Fall Portrait Session at Cushing Park in Framingham

Some of the best families to work with are the ones that just LOVE documenting their family's life. These are the families that see the value in capturing their love, their growth, and their memories every year.  They understand that childhood is fleeting, and that the curiosity, the magic, and the wonder is something that should be cherished.  They realize that you have to let the kids be little, because before long they'll be grown and may not smile for your camera.  They know that snuggles, laughter, and hugs are the best memories, and they enjoy reliving those moments by placing them prominently on their walls to bring a smile to their face every single day.

The S family has come to me for three sessions in two years, and I just love visiting them and seeing their walls filled with the memories that we created together during their sessions.  This latest session was pure magic, a beautiful fall family session at Cushing Park in Framingham, MA.  The light was sparkling, little Stephen's curiosity was at its peak, and we had such a playful afternoon together.

Enjoy your beautiful memories!

The little scientist is hard at work observing and classifying pinecones in the "enchanted forest" that we wandered into during our session.  When a cluster of pine trees becomes a forest, and when pinecones are the most fascinating thing you've encountered... that is when childhood is magical.I just love this playful photo of Stephen & his dad, a piggy back ride with a great loud monster's "ROAR" right as I clicked the shutter.  

Thank you for such a wonderful session!  I look forward to capturing many more memories with your beautiful family.

Looking for tips to rock your family's portrait session?  Check out our 6 tips for an amazing session with babies and young children here!

Coming Home {Newborn Portraits}

It takes a village to raise a child."

A little while back I was contacted about the idea of a gift session for a beautiful family who had just adopted their youngest son and brought him home from Florida.  So many families came together to give this precious gift to them.  And then listening to the story of their adoption journey while seeing that little baby in their arms -- it really does make it plain to see that this little boy found his way home to his family.

Jase Leo

May 5, 2013,  3:10pm

7 pounds, 13 ounces

There's a funny story behind the top B&W photo up above.  What do you do when a newborn is just not that tired anymore and doesn't feel like being out of his mother's arms?  Well, if you have such an amazing mother as Jase's mom, the mother volunteers to jump underneath the backdrop and be his cushion.  We put Jase on her backdrop-covered chest, and her heartbeat and breathing calmed him right down.  I had seen something like this on a comical Pinterest board once, and I couldn't believe that here we were getting to do the same thing!  New strategy -- check!!

These ones of little Jase curled up with his proud big brother Ross are just so sweet.  :o)

Congratulations to Jase's family.  Your little bundle of joy was certainly worth the wait!

Ryan's 1st Birthday Cake Smash

This is my new FAVORITE type of session!  I'm so excited about all the opportunities that will come from this first birthday cake smash. I've been wanting to get into cake smashes for awhile, and when Kristi contacted me to schedule her little boy Ryan's 1st birthday cake smash, I was thrilled.  We exchanged so many emails before the session, planning it right down to the colors so that everything would coordinate with Ryan's little birthday outfit.  Check out his cute tie, hat, and diaper cover from Etsy!  I made the ribbon streamer backdrop to match!

We met at Hanson's Farm in Framingham, a gorgeous location that was very special to the family.  I happen to have an affinity for farms and barns, so I was in love with this location for our shoot!

After our gorgeous family pics....... out came the cake!  Kristi ordered the cake from the talented Jacqui over at Cakes by J & J in Framingham, MA.  Jacqui and I are now partnering up for future cake smashes and events!  So thrilled at this networking opportunity!

Ryan was all over this cake.  At first he was a little hesitant, but once he realized that you could eat it... wow, he went wild!

Ryan was absolutely adorable!  He really got into it, and Kristi and I were just laughing so hard watching him.  When your own two hands aren't enough, what's a boy to do?  Use his foot to hold the cake in place!  Limbs were flailing everywhere -- so sweet!

I loved capturing his amusement and wonder on camera.   :)

Just wait till you see what we did for Ryan's AFTER the cake smash portion of the session... check back tomorrow for more!  You're going to LOVE this!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Ryan!

This cake smash was so much fun.  I can't wait to schedule a few more!  There are so many creative options that we can do with this type of shoot -- what would YOU like to do for your child's first birthday cake smash?  The possibilities are truly endless.  Let's chat!

A Barefoot Afternoon

As many of you know, I'm a first grade teacher in my day job and I do photography on the side.   (Although "on the side" is quickly becoming much more than that as it fills up all of my time outside of work!)   The photography is a wonderful creative outlet and it's something that really keeps me going when I know I have a shoot or some editing to look forward to. It's very rare that my two roles overlap, although there are a few times when they do cross paths, and I love it!  I had that opportunity with this sweet little family last week.  Mahalia started first grade with me almost three years ago, and her family won a session with me at a school fundraiser.  I was thrilled to be able to capture them on camera and see them outside of the school setting for some photographic story-telling.

We met for our mini-session at Cushing Park, and it did not disappoint with options for backgrounds to frame this beautiful family!  Mahalia immediately took to being my photographer's assistant and started scoping out locations.  Later in the session she even took hold of my camera and shot a beautiful picture of her parents, below.

My favorite thing about this sweet family?  Well, there were so many things!  The love between the three of them, the way that Mahalia just brought them all together, their vibrant energy and fun-loving spirits... But my all-time favorite was that the minute we got there, both Mahalia and her mom took their shoes off and did most of the session barefoot.  THAT is just my kind of casual on-the-go session!  The mother later told me that she always wanted to run around barefoot as a kid, so this was quite fitting.  :o)

And, as I promised in the sneak peek of this photo on my Facebook page, here's the story behind this gorgeous shot:

Mahalia has had these two teddy bears her entire life.  The yellow one was bought for her before she was born, and the blue one she received when she was very young.  I actually remember her writing stories about these bears when she was in first grade, and I'm pretty sure they made their way into the teddy bear journal that she brought home when she was six.  She really wanted a shot with the bears, and it just came out so soft and precious.

Her mom's reaction to seeing this photo was the best:  "These photos are absolutely amazing.   Mahalia with her lil' teddy bears gives me happy tears.  Thank you so much."  I love being able to put smiles on their faces and evoke happy tears in the families that I work with!  That right there is the best review a photographer can get -- it means I captured the moment and told the story through the lens of my camera.

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Considering a location for your next session with me?  Take a second look at Cushing Park on Dudley Road in Framingham!  It's absolutely gorgeous year-round, and my photographer's eye can spot out the best locations to make your family's photos really POP! and come to life.