Fall Photo Specials!!

How about some fall photographs? I know, I know -- it's the middle of summer!  The dog days of August are just beginning.  It's 100 degrees outside.  Your #1 mission is avoiding the back-to-school aisle at Target (trust me, I am too!).  You can't even imagine warm sweaters, crispy leaves, apple picking, and pumpkins when your days are filled with sprinklers, air conditioning, beach trips and kiddie pools.

I get it.

BUT......  I'm so excited to share this beautiful fall season with you.  There are so many gorgeous, colorful, sun-dappled and laughter-filled moments to be created and captured on camera.  Let's do it!

New season, new school year, new backpacks and books... why not some new photos on the walls, too?  Real photos of your kids laughing, smiling, playing together and showing the world their personalities.  You can't get those with a school picture against a tired blue backdrop.

And let's not forget about the family photos for the holiday cards.  I love lights, and when the last delicious rays of autumn sunshine go away, there is nothing more beautiful than those sparkling holiday lights.  Put them in a photograph?  Challenge accepted!

So as a natural light photographer, my autumn days fill right up squeezing in all of those beautiful sessions with the last rays of sunlight and color.  Last fall filled up quickly, and after having to turn a few clients away because of a busy calendar this spring, I want to give you all a heads up to start thinking about your sessions NOW so that we can plan them together and not miss out on capturing these precious fall days that will slip right by.

NOW ANNOUNCING.............  FALL SPECIALS!

Here are some ideas of how THESE sessions and packages can work for YOU:

Package One: This is great for senior photos to get that one shot for the yearbook and a few for your walls, or for your baby's developmental milestones (tummy time, sitting unassisted, walking, first teeth).  Capture them before they're on to their next milestone!

Package Two:  This package is great for the whole family if you want a few fresh updates to your walls and a few stunning images for your holiday cards.  This is also a great package for a maternity session if you'd like to incorporate a big brother/sister and your significant other, giving you a few photos to share and a few photos to hang.

Package Three: I offer stunning canvases that will draw everyone's attention straight to your walls to exclaim, "Wow, what a beautiful family!"  Save the artwork for yourself, or give it as a gift to the grandparents this winter.  Then you can use the print credit towards a few images to frame for your family.

Package Four: This is my favorite package, and it is a great bargain since many families often purchase the CD with all of their images from the session.  This is a great option for those that would like to make photo books with their images from our session together.  Plus it includes print credit, because after all, photographs are nothing if they're only on your computer and not in your hands or on your walls.

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Do you like what you see here?  Are you thinking about it now?  See, it's never too early to plan for your next portrait session.  Tell your friends, tell your family, and then email me at nicoleschwalmphotography@gmail.com to start planning your fall session today!

One more thing!  Let's put our minds together early and head to some great locations -- apple orchards, pumpkin patches, barns, open fields, a woodsy area, a nearby lake that will reflect the foliage, a garden center... the options truly are endless!

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***Please note that these specials are not valid for newborn photos (under 3 months) or event photography.  These are both unique situations and shoots that require a great deal of care and planning, and I like to give them all the attention that they deserve.

***Also, additional family members can be added on to the packages at $25 per person.

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.

Aliya, Adlani & Norah

The leaves may all be gone now after the hurricane and the snowstorm that we just had, but going through this session brought back all those fun colors and crunchy leaves that come to New England each fall.  For such a beautiful season, it is much too short-lived.  This was such a fun shoot -- we scheduled it right in the last week of the full-color season and decided to meet on the quaint town common in Framingham with all of the interesting buildings to lend texture to the photos. The Common was in full color, every inch of space filled with orange and yellow leaves... Amazing color and instant props -- a photographer's dream!  I was greeted coming out of my car by Adlani, Aliya, and Norah.  They were full of energy and excited for our shoot with promises of leaf fights, tree climbing, races, and handstands.  At one point I found my hair being decorated with leaves by the youngest, Norah.  You never know what you're in for with this job!

I really like the next two images... look closely and you'll see the "before" and "after", telling you exactly what it is they're laughing about!

These next two images of Aliya and Norah are a few of my favorites, too.  Love this angle with the leaves and the grass surrounding their smiling faces!

And finally, what would a shoot of mine be without a couple of images that just begged to be in black and white?  :o)  Love Adlani's laughter in this one, and the serious expression on Norah!

Happy Fall, everyone!

Aglow

I'm working on three different galleries right now, but this is one photo that stopped me in my tracks that I absolutely love.  More details and photos coming soon, but I was thrilled to get to photograph nearly six-month old Genevieve this past weekend for a light-filled holiday shoot.  So many favorite shots to go through, but this one in particular is just calling out to me right now. Love everything about this image!  Her hand-knitted hat that was passed down from her mother, this little toes curled around the lights, her wonder struck expression, the cozy sweater against the soft blanket, and the way the lighting is hitting her just so.  It's magical.

More holiday photos coming soon.  Remember, if you're interested in scheduling a holiday shoot, please contact me to schedule it by November 28th. Holiday photos, New Year's photos.... this one actually looks like a good one for St. Lucia Day!

Colin & Alexa

Legos, radio flyer wagons, jumping on the bed, and parents' promises of homemade chocolate chip cookies after the shoot... life for a kid doesn't get much better than that, does it?  ;o)

Colin and Alexa's photo session was a blast and I had so much fun with these two little firecrackers.  They were on the go for the entire session and their parents and I did all we could to keep up with them.  Colin was so excited to show me all his favorite toys and he'd crack himself up with this full-faced grin and a bubbly laugh.  His little sister Alexa just turned one and wanted to do everything her big brother did.  Her favorite activity seemed to be jumping on the bed, and she'd just bounce up and down and fall over laughing.  Such a fun morning!!

We got some great shots in their classic Radio Flyer wagon.

And Alexa was a gorgeous little model with those sparkling eyes of hers.  Love the blurred background and bokeh in this one!

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A few of my fave black & whites from our session...  Truly, some photos just beg to be in black & white!!

This was the family's first time doing a photo shoot outside of the portrait studio at the mall, and they really loved the freedom and flexibility of it.  For all those moms who are thinking about their holiday photos this year - why confine your kids to a 6x10 space where they're out of their element, tired, fussy, and uncomfortable?  And why rush yourself working around someone else's fast-paced schedule?  Portrait sessions at home are so much calmer, usually last 60-90 minutes, and really let the kids be themselves and their personalities shine through.  The photos are much more personal -- they show their real smiles and expressions, their favorite toys and pastimes, and those candid moments of playtime and interaction between siblings that you often cannot capture at an in-and-out chain store. In the end you're not just printing out photographs but creating memories that you'll look back on with a smile many years from now.  After all, isn't that the sign of a true photograph?  One that brings you back to that moment and lets you relive everything about that time?

Contact me to set up a holiday session for your family today!

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