Newborn | Dominic

It was my pleasure to work with this itty bitty!  Perfect and precious, he was born to one of our past wedding couples and that's icing on the cake for me.  I am always so excited when I hear that one of our wedding couple's is expecting a baby.  I feel more than honored when they involve us in illustrating this new and wonderful journey in their lives and I look forward to future opportunities to tell their story.         



1 Year Milestone: Spencer

There is nothing better than capturing a little one's first year milestone.  I often photograph children in a "smash cake session" and the images I capture are priceless.  Usually the child has no idea what the cake or cupcake is all about and their exploration makes for some great images. 

After consulting with Spencer's mom in her pre-session consult I learned a great deal about her little man's personality, likes and tendencies.  Based on what was discussed, we decided to skip the cake and go with one of his favorites...CHEERIOS!  Watching Spencer pick out his favorite cereal bites, sit on them, eat them and inevitably get them stuck to his feet was so much fun.  I was also pleased to get some fun brother shots as well as a few with his prized possesion...his blankie!  Another great session, with a wonderful family at the studio!!

5 Year Milestone: Jacob

If memory serves me right, I think it's been a long time since I've posted an acrostic poem... so here goes!

J ~ Joyous

A ~ Adorable

C ~ Clever

O ~ Outstanding

B ~ Brother

 



Newborn Model: Eva

April has been the month of itty bitty's!  I've been so overjoyed to work with these little peanuts and am excited to report that I have at least a half dozen more in the very near future...some girls, some boys and some to be determined as they are currently spending their last weeks in the womb before being welcomed into the world. 

To work with a newborn in this capacity is really like nothing I can explain.  They are each so tiny, so beautiful, and so absolutely perfect I can hardly stand it!  Eva was no exception.  A huge congratulations once again to her family on her birth and what an absolute perfect miracle she is!      

 

White Bear Lake Studio: Clark Family

Photographing families can be a big undertaking.  There are often mixed feelings for at least one individual about being photographed and when you add in a few kiddos of varying ages and attention spans, the challenge really begins.  

For me, it's the challenge that motivates me most!  When photographing a family I strive to tell a story about who the members are both individually and collectively as a unit.  I realize that our session is just a very tiny slice in their lives and I aim to capture their personalities, the relationships they have with one another and any unique idiosyncrasies that might make their images more special when they see them.  Whew!  That's why I started out by saying that photographing families can be a big undertaking.  

Through the posed and candid moments with the Clark family I was blessed to witness the loving relationship of a husband and wife, the joy that comes from welcoming a new child into the family and lots of silly moments inbetween for all of them.  Needless to say when the Clark's asked me to design a custom album of their session for their coffee table I couldn't have been more pleased.  It will be a great treasure in the days, months and years ahead and I am happy to have been able to capture just some of the moments that make-up their story.

3 Year Milestone: Lily

When Lily and her brother AJ walked through the door of our White Bear Lake studio I knew I was in for a treat!  Not only was Lily an adorable little girl with beautiful, big, brown eyes that could make your heart melt, but she was also happy, lively and funny!  Her brother AJ is just as cute in appearance and personality.  To work with little ones of this caliber is a blessing.  In fact, it is one of the best parts of my day.  I love getting to know the children of the various families that I work with and take pride in capturing images that tell the story of who my clients are on the day they visit me.  For Lily, I believe I captured her true personality, but don't take my word for it...I think the images speak for themselves! 

 

 

2 Year Milestone: Vivian

Watching children grow is one of my favorite perks of being a photographer.  As children visit me for their milestone portraits it is always interesting to watch their true colors emerge as they become more comfortable with me and the photographing process (that includes both inside and outside the studio). Vivian has visited me over and over again over the past couple years and to say that she's gotten used to the process would be an understatement.  I crack up everytime I see the picture I captured of her "pirate" face!  Vivian has an energetic, fun, spunk about her and her 2 Year Milestone session was all of that.  

Newborn Session: Caden

Working with itty bitty's is always a joy for me!  For this little guy, I traveled to his home and with both mom and dad's help, I was able to manipulate him in his own environment.  Caden was just precious to work with and even alert for some of our time together, which is always fun.  Congratulations again to his loving family, he is one special little guy!

6 Month Milestone: Naolin

Another adorable milestone session was completed just before the holidays.  Check out these precious 6 month photos of baby Naolin (pronounced Now leen) and her parents.  Her facial expressions are quite entertaining and her cheeks are just asking to be squeezed!

18 Month Milestone: Claire

Scheduling your child's milestone portraits can be nerve wracking.  You start to wonder and question if they will cooperate for their session...Will they smile? Will the photographer capture the spunk you know and see on a daily basis in your own environment etc.  Then you start to ponder the outfits you picked out...did you pack the right props...enough snacks...the list goes on and on.  

Bringing my own child to the studio for her 18 Month pictures, I can honestly say that Tonya takes all your worries away!  She's soooo patient and flexible.  She allowed not only Claire the time she needed to warm up to her, the studio, the bright lights and the process (but I've also witnessed the countless other children she's helped to do this too.)  She does a wonderful job of getting children to be themselves always gets the shots parents hope for.  Needless to say when I saw Claire's photos I was more than impressed with the collection that was captured!  Looking at just a sample of her images, you wouldn't even know that she's a "1 outfit" kind of gal and immediately started crying when I tried to push the limits to get photographs of her in her Christmas dress. 

Photos like the ones below are priceless to me and my family because we love and adore the little girl in them.  Your children's photos are undoubtedly priceless to you too, so I encourage you to find a photographer that knows his/her clients and is able to get those exceptional images.  I've found my lifelong photographer...now the question is, have you?

A Fun-Loving Toddler

I decided to try something new in today's post.  Enjoy an acrostic poem about sweet little Vivian!  As always, it's a joy to work with her and her family. 

V - Vivacious (she is full of life!)
 I - Interesting (she has lots of interests)
V - Vigorous (she's got more energy than anyone I know!)
I - Intelligent (she keeps her mom and dad on their toes)
A- Adorable
N - Natural (she's great in front of the camera).