Why I became a Photographer!

Do you ever feel like there are never enough hours in the day to get things done? These last couple of weeks have been busy for me. I’ve been working my other job and still photographing on the weekends. Homework is also taking over my life too. Ha ha! 

No matter how busy I am, I still love my job photographing newborns and being behind the camera. I am greatly honored to be able to help families create memories that will last forever. My photography is my passion. I do my photography not just for the money, but for my son, Conner James. He is my reason I started my photography. 

Conner James passed away very suddenly at almost 3 months old while I was on vacation. His passing was very sudden. He was my second child. At the time, I had two children. Jordynne was 1 year old and Conner who was almost 3 months. I was a new mom of two, trying to buy a house. 

When Conner was born, we were still searching for a new house. We had brought him home to our old house and a month later we moved to a apartment. We couldn’t really afford newborn pictures. We had two kids in diapers, buying formula, and trying to save money for the new move. It was also hard to afford the hospital photos. 

When Jordynne was born we bought the hospital photos. We paid over $400.00 for the photos. The photos took a month to arrive at our door. When we received them, we notice that we didn’t order enough as we have a big family. We had to order more spending another $150.00 and waiting another month and half to receive them. The photos themselves we good quality but the posing of Jordynne we weren’t really happy with. But we were new parents and didn’t know any better.  

When we had Conner and with the anticipation of the move we decided to go a different route for newborn photos. We choose Walmart Picture Me Studios. They had a special going on for a package so we decided we would just go with them. A mistake I have regretted for years. After Conner passed, those photos are all I have left from when he was a newborn. 

I have some other photos I took of him while we were at home, and some at the hospital but not much else. I know we were busy with the move and taking care of two kids but now I wish and long for more photos of my little boy. He was a very sweet boy who loved to cuddle and be held. If you are a client, most likely I have told you what happened to him. I wouldn’t wish this for any mother. It will be 10 years this year since Conner has passed and my regret for the newborn photos still remains the same. 

I started my photography for my son, and for other families like mine who couldn’t possibly afford the price of $200 - $1000’s, that it could cost. For the new families just starting and for the families going through financial hardships, that they may have newborn photos done by someone who specializes in the field, creating special memories that they will cherish, and by someone who cares about their family. 

Watch out world, Baby Nolan has arrived!

On Sunday afternoon I photographed the sweetest family. I was so excited to meet their new precious baby boy, Nolan. From the moment the Andrews walked through my door, I could see the love radiating from them. Nolan’s big brother, Kenneth, was beyond excited to be photographed with Nolan. He was beaming with pride while smiling and holding baby Nolan. 

Baby Nolan already has a adoring personality. He only made a few noises during our session together. He did want to stop and have a milk snack but after that Nolan was ready for his debut. His session was a Full Newborn Session which included just Nolan being photographed along with family and sibling poses. 

I love posing families with their new baby.  There is nothing like seeing a family embracing their new little one and watching them create a memory that will last forever. For the Andrews, this was an amazing moment to be seen. I could see baby Nolan’s parents radiant with happiness and love that they have for their boys. Kenneth absolutely loved the sibling poses and I could really see he is going to be the best big brother ever! 

I want to thank the Andrews for giving me the opportunity to meet them and the honor of photographing them. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!  

When & Why to book your Newborn Session?

There are a couple questions I have been getting asked a lot by clients. When should I book my newborn session? Why should I book with a specialty Newborn Photographer? These are great questions to be asking. Your newborn baby deserves the very best & so do you. You are trusting your baby's safety with your photographer and want the very best outcome from the session.

When should you book your newborn session?

I say as soon as possible! Don't wait too long! I know I personally have had to turn away clients who inquired about a newborn session but had waited to long to book and I was already fully booked. Newborn Photographers usually only take a  limited  number of Newborn Sessions a month to ensure their complete focus and to make sure they will have a session spot for you. Booking early can help in a lot of ways. First, this will ensure you have a session spot. Second, most photographers’ schedules fill up bookings very fast. Third, this ensures that your photographer can personalize/customize the session to your Nursery theme or color scheme that you may want. Most photographers start planning your session soon after your booking, they want to make sure that your portraits are to your liking but also reflect the photographer’s artistic side/style. Also we may even need to buy a prop to coordinate with your session so we will need time to make that happen.

Why to hire a specialty newborn photography versus a regular photographer? 

Newborn babies are very precious. You want your newborn to be photographed but your other main concern is their safety. Most photographers care about your newborns safety but may not know the safe way to pose your newborn properly.  By hiring a specialty newborn photographer, this ensures they know what they are doing. They can pose your newborn in multiple poses while making sure your newborn is completely safe. They also know how to pose a newborn in one pose but at the same time, making sure to capture the best angles resulting in multiple images versus just one image from the pose. Also, your session time will be reasonable. Regular photographers take longer in posing as they are not fully trained in Newborn Photography. A non-specialist photographer can take up to 4 hours or more to photography a newborn session, as to where specialty newborn photographers can photograph a newborn session in 2 hours or less.

Summer days passing all too quickly

Life has been so busy for me. I have been photographing newborn’s, Milestone Sessions, and 1st Birthday Sessions. I also have been trying to teach my babies how to enjoy the summer and my youngest two babies how to read.  

Its has been wonderful swimming, watching movies, visiting with family and friends, going to fun places like the Science Center and Zoo.  This summer my oldest daughter, Jordynne, turned 10 years old, Conner James would be 9 years old and my youngest, Dylan, turned 6 years old.  We had lots of birthdays and lots of joy. We had so much fun and laughter. I am so lucky to be a mom.

As my children get older, I  can’t help but think of how much they have grown as a person through out the past year. I try to capture the moments both big and small while also trying to be present and in the moment.  I noticed now, that my children want me to capture them. They say “Take a picture mom!”.  I took a lot of pictures this summer and somehow managed to still work.   Lol

I will be blogging more once school starts back up. Right now, I am just trying to enjoy my babies and spend as much time with them as possible before school starts back up. I know I can’t be the only mom going crazy with buying school supplies for 3 kids in different grades, new clothes, new shoes and so on.  I know my children are anxious to find out what teacher they have and which friends are in their class, but I have mixed feelings. I want to be able to spend more time with them, but I am also looking forward to a possible nap during the day. 

If you are looking to schedule a session just let me know.  I would love to talk to you and hopefully capture your memories. Thank you so much!