A lavender and cream newborn session for Baby Ingrid

Meet Baby Ingrid.

Don’t you just love her name? This is the first Ingrid I have photographed, and she was absolute perfection. We used a mix of blush and lavender in her portraits with dainty little headbands for a soft and feminine touch. She slept like a dream and was so adorable, and we even captured some beautiful wide-awake portraits, too!

This pose in dad’s hands is always parent favorite. She looks so tiny in his strong hands!

I especially loved watching Oliver settling into his new role as big brother. I photographed his newborn session a year and a half ago, and now he’s so grown! Just look at his cute little smile!

Capturing family portraits with toddler siblings is always unpredictable, but I absolutely love the cute little expressions, the curiosity, and the excitement that always shines at this age when the toddlers are with the new baby!

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A simple white and floral cake smash for Baby Isla

Now that is the face of a baby who loves her birthday cake!!!

We chose a simple theme for Isla’s cake smash with white balloons, twinkle lights, and a hint of blush florals and greenery. This let her really stand out in her perfectly adorable blush pink romper!

I’m going to tell you a secret. Isla didn’t really love the idea of a cake smash the first time we tried to do her portraits. We had finished up her family portraits in the park and headed back to the studio for her cake smash, and like many of the post-quarantine babies, she had a little heightened stranger anxiety and was a bit nervous in the studio. After pulling out all the stops and doing all of my usual tricks to help her feel comfortable, it just wasn’t her day so we decided to reschedule and try again a few days later.

And wow, am I glad we did! Just look at her huge smiles! Isla was so happy on the second day and she did amazing with her cake. We captured so many adorable smiles and laughs, and she really had so much fun.

Sometimes that’s all it takes — hitting the pause button, working around the baby’s mood, and trying again later. No big deal!

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Older Newborn Portraits with Twins Lillian and Liam

What do you get when nearly 3 month old twins come to the studio for their newborn session? SMILES LIKE THIS!!!

I am absolutely obsessed with older newborn sessions now that we have had so many post-quarantine. I love that we’re still able to capture beautiful portraits of these babies while they are still tiny and new, even if they are a little older than the traditional 2-week old newborn session.

Lillian and Liam were such a joy in the studio, and I loved seeing these twins interact with each other (and with the camera!) during their older newborn session. You just don’t get expressions and eye contact like this with a baby who is only a few days old!

These babies spent the entire session switching off between who was awake and who was asleep. It made for some very engaging portraits! I especially loved these ones of them cuddled up in their parents arms. Plus, aren’t the parents’ outfits perfect? So beautiful and classic.

This mama is Super Mama! Her heart has grown to fit these two babies, and the love just shines in her expression!

Their nursery has a star and moon theme, and you know I love anything with gold stars in it! I really enjoyed creating this magical “twinkle twinkle little star” setup for the twins. And my new star headband from Polka Dot Poppy was perfect for Lillian!

The twins’ mama really wanted a blush & blue setup, so we made a sweet little heart for her babies. This was one of the family’s favorite portraits at their ordering appointment!

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An Older Newborn Session for a Sweet Baby Girl

Tess was born in the spring when everything was closed due to covid, so we did an older newborn session for this sweet girl and I absolutely fell in love with photographing older newborns. Traditionally, newborn photographers try and do their newborn sessions in the first 2-3 weeks after the baby is born because that is when they are tiny and new, sleepy and easy to pose. But after seeing so many older babies in the studio this summer, I am excited about welcoming older babies into the studio who missed that window in the first two weeks. Because seriously, photos like this don’t happen with a 10 day old baby! Just look at that eye contact!

Tess’s mama wore a beautiful mauve gown from our studio’s Mama Wardrobe, and it perfectly complemented the mauve colors we chose for Tess’s portraits.

We also chose lavender and sage green to coordinate with the colors in the baby’s nursery. These are going to look so amazing on the walls!

A newborn baby’s body at 10 days old is so different from an infant’s body at 3 months old. The way they can hold their heads, how flexible they are, how much you can help them curl up into those cute little poses. It all changes as they start to grow, put on weight, gain muscles, and solidify their bone structure. That is why it is sooooo important to hire a newborn photographer who is comfortable posing babies and is trained in newborn safety to take good care of your little one. Read more about newborn safety in your portrait session here on the blog.

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An Ice Cream Cone Cake Smash for Ella's First Birthday

The first solid food Ella ever tried was ice cream, so naturally we chose an ice cream cone theme for her cake smash session! This sweet girl’s first birthday portraits were delayed due to covid closures, but we got her in the studio as soon as we could to celebrate the start of the toddler years. This little cutie pie LOVED the camera, and I can’t get over how adorable her little pigtails are!

Ella dug right into her cake, and kept looking at her big brother and sister to see if they were going to sneak in there for a bite! We let them join in at the end, and it was so cute watching the three of them together enjoying the birthday girl’s cake.

Her little dress was from our studio wardrobe. Isn’t it the perfect color on her?

All of our cake smash sessions begin with family portraits, and in the warmer months we’re lucky enough to head outside to nearby parks for family photos! We captured a good mix of portraits of the whole family, letting each child’s personality shine. These are going to look amazing on a new gallery wall above their sofa!

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Maternity Portraits in our Classic Studio Gowns

I know one mama who is excited to see her maternity session blog post! This sweet mama-to-be is due in September, and she was absolutely radiant for her maternity portrait session. We started with studio portraits in our Saratoga Springs portrait studio, and Genna selected a few of her favorite gowns from our Mama Wardrobe. I especially love the boho lace off-the-shoulder gown on her! Doesn’t she look like a goddess???

Genna was excited to show off that gorgeous baby bump with some bare bump photos, too! An oversize shirt was the perfect accessory. Wondering what else looks good in bare bump photos? Cozy cardigans, lace kimono tops, swimsuit coverups, and bathrobes!

Next up were sunset portraits at the Hall of Springs with their puppy! I loved doing a mix of indoor and outdoor portraits for their maternity session, and the outdoor portraits were the perfect opportunity for their fur baby to join us.

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A Tea Party Cake Smash for Mia's First Birthday

Oh, baby! Look how you’ve grown! The last time I saw Mia was for her tummy time milestone session, and now she’s ONE and back at our Saratoga Springs studio for a cake smash!

We wanted her first birthday portraits to complement her milestone portraits, so we used similar greenery and mauve peonies with twinkle lights for this adorable little birthday girl. We did a subtle “tea for one” tea party theme with a little ceramic tea set and a cake topper. Mia looked absolutely adorable in her fluffy white tutu, tying it all together for a perfectly whimsical and feminine look!

Such a beautiful baby! Look at those big eyes and how they just light up!

Mia dug right into her cake and really enjoyed smashing it! She especially loved using her spoon to bang on the cake stand and feed herself!

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Classic Cape Cod Portraits in Downtown Chatham

What a summer! I have been loving all of our time on the Cape this summer, and especially all of these beautiful family portrait sessions! Last summer this family of three met me at the beach, and this year we decided to do their portraits in downtown Chatham for a change of scenery.

We met up early in the morning before the sidewalks were busy, and we had the streets all to ourselves! Two year old Rosie LOVED the attention, and she was seriously adorable with her classic vintage-style dresses and bows!

One of my favorite family portraits from their session! The colorful awnings and flower boxes on the shops in Chatham are the perfect backdrop for family portraits.

These hydrangea bushes are so classically Cape Cod, and I loved how they coordinated with Rosie’s gingham dress! She borrowed one of the little flags decorating the sidewalk and couldn’t stop waving it around!

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A Georgia Peach Cake Smash and Family Portraits on a Porch Swing

Wondering how to choose a theme for your baby’s cake smash photo shoot? While we have a whole blog post filled with tips that you should check out, the first thing I always recommend to families is that you look at your baby and your family and find something meaningful or symbolic to you. That’s what we did with this session!

Meet Baby Georgia. Her cake smash theme was GEORGIA PEACH, and it was perfect for this August baby who was born in peach season!

We started talking about a cake smash theme for this sweet girl during her newborn session last summer, and when her first birthday rolled around we knew that we simply had to do a peach theme for their little girl!

We chose to do it in a similar style to the greenery and florals that I so often do in my studio sessions — all white, simple, whimsical, and classic. It came together so beautifully! I added a “Sweet as a Peach” cutout in the background and it tied everything together perfectly. The best part? Georgia LOVED playing with the peaches in the setup, and she looked so sweet in her peach romper!

But truly my FAVORITE part of this entire session was the beginning. We met at the family’s house for family portraits on the front porch. The same front porch where we did their lifestyle newborn portraits. It was incredible to see this family one year later in the exact same spot with their little girl, one year stronger, one year more connected, one year happier.

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Pretty Mauve Flowers for a Studio Newborn Session

Little Anaís is our newest Baby Plan member, and I loved welcoming her family into our Saratoga Springs portrait studio for her newborn session! We incorporated mauve florals and soft greenery to coordinate with her nursery, and I just love how it all came together for this sweet baby girl. Plus, this new mauve headband from my favorite boutique coordinated perfectly!

I always love wrapping the babies up so that we can see their tiny arms and legs, and Anaís looked so beautiful in this peach wrap against our white blanket. All of these headbands are also from Polka Dot Poppy, which is where I’ve been buying our studio headbands for years! They are all handmade, and I love how the designer incorporates such dainty details and beautiful colors into each one!

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Luci's Pastel Balloon Cake Smash

When it’s your birthday, why not go all in? Luci went face first into the cake, and it was priceless!

We celebrated Luci’s first birthday with a simple pastel themed cake smash. A balloon garland, confetti, and ONE letters came together for a minimalist look to make this sweet birthday girl the star of the show. Plus, her tutu matched the decor perfectly — I love it when it all comes together like that! Doesn’t she look like a real life Cabbage Patch Doll???

We captured family portraits with the birthday girl, just like we do for all of our cake smash sessions. In the warm weather I love heading outdoors to a park just a few miles from the studio. It was the perfect location to let these sisters cuddle, giggle, and just be all-around adorable together!

Those two bottom teeth peeking out just kill me! One of the things I love most about photographing the baby stage is showing the babies in transition — with just a few teeth in a gummy mouth, their first curl, those cute leg rolls that will disappear once they start walking, or the most adorable finger and elbow dimples. All of these details are classically BABY, and they are details you’ll want to remember long after they are gone.

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A Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Cake Smash for Carter

Another Baby Planner celebrated his first birthday with a cake smash at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio! I loved celebrating Carter’s first year with his family, and it’s hard to believe that this sweet boy is already ONE! Actually, he’s one and then some — we had to postpone a few times due to covid, but it was definitely worth the wait to capture these adorable portraits!

We planned a timeless and neutral Twinkle Twinkle Little Star cake smash theme for the birthday boy, using all cream and gold in the decor. It really makes Carter pop as the star of the show, don’t you think?

Read more about my obsession with neutral colors in the studio here!

Carter wore the cutest outfit with shorts & suspenders, and I love how classic it looked with the setup. These portraits are going to be timeless 20 years from now, and they will never go out of style!

He dug right into his cake and he really smashed it! The wooden spoon was a big hit and kept him busy!

We finished Carter’s session with a bathtub splash in our white clawfoot tub. Carter loved his bubble bath, and this cute photo of him singing (below) will be hanging on the wall in his family’s bathroom to make them smile every day.

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A Secret Garden Theme Cake Smash

Sweet little Kinsley is our latest Baby Planner to celebrate her first year with a cake smash! I’ve loved watching this adorable baby girl grow this year, from a tiny one-day old baby in the hospital to a spunky 1-year old who loves running around with her big brother’s monster trucks, it’s always such a joy watching these little ones grow as we capture all of their milestones in the first year.

We planned a Secret Garden theme cake smash at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio, and the lavender backdrop, beautiful greenery and peonies, and window frame as a garden gate came together perfectly for this sweet session. Add in the cutest little baby and a rose gold outfit, and it was all too cute!

Click here to see big brother’s cake smash from 2018!

Kinsley was hesitant about her cake, but before long she was covered in frosting! Her big brother helped her dig in, and then she was 100% all about it!

Looooove that cute little smile!

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The Cutest Newborn Session with a Dragon and a Smile

When this family told me that their second baby boy had arrived, I did a little happy dance in my studio! I captured portraits for them throughout their oldest son’s first year, so of course we got to know each other during that time while documenting their first year as parents. Their oldest son, Jackson, was always such a joy and I loved the variety that we captured for him with his milestone sessions & cake smash session. I was so happy to hear that they had welcomed another little baby into their family, and especially excited to watch Jackson as a big brother with his new little sibling!

Welcome to the world, Xander Draco!

His middle name means “dragon,” so we used that for a few adorable set-ups and I love how they came out! Keep scrolling to see!

Seriously with this big brother pose?!?! I just adore this portrait, and I still can’t believe that Jackson did so well with his baby brother. He isn’t even two yet, and he did better than some of my 2 and 3 year olds! This is one of our safest poses that we do with toddler siblings. Read more about why hiring a newborn photographer who focuses on safety should be at the top of your list!

Love these snuggly family portraits!

The dragon portraits that you’ve been waiting for! I found this cute little felted dragon on Etsy, and it was perfect for Xander’s portraits! I love how it popped with the blue.

His parents brought this little hat & tail, and we combined it with the felted dragon for a burst of color against our neutral backdrop.

We finished Xander’s newborn session with some more neutrals, always a staple in my studio! Love these? Check out a few of our favorite newborn sessions from 2019 here on the blog!

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Studio Newborn Portraits for Baby Boy & Big Sister

When this sweet family reached out to plan their older newborn session, I knew we were going to capture the most adorable awake portraits of their sweet baby boy with his big sister. What I didn’t expect was how little Matteo would absolutely blow me away with his many expressions! He melted my heart, and I loved capturing his portraits.

So many families have had to delay their newborn portraits due to the closures during covid, but there are actually so many advantages to working with an older newborn for their first photo session. Matteo was a perfect example by giving us a mix of relaxed alert time, and also some deep sleep that allowed for easy posing and those classic sleepy newborn photos.

We chose lots of neutrals and blues to match this family’s decor at home, and these portraits are going to look amazing up on their walls for them to enjoy every day!

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Outdoor Family Portraits in Saratoga Springs with a One Year Old

Can we talk about how adorable this family is?!?!

We celebrate Henri’s first year with family portraits at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, and it was so much fun to see how much this sweet boy had grown since his winter milestone session. He is full of personality & big smiles, and he loves walking all over the place! We truly had a blast as we spent the evening laughing and talking, and capturing the most beautiful memories for this family to enjoy on the walls of their home.

Standing up like a big boy! One of the things I miss most from when my toddler was a baby are those chunky baby legs, so we made sure to choose an outfit for Henri that would emphasize those cute baby rolls that will only be there for a little while.

I love that we captured so many portraits that show his tiny front teeth! Soon he’ll have a mouth full of teeth, but for now it’s just those little ones in the front peeking through. So adorable!

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Maternity Portrait Session at SPAC with Saratoga Springs Maternity & Newborn Photographer

With everything reopening in New York, we were able to capture this mama-to-be’s maternity portraits just days before her sweet little girl arrived! I absolutely loved meeting these excited new parents at SPAC in Saratoga Springs for their maternity portrait session. This little corner of Spa State Park is one of my favorite spots for portrait sessions because there is so much variety within walking distance, plus it is absolutely gorgeous at almost any time of day!

I swear this mama has Beyonce hair here! The wind was blowing just perfectly, and she looks like a goddess! She wore dresses from our studio’s Mama Wardrobe, and they fit her perfectly.

This mama is one of the essential workers who worked tirelessly during the covid pandemic to keep everybody safe. We had to document this extra special pregnancy, and her white coat & mask were the perfect way to do that!

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Product Feature: A Real Family's Heirloom Album

This family’s heirloom album was ready at the same time my peony bushes were in bloom, so of course we had to do a little photo shoot for the album!

Our Heirloom Albums are one of my favorite products that we can create from your family’s portrait session. We take all of your favorite images and weave them together to tell your family’s story. This 10x10 hardcover book is meant to be enjoyed by you and your kids. The pages are ultra thick and easy for little hands to turn. The portraits are vibrant with a protective coating on top that protects them from fingerprints and UV damage. And the linen covers hold up to dirt and fingerprints!

We have a stack of these albums for our family and Grayson looks through them ALL THE TIME. Seriously. All the time. It’s one of his favorite activities and it holds his attention like very few of his toys do.

Today, enjoy a peek at this gorgeous linen album!

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An Outdoor Milestone Session in Congress Park - Saratoga Springs

Elliana is one of our Baby Planners, and she rocked her second milestone session! The last time I saw this sweet girl was for a tummy time milestone session, and now she’s sitting & crawling! We opted for an outdoor portrait session since everything was in bloom for early summer, and Congress Park in Saratoga Springs did not disappoint! I especially love how these purple flowers match her gingham romper perfectly!

And, just because it’s an outdoor session doesn’t mean we can’t bring our little studio props! This handmade wooden bed was perfect for her sitter session!

Elliana wore a few outfits from the studio’s Baby Wardrobe. I love the variety that a little change of outfit and a change of scenery in the park gives to her portraits! In this one she had what her mama called “Beyonce hair,” and she rocked it!

This next one was everyone’s favorite. What do you think? Pretty cute!

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A Summertime Family Portrait Session in Saratoga Springs with an Outdoor Cake Smash

What a cute family!  This mama was excited to capture some summertime portraits for a mommy & me session, and she dressed her little ones in coordinating nautical outfits to match the dress that she found for her daughter.  We had a blast running around Spa State Park for their portrait session, and the kids were all smiles.

I always love capturing a few extra special mom & baby portraits, and I love how cuddly Ronan was with his mama!  Just look at his adorable little smile, and those cute baby teeth!

We celebrated Ronan’s first birthday with an outdoor cake smash! We typically do our cake smash sessions in our Saratoga Springs studio, but due to the reopening restrictions after covid and the timeline of this session, we opted for an outdoor session for everyone’s health & safety. It did not disappoint! We did a fun little beachy theme for the birthday boy, and he loved digging into his cake!

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