Classic White Gown Maternity Portraits for One of My Dearest Friends

This was such a special portrait session for both of us. Katie is a long-time friend of mine from Massachusetts, and she’s that special kind of friend that can brighten any day with a text or a call. I really treasure our friendship, and I love how fate brought us together as friends. When she told me that she and her husband were expecting, I was soooooo excited for them! They waited a long time for this news, and we talked about it a lot over the years while wishing and waiting and hoping. Their little baby is proof that miracles really do happen.

Of course I told her that I would love to document all of their milestones for them, and the very first one was with maternity portraits here in the studio when she was visiting for a few days! Katie looked so gorgeous and radiant in a few of the white gowns from the studio’s Mama Wardrobe, and she was the very first mama to wear this beautiful new gown with the crocheted sleeves.

A fun little side note for you: Were you a loyal fan of the TV show This is Us? I was, and the moment I saw Katie in this dress I couldn’t help but tell her that she reminded me of Sally, Uncle Nicky’s hippie girlfriend in the 60s. Maybe this came to mind because I happened to be rewatching the entire series while on my maternity leave, which is when I did Katie’s portraits, but either way, this became known as The Sally Dress and I think it’s so fitting.

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Family portraits with a toddler in their own front yard

This fall, I had the absolute pleasure of capturing the sweetest one-year-old, Violet, and her parents Morgan and Dan. We met for a session at their home in the early fall, and it was so perfect! We wanted to capture how much Violet has grown over the last year and all of her sweet mannerisms, personality, and the family’s interactions.

Violet was full of personality and gave us so many different expressions! I love photographing this age, because they always have so many new skills to show off. And, show off she did. She loved showing me how she stands, claps, and crawls. She’s so close to taking her first steps unassisted! Honestly, she was so adorable the whole time. I loved watching Violet’s little personality come out through the entire session.

It was really important to Morgan to capture some portraits of her and Violet together. Mom is usually behind the camera, so I always make sure to capture a few extra portraits of mom loving on her little ones, and I was thrilled that Morgan treasured these moments with her baby, too. I’ll never tire of capturing moms and their babies!

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Cozy winter newborn portraits for Anna Marie

Welcome to the world (and to the neighborhood!), Anna Marie! I’ve been waiting for this sweet girl to make her appearance since her mom’s maternity portraits. Lauren and Tim welcomed their first baby girl this winter (on their 20 year dating anniversary!!!) and I had the honor of capturing both Lauren’s maternity portraits and their cozy winter newborn portraits after she arrived. If you read their first blog, you know that Lauren and Tim are special to us because they’re our neighbors and moved from Boston last year. We’re so excited to be raising little girls together and I can’t wait to watch Anna Marie grow alongside Adelaide and Grayson!

For Anna Marie’s newborn portraits, we knew we wanted to showcase the winter season. With lots of cozy laters and knits, we were able to help bring the season into her portraits. It was so special watching Lauren and Tim curl up with their little girl in my home studio. Every newborn portrait session is special, but this one meant a little extra! We also wanted to incorporate Lauren’s gorgeous yoga pillow into their newborn portraits, too. I loved being able to photograph this vibrant pillow again - now with Anna Marie nestled in the middle. It was a wonderful way to connect the two sessions and bring everything full circle.

‌Lauren and Tim, welcome to parenthood! I’m so thankful to know you both and now, to know your little girl. We can’t wait to see what this next chapter brings for you three!

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Maternity portraits for a yoga instructor

I’m so excited for Lauren and Tim to be welcoming their first baby, a little girl named Anna Marie. This family is extra special to me because they’re actually our neighbors! They moved to Saratoga Springs from Boston last winter, and we are thrilled to be two doors down from them with their little girl on the way. We can’t wait to watch their daughter and Adelaide cross our lawns and knock on each other’s door for play dates when they get older. It was definitely emotional when Lauren reached out asking about a maternity session!

When we began to plan their session, Lauren mentioned she wanted to incorporate her daily yoga practice into the portraits. She’s a yoga instructor so it was something meaningful to her. She had this colorful pillow in her yoga studio and it was perfect for her portraits. We planned her outfit to coordinate, and I love the brilliant pop of color! We used the same yoga pillow in her newborn session (which will be on the blog soon!). It was really fun to see the continuity between the two sessions.

Another wishlist item for her maternity session was a silhouette portrait. This was so fun to capture for her, and so beautifully classic as a black and white portrait. I love when my clients help me to lay out what they want in their portriats. Finally, Lauren and Tim wanted a more casual vibe for their couples portraits and I love how this turned out with the chunky knit sweater and jeans. The lace bralette is officially one of my new favorite items to recommend for maternity portraits, and I love the look of it with the cardigan in these images! Lauren - you are absolutely glowing and I’m honored that I was able to document this special moment for you and Tim!!

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Best of 2022 Newborn Sessions

What a year! 2022 marked my tenth year in business, and I am so incredibly grateful to every single family that trusts me to capture their most special moments and milestones for them. My son is in his second year of preschool, and one of the things that his teacher has told us parents multiple times is “Thank you for sharing your children with us.” I absolutely love the sentiment, and I feel the exact same way toward each of the families that I work with. SO, THANK YOU. Thank you for sharing your children with me, and thank you for allowing me the privilege of creating artwork that showcases your family’s story. This truly is a dream job, and it is such a joy working with so many lovely families and their babies.

Newborn sessions have always held a special place in my heart, and those tiny little babies with their sleepy yawns and soft, round cheeks are what drew me to become a portrait photographer in the first place.

We welcomed our second baby into our family this year, a baby girl named Adelaide. And as we introduced her to long-time family friends, it occurred to me that for some of them, it had been DECADES since they had last held a baby that small. It is not lost on me how special this job is that I get to do this every day for my job. It really is an honor to be able to hold these brand new babies week after week, curling them up into the sweetest poses and watching magic unfold when they are snuggling in their parents' arms.

Every January, I love sharing a roundup post of some of my favorite portraits from newborn sessions over the past year. I hope you enjoy these sweet little babies as much as I do! This year they will all be coming up on their first birthday, and I look forward to seeing them back in the studio for their first birthday cake smash!

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Fall family portraits on a sunlit path in saratoga springs

Fall family portraits might be one of my favorite parts of the year. When the Coppola family reached out about a session in Saratoga Springs, I couldn’t wait! I loved working with Mariesa, Benji, Benjamin and Nora for these sunny fall portraits. During our session, we tried to keep things super light and fun - relaxed for the kids AND their parents. Family portraits don’t have to be stressful, trust me! 

Throughout the session, one of my goals was definitely to bring everyone’s personalities out. While Benjamin was a little more reserved and shyer, Nora was all about the camera. It was a lot of fun to watch them interact and see Benjamin open up a little bit as the session wore on. Nora being silly definitely helped him relax a little bit! We also made sure to capture lots of cuddles with mom and dad in the photos too. 

Mariesa and Benji chose a great color palette for their portraits. With navy and creams, they stood out against the yellows and greens of the Saratoga Springs path we were on. I also love that the guys had their puffer vests on - they looked so cute together! Choosing what to wear is not only about picking colors you like together, but also making sure you’re comfortable and can move. I want us to play, run, and cuddle up during your portraits! 

Enjoy a peek into this beautiful fall session here in Saratoga Springs! 

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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!

Our favorite holiday tradition: our felt stocking Christmas calendar

Today, I want to share something our family does every year during the holidays: a felt stocking Christmas calendar. This was all inspired by a photo a few years ago in Real Simple magazine, created by A Beautiful Mess. Now it’s one of our favorite traditions! 

I made our felt stocking calendar in 2020.  That was the year that everything shut down and we all readjusted our priorities and dug deep into new & old hobbies.  I sewed each stocking and embroidered little details onto them to make each one unique.  I felt like I was tapping into my childhood years of sewing projects for this one, and I spent many November nights at the dining room table working on these little stockings so that we would have them ready in time for December that year.  Making these was very fulfilling and I loved knowing that this was going to become a core childhood memory and a magical holiday tradition for our family.

Starting on December 1, each stocking holds a little treat, trinket, or note with an activity on it.  We do one stocking each day from December 1 through December 24.  I don’t fill them all up at once because I have a four year old who would peek ahead and spoil the surprise, but I do keep a list of what I want to put in them so that I know and can do it quickly without too much effort.  Most of what we do are little holiday activities that do not take much prep or time, and every now and then I will include a treat or a toy.  Tossing in a chocolate or two is a super easy one if I do not have time for an activity that day!  If the items do not fit inside the stockings, I use a clothespin to pin them to the back side of the stocking.

I do this instead of Elf on the Shelf because I wanted to start a tradition that was extra special to our family, and one that would let me make lots of fun holiday memories with our little ones.  Also because the idea of moving an elf into different spots and creating scenes for him every single night for 10-15 years is completely overwhelming to me, but sprinkling fun and traditional holiday activities and joy throughout the month of December is much more fulfilling to me.

Because of this, my four-year old LOVES “Christmastime” and he understands that there is a difference between Christmas Day and Christmastime.  He spends all year looking back through our photo albums and flipping through the pages filled with activities from previous Decembers, and as winter approaches he asks me what I think we’ll find in the stockings this year.  He knows that “Mama does the little stockings but Santa does the big stockings”, and I love that I am able to pass my love of the holiday season on to him – and eventually on to our daughter when she is old enough to understand, too!

‌Here are some of my favorite items and activities that we’ve included in stockings for our countdown to Christmas.

‌Trinkets/Treats:

●      Wooden Christmas cars

●      New hat & mittens

●      Silly holiday glasses from the dollar store

●      Candy cane

●      Hershey kisses

●      Andes mints

●      Tiny snow globe

●      Decorated holiday cookie

Activities:

●      Visit the Christmas tree farm

●      Go watch the holiday trains at Sunnyside Gardens

●      Go to the Victoria Streetwalk

●      Bake Christmas cookies

●      Bring Christmas cookies to a neighbor/friend

●      Make a gingerbread house

●      Go see Christmas lights

●      Have a picnic in front of the Christmas tree

●      Drink hot cocoa in front of the fireplace

●      Hang twinkle lights in their bedroom

●      Make Christmas pancakes

●      Wrap presents

●      Pick out a gift for someone special

●      Visit the library to pick out holiday books

●      Do a Christmas craft/painting

●      Mail holiday cards

●      Have a holiday music dance party

●      Walk through the Christmas aisles at Target

●      Write/Mail a letter to Santa

●      Visit with Santa

●      Paint a holiday project at the ceramics shop in town

●      FaceTime a friend and sing Christmas carols together

●      Make a Christmas ornament and hang it on the tree

●      Watch a Christmas movie together‌

I hope that no matter what your traditions are that you have a beautiful holiday season with your loved ones!! 

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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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Mauve & neutral newborn portraits for Seraphina Marie

I’m so happy I was able to welcome Seraphina Marie to my studio for her newborn session! Her parents and I planned a gorgeous and simple session to welcome their baby girl to the world. During Katy’s maternity portraits, she wore a beautiful mauve gown - so we used that as the inspiration for Seraphina’s setups. I love when we can tie sessions together like that for families!

Seraphina was absolutely perfect during her newborn portraits. She was snuggly and loved being with her parents. Capturing new parents holding their baby is always so special to me. Those early days go by so quickly and I want to be sure you remember how tiny your little one was. Katy actually wore the same gown for these portraits that she wore in the maternity photos, too. After we captured portraits of her and her parents, it was time to wrap her and place her on the sweet setups we created. I focused on mauve and cream when selecting pieces for her setups and I love how they look together in the final images!! 

When they came back to the studio for their reveal session, this beautiful family decided on our matted prints. They are going to look so beautiful on the walls of their home! I can’t wait to see how they look when they arrive. They’re some of my favorite products to create with portraits from sessions in the studio. 

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How Hiring a Virtual Assistant Changed My Business: A behind the scenes peek into making big things happen

I remember sitting in a local Tuesdays Together meeting back in 2016 with my warm cup of chai tea.  We were talking about balancing the tasks in your business, and this question came up:

“What is one of the tasks that you hate doing, and that takes all your time away from something that you love doing?”

Immediately, I knew the one task I dreaded most: blog prep.

Resizing images, watermarking them, uploading them to the blog, plugging in the SEO.  For me, it was so monotonous and tedious, and it was the #1 reason I only published a TOTAL of 57 blog posts in 2016.  And even that was a struggle.

Blogging was always pushed further down my to do list, and I wasn’t prioritizing it.  That meant my SEO wasn't optimized, so the chance of me turning up in online searches for local photographers, quite frankly... sucked.

I had recently moved to a new state, so I was new to the area and no one could find me online. I knew I wanted to make a change in my business in 2017, so I decided to outsource a few tasks so that I could focus more of my energy on the parts of running a business that I love. Little did I know that this person would become an essential part of my team and that we’d still be going strong six years later!!!
 

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Hiring a virtual assistant was one of THE VERY BEST DECISIONS I have made for my business. I’ve been working with the same VA since 2017, and it has truly transformed my business and freed up so much time in my week!

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Meet Kristina Dowler of Dot The I’s Outsourcing.  She has been my incredible right-hand woman for the past six years, a behind-the-scenes boss lady who has helped me make big things happen.

Before working with Kristina, I had never outsourced a single task in my business besides web design.  The first time we talked, I remember being so hesitant to trust anyone with the tasks that I had become accustomed to doing on my own for years.  I started off very small with what I asked her to help me with, but I quickly saw how much faster she was at accomplishing some of these tasks than I was, and how talented she was with words and writing copy for me! It wasn’t long before I asked her to handle more and more for me, and felt totally comfortable giving up control of these tasks knowing that she cared about my business’s growth and reputation as much as I did. This freed up hours upon hours of time for me so that I could spend my time growing my business and focusing on the creative things that I love!

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If you’re looking for a virtual assistant you want to find one that is the perfect fit for you.  Where do you begin? 

I put an ISO (in search of) request in the Rising Tide Society group, and I received an incredible response from talented VA's who were taking on new clients.  You can also ask in Facebook groups of local business owners, and you might even know somebody looking for part-time work who you can train and who you feel would be a good fit.

So what should you look for in potential candidates?  Here are some of the must-haves on my list:

• An easy-going personality

• Killer organizational skills

• Familiarity with the software & programs you use

• Clear communication

• A timely response to your emails

• An established method of tracking to-do lists, time on task, and billing information.

• Respect for your privacy, and someone you trust knowing the innermost workings of your business.

Remember how I said that in 2016 I only published 57 blog posts all year?  Well, ever since I hired Kristina I have regularly published 100-120 new blog posts every single year. My SEO is on point and constantly being updated, and I have so much content to share on all of my social media platforms thanks for her awesome blogging skills. We literally have it on auto pilot now with the most amazing system that we’ve refined over the years. Having this organized system in place has allowed me to vary my content, and working with a virtual assistant has ensured that I stay up to date with my end of the blogging tasks so that nothing falls behind for her. 

The end result?  So much more traffic on my website, leading to many more new inquiries and booked clients!

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I wanted to let you in on this little secret today because as we start to move into the slower season, business owners naturally begin to reflect on their year and make plans to streamline and improve their business in the new year. 

If you have tasks that are bogging you down, that are getting pushed to the bottom of your to do list, and that you truly dread doing…. outsource them!  It’s not that expensive, and it frees up so much time for you to focus on other areas.  Truly, what you spend on a VA will come back to you many times over as you’re able to grow your business without wasting time on the tedious tasks. 

Kristina is accepting a few new clients in January 2023, and she’s currently scheduling discovery calls with prospective clients.  I would love for you to have the opportunity to grow your business with someone who is just as passionate about your success as you are! 

Blog prep

Watermarking images, using Blogstomp, uploading images, adding keywords, and scheduling posts. Copyrighting and adding all of the text content for your blog!

PINTEREST MANAGEMENT

Creating graphics to pin, linking back to your blog, scheduling posts, and driving more traffic to your account and to your website.

Creating e-newsletters

Creating the copy and designing the layout for all of your client newsletters!

album design

Beautifully and artfully arrange your client’s favorite images into album layouts that are ready to print.

Workflow creation as needed

And literally countless other tasks. 

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Plus, if you’re not quite ready to hire a virtual assistant just yet and instead you’re looking for some resources on how to get better at blogging and workflows, Kristina has tons of resources and templates available in The Blog Shop that will help your business immediately!

If you have questions about my experience hiring a VA, just ask!  And when you're ready to get in touch with Kristina, you can reach her at kristina.dowler@gmail.com.  Tell her Nicole sent you!

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Meet Kristina,
your lifesaver.

Kristina lives in Virginia with her husband and their little boy, David.  She loves the beach, regularly travels to the Outer Banks, and spends her free time playing the cello in musical productions. She has built an incredible team of copyrighters and assistants who help business owners across the country keep things runnings seamlessly. She enjoys all of those tedious tasks in running a business that you don't have the time or energy for, and she loves helping other creative entrepreneurs grow their businesses by taking a few tasks off their plate so that they can focus on what they love.

A Party Animal Cake Smash for Rocco

Happy birthday, Rocco!! I can’t believe that Rocco is already a year old. He was my first newborn session for the year. Now 2022 is almost over, and this guy is ONE! Time is flying by, seriously. We planned a fun cake smash in the studio to celebrate his milestone birthday. Leah, his mom, asked if we could plan a theme that matched his party invitations, so we designed a “party animal” theme! 

Between Leah and I, we were able to create a gorgeous setup for this little guy. We used lots of fun confetti filled balloons to create a garland backdrop and Leah brought in some stuffed animals she’s planning to use for the birthday party. While everything was colorful and bright - perfect for a one year old - we still managed to keep a pretty clean style, which I absolutely love (and am known for!). This style allows us to really focus on the birthday boy during his portraits!

As with all of my cake smash sessions, we made sure to capture some updated family photos of Rocco and his parents. We also got the most adorable updated photos of him alone in a sweet little plaid shirt. He even had a baseball cap for one photo! I love when we do these milestone photos, because it’s a great time to photograph your baby’s personality and new skills. Once those were done, it was time for cake! Rocco loved digging into the icing and even knocked his cake off the stand at one point. I’m here for it!! We ended their session with a little bath for him, which he loved. He was seriously so happy the whole session and that makes me super excited! 

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Mauve flowers and twinkle lights for a beautiful floral cake smash

Karina is a year old! I can’t believe this sweet baby girl is already a year old. To celebrate, we planned a gorgeous floral themed cake smash in the studio for her. To tie into her newborn portraits, we chose mauve flowers and twinkle lights. For those portraits, we used mauve accents and greenery. Put together for Karina’s cake smash, everything looked so beautiful. The entire setup felt super classic and elegant for this little girl!

Before Karina’s cake smash, we started with family portraits in Congress Park here in Saratoga Springs. We had a beautiful fall day and with all of the leaves on the ground, everything looked perfect. Karina’s big brother, Kaylen, was so excited to show her off and shower her with lots of hugs. It was sweet to watch them together!

When we were done, we headed into the studio to start her cake asmsh. Featuring a cake from Leah’s Cakery, Karina went right into it. She absolutely loved the icing! Kaylen couldn’t wait until he was asked to help, too. They were adorable together and I loved celebrating Karina’s first birthday! Enjoy a little peek into her cake smash!

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A return to Boston for a very special family & senior portrait session

There’s something incredibly meaningful about working with a family more than once. I get to see them grow up and capture so many stages of life. When that family has a child who was a former student of mine, everything about our time together becomes even more special. Meet Karyn, Todd, Jenna, and Annabelle!

Jenna was a student in my first grade class back when I was a teacher at a bilingual school in Framingham. We’ve done family portrait sessions together many times over the years, and the last time was on the Cape in 2018. When they reached out a year ago about doing senior photos, I was honored that they wanted to document this special milestone with me as Jenna gets ready to finish up her last year in the Framingham Public Schools! They had been planning to make a trip out to Saratoga for portraits, but it just so happened that I would be in Boston for a prime weekend this fall, and we made it work!

We met up at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, MA. This was one of my all-time favorite spots when I lived in Boston. It’s so beautiful during the fall, especially. The night we met was cloudy with a little bit of mist, so the park was very empty. It was nice to have it all to ourselves!!

Seeing Jenna again after all of these years was amazing. I loved getting to hear her talk about her plans for the future and what she’s thinking of studying in school. She’s come such a long way from that tiny little six year old with a backpack that was half the size of her, and she’s now a poised and multi-talented young woman. It really was so special to get to see them & capture these last family portraits before she heads off to college. This session truly reminded me that your children are never too old for family portraits - and perhaps they even become more meaningful the bigger your kids get.

Thank you for asking me to document this special time in your life, Jenna - and thank you to Karyn, Todd, and Annabelle for working with me. It was so good to see you all again!!

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All about our mini accordion albums

One of my favorite heirloom products in the studio are our mini accordion albums! These sweet little books are one of the cutest ways to showcase your images from your portraits. They make perfect gifts - or are totally great to keep for yourself, too. Today, I wanted to talk more about why I love these sweet little mini accordions and why they’re one of the most popular products at the studio! 

Perfect Size for Gifting

Our mini accordion albums are 3”x3” and they’re perfect for tiny hands (and big ones, too!). I love giving these accordion albums as gifts. They’re a great little size for displaying on the bookshelf or looking through. In fact, a lot of our families give these to grandparents for the holidays! When you order the albums, you get 3 copies - making it even easier to give them as gifts, too! 

Durable Enough to Be Loved On

With magnetic covers, the accordion albums won’t spring open - which means they won’t fall over or get ruined. They simply snap back into place when you’re done looking at them. With a durable clear slipcover, they also won’t get dinged up if you like to carry it around! I’ve even had parents tell me they send one with their little one to preschool for when they’re feeling homesick!

These sweet mini accordion albums are truly a great addition to your heirloom products! Consider ordering a set for the holidays this year, or just to have in your own home. 

My favorite textured knits for winter baby portraits

Like all baby photographers, I love prop shopping and adding to my studio's collection. I have many favorite pieces in the studio that I use for nearly every newborn session, and these go-to items photograph beautifully and are well-loved. I always opt for classic neutrals that will match with everything, and I keep my colors in line with my style and the style/color palette that most of my clients use in their homes, too.

As the I get the studio ready for all of the winter newborns that will be coming to the studio for their first portrait session, I’ve been shopping for new knits for the studio. During the winter, I’m all about creating soft and cozy layers for your baby. We have a huge variety of hand-knit props from talented artists all around the globe. Wraps, layers, bonnets, sleepy caps, blankets, rompers, overalls, and so much more. They add such beautiful texture to your portraits, creating visual interest - and help keep your little one warm and cozy, too!

Everything you need for your baby’s first portraits, all in one place.

One advantage of going to a photographer who provides everything for you is that they already know what fabrics and colors will photograph best, and you don't ever have to worry about choosing something that is cute in person but doesn't look quite right in the finished portraits. I have everything you need in the studio for your little one's portrait session. Choose from outfits, headbands, wraps and swaddles, bump blankets, bonnets and hats to make your baby’s look complete! 

During winter sessions, I try to mix chunky knits with softer, finer woven knits, pairing similar colors for a monochromatic look, or using mostly whites with a pop of color. My goal is to make it easy to focus on your baby in your portraits and showcase just how tiny and perfect they are!

Some of the most popular colors for newborn portraits in our studio are:

white
cream
slate blue or navy blue
mint green or sage green
lavender
blush pink
gray or greige

As you can see, choosing the perfect outfit for your baby’s portraits can be easy and fun! Make sure to talk with your newborn or baby photographer to find out what they have on hand this winter for the perfect, cozy look for your little one!

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6 month milestone portraits with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

I absolutely adore working with Jen and her boys. I’ve photographed all three boys since they were born. Each has had a newborn, milestone and first birthday session in my studio… well, Baby Rhys is only on his milestone session. He’s got another 6 months before he turns one! Either way, I love seeing them in my studio every few months. It’s a great time to catch up on what’s been going on - and I adore watching their boys grow up. They’re all so sweet!

During the milestone sessions, we always update a portrait of the brothers together. This time, since we were close to Halloween, it seemed fitting to do their photo in their costumes. The middle boy’s middle name is Draco, and we’ve always leaned into the dragon theme for his portraits. Naturally, the three boys are dragons for Halloween this year!! They were SO cute and excited to be in their costumes. I loved capturing that fun portrait of them.

It was good to see Rhys, too. I saw him for his newborn portraits 6 months ago. Now, he’s just the most mellow baby and so happy. He made my job easy with lots of easy smiles and sweet big eyes. Mom picked out the cutest little overalls for him. He looked like such a little man! I can’t believe he’ll be back for his one year session before long!

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Boho Family Portraits in a Field | Saratoga Springs Family Photographer

I've been photographing this family every year since Johnathan was a newborn. We've done portraits in every season and every stage so far, and I always look forward to our sessions together. Johnny is now 3 years old, and he’s just a joy! This year, we planned fall family portraits at one of my favorite hidden gems in Saratoga Springs.

This little spot is just beautiful this time of year. With tall grass and lots of trees, it’s a lovely quiet location for family photos with a boho vibe. The grass grows tall in this spot during the late summer/early fall, and I drive by constantly in the final weeks of summer to be sure the town hasn't mowed it yet. It's perfect for early morning sessions, especially with toddlers who are early to rise! Here, we can walk and play - even bring a small stool or box for your little ones to sit on. I seriously can’t get enough of this little gem!

Speaking of boho vibes, Kristen and Matt planned the most perfect outfits! Kristen’s dress was on point and I LOVED her hat with the this gorgeous long dress and jean jacket. Everything was perfect!! Johnny even looked adorable in his little overalls during our session too! After working with this family for the last few years, I can say I still adore watching them interact and now, seeing even more of Johnny’s personality come out in our session. Enjoy a little peek into their perfect fall family photos!

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Family portraits at Yaddo Gardens in Saratoga Springs

I’ve been photographing this beautiful family for several years now. In fact, I can’t believe Ari just turned 3! This has to be one of our most silly and smile-filled sessions to date. Each year, they plan a special family portrait session in the late-summer/early-fall to celebrate Ari’s birthday. It’s always so special to see these three and I truly can’t believe how big Ari already is!

For this year’s session, we met at the beautiful Yaddo Gardens here in Saratoga Springs! This was our first time at Yaddo Gardens, which had been closed since March 2020. I was so happy that they reopened, and it was wonderful to see the beautiful gardens in bloom and return to some of my favorite spots for family portraits. I can’t wait to be back here more now that it’s open again!!

This was Ari's happiest, most smiley portrait session to date! He surprised all of us with his good mood, and he loved being in front of the camera. He could not stop smiling and giggling, and he absolutely adored loving on his mama. It was special to capture all of these beautiful moments for them. I can’t wait until next year!!

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Personal Branding Portraits for Albany Pet Photographer

I was so honored when Marlana of Marlana Krupp Photography reached out to me to capture new branding portraits for her! Marlana is a fine art pet photographer and wanted to do a branding session to show her working with her four-legged clients. This was SUCH a fun session because I got to watch her do her thing - and see some sweet dogs, too.

For Marlana’s session, we captured a mix of headshots and candid, action portraits of her interacting with her clients and their dogs at one of the local parks here in Saratoga Springs. She primarily works out in nature, so incorporating that into her branding portraits was essential! I loved getting to see her work. I also wanted to be sure that we captured her fun, laid-back personality to help show what a pet portrait session with her is actually like. I found it fascinating to watch her capture the dogs' attention with a dozen different toys, and even a rope necklace filled with different noisemakers like duck calls, crinkly paper balls, squeakers, and whistles. I can relate - sometimes getting kids’ attention is like that, ha! Like with all of my branding portrait sessions, it was important to really understand these parts of Marlana’s brand so that we could create images that are totally about her and her brand!

Marlana plans to use these images on her website and social media, and to start blogging for her SEO, which I’m thrilled to hear! These portraits give her endless options for creating content to attract new clients, in addition to her own portraits that she creates of her furry clients. It’s one of the reasons I believe so strongly in personal branding sessions! You need to be able to showcase your work, but also who you are and what makes you unique for your clients.

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