into our holiday sessions this year. I was so happy to see a lot of repeat families this year, and I love when they visit the studio year after year for their holiday portraits. It’s so much fun watching the kids grow, and this year I loved when the children walked in and asked right away about the toy corner and told me, “I remember this toy! We played with this last time!”. It’s seriously such a special moment for me each time a family comes back to my studio. 

The all white studio is so versatile for these classic holiday portraits, and I keep adding to our furniture collection of chairs, benches, and loveseats with linen upholstery and weathered wood.  Every year I add more trees or greenery, and I love how it all comes together so beautifully and I can mix and match furniture, wreaths, and trees across the setups while still keeping everything classic and minimal with the focus on the family and not too overwhelming with props. This year, I created three different setups. 

The one I was most excited about was a collaboration with a talented local floral designer, Samantha Nass Floral Design.  She absolutely nailed the design with the inspiration photos that I sent her and incorporated the most beautiful greenery, winter stems, and a hint of red flowers.  

I’ve been wanting to do another giant wreath setup.  The last time I did an oversized wreath was in 2017, but since then I’ve refined my studio style and I am in love with flocked evergreens, so a flocked wreath with frosted berries mixed in was just the perfect look for the studio.  This was so much fun for some casual family & sibling portraits, and the perfect spot for fun Christmas pajamas!

I added the ornament wall the day before our sessions began when I saw that we had enough room for one more simple setup.  I love everything in muted neutrals like gold and champagne, and this wound up being a favorite setup for just about every family! I love that I have the flexibility and space to do that for families in the studio. 

Happy holidays! I hope everyone has a cozy year with their loved ones. 

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Tips for successful holiday portrait sessions

Holiday portraits are always a super fun time in the studio, but I know they can feel stressful for families. Everyone wants the perfect smiling photo of their families to send out on the cards or share online, so I get it. That’s why I’m sharing a few tips for successful holiday portrait sessions with you today. Some are way easier than you think! And I want to reassure you: no matter what, we will have a holly jolly time together and I’ll capture gorgeous portraits of your families. As as seasoned photographer (and mom), you can trust that you’re in good hands!

#1: Schedule your session when your children are happiest!

For younger kinds, this is especially important. Think about the time of your day your children are in the best moods, good listeners, and cooperative. Generally that means right after a nap or first thing in the morning. If your kids are older, consider a later appointment if they’re usually in good moods then!

#2: Come dressed and ready to go!

By showing up in the outfits you want the family to wear, we can ensure no time is wasted in the studio. If you’re ready when you arrive, we’ll jump right in! And if you are going to change outfits (like into cute Christmas pajamas), do that last. It’s way easier for everyone to relax near the end instead of changing into something more formal at the end.

#3: Make sure your outfits fit.

We’re all busy - but take the time to try on your outfits the week before your session to make sure everyone fits. Encourage your little ones to wear their outfits for at least half an hour so they’re prepared to wear it in the studio. Make sure tights, shoes, and accessories look good together. This also allows your kids to get used to the feelings of the fabrics. Holiday outfits are often different than every day outfits!

#4: Have snacks beforehand.

This is a super easy tip! Simply make sure your kids have eaten. Full bellies = happy kids! The same goes for babies or big kids, too. Everyone’s less grouchy when they’ve eaten. It never fails!

#5: Don’t underestimate the power of a bribe!

No judgement here! I keep snacks in the studio for kids to have after we finish their portraits, and it's amazing how a package of goldfish crackers or chocolate chip cookies can get them to smile and hug their siblings. Seriously.

#7: Keep your cool!

This one’s for the parents out there. Don't stress if your kids are acting like kids (instead of angels!). I fully expect them to act their age, and I promise I'm clicking the shutter button at just the right moment to capture all of the smiles, cuddles, and laughs. Stay calm and they will feed off of your energy, and everyone will be happy! These holiday portraits should be fun - not a stressful, anxiety ridden experience.

#8: Plan how you are going to enjoy your portraits!

Holiday portraits are about more than just holiday cards, and I know you're not doing this session just to mail out a bunch of 5x7 cards that will hang on your friends' fridges for a month and then get tossed. Plan to print some for an heirloom holiday album that you can pull out year after year. Put a few on the wall, or create a wooden photo keepsake that you can pull out every holiday season to decorate an end table or the mantel. Don’t forget to make copies for the grandparents and share them on social media with your friends!

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Grayson's 2021 Holiday Portraits

You’d think that as a photographer, I’d spend more time getting my son in the studio for portraits than I actually do. It’s hard to balance motherhood and the business some days, but I’m grateful for the memories I make with Grayson every day. He’s a great little studio helper - and was wonderful with me while I setup all of our holiday minis this year. I made sure to capture his holiday portraits, as impromptu as it was, this year.

I’ll be honest: taking photos of a fiercely independent 3.5 year old is much harder than taking portraits of a baby, but it’s so much fun to spend time with my little guy and capture what he’s loving about the season. Grayson was excited to wear his “fancy Christmas photo clothes” and he got to listen to Frosty the Snowman on repeat on Alexa during our session together. Like many parents, I bribed him with snacks from my snack cart - and it worked! Grayson was all smiles and giggles for me. Although it might have been trickier than years past, I’m so pleased with the portraits I captured of my son this holiday season! I hope they bring a smile to your face, too! :o)

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2021 Holiday Portraits in our Saratoga Springs Photography Studio

Holiday portrait sessions are some of my favorite moments to capture in our Saratoga Springs studio! I wait all year long for these days to arrive because they’re always so much fun and filled with joy. This year, I chose to offer three new setups for holiday portraits. We had a white snowflake room, evergreen seamless paper with a loveseat for the family and some flocked trees and a holiday bed. Everyone LOVED getting in the holiday spirit here in the studio.

I welcomed lots of longtime clients and families to the studio over our holiday sessions. It was so great to see everyone again and catch up. I also had the chance to meet plenty of new families too. I’m so excited to have been part of their holiday tradition this year!

Thank you to every family that chose to come celebrate with me this year. Here’s a little sneak peek at some of my favorite holiday moments in the studio this year!!

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Oh, What Fun! A Peek at This Year's Holiday Sessions, Saratoga Springs Family Photographer

This is one of my favorite blog posts that I wait all year to share! The holiday session recap!

Today’s post is FILLED WITH HOLIDAY MAGIC, sharing a peek at some of my favorite images from our Deck the Halls Holiday Event in the studio. This year we held holiday sessions over two weeks in November, welcoming so many beautiful families into our Saratoga Springs studio for their holiday portraits.

This coincided with moving into a new house & studio! We moved in and renovated the studio only two weeks before our first session, and it all came together so beautifully just in time for portraits. Our huge new studio had space for FOUR DIFFERENT SETUPS this year, and I absolutely loved capturing a variety of portraits for all of the families that came to the studio.

We welcomed many repeat families, and I always love seeing them year after year and watching their children grow! Plus a few new families, and even a family that drove 3 hours to get here that I’ve been photographing since 2012!

It was a wonderful event and I truly enjoyed every magical moment! Enjoy a peek at some adorable kiddos and families, and so much holiday cheer!

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Love these classic holiday photos? Pin this image or any from the post above to save for next year!

Sneak Peek of Our Holiday Mini Sessions with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

It was another magical year of holiday mini sessions at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio! I look forward to these Christmas sessions every year. I love seeing the babies & children all dressed up in their holiday plaid, fancy dresses, sweaters, and bowties, and it’s always so much fun watching them cuddle up in their cozy holiday pajamas, too!

Here’s a little peek at some of my favorite portraits from our 2019 holiday sessions. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and as always, a huge thank you to all of the families for trusting me to capture these beautiful memories for their families this winter!

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Inspired by these classic holiday mini session setups? Pin this image or any from the post above!

Merry Christmas from Baby Starr | Grayson's Gingerbread House Smash

A few things I’ve learned as a photographer and now first-time mom this year…

Before having a baby I said that I would have a million photoshoots of Grayson this year. My husband joked throughout the pregnancy that he was putting a limit on how many photos I could take of the baby. One thousand photos… PER DAY. ;o) I remember saving a few ideas last Christmas and thinking I would love to do so many of them next December when our little guy was here.

And then I had a baby. Once I went back to work and started juggling work & a baby, I realized that if I didn’t carve out time for documenting my son’s first year it wouldn’t happen. So I started putting it on the calendar and I am so glad I did! Grayson’s first holiday photo shoot is one of my favorites that I have done with him this year, and I am so excited to share it here on the blog!

Of course it was going to be clean & simple with a very minimalistic look. I adore stripes, and the majority of my closet AND Grayson’s closet is stripes. So Jeff and I picked out this cute red and white striped pajama set for our little guy’s portraits, and I chose a few bottle brush trees for the decor. The gingerbread house was enough to add some color and make it all come together!

Confession: I had never made a gingerbread house before this one! I scoured Pinterest for ideas and found out that they can really get quite intricate. I stayed up late decorating this little house and listening to holiday music with a Christmas candle burning on the counter. It was one of my favorite nights so far this holiday season! Now I think that gingerbread houses are going to have to become a holiday tradition as our son grows and can start adding his own creative confections to the houses!

Grayson loved his little gingerbread house smash — even though there wasn’t much smashing that happened because that icing held everything together like cement! He also loved practicing his new favorite skill — blowing raspberries and making us laugh!

He’s my favorite little elf.

2018 Holiday Sessions

It’s my favorite time of year! The studio has been filled with twinkly lights, Christmas trees, and plaid accents for weeks now, and holiday music has been playing nonstop on the Alexa. Santa gets mentioned at least once every session, a couple of jingle bells have been my go-to trick to get little ones to look at the camera.

That can only mean one thing…

It’s time to share a peek into our 2018 HOLIDAY SESSIONS!

We did sessions in both the Saratoga Springs & Attleboro studios, and so many families joined us for lots of festive portraits. As the years go by I tend to favor simpler backdrops that keep the focus on the family with just a touch of festive cheer. This year we had a bit of a farmhouse touch to our holiday backdrops inspired by some Joanna Gaines decor — boxwood wreaths, plaid throws, a rustic hand painted sign, and a wooden ladder, yes please!

All of the families brought their A-game in CUTENESS! So many Christmas cuddles and lots of adorable smiles!

The More the Merrier! A Peek at our Holiday Sessions | Saratoga Springs and Boston Family Photographer

I love Christmas.  Every year I look forward to the holiday season because it is filled with twinkly lights, delicious aromas, cozy family traditions, and so much festivity everywhere you look. 

That's why our holiday sessions are always some of my favorite sessions of the year here at our studio.  So many families come and visit, and many are families that I have photographed for years, plus there are always a few new families that I'm excited to meet, too!  This year we did holiday portraits with families in Saratoga Springs and in Boston (at our Attleboro studio), and it was so much fun creating a little holiday magic with these babies and children!

Our set-ups were simple & classic this year:

A fluffy red and white bed that was adorable with Christmas pajamas.
And a huge wreath filled with twinkly lights for some family portraits.  

CUTENESS OVERLOAD with these adorable twins!!

A Family Session & a Cake Smash in Downtown Boston

Even though we've moved to Saratoga Springs, I find myself going back to Boston more than just a little bit to visit with clients and capture some beautiful memories for them.  Boston has always had my heart, and I can't even begin to count how many hours I have spent wandering the streets of that city with my camera in hand.  It is such a BEAUTIFUL city that I truly can never get enough of.  Because of that, I still love every chance I get to head downtown for a portrait session, and this one was no exception!  

This family session in Downtown Boston was one of my favorite sessions lately.  We stepped out the family's front door and we were in the heart of Newbury Street, and only one block away from the tree-lined Parkway on Commonwealth Avenue.  This was the perfect backdrop for their family photos, capturing the hustle & bustle as well as the beauty of their neighborhood, and I love the images that we were able to capture together.  These ones here in the park are some of my favorites, especially with their little dog, Bojangles!

After their sun-dappled family photos outside, we went indoors for Brodie's cake smash to celebrate his first birthday.  His parents wanted to tie in their love for Boston with Brodie's dad's Scottish background, so we found the perfect balance of the two: a Make Way for Ducklings cake smash with a plaid Scottish kilt, and a cake from Jennifer Lee's Bakery on Hanover Street in Boston.  

Brodie wasn't quite sure what to think of his cake, which happens sometimes during our cake smashes!  Some babies dig right in, loving the mess and the sweetness, while others are a bit more hesitant and would rather keep their fingers clean.  ;o)  Brodie was a little trooper, and he kept going back for another taste time and time again.  Now that he's had his first few bites of cake, I bet he will love his cake at his party now after sampling frosting for the first time during his smash!! 

JUST A REMINDER TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!  

We're planning stunning holiday sessions this year, and I can't wait to share all of the details with you.  Sign ups for our Limited Edition Holiday Sessions will be released on October 3, and if you subscribe to our newsletter you will have priority access to scheduling your family's session.  Trust me, these are going to be SO GORGEOUS and you don't want to miss this!  Join our newsletter list today!

SESSION DATES:
OCTOBER 29 & 30, ATTLEBORO, MA
NOVEMBER 5 & 6, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY