We take the selfies and share on social media to keep friends and family updated. They aren’t typically the most flattering photos, but I think we hide behind the fact that it’s not expected to be. We see professional maternity photos and think how we would like to have our pregnancy captured, but….  The thought of paying a photographer to have professional maternity photos done sounds like a waste of money. “I mean look how I look in these photos. I’m not a model and definitely don’t feel pretty.” I am here to tell you a photo you capture with your phone will look different than what a professional photographer will capture.

So, I’ve compiled a list of 4 reasons why I hear moms skip having professional maternity photos done. If you have an interest in having a maternity session, but are hesitant read on.

1.  I don’t look like myself. I am fat everywhere!

That’s right! Carrying a baby inside you along with all the extra fluids is going to make you bigger. That’s the way it works. Your skin may break out and get splotchy. But you will have great hair! Some women only gain weight in their belly, but most put it on everywhere. I know with my second I was carrying around something like fifty extra pounds, and it had to go somewhere. 

But regardless, this is how you look while pregnant. Your session should be when you have a prominent belly but not so late that you are too uncomfortable to move around, usually between 32-35 weeks for first time moms, and 30-32 for 2nd+ time moms. If you have your hair and makeup done for your session you’ll be amazed at how beautiful you feel. Pregnancy is beautiful! You are beautiful! Don’t forget that! Maternity sessions are not just about what you look like, they are about how you feel about this miracle inside you that you can’t see yet. 

2.  I’d rather just focus on spending the money on the newborn session instead.

I understand photography is a luxury, not a necessity. I also respect and understand that everyone has a budget. Maternity sessions are often cut for reasons of budget. I have made maternity sessions complimentary with every newborn session for this very reason, and will include your favorite maternity portrait with your newborn order. I think it’s so important to have your pregnancy captured that I want to give each of my newborn clients that option as a thank you for choosing me to capture such a precious time in your lives. I will not push you to have a maternity session if you decide it's not for you as I respect my clients and their decisions, I just really wish you would consider it.  Pregnancy is a big part of your baby’s story, and your children see you as beautiful even if you don't see yourself that way, so include it in their baby book as a memory for them. 

3. I don't have anything to wear. 

Don't worry, I've got you covered! I now have a few maternity dresses available for my clients to wear, which help them look and feel like a model. Right now I only have dresses in pink and blue, but hope to expand my wardrobe as I have more clients interested in using them. 

4.  I never did it with my other children.

This should be a reason TO have maternity portraits taken! You have regrets of not doing it before? So, do it now! You may never get this chance again regardless of how many children you hope to have. We can’t predict the future. It doesn’t matter if you capture every pregnancy, at least capturing one is an amazing gift to give your future self. Your kids will not hold it against you or think you love them less because you didn’t do it with them all.  That’s typical mommy guilt for you. They may ask, but if you tell them the truth they will understand and not make a big deal out of it. You didn’t with them due to lack of funds, not finding a photographer you liked, not knowing of this style of photography, etc. They will still get to see what you looked like pregnant through the other beautiful professional photos. And they will see your pregnancy with them through ones you did yourself.

Whether you believe it or not, you will one day want to look back on that short lived time. If not you, your children will. You may chuckle about how big you got (I do) or sob because you wish you were experiencing that joy all over again. I loved pregnancy, mostly. Of course there were struggles with each of my pregnancies. I had bad morning sickness, heartburn, rib pain, swelling, prodromal labor, etc. But the miracle of pregnancy gets my heart every time. It’s such an incredible experience. One of my favorite portraits displayed in my living room is my son cuddling my big belly when I was pregnant with my daughter. (Below left. Below right, in the blue dress is also me, the week before I had her.) 

With my last pregnancy I was sick all the time, I didn't leave the couch much, then when the sickness got better, I couldn't stand long or walk very far without frequent breaks. I knew though that this was my last time, I was never doing it again, so when we headed to Cape May to ring in the new year at the shore, I brought along one of the dresses I keep for maternity clients, and my camera. What resulted is a portrait I absolutely love. The weather was less than ideal, it had been raining all day when the sun began to peek out, I quick changed into the dress and we jumped in the car to drive the couple blocks to the beach. As we got a block from the beach light rain began to splatter the windshield, I said as long as it's not pouring, I want to try anyway, the rain ended as we walked across the beach to the water's edge. The beach had a haze all over, you could barely see the ocean, and the sand was ice cold to walk on barefoot. My husband took the pictures as my brother tossed the long train. We only were out there about 10 mins but my ears burned with cold as we got back to the car, even though weather was less than ideal, I am absolutely in love with the end result (below).

I put on the dress again to take a few photos with my baby after his newborn session. (below)

*Disclaimer* This is not a message of pressure. We face so many pressures in this world today as moms. I’m not saying you are a bad mom or will live a life filled with tears over not having them done. If maternity photos are something you are interested in, but make these or any excuses you should really have them done. Why? Because that’s your true heart’s desire. These other thoughts are just noise getting in the way.  If you don’t, you may end up with regrets.  If you have absolutely no desire or interest, then don’t. You may or may not have regrets, but I’m not writing to convince you. I am writing to convince the mom with the desire to listen to her heart.

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But you don't have to take my word for it, I asked one of my maternity and newborn clients about her sessions, this is what she had to say:

(When we first planned her session she wanted to somehow incorporate jeeps,
so brought along a green jeep toy and painted her nails green to match.
Each session should be as unique as you are.)

1. What was your favorite part of your experience with us?:

I love how genuine and natural the sessions felt. There was some staging but it felt comfortable and relaxed.

2. Do you have any advice for other people planning their portrait session?:

If you want photos that are real. That really show you. This is where you want to go.

3. Would you have regretted not having a maternity and newborn session, if so, why?:

I absolutely would have regretted not getting photos done, my maternity photos turned out so beautiful and having a before and after for when my son was born I will always cherish. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was written by Jennifer Sherwin Pucely, which she allowed me to include in this updated blog post:

Take the pictures. Spend the money and the time to have pictures taken of you as a pregnant woman; at every appointment, at every stage, looking your best or just getting out of bed at 38 wks. I get it - it's hard. Your face, fingers and ankles are swollen. You've got uncharacteristic acne or extra  curly hair or an extra 50 pounds. I get it.
I don't regret much about my life, but I regret not doing this. I regret thinking I was so haneous and huge during my pregnancies that I shyed away from (ran away from actually) cameras and attention of any kind. My husband tried to capture those months, but man was that a battle...poor guy. Not only did I not like how I looked but I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I was starting a family well into my 40s. WELL into my 40s. (I mean, who DOES that. That's crazy. 🙊🙉🙈) But now that I'm even older (🤣) and done with that phase of my life, I mourn those feelings of both joy and wonder AND angst and fear. And not that you want to necessarily document the moments of intense gas or of you shoving your face with Girl Scout cookies. But I believe that journey - whether you've been on that trip one time or seven - is worth remembering. All the joy AND all the pain is an important part of the story you will tell your kids, your extended family, and even strangers in line at Costco when they ask "When are you due?" or "Is this your first?" 
I have good friends here still having babies, and while the joy I feel for them is real, there is a sadness that typically follows with the reminder that my days of carrying my own offspring are done. I wish I had pictures to go back to so that - in those moments - I could relive that special time. But I don't. And I can't go back in time to recreate them. So I regret to inform my emotions and psyche that they'll just have to go without. 😔
So take the pictures. Hide them in a locked box if need be, but you'll have them for the moments you want a simple reminder of what a freakin' rock-star you are for having created, carried, and delivered those babies. 
You are more beautiful than you know.
 

Things have been quiet around here lately, which I was keeping on the down low, but as I've already posted about it on our social media, I might as well talk about it here too. Not long after starting our maternity model call I found I was pregnant, it wasn't exactly planned, but it is what it is. I finished up two maternity sessions and a newborn session for our model call, then was forced to cancel everything after June because I was all day morning sick, and not just a little sick, I was couldn't get off the couch, was hungry but couldn't eat anything because everything made me sick, and had an aversion to almost everything. This went on from June through August, it was a very miserable summer for me in that aspect. Thank goodness when I got to the 2nd trimester the sick eased up and I have been able to eat food again, though still am avoiding things like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (the peanutbutter churns my stomach), and anything really sweet is too much for me. (I want to eat apples but get through maybe half an apple before the sweetness makes me shudder, and I was a daily tea drinker, but haven't been able to drink tea in months.)

Besides that, things have gotten a little crazy around the house. My son, who is 6 now, asked us if he could move his room to the basement. This is partially because of the new baby, and also because he lacks any privacy at all when it comes to keeping his building creations safe from his sister. He loves to build, whether it's with magnet-tiles, legos, knex, or something else, and it never fails that he leaves something setup in his room only to come home and discover she has snuck into his room while he was at school and messed with it or knocked it down. This was especially a problem over the summer while he did 3 weeks of summer classes, and was what lead him to ask for the move. As I type this, the contractor is finishing up the final touches of what used to be our office. We replaced a drop ceiling with a regular ceiling, my husband (who used to be an electrician) redid some wiring to add a proper ceiling light/fan combo, we took away the door between the studio and office to create a closet, and had the window replaced for something that can be used in case of emergency. 

Now you may be asking, where did the office move to? Well.. my studio is now partially an office, partially my studio stuff, and all full of baby stuff that we brought down from the attic back in the beginning when I could help move everything, which will move into my son's room as a nursery when he moves downstairs. Once that moves out, I hope to find a happy medium between a small studio space and the office, but as I already did a lot of sessions on location, it would just be the setups I did for holidays that would be impacted, so will be like before we moved when I didn't have studio space at all. 

On a more fun note, with my son in 1st grade full day now, I've been really trying to do tot school at home with my daughter to prep her for Kindergarten next year. I have been keeping seeing people and going to public places to a minimum, so most of it's been at home, with a nature walk here, or a visit to a garden center there. 

We did also get to continue our tradition of heading to Solebury Orchards for our annual apple picking, where we got honey crisp (I still have a couple stashed in my fridge to toss into recipes), pixie crunch, and since the pixies were a bit too sweet for me, I grabbed a couple crimson crisps. In the several years we have gone apple picking, this was the first time I ate an apple fresh off the tree that had been warmed by the sun, it was very unique but super delicious! 

Overall it's been a busy, crazy, but very fun fall!

(SMILE! No, not like that!)

Even though this can be cute, it's definitely not the results we're looking for when having professional portraits taken. So if saying 'smile' isn't what works, you may be asking what does? 

(Throwing leaves and petals are a big hit for getting happy expressions.)

The answer is having fun. When kids are having fun, they are giggling and smiling naturally. How do we make this happen? Tickling, playing games, and acting silly are a few favorites. Kids also are big fans of throwing things around the studio like leaves and rose petals, especially if we pretend it's being naughty, that typically results in a lot of giggling. 

Getting kids to have fun is easier than you may think, 'Can you smell this flower? Does it smell good, or does it smell stinky! (said in a funny way) Can you make a scary face? RAWR!'  And once you get them having fun, that's when the smiles come out, all by themselves. 

Some kids smile easily, while others not as much. If your child is not a smiley kid, that's absolutely ok, we can still capture those adorable expressions that represent their own unique personality. As they grow up you aren't going to look back at the portraits and think about them not smiling, instead you are going to enjoy all those cute little expressions.

So there's my quick tip on how to get kids to give you some real expressions instead of fake smiles. 

As I walked around the grounds before our session, I happened to walk under an overhanging tree, which had some beautiful light and shadows for a unique moody look (above) so that's where I began. Next I had my assistant for the day, Amanda, start tossing the train of the dress, which resulted in some absolutely gorgeous portraits, especially with the light breeze blowing it. 

I asked Stephanie a few questions about her session, here are her answers. 

What was your favorite part of the experience with us, she said "I love how easy and comfortable I felt during the session! Maura and her assistant make you feel so comfortable and have fun during the shoot!" 

Do you have a favorite moment from your session? "When we joked about the swoosh of the dress! We kept trying and it was SOOO worth it because it turned out AMAZING!!!" 

Do you have any advice for other people planning their portrait session? "Get excited for some Mommy time & to feel like a goddess!"  How did you find out you were pregnant, and how did you announce your pregnancy? "Just took a test one afternoon after work, I can always sense when I am. I took a photo of my two older boys with the ultrasound photo."  You haven't picked baby's name yet, do you have a few you are considering? "Able or Benjamin" She also told me she wanted to wait to see him before making a decision. 

When you found out you were having a third boy how did you feel? Were you surprised? "I felt surprised, I thought it was a girl because the pregnancy was so different from my other two. I'm excited for my boy tribe to grow and my two older boys to have another brother."

What hospital or birthing center are you planning to use, and why did you choose it? "St. Mary Medical Center. I LOVE my doctors, work close, and work in Labor and Delivery there!" 

Finally, would you have regretted not having a maternity session, if so, why? "Yes! We did family photos on the beach while on vacation and they did NOT make me feel the way these did. This has been my largest pregnancy yet and I feel so much better in my skin after this!"

Stephanie was such a delight to work with, and I hope to be able to work with her again in the future when her little boy arrives. 

The first model session scheduled was with Steph, her husband Louie, and three year old son Lucas. The location was this beautiful grassy field at sunset near Warminster, it was in the 80s with a slight breeze.

Whenever I have a family session with kids, I want to give everyone a chance to relax and get used to the location before jumping into posing, so I told them to explore and look at the flowers together. Lucas was very happy with the idea and immediately started picking daisies for his mom and dad (and me!). I wanted them to enjoy the moment together, so told them to pretend I wasn't there, just snapping a few candid moments as they enjoyed the time together. 

I love the look of wonder as a small child discovers the little details of the world around them that we as adults usually take for granted, like a small daisy, or the details of a flowering grass.

Once I could see everyone relax, then I started giving some simple direction like standing holding the belly together, then holding each other, going nose to nose, and giving each other a kiss. 

I could tell Lucas needed a break, so I pulled out a box with a few toys and his dad took him off to the side to play while I had Steph pose alone, I then asked dad if he minded throwing the dress a couple of times, which resulted in this gorgeous portrait below. 

It was time to have a few more family photos together, so we played the 'Run under the blanket' game, which gets both parents and kids smiling before putting the blanket down to sit on. 

I could tell after a few minutes that Lucas was done, so I let him head back to the car to cool off with dad while Steph and I worked on a few more solo poses. 

We then finished up the session with including some baby details of a onesie, baby shoes, a tutu, and sonogram. 

Steph delivered her baby girl just two days later! 

After a few minutes of Angela's heels making standing on uneven ground unpleasant, we decided to do some walking poses on a paved path instead, I moved us to a piece of the path that was off to the side (there was still a good sized crowd going to and from the gazebo on the main walkway.) There was just a hint of a breeze to blow her dress as they walked, which really added to the feel of them walking together. 
After walking back and forth a few times, we got lucky and the gazebo had cleared out, so we quickly went for it before someone else did. 

The two of them made for such an adorable couple, smooching and cuddling through the session, which even the parents were trying to peek around the gazebo to watch their session. It was making me laugh so I say to them, let's get you two on this side of one of the columns so I can capture the parents trying to peek at you. They were not in on the joke so as soon as they saw me switch sides tried to move out of the way, and I was like no wait, stay there I want you in the background for this, and the rest of the parents jumped in too, haha! 

Angela is an adorable yet beautiful young lady, she stood at just around 5 feet tall, so had these incredible high heels to add some extra height for the day. I have to give her credit for being able to walk in them, I definitely would've fallen several times if it had been me! I was able to capture this great detail shot at the end of the session when she switched into regular shoes so she could drive. 

After getting all we needed from the gazebo location, we walked back through the crowded parking lot to a nearby dock to have water in the background of their photos, which I was amazed no one else had tried to use for their portraits. Though once we started walking out on the dock we quickly discovered why as Angela's heel slipped between the dock boards and tripped her up. (No one was injured during this session, and the boards were wide enough that she was able to walk and stand on them without any further issues.) We also discovered that the bridge and part of the dock near the shore were very stable, but the further out you went, the more the dock rocked, and it became quite windy when you reached the end. We only took a quick photo before heading back. 

These ducks were very interested in our photo session when we reached the dock and decided to quack VERY loudly while swimming back and forth under the couple while they stood on the dock bridge, it was quite comical, and I had no idea ducks could be that loud. 

Our session was over so Angela decided to go check out the noisy spectators, and take a few pictures with them.

Overall I LOVE this session so much, everything ended up working out so well in the end. These were my clients responses to seeing their photos. 

Angela's Mom, Chris- "OMG. Amazing pics. Gonna be tough to narrow it down.  I love them all." 

Angela- "Had so much fun! Thank you again the shots look amazing!!"

I decided to do a different sort of setup for this year's photos. I wanted to see if the lighting would be any different if I used a large scrim instead of my usual umbrellas, with a reflector on the opposite side. After being a bit indecisive over which background to go with, I settled on the red, but knew I wanted it to be lighter, so pointed my other light at the background.

I was so excited to get started that I grabbed my son to help me test the lighting, of course he was running through the house dressed like a pirate at that moment, which made for this amusing image. As soon as everything was setup the way I wanted it, we went to get changed.

My son had done a 100 days of school event a few days before where his class dressed like 100 year old's. For his outfit, I ran to walmart and bought him these adorable heart suspenders with matching bowtie, then added this hat he's had bouncing around his room since he was a baby. After seeing how it looked, I knew I had to use it for his Valentine session.

Once he was figured out, I knew I wanted to find a way to get my daughter's outfit to coordinate with similar colors, and was pleasantly surprised to find these adorable blue heart pants and light grey heart top, so they matched perfectly.

I don't usually give much direction to my kids during their sessions, but this time when they decided to sit together, I asked them to hold hands, and they let me tilt their heads and move their hands, then gently held each other for a long hug while I snapped away.

Looking back at previous years, here was these two in 2020, I wasn't able to take a photo of the two of them together, I don't really remember why, but I love how my daughter was willing to be a little model with the white headband that matched her dress, while holding the flowers. 

Going back further to 2019, my little girl still loved hugging the heart pillows, but she was so little that she could just barely get her arms around it. 

This session was also the first time I got a hugging pose with them, these two are the best of friends (most of the time! haha) 

Going back even further to 2018, we come to their first Valentine's day together. My daughter was 9 months old, and my son was around 2.5 years old.  The background is a thin pink fabric with lights hung behind, which is actually more difficult than you might think. I got icicle lights which had to be connected together to make them look even, and I found out the hard way that not all lights can be photographed because they will look like they are off depending on the shutter speed. I actually bought a batch of LED lights for a session, then had to return them and get regular bulbs.

My little angel, always full of smiles.

I had just received the wings and angel props from a photographer I went to college with so was inspired to add them to the session.

Foxie has been with my daughter since day one, and is still her favorite, sleeping in bed with her every night.

(2016 Superhero themed Mother-Son dance)

Sure it had come out pretty well, but for this year's dance I no longer have the two friends available who helped with the first dance (they moved out of the area), and the city scene from the first dance didn't survive the summer humidity (it was just cardboard after all), so building something like that again wasn't going to happen. Also thought when planning this dance was how our style of the setups has changed a lot since then to have a more professional appearance, so had to keep that in mind when choosing what to do. 

After a lot of researching options online, we narrowed down the options to two possible backgrounds, the rooftop scene or a dark scene under a city bridge. The deciding factor ended up being how we could add to the scene with props to have people stand in a scene instead of just on a background. We also wanted something we could reuse in the future, which we felt the rooftop scene could more so than the dark bridge. 

(Original concept of having crates and tools to look like a rooftop storage area)

My initial vision for the setup was to add crates and go in the direction of an unused rooftop space used for storage that a superhero might be standing on to overlook the city for trouble. I took a walk through home depot and found some metal piping to look like a rooftop chimney. It was finally beginning to come together, but still was not where I wanted it to be. 

(The initial setup, it was definitely missing something)

After some brainstorming, my husband decided to add the bat signal, and I was going to see if I could find another crate to write 'Danger' or something on with spray paint. After a while in the craft store, I found another crate, letter stencils and paint, then happened to find black foam letters. I figured they were worth a try, so at home I asked a friend what they thought might be written on villain boxes. After some very good suggestions to get the creative juices flowing, I had crafted the fun wording that you see on the final images. Our scene then changed from a rooftop storage area to superheroes discovering where the villains have been hiding their cargo on a rooftop. I really like how this came out. 

(The final wording on the crates)

Another detail I need to mention is the newspaper, which was created by my friend Molly and delivered right before the dance. It was a last minute detail that I think really helped bring the scene together. 

(Custom created newspaper for the super hero theme, thanks to Molly F.)

Now that I've told you about the behind the scenes, let me talk a bit about the portraits. Every dance I always have a few people that stick out for one reason or another, so wanted to share some of that now. 

Let's start with one you have likely seen already if you follow our facebook page. This mom asked if she could do two poses, one with and one without an ant man action figure. I didn't know why she wanted it that way, but said sure, we can do that. So I take the first image with mom and the son doing a cool action pose, then I walk over to get the action figure to put into the scene, and the son walks out to wait on the side. I then realized he was wearing a matching costume, so the second image was him 'shrinking' to stand on top of the crates. Such a fun and creative idea! 

(Ant man shrinks, two image series)

Since we're talking about creativity, below is another two part series. It's a mother son dance, so mom wanted a portrait with her boys. Her daughter also was there to assist with dance setup when we arrived, so they brought a costume for her to change into and she 'snuck into' the scene for a second photo. I love her expression! Haha

(Another two part series, the daughter sneaking into the scene with her mom and brothers)

Now let's talk about the cute little guy who is the DJ's son. This cutie stood to the side wanting so bad to have his photo taken, so one mom pulled him in after her portrait was taken to take this quick pose with her son. He was so happy! He then came back later for his own solo portrait. I love his little smile. 

(The DJ's son wanted to be part of the excitement)

Another detail I want to point out was something I didn't notice until I was going through the photos later to do editing. When I zoomed in on this photo I loved how this baby was doing a perfect superhero pose. He looks like he's about to fly off to take care of some bad guy! You go little guy!

(Super baby!)

A definite difference I noticed between this year's dance and the 2016 dance when I was going through them for this blog post was the costumes. In 2016 there were a few costumes, or superhero themed shirts, but this year the moms and sons ROCKED IT! I saw lots of costumes on both moms and kids, superhero shirts, masks and capes, and I love how everyone was willing to strike a fun pose. 

(Spotted Storm and Wolverine!)

We had all sorts of superheroes (and some villains) from every hero universe make an appearance. To add to the fun, we had some superman flying away poses. (We were on top of a tall city building after all)

(Superman flying pose)

And of course Spiderman hand posing showed up a few times too, to help him navigate through the city buildings. When the first kid started doing it, I had no idea what he was doing, then once I realized I was happy to suggest the pose to all the spidermen who showed up that night. 

(Spiderman hand pose)

Besides being in costume, we also had several heroes who were trying to be themselves at the party when not fighting crime, from Spiderman ready to throw his mask on at a moment's notice, to superman hiding his costume under his normal clothes, and even Tony Stark was trying to play it cool when not taking down bad guys as Iron Man. 

(Spiderman is ready to mask up if needed, and Tony Stark is enjoying the party when not being Iron Man)

And what kind of superhero event would this be if some villains didn't crash the party as well. Every good event is always being secretly attended by the bad guys, though maybe they are really just jealous they weren't invited. 

(Villains Joker, Cat Woman, and Penguin made an appearance)

And last but not least, where you find Batman villains and a Bat signal, Batman, Robin and Batgirl are usually not far behind. So here is one of the man Batman who made an appearance, looking like they are about to go punch a bad guy. 

(Batman, Batgirl, and Robin)

A final tidbit I want to include that I thought was funny was when posing, I usually start by saying "put your arms around each other", which caused several of the bigger boys to immediately groan and give me faces, but then the next line was "now throw a punch", and the annoyed faces immediately turned to big smiles as they gave me their best posed punches. 

(Who knew telling him to throw a punch would turn that frown upside-down) 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I had a lot of fun creating this setup and seeing everyone dressed up, the costumes really made this all come together, and this is now one of my favorite dances. I wish I could take the time to highlight every photo taken that night, but instead I will attach the link to the entire gallery here so you can take a look and enjoy it yourself. Check out the Whole Gallery Here!

Today I want to brag about this adorable couple, Amber and Eric, who I recently had the pleasure of photographing in the studio for their maternity session. They were so much fun to work with, and I adore the way these two just naturally showed their love for each other throughout the session. 

Since the portraits were scheduled in January (maternity sessions are normally between 30-34 weeks), Amber was hoping for a winter look (without the cold), so I suggested using the birch tree winter backdrop in the studio, and also including some real snow scenes I had taken at the Wissahickon trails after a good snow storm in 2013, (this winter isn't looking promising for outdoor snow portraits so far.) The couple was happy with the real snow option, and preferred the one over the studio background for their larger print. 

Whenever the topic of babies comes up, the next question is usually 'what are you having?' This couple has decided to be a little different and wait to be surprised on the gender, wanting to reveal that big surprise in the delivery room.

Baby 'Bean' as they are currently being called, is due to make their appearance March 18th at the Doylestown Hospital (their closest area hospital), which I have heard all good things about. (It was actually my second choice when I had my daughter in 2017). The boy's name will be Eric, after Daddy, and a girl's name is still being decided. 

When asked how they found out they were expecting, Amber said 'I realized I was a day or so “late” and I could feel something was off/different. Took a test (ok maybe more than one lol) and the rest is history.' 

Then I asked how they felt about finding out, she replied "I was beyond shocked! We weren’t outright “trying” but we also weren’t trying to avoid it either. We did have some trouble conceiving in the past, so it was something that we would he thrilled if pregnancy happened for us naturally, but we were also content with the idea of it maybe just being “us.” I literally thought that the first few tests were wrong or that I was seeing things lol. Once we had our 8 week appointment, heard the heartbeat and saw the little one, it was real and I was still in shock but then I believed the tests lol!"
 

To announce their pregnancy, they waited until the initial prenatal doctor appointment, then put the ultrasound photos in a frame and gave them to the families. Aw, I loved the way they announced so asked Amber if she would tell us more of the story:

"We told my immediate family the day we had our 8 week ultrasound. We came home with the photo in the frame and gave it to my mom and grandma. It also worked out because my brother and his girlfriend were visiting for the day too. Everyone was very shocked, in a happy way. My mom was crying because she was so happy. My brother saw the ultrasound photo and goes “what am I looking at here?” We told Eric’s immediate family a few days later when we went into the city to visit them. We had gifts from a trip we had taken and we put the ultrasound photo in the gift bag for them. His parents and brothers were so happy, his dad even cried." 

During our planning appointment, Eric brought up having a background of being a football player and requested incorporating that into their session somehow. I was happy to oblige and included poses of him showing off his jersey, and also included a Patriot's baby onesie. 

After their session, I asked what their favorite part of the experience has been working with us, Amber said, 'being able to celebrate the pregnancy through photos was our favorite part. Working with a photographer who has a keen eye and passion for the job.'

I love being able to capture these precious memories for my clients, so it makes me very happy to hear that, thank you!

Amber's advice for other people planning their session is, 'Be willing to step outside of the box (but still be comfortable) and trust the photographers eye.'

On that topic, I want to share a quick story, before the day of the session we had discussed Amber wearing a maternity dress (dresses are super flattering for maternity portraits, and work for almost every body type), but she didn't really feel it was her style. (Believe me, I am not someone who normally wears dresses either, so I totally get it.) I had already planned to add maternity gowns to my prop collection, so before we began her session, asked Amber if she was willing to model for me to have as sample images of the dresses I have available to other moms planning their maternity sessions. So we did her regular portraits first, then finished up with poses in the dress. Even though it wasn't her usual style, Amber ended up loving how the dress portraits came out enough to order one. 

When asked if she would she have regretted not having a maternity session, she replied, 'I think so - it was a sweet and intimate way for my husband and I to take some time and really capture the love and excitement for our little one.' She also said, 'Thank you for making the experience memorable. The portraits captured so much love and happiness that we will treasure.'

TIPS FOR PREPARING THE KIDS:

1. Make sure kids are comfortable in what they are wearing. If your child hates what they are wearing it’s going to show in your portraits. That may mean ditching that adorable bow tie, or hair accessory that just makes the outfit perfect…trust me, happy kids make better photos than accessories. Also, dress with the weather in mind, having a child that is too hot or cold is just going to make them cranky. Don't forget to lay out all of your outfits the week before to make sure they coordinate, aren't missing anything, and most importantly, still fit well. 

2. Have everyone fed and bring extra snacks. It’s hard to calm down hangry kids! Make sure they’ve had plenty to eat before arriving and bring lots of extra snacks. Try to bring snacks that are small and not messy, like cheerios. 

3. Outdoor Session? Bring lots of water! There's nothing worse than getting dehydrated from being outside on a hot day, don't forget a water bottle for everyone in the family. 

4. Talk to your kids ahead of time.  Give your kids a heads up before the day of the session about what we’ll be doing and talk to them about how much fun it’s going to be. If your child is old enough, set the expectation of how you would like them to behave during the session so they are not surprised. 

5. Let your child smile naturally! Ok parents…this is a big one!!! Resist the urge to say things like “Don’t smile like that, give me a real smile”.  The best way to get a ‘real smile’ is to actually make your child laugh or smile. So instead of telling them how they should look I focus on being silly and eliciting genuine emotions from them.

6. Bribes and Rewards. Bribes are an excellent way to have children behave nicely during a portrait session. Lollipops, toys, ice cream afterwards…anything that you child finds exciting and can be rewarded with after the session is a great way to get them to comply with all of the things we ask them to do during their time with us. Just remember to keep it positive, we want to keep them smiling, not getting upset. Try saying "We have lollipops after this, so can you make a silly face for the picture",  don't say "If you don't listen, I am taking the lollipops away!"

7. Stay Positive and have fun! Your kids will pick up on your mood so try to take some deep breaths and relax and enjoy the experience. Nothing needs to be perfect. I’m capturing your family just as you are at this point in time.

Here is a wonderful example of a beautiful family that had such a great sessions. Much of the credit has to been handed over to mom…handling 3 kids is not an easy task when you are trying to stay calm, cool and collected during a portrait session. But she did a great job preparing and you can see it in the beautiful images we captured that day.

I'm writing this from experience, for both my kids I went to a studio for my newborn portraits. Let me tell you, I was a mess after I had my first, I had like 30 stitches, was anemic, couldn't stand for longer than a few minutes, and had to pack everyone up and travel 45 minutes to get to the studio. I didn't have the strength to carry my new baby in the baby carrier, or the pile of stuff we brought with us, and had a full flight of steps to walk up to a 2nd floor studio. (Thank goodness for my husband, and the photographer helped us carry things as well.)

With my second child I was more mobile and physically in much better shape, but still went to a 2nd floor studio with a pile of stuff for our newborn session. This time I also had a 19 month old toddler in tow, who I had to find a way to occupy while my baby was having her photos taken for two hours. (Luckily my photographer was well prepared with toys and kid shows, and my husband kept an eye on him most of that time.)

(Older siblings are more relaxed in their own homes, and can go play with their toys during the session.)

Now imagine this, you are relaxing on your couch with your newborn, everything you need for baby is right there with you, their nursery has all the special blankets and items already off to the side to grab when needed. The photographer comes to your home with everything, and all you have to worry about is feeding and changing your baby when needed, and relaxing when you aren't in the portraits. That sounds a lot more pleasant, doesn't it? That's exactly why I offer in-home sessions, because I've been there and want to make the experience as stress-free as I can. And that older sibling? They will be more relaxed in the comfort of their own home, and are welcome to go play with their toys, so no chasing a toddler around a studio or bringing a bunch of things to try to keep them busy. 

(If you are considering an album, the nursery details are great to include.)

If that isn't reason enough, how about being able to incorporate your little one's nursery into their session? I sometimes grab items from around the nursery to include in the portraits, such as baby's blankets, stuffed animals, something with their name or initials on it, etc.

It's also nice to incorporate the details of their room such as laying in their crib (above), or their wall and floor details (below), which you will look back at fondly as their room changes over the years. 

(I love including baby in their room with their name or initials.)

Window light is another beautiful inclusion to your session, I love the intimate moments of Mommy cuddling baby in front of a window backdrop. (Below) This is something we offer during in home sessions, when available. We schedule all newborn sessions around 10am, when baby is in the best mood, but this time of day also gives us beautiful morning light. 

I wrote this post because I feel the benefits of an in home session aren't as well known as they could be, so wanted to show these sessions as welcoming baby into your home, as well as your family. Feel free to contact us if you want to know more about these sessions. 

(Behind the scenes during an in home newborn session.)

Perhaps you are putting it off for later. Later when you have a better outfit on. Later when your makeup is perfect. Later when you did your hair all nice. Why not now? Why not be in the photos with your kids today? 

I capture cute moments all the time with moms ending up in the photos with their kids during sessions as they help to capture those cute smiles and expressions. They go to the session with no intention of getting in front of the camera. It's not about what you are wearing, it's about just being with your children, living in the moment.

In 20 years, your kids won't care what you looked like, they will just be happy to find photos of you together. There is a hashtag out there #ExistInPhotos, it was created for the moms who are waiting for later, when they look perfect, before they will be in a photo with their family. Do you know what happens when waiting for later? It often doesn't happen at all. Do you want to go through photos with your children when they are grown and have no photos of you anywhere? This may sound like a crazy notion, but it's not, and it actually happens more often than it should. 

From this moment on, I am challenging all the moms out there, be IN the photo with your children. If you go to a portrait session, wear a nice outfit and take just a moment for yourself before you leave to not look like you rolled out of bed, just in case that opportunity presents itself that you end up in front of the camera with your children.

This beautiful momma (above) told me when I arrived for the newborn session 'we don't want to be in the photos, we just want pictures of our newborn and toddler.' You know what happened instead? I ended up pulling both parents into the portraits (below) and they absolutely loved them and I'm sure will treasure them for years to come.

So what inspired this post? At a recent session, another mom with no plans of being in the portraits ended up in front of the lens with her little girl. She is just wearing a t-shirt and stretch pants, sitting to the side of throwing the leaves, but her little girl wanted to play with her so she ended up in the photos. Normally these images wouldn't make the cut for the gallery, but they do make the cut for the mom who treasures the fact that she was in a photo with her baby at her birthday session. Mom's response to me when I showed her was "I never get to be in the photos with my kids." 

Don't be afraid to not be perfect. Don't be afraid to show yourself as you are. If you want to look nice, take a moment the day before (since we all know trying to get kids out the door on time is a challenge in itself) to put aside a nice shirt for yourself. You don't have to go crazy, or put in a lot of effort, just a plain, solid colored top works perfectly. (Long sleeve if possible)

Now Momma, smile and don't be afraid to live the moment!

(Here's me handing the camera to someone else to get in the photos with my family when we went apple picking this past September)
 

We take the selfies and share on social media to keep friends and family updated. They aren’t typically the most flattering photos, but I think we hide behind the fact that it’s not expected to be. We see professional maternity photos and think how we would like to have our pregnancy captured, but….  The thought of paying a photographer to have professional maternity photos done sounds like a waste of money. “I mean look how I look in these photos. I’m not a model and definitely don’t feel pretty.” I am here to tell you a photo you capture with your phone will look different than what a professional photographer will capture.

So, I’ve compiled a list of 3 reasons why I hear moms skip having professional maternity photos done. If you have an interest in having a maternity session, but are hesitant read on.

1.  I don’t look like myself. I am fat everywhere!

That’s right! Carrying a baby inside you along with all the extra fluids is going to make you bigger. That’s the way it works. Your skin may break out and get splotchy. But you will have great hair! Some women only gain weight in their belly, but most put it on everywhere. I know with my second I was carrying around something like fifty extra pounds, and it had to go somewhere. 

But regardless, this is how you look pregnant. If you feel like your belly is growing very fast, we can schedule your session a bit sooner. Your session should be when you have a prominent belly but not so late that you are too uncomfortable to move around, usually between 28-32 weeks. If you have your hair and makeup done for your session you’ll be amazed at how beautiful you feel. Pregnancy is beautiful! You are beautiful! Don’t forget that! Maternity sessions are not just about what you look like, they are about how you feel about this miracle inside you that you can’t see yet.

2.  I’d rather just focus on spending the money on the newborn session instead.

I understand photography is a luxury, not a necessity. I also respect and understand that everyone has a budget. Maternity sessions are often cut for reasons of budget. I have made maternity sessions complimentary with every newborn session for this very reason. I think it’s so important to have your pregnancy captured that I want to give each of my newborn clients that option as a thank you for choosing me to capture such a precious time in your lives. I will not push you to have a maternity session if you decide it's not for you as I respect my clients and their decisions.  I just really wish you would consider it.  Pregnancy is a big part of your baby’s story.

3.  I never did it with my other children.

This should be a reason TO have maternity portraits taken! You have regrets of not doing it before? So, do it now! You may never get this chance again regardless of how many children you hope to have. We can’t predict the future. It doesn’t matter if you capture every pregnancy, at least capturing one is an amazing gift to give your future self. Your kids will not hold it against you or think you love them less because you didn’t do it with them all.  That’s typical mommy guilt for you. They may ask, but if you tell them the truth they will understand and not make a big deal out of it. You didn’t with them due to lack of funds, not finding a photographer you liked, not knowing of this style of photography, etc. They will still get to see what you looked like pregnant through the other beautiful professional photos. And they will see your pregnancy with them through ones you did yourself.

Whether you believe it or not, you will one day want to look back on that short lived time. If not you, your children will. You may chuckle about how big you got (I do) or sob because you wish you were experiencing that joy all over again. I loved pregnancy, mostly. Of course there were struggles with each of my pregnancies. I had bad morning sickness, heartburn, rib pain, swelling, prodromal labor, etc. But the miracle of pregnancy gets my heart every time. It’s such an incredible experience. One of my favorite portraits displayed in my living room is my son cuddling my big belly when I was pregnant with my daughter. (Below left. Below right, in the blue dress is also me, the week before I had her.) 

*Disclaimer* This is not a message of pressure. We face so many pressures in this world today as moms. I’m not saying you are a bad mom or will live a life filled with tears over not having them done. If maternity photos are something you are interested in, but make these or any excuses you should really have them done. Why? Because that’s your true heart’s desire. These other thoughts are just noise getting in the way.  If you don’t, you may end up with regrets.  If you have absolutely no desire or interest, then don’t. You may or may not have regrets, but I’m not writing to convince you. I am writing to convince the mom with the desire to listen to her heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But you don't have to take my word for it, I asked a recent maternity and newborn client about her sessions, and this is what she had to say:

(When we first planned her session she wanted to somehow incorporate jeeps, so brought along a green jeep toy and painted her nails green to match. Each session should be as unique as you are.)

1. What was your favorite part of your experience with us?:

I love how genuine and natural the sessions felt. There was some staging but it felt comfortable and relaxed.

2. Do you have any advice for other people planning their portrait session?:

If you want photos that are real. That really show you. This is where you want to go.

3. Would you have regretted not having a maternity and newborn session, if so, why?:

I absolutely would have regretted not getting photos done, my maternity photos turned out so beautiful and having a before and after for when my son was born I will always cherish. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. 

(Wear long sleeves when possible. You can even use sweaters, jackets, and scarves to change up the look without needing to do an outfit change.)

1. What you wear is SUPER important

• Wear solid colors for the best look. Avoid logos, patterns, and stripes. Never wear brights like neon/safety colors. 
• Coordinate your colors. When planning what everyone will wear, choose 2-3 colors and stick with it. Start with the hardest to dress person first, then go from there. Lay all the outfits out together to see how they look together, treat it as if you are making one outfit for cohesiveness. The larger the group, the more important it is to get everyone to coordinate their outfits as much as possible. 
• When possible, wear long sleeves, even if that means adding a sweater over a dress. The reason is when you look at a photo, your eye will automatically go to the brightest part of an image, which is typically the face. If you have short sleeves, your eye will then go to your arms as they will be the same brightness as your face. 

(Words and images on clothes hardly ever photograph well, choose solid colors instead.)

2. Bring a hairbrush and hairspray with you

It's better to do a quick touch-up to fix fly-away hairs before your session, than to pay to have them removed afterwards. 

3. Treat any acne problems several days before your session

4. Wear makeup 

If you are not good at doing makeup, consider booking a makeup appointment at a local salon (like Ulta) before your session. 

5. Chapstick

Use chapstick every time you think of it the week of your session, (yes, even the guys!) and use cherry chaptstick to have redder lips during your session. 

(The larger the group, the more important it is to get everyone to coordinate their outfits as much as possible for a cohesive look.)

For the first time, Sophia was really into it, and all smiles as she enjoyed posing for the camera and enjoyed having her portrait taken. 

Willow didn't seem to know what to think about it, she seems to be just looking at her sister like "what are you doing??"

But after a few minutes, Willow started to relax and was smiling as well. 

Of course at that point Sophia decided she was done with posing, so headed to the adjacent playroom/office to be with her cousins, which left just Willow and I to play and have some fun getting those adorable little smiles. 

After a little while, Sophia came back to switch places and throw the flower petals (they all love throwing petals) 

Then she snuggled up with one of the giant heart pillows. 

And was checking out the other props. 

Since kids never seem to smile in the same photo, here is the final image of the two of them together for their Valentine wallets to give out. 

Of course no session would be complete without having a few photos taken together with their cousins. 

And of course the kitty had to sneak in there too. 

And last but not least.. 

Of course I could always do some head swaps to have everyone looking and smiling at me, but kids being kids are also great memories that we will look back on and enjoy for years to come. 

These are my favorites from the session, you can see the full gallery here- Sophia and Willow Valentine Session 2019

Before your session, we make sure to clean the studio. We tidy up the props, making sure there is no clutter to trip on or things that should not be there for small hands to grab. The floor is vacuumed (sometimes I have a little help, as seen above with my toddler wanting to vacuum haha) and towels/blankets are washed before being used in the setups.

Once the studio is clean, we get the floor and backdrop setup then it's time to focus on our props. Since I am a Mom myself, I know everything goes in the mouth with babies and little kids, so I always make sure to choose props that don't have little pieces, and nothing that could be a choking hazard. I also pay attention to the materials I use, such as the barrel above, which is made out of a heavy duty plastic, so no worry of splinters, and if baby chews on it, I can give it a quick wipe with a baby wipe after their session.

Just another example of babies wanting to eat everything. haha

Babies are wobbly, especially when learning how to sit up or stand on their own. Since babies can easily fall over or get into trouble, I always make sure to have a parent close by in case they are needed. For example, the image above had Mom's hand on the baby's back to keep him from falling over (like the image below) then I just removed Mom's arm from the photo. 

As you can see from the images above and below, Mom is sitting right next to her baby, just out of the setup, but close enough to be able to reach over if needed. A parent will be asked to sit near their child for all milestone sessions from Newborn up to a year old as a spotter in case of trouble.

For the pose below, Mom is again right there in case the baby needs her, and is also holding the crate steady to not slide when the little guy leans against it. 

Below is the final image, I just cropped in a little so Mom's hand wasn't showing, and you really can't even tell. 

Another way I keep babies safe during their session is weights. This barrel (below) has a weight added at the bottom before being covered by a towel to pad the bottom of the container before adding the fabric that will show in the portraits. Even with the weights, babies do get fidgety and can end up falling over, so I had mom right next to him just in case.

I pride myself on trying to keep everyone as safe as possible, but should you ever feel uncomfortable putting your child in a certain pose, or worry that something may not be safe, please speak up so we can all have a safe and happy session together. 

One last tip I have is wear something you feel comfortable having show up in the photos, so when your little one decides to make you part of their session, you don't mind being seen in it. 
 

This time he joined us at the studio which was decorated for autumn sessions with fun props like pumpkins and leaves. I also was able to try out my newest prop, a fluffy basket stuffer. (below)

I am totally in love with this fluffy thing, and the best part is I made it myself! Crazy, right? This time of year when the weather gets chilly, I get the crochet itch and just had to make something. I was thinking maybe a new blanket for a studio prop but once I saw this yarn in the random bagged yarn pile at the store, I just knew I had to give this basket stuffer a try. I had seen them used for newborn portraits before, but loved the idea of using it for Henry's 3 month session because the colors were just too perfect! I also knew we would have laying poses in the bucket, so it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. 

Since I wasn't sure how he would feel about tummy poses (babies either love them, hate them, or love them for a moment then hate them) so we started with laying poses first, then once we had gotten those, we turned him around to show that he can lift his head now. 

He was super cooperative and had lots of smiles for us, so we got through those poses quickly then switched him into his Halloween costume, a dragon! 

The cutest little dragon ever! He wasn't thrilled about the hat, but finally accepted it when we moved him to a tummy pose so he could look around. 

We wrapped up his three month session with his elephant, which will be joining him for all his sessions to show him growing.

Below is Henry with his elephant for his newborn session.

And Henry with his elephant for his 6 Week Mommy and Me session, below. 

She was a well behaved newborn, sleeping most of the session and just waking up for the usual reasons. When she was awake she just wanted to be held by her mommy, so we used that to our advantage for poses like the one below. 

Fast forward to a year later, she is now celebrating her first birthday! Of course I had to get her scheduled in for her very special birthday session with cake smash and splash. These sessions I usually schedule for the week following their birthday party since the cake can usually be saved until then, as well as being able to sometimes incorporate party decorations into their session. 

Since Willow is an October baby, her party was autumn/halloween themed, so our autumn themed studio was perfect for her session. We started by letting her warm up to the new surroundings by throwing leaves in the air which she thought was great!

Willow is a very happy baby, smiling easily at everything, and with a very pleasant demeanor. She also is beginning to walk around which made for some very different portraits than her sister, who was just starting to stand for her birthday session. (Sophia at her session below)

A fun little tidbit, both girls wore the same outfit for their birthday session!

Now it was time to bring in the cake, her mommy baked cupcakes then decorated the tops with a jack-o-lantern shaped icing. Willow immediately knew what it was, and was eager to dive in for a bite. 

Once she realized that her sister and cousins were watching her from the other room (they were baby gated in the adjacent playroom so they wouldn't run through the studio) she got more into eating her cake, almost like a "haha I have cake and you don't" look on her face as she grinned at them and shoved it into her mouth. 

After the cake smash part of the session we moved on to the splash. I brought in the tub full of warm water and lots of bubbles. The studio instantly smelled pleasantly like lavender bubble bath, and mixed with the warmth of the nearby heater, it made me want to jump in myself. 

Willow had no problem with sticking her hands in the water and playing with the bubbles, but absolutely did not want to be in the tub. So after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, we settled on having a cute baby butt portrait instead. 

So there you have it, baby Willow turned a year old, and joined us to capture this special milestone in her life. I hope to have her back again soon, as she was an absolute delight to work and play with. 

Planning for her session was interesting because mom, Alicia, wanted to be surprised by the gender this time around, so we all waited eagerly to find out if she would be the little sister or little brother. Then to add to it she was due when I was away on vacation for a week, so I kept peeking at my email to see if she had arrived yet. Prisca ended up not arriving until after I was back, so we scheduled her session in August when she was just 11 days new. 

We started the session with big brother Judah wearing "The best brother" shirt. I wanted him to warm up to the camera before we tried to get him to lay with his new baby sister. He was quite happy to grin at me for a moment, then in typical toddler fashion, rolled over and ran off to play with his toys.

Mom laid with Prisca on the bed in the nursery, while I was moving things around, so I was able to capture this special moment they were having without knowing I was there. At first they told me they only wanted portraits with Judah and Prisca, and none with mom and dad, but once I assured mom she looked great (which she absolutely does!) she warmed up to the idea of letting me capture her in the photos as well.

Judah saw mommy laying on the bed then decided he wanted to be on the bed too, so brought his truck over and laid down to play. After a while, he decided he was done with this whole taking photos business, so jumped off the bed and ran down the hall to the living room to play with his toys and daddy.

It seemed like a good time to swaddle Prisca for her posed portraits since she had just been fed and changed, so I pulled out my wraps and mom was excited to see she had this adorable peach headband sitting on the bureau that perfectly matched my peach wrap. It's amazing how things can work out sometimes. 

This little cutie decided she wasn't quite ready for sleep yet, so quietly watched me for a while before the big yawns started.

It was just a matter of time before she drifted off to sleep with her big brother's monkey plush, while laying on a small baby blanket handmade by a relative. It's the little details like this that make each session special, and that I love to include for mom and dad to remember every time they look at their portraits hanging up. 

She has an angel bear that plays soft music, I like how it looks like it's watching over her while she sleeps. 

One of the details from her nursery that mom asked if I could include was the "P" that hangs on the wall by the bed, with a K below it. (Her initials) 

Once I had gotten the sleeping poses it was time for the baby toes which I love so much. (If you haven't already figured it out from my past posts, I LOVE baby toes, they are my favorite feature!) I snuck the feet out from under the wrap and while I was getting the first few images, mom handed me some pearls and asked if we could incorporate them. I immediately loved the idea and got the creative juices flowing as I figured out how to sneak these small strands around the tiny feet. It was actually harder than it looks, I kept tickling her toes by accident as I draped them over, then would have to readjust them after I made her move. 

One of my signature poses is mom's hands holding the little baby feet in a heart, so I started with the standard pose, then saw one of the strands of pearls laying next to me and knew I just had to use it. It took a lot of patience getting the pearls to stay in the heart shape while also getting Prisca to keep her feet somewhat flat, but after a few tries this was the end result, and I'm in love!

This little cutie was so perfectly behaved, sleeping the whole time and letting me move her hands around for the perfect pose. Every time I look at that little face I just want to go "awwwwww!"

The little details are so important, I always make sure to get the fingers, ears, and face close ups. 

And of course when possible the perfect little eyelashes as they sleep. Another "awwwwww" moment. 

Eventually she did wake up wanting a diaper change and to eat, so it was time for some candid mommy and baby snuggle time. 

After lots of cuddles and a good burp, she was happy again. 

Then it was time to switch so we could capture daddy cuddle time. 

Dad had me giggling with how he snuggles and plays with his little girl, tickling her face and having her sing songs with him by moving her lip. She even got to be a unicorn. 

We completed the session with both mommy and daddy snuggling their little bundle of joy.

I really enjoyed getting to work with this family, you can really feel the loving bond they have together, and how natural it was for them to just snuggle on the bed with their baby. It was an honor getting to be a part of this special moment in their lives. 

Born July 18th, weighing in at 8lbs even, and 20 inches long. He joined us at just over 2 weeks new for his Newborn Session in the comfort of his nursery. I really like doing newborn sessions in the baby's room to be able to incorporate their nursery details as part of their session. 

Whenever you see newborn portraits, you almost always see these adorable sleeping baby poses, but as this little guy showed me, sometimes they just don't want to sleep. They want to know what's going on and be part of the excitement. 

And my response to that is I don't mind at all, whether they want to sleep or be awake, we can always make it work. Parents often worry that their baby won't cooperate for their session, but there is really nothing to worry about since we are capturing your baby as they are now, and their own unique personality. 

 Since he had no interest in sleeping, and was perfectly happy with laying on his own, mom grabbed his giant elephant plush to snuggle into, and I made sure to get in close to see those big beautiful eyes. I actually loved the interaction I was able to have with him awake, since he would stare right into the lens and make cute little faces at me. 

There was only one moment where he wasn't a happy camper and wanted his mommy, which I just had to share because his momentary tantrum was just too darn cute! Only when they are babies do you not mind the angry screams and instead go "Awwwwww!"

Since he was so well behaved during our time together, we also were able to have adorable poses of him playing with his mommy. 

And of course snuggling with daddy! 

After all the excitement, he finally snuggled into his mommy's arms and fell fast asleep. I guess trying to stay awake the past two hours finally caught up with him. 

Once he was asleep, he was typical of most babies in that he was completely out cold, and able to be moved into a crate for cute sleeping baby poses. Of course, in typical baby fashion, he decided to fall asleep just ten minutes before his session was scheduled to be over so his parents were getting ready to leave, but even so, I am very happy I was able to capture these for his parents. 

This little guy is currently part of our Little Foxies baby plan so keep an eye out for his next session!

Before you go, here are some adorable baby feet, because every newborn session needs some adorable little baby toes!

From the mom about picking her favorites from the gallery - "I have no idea how many I "loved" of the pictures, it's hard to pick just a few."

My response was "That means I did my job right"

Mom replies back "You always do"

We had scheduled their session for a Sunday, but the weather was expected to be stormy and incredibly humid, so we switched it to the Saturday before. The sun was shining, the clouds were white and fluffy in a bright blue sky, and the humidity was absolutely disgusting! haha (But it was still better than the next day)

I decided the best location for the session would be the rose garden. It was just a short walk from the parking lot, and had a variety of background choices without having to move around too much. This is especially great when it comes to small children as they have very short attention spans, so longer sessions can result in them getting cranky. 

I just had to include this one above because Rocco has the cutest pouty faces! 

I went early to check out what was blooming before they arrived, and I knew as soon as I saw these roses (below) with the stone wall and big terra cotta  pots that I wanted to have Alyssa with Rocco standing next to it for the mommy and me poses. Her dress color coordinating with the color of the roses behind her was a just a lucky accident. 

I knew I wanted something more masculine and less flowery for dad's poses with baby (below), so right next to the roses where I had mom standing, we used the iron gate to the garden. I like how the plain green of the background really makes them pop with their light colored shirts. 

One of my favorite poses was this one below. He may not be smiling, but he looks so content to just watch me from his little barrel. I decided to try out a new editing technique, and really love how it came out in the end. 

Of course he was also adorable just playing with his little Mickey Mouse rattle, no posing required. He wasn't quite able to sit up yet, so if it had been a regular session, and not a special outdoor location with weather restrictions, I probably would have suggested they wait a few more weeks to have the sitting up poses from him. Something we could still do is to take photos of him in the barrel in my studio once he can sit up, and add it into the garden background since I took a few shots of the barrel alone to be able to use later if needed. 

I guess I wore them out!

After our ordering appointment, I asked if there was any feedback on how I could do things better. I just want to share this tidbit, which is one of the reasons why I enjoy getting to meet with my clients instead of just posting a gallery after the session.

"Personally, I prefer to look at a gallery of images on my own time as opposed to an ordering appointment. However, the appointment was absolutely helpful in this case since Maura was able to explain how she can swap faces and touch up images, etc, which I wouldn't have known just from looking at a gallery :) "

I had a family I had met from one of my schools willing to model for me for two of the topics, which were "Middle Child Day" on August 12th, and "Dog Day" on August 26th. 

Besides capturing these two images for my project, I also captured some fun family moments as they played together, and had fun loosening up.

Or how about little Sadie (below) who was so adorable, and giving me major attitude when we first started the session. We had a moment here where she wasn't really sure what she thought about me following her around. 

But after staring intently at me for a few minutes, decided her surroundings were more interesting and started ignoring me for the most part. 

Since I was no longer a threat, nor very interesting, she turned her attention to her brother instead. 

After knocking him over while climbing on top of him for a big hug, she settled into his lap and they sat quietly together for a while. 

Mom told me she had never tried to have a family portrait taken before because she didn't know if her kids would behave. Sure they ran around a bit as kids do, and took a while to warm up to me, but once they did, we captured some beautiful portraits. 

What I learned from this session is sometimes it's better to just let the kids run and play for a while to warm up to the location and the stranger chasing them around with a camera. I also liked to keep a distance to let the moments happen naturally, acting more as a fly on the wall as the family spent the time together at dusk. 

It's when they forget they are being watched when the best moments happen. 

And what was the final result of all this craziness? A beautiful family portrait to thank them for modeling for me.

February 14th- Valentine's Day

We offered Valentine themed portraits for children in our studio Jan 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th, and Feb 3rd and 4th. 

March 3rd - 11th, The Philadelphia Flower Show

If you have been following us for a while, you will know this is the biggest thing I look forward to each spring. For me, it is signal that spring is almost here after the bleakness of winter. Even though every year the theme is different, my favorite part that never changes is that first moment when you walk through the doors of the main hall and see the entrance display and the smell of fresh flowers hits you. You find yourself just stopping for a moment to take a deep breath of that amazing aroma. 

This year's theme is Wonders of Water, which I anticipate will be full of fun water features and fountains. To find out more about the Philadelphia Flower Show, visit their website here. If you want to see photos we have taken at past shows, you can find them here.  

Flower show bike wheel with waterFlower show bike wheel with water

April 1st- Easter

It's no joke that Easter is on April Fool's Day this year, so book your session for children's Easter sessions in our studio select weekends in March so you don't miss it! Sessions are by appointment only, Outdoor sessions will be available weather permitting. Indoor setup is best suited for children under 2, outdoor sessions will include a mini egg hunt, suitable for any children who enjoy egg hunts.

The rest of April into May we will be offering Spring sessions outdoors, and if we have any interest, may have a few special days at a very special location!

You can Book your Easter session here or send an email to Maura@quantumfoxphoto.com

April to May

We are offering a special theme of little girls wearing their mommy's dress (or wedding dress) to play dress-up.

Dads, schedule a session in April to have them in time to surprise mom for mother's day! 

May 13th- Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, we will be offering Mommy and Me sessions this year on May 5th, 6th and 12th. 

June 17th- Father's Day

Father's Day Mini Sessions
==========

Something I don't talk about very often is my father. I was finally getting to know him when he passed away, and I only have one photo with him. To honor the Fathers in our lives, we will be doing a special Portrait Day for dads with their kids June 16th (the day before Father's Day). 

There are 6 spots available, no session fees, and specially priced packages. If we fill all 6 slots, everyone will receive a special gift with their order, so make sure you tell a friend! 

Session Details:
*Portraits will be Indoors in a studio setting at our Warminster in-home studio.
*Each session is 15 mins in length
*20 minute Ordering Session immediately to follow 
*Packages start at $20, Pricing and What to Expect for your session will be emailed out prior
*Only 6 slots available, must sign up by June 8th
*We request you be 5-10 minutes early for your scheduled time. Lateness will result in less session time. (Ex. If your session start time is 10:00, and you show up at 10:10, you will only have 5 mins of session time) 

Times Available:
10:00 am
10:50 am
11:40 am
12:45 pm
1:35 pm
2:25 pm

You can sign up for this event here.

June through August - Family Portraits

Schedule an outdoor Family Portrait Session, you could choose a local location or enjoy a trip down the shore for a sunset beach session (Travel fees apply). 

Summer Family PortraitSummer Family Portrait Session

July

Keep an eye out for Christmas in July deals (when you book your holiday sessions early), specials for my birthday, and maybe the lemonade stand will finally make an appearance!

September- Back to School

We added a children's wood desk prop this past fall, so will be using it for back to school themed portraits the end of August into the beginning of September. Dates to be determined. 

September through November - Family Portraits

Schedule your family portrait with the changing leaves, or small families can join us in the studio.

Autumn Family SessionAutumn Family Portrait Session Studio Family SessionFamily Portrait Session in the Studio

October 31st- Halloween

At the end of September, autumn takes over our studio for fall themed sessions and Halloween costume sessions throughout October. Dates to be determined. 

Fall SessionsAutumn Children's Sessions in the Studio

December 25th- Christmas

Holiday studio sessions will be available select weekends in November. Orders in time for Christmas must be ordered by the first weekend of December. 

Wilkinson Christmas Portrait 2017Holiday Portrait Session

I knew I wanted some kind of collage since it was my intent to be able to swap out photos as my kids grow, but the main photos would be from my daughter's newborn portrait session since it was the whole family together. I started by checking out my options on google to see if there was something that already existed that would work, however, the one I found (blow) was all 4x6 photos, which would be much too small for the space I wanted to fill.

I did really like the idea though of the leaves and tree trunk with the word 'Family', so using photoshop, I copied these elements and used them to figure out what would fit in the space I had to work with above the couch. 

I knew I would have a 10x13" (the photo of my son cuddling my belly when I was pregnant) and the 10x20" of my son at 3, 6, and 9 months old, since I already had both of them waiting to be framed and hung, but the rest of the sizes and photos used were completely variable. Once I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, I added it over an image of the wall and couch to see how it looked. 

I knew the smallest image size I would use would be 5x7" in an 8x10" frame, and like my images to be matted so they do not stick to the glass, so took a drive to the store to see what was available in multiple sizes, and preferably with mats. I found a black frame that fit my needs, and after finalizing my sizes, went back and purchased them.

I ordered my prints, some of which were not the ones I had first started with, since I wanted them to be cohesive while hanging together. I printed out my leaf designs from photoshop in black silhouettes to use in hanging everything on the wall to make sure they fit correctly, as there are always variables when going from a computer design to actually hanging it, like the size of the frame would be slightly larger. 

To create the template for the wall, I rolled out a long piece of bulletin board paper that I had on hand and traced each frame. Now listen closely since I have a huge tip that made this step crucial. After I cut out each frame tracing, I wrote the size on it, and held it even with the frame it went with then rubbed my finger where the hanging piece was. These particular frames had a triangle hanger, and most of them had 2. Once I had an indent of the triangle hangers, I then used my pencil to trace the triangle on the paper to make it easier to see. 

I used wall safe scotch tape looped in a circle on the backs of each of the templates, and using my template on my computer for reference, hung them on the wall. In the image above, the tree pieces are paper taped up as well. I didn't have the "family" in the middle yet, so we took a drive to a local store and happened to find two designs we liked, so bought both, then returned the one that didn't fit as well. 

Once the design was mapped out on the wall, then came the next step of adding the hooks into the wall. I used a hammer and level, made sure the triangles of each frame was level, and nailed straight into the paper, removing it after the hooks were in. I was then able to add the frames one at a time until the design was done. 

For the pieces of tree, we had a thin piece of wood in our shed, so I traced them onto it, and my husband cut them out, we then painted them black, and hung them using command velcro strips in case we ever want to change the design, they are able to be moved. 

The last Saturday in September is a great day to back up those digital photos and organize all those boxes of prints.

This day reminds us that these precious memories are perishable.  Whether through natural disasters like floods, fires, tornados or hurricanes or the human ones like spilled liquids and computer viruses, photos in any form are fragile.  Backing them up and preserving them are necessary for the long haul.

Some of the older photographs that have made it this far may be missing vital information.  Many of our grandparents didn’t take the time to write the names of the people in the pictures, never realizing that generations later would be as fascinated by the people in the pictures as they were by taking them.

There are several ways to create order from the chaos.  Take charge of the modern photos now.  Label as you go by including names, dates and information about the event on the picture. Back up the digital photos on a regular basis. Share your favorites and display those that bring a smile.

Scan, preserve and share the photos with family to be shared for future generations as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I would like to give a few tips on the best ways to help your special memories last a lifetime. 

First off, PRINT! A print will absolutely outlive digital files, I know this for a fact as over time I have lost digital images due to computer crashes, not properly backing up, and even technology becoming better has resulted in those original files looking like such poor quality now they are not worth printing. I'm not saying don't keep digitals, but make sure you back them up in at least 2 different places, and have prints of them as well. 

How to Make Sure Your Prints Will Last:

Make sure you are properly storing your prints. They should be kept in a cool, dark place, away from moisture. They also should be in an acid free container, whether that's a plastic photo box, or wrapped in acid free paper. 

Why? Heat will damage your prints. Bright sunlight will make them fade, and moisture can create mold and make them stick together. You may also be asking what's so important about being acid free? I have a background in custom framing and have personally opened old framed prints that have not been kept in an acid free environment (I will get more into that in a minute) and the prints become discolored, faded, and the paper becomes brittle and likely to crumble. You may not think it will happen to you, but I have seen this stuff first hand both from pulling out old prints with my grandparents from boxes, as well as from being a custom framer. 

You mentioned acid free framing, tell me more about that. 

Choose an acid free backing. The cardboard that comes with most frames is acidic, and will eat away at the back of your prints. 

When you decide you want to frame a print, there are thousands of choices out there, from already made to custom options. Not all frames and mats are created equal. Let's start with the obvious, the backing. In most cases (usually when you go to the store to buy a frame) the backing is cardboard. Why does this matter? Because cardboard is extremely acidic, and eats away at the back of your prints. An easy solution for this is to include a buffer between the backing and your print. This can be a piece of acid free paper (scrapbooking paper) added in between, or you can have a mounted print on styrene, and with the added thickness, you should be able to throw that cardboard away and not need to use it at all. Another option is to get an acid free backing like acid free foam board (ask a local framer where you can get some). 

If you have a metal or plastic frame, there is no acid to worry about, but any kind of organic material, like a wood or composite, will be acidic, so make sure your print is not touching the edges.

Next let's talk about the frame. Frames can be wood, plastic, composite, or metal. If you have a metal or plastic frame, there is no acid to worry about, but any kind of organic material, like a wood or composite, will be acidic, so make sure your print is not touching the edges. The best way to do this is by matting your print, which will give you space from the frame, so the mat will take the damage instead of your print. 

I am big on matting because the mat takes damage instead of your print as mentioned above, and also because a mat will keep the surface of prints from touching the glass. You don't want prints to be pressed against the glass since they can become stuck, which will cause damage. Another good reason for matting is because it allows the print to 'breathe' with temperature and humidity changes, but make sure you are only taping the print on the top to the mat, since over-taping can result in warping. 

Not all mats are acid-free, make sure to look for 'acid free' on the label. 

One thing to note, not all mats are acid-free, and the mats that come inside of frames do not tell you if they are acid-free or not. If you want to make sure you are getting an acid-free option, take a look at the mats sold by themselves (I have seen them for sale at local craft stores), which are clearly labeled as "Acid Free". 

Light will cause fading over time, it doesn't matter if it's sunlight or room light, both have UV rays.

Lastly, let's talk about the glass. Glass comes in different levels of UV protection, as well as having non-glare options. Museum glass, for example, is a non-glare option with 99% UV protection. It's called museum glass because it is literally the same thing protecting priceless artwork in museums. Glass in a standard frame is typically around 45% UV protection. Why does UV protection matter? Light will cause fading over time, it doesn't matter if it's sunlight or room light, both have UV rays. Do note that hanging your prints or artwork in direct sunlight or very bright room light will fade them faster, no matter which kind of glass you choose. 

~~~~~

Comments or questions? Please leave them below. 

Quantum Fox Photography _ Warminster, PA _ grandfather with baby print vs cdWhat are YOU leaving for the next generation?

I want to start by saying that this is not meant to replace having a professional photographer take your portraits for special occasions, such as special milestones in your child's life (first year milestones, communion, etc), holiday photos or a family portrait. This is meant more for your day to day life, taking snapshots of those little moments you want to remember like playing outside at the park, enjoying a meal together, or on vacation. 

So how can you take better pictures? Let's cover some basics. 

Let's start with Getting Down to their Level. It's something so simple, but people often don't remember to do it. Why does this make a difference? It gives the person viewing the image a better connection to the subject, and puts you one on one with what the child is doing at that moment. 

Next let's talk about the background. When you decided to pull out the camera was it to capture your child's expression or to include them in a whole scene? For example, if you are standing on the beach, do you want to include the beach in the background, or just focus on your child playing in the sand? 

Once you decide on your background, look around the frame, do you see anything distracting? Are there people? Something bright colored that you don't want included? If you do see distracting elements the easiest way to get rid of them is usually to take a step to the left or right to not include them. 

Crazy limb crops. Let's face it, kids move, A LOT! Sometimes just moving your camera back a little farther will get them all in, though don't expect them to stay put, there is a good chance they are going to follow you as you move back to try to get them all in (like this little girl below who was scooting across the floor towards me as I backed up). 

"The eyes are the windows to the soul" and usually the first thing you look at when viewing a portrait. For this reason it's important to choose the eyes as where your camera is focusing, while also trying to get some light in the eyes so they are not lost in shadow. A little catchlight makes a huge difference in a simple shot like the one below. 

Now if you have followed all the tips above, you should be left with a great composition and a better picture of your children.

If our tips have helped you out, please let us know in the comments below. :)

Now let me show you the original. 

Now you see we have the crier, looking the wrong way, and someone trying to sneak away to her mom hiding in the background. 

So how did I fix it? First I started by fixing the background. 

Once I had added the background back in, it starts to feel like it's coming together, but we aren't done yet. 

I had started by doing individual shots of each child before we brought them in for the final group shot, this helped them get used to the camera and the setup, and gave me a chance to get smiles from them individually to use for the group shot. In this case this little girl was crying, so I swapped this happy face into the final image. 

I also was able to get a smile from this little girl to swap with her not looking so sure about being with the group. 

I also was able to swap this little girl's smile onto her looking away. 

So here is the final result, three out of six children had a headswap. I could have also swapped the boys in the back to not be having a candy cane battle, but it was so typical of them that the parents liked it this way. 

You may have seen this image from me in the past, but I wanted to post it again. I originally took this photo of my grandfather with his first great grandchild together because I wanted to show the importance of printing instead of images all being digital and on cds. The message was to print photos to be able to pass them down to the next generation. Now I see a different message from this portrait, the importance of taking photos together. This is the only image I have of my grandfather with my son that wasn't taken with a phone, about 6 months later we lost my grandfather suddenly as his cancer rapidly spread. When I look at this portrait, which I do have printed and hanging in my living room, it reminds me that existing in photographs is important.

The last photos I have with my grandfather are at my wedding, 3 whole years before we lost him.  Since losing him, I have made an effort to take more photos with my kids and family.

When is the last time you had a family portrait taken? I had this portrait taken by Erica Colvin Photography the week after we welcomed Kairi into our family in April. 

Quantum Fox Photography Can I have my Digital Files?

Before I would have said no, but as of this year, yes you can. But before I just hand over your files, think carefully about why you want them. Is it to share on social media? To print yourself? Because you think they will last forever this way? 

THINK AGAIN – We Have Entered the Era of the Photographic Lost Generation

We live in a digital age and we take more pictures than ever before, but we are going to be a generation with more lost images than any other. As technology changes at lightning speed, these images are sadly going to be lost. So the memories you are so desperate to capture today, won’t be around tomorrow. 

If you think about your child, how many of their photos are on your phone? How many of those have you printed? What if your phone falls and gets smashed, will you still have those images somewhere? 

The harsh reality is 42% of people aged between 30 & 44 (yes, that’s probably you) will look back in a decade and wonder where photos of their children’s childhood, holidays and family get-togethers, have gone. Your grandchildren will ask you questions and you won’t have the album to flick through to show them what fun you had at the beach, or what his grandad looked like. Why? Because people no longer print photographs or create photo albums. In fact, 67% store their photos solely on a computer or phone. You probably have every intention of printing, but it’s a pain and it’s time consuming.

Also, think about how technology changes, we had photos saved on a '95 computer, it used floppy discs, and we had some of our first digital images on it (scanned prints). So what happened to those photos? They are on a hard drive, stuck in someone's closet, because the computer died and it would be too expensive to have it hooked up to get anything off of it. Besides that fact, the images were such low resolution that anything you could print from it now would be incredibly pixelated. 

My first digital camera was a Nikon point and shoot, I took photos in Ireland back in 2005 on it, and now, except for the ones my grandmother made sure to print for me, I don't even know where they are, or if they even still exist on an old hard drive. 

So Why PRINT?

We have to remember the value and importance of printed, framed, and mounted photographs in our lives and for the generations after us. Children love to see images of themselves around the house, studies have shown it even increases their self worth and self esteem. My son has a collage of his first year hanging, and even though he's not even 2 yet, loves to look at them and discuss them with his daddy. I also have caught him standing on our couch to be able to better view a collage we have hanging there of our family. 

My husband and I have a wedding album we like to pull out on our anniversary and go through together, and will be able to show it to my son when he is older. 

Also, blank walls are so boring.. my bathroom wall was empty for the first year after we moved in, and my husband asked me if we could please hang something in there. (Then I shared my plan to have my son's first birthday smash and splash hanging, since I thought him in a washtub taking a bath would be super cute in the bathroom.) So our walls stayed empty for another couple of months until after he turned one. Now I have 3 beautiful metal prints hanging, that I admire every day. 

Why Order a Print?

Because there are moments you can’t get back, but a print can make you feel them again.

Because your prints are for today, tomorrow and all the tomorrows after that.
Because prints remind us of what love really feels like.
Because they’re only young once.

Because the place to save money is not on the most important purchases.
Because when there’s a fire, what’s the first thing you grab?
Because phones fall into toilets and hard drives crash

Because you can touch and feel your memories.
Because you put too much work into your family not to show them off!
Because technology comes and goes.
Because photography is best enjoyed in print.
Because a memory stick in a drawer is pointless.

Because a hard drive doesn’t trigger a smile.
Because memories are tied to touch.
Because there’s nothing like sitting down by a fireplace and flipping through the pages of a family album.
Because your parents and grandparents won’t be around forever.

Quantum Fox Photography carries a wide selection of products designed to showcase and preserve your families’ memories. Give yourself the gift of showcasing in PRINT your most cherished moments or people. Use the space where you spend the most of your time to display the images you love. I am trained in the art of printing, I understand how to crop an image, choose the right paper and prepare it at the right size for the medium you would like to print on. I understand how to prepare it, so it looks amazing – not just ok, AMAZING. After-all, you are making a big investment, it must look amazing.

Together, we can incorporate these images into any space and create an environment that will tell the story of your life. We use high-quality products and printing techniques to ensure that you will have heirloom pieces for years to come. If you are prepared to pay a lot of money for digital files, don’t ruin them with cheap prints. I am here to give you the whole package.  My create your own collection option now includes digitals. 

 Make Us Your Next Photographer!

So let's take a few minutes to talk about why hugs are so great. 

1. It Increases Bonding with Our Partner and Loved Ones

Hugging can cause a release of oxytocin from the brain, causing us to bond with our partner. The release of this hormone causes a rise in feelings of commitment and intimacy as we share feelings for each other through hugging.

Try hugging with your partner to feel your bond strengthen!

2. It Relaxes the Body

Hugging causes our muscles to relax, releasing tension in the body.

Hug someone to wash away the cares of the day!

3. Pain Relief

Hugging releases endorphins, which relieve pain by blocking pain pathways and soothe aches by increasing circulation to soft tissues. 

When you are in pain, reach out for a hug!

4. Increases Empathy and Understanding

A passionate hug allows for the exchange of feelings across the bioenergetics field generated by the heart, causing us to empathize with the other person. This builds trust between people in a way that words simply cannot. 

Hug someone when you want to open your heart to them!

5. Helps with Depression

Hugging can increase the production of dopamine in your brain, and this can be seen in PET scans of the brain. Dopamine levels are low in people with conditions with mood disorders like Depression.

So if you see someone depressed, give them a hug, and bring a little joy to their life.

6. Helps You Feel Happy

Hugging can increase the production of serotonin from your brain, which improves your mood and can boost your self-esteem. A person experiences depression and loneliness when their serotonin levels are low. Hugging causes the brain to release serotonin and endorphin to blood vessels to create pleasure and negate sadness. Hugging also results in improved performance at work and at school.

Hug your partner or child if they are feeling blue!

7. Stress Relief

Hugging alleviates stress by reducing the levels of circulating cortisol (the stress hormones) in the blood. This causes the mind to calm down. This helps in decreasing cortisol-induced hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus. Studies show that well-hugged babies are less stressed than less-hugged adults. 

When your partner comes home after work, just give them a warm hug!

8. Good For Your Heart

Hugging can decrease heart rate. In a study conducted by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, participants who did not have any contact with their partners developed a quickened heart rate of 10 beats per minute compared to 5 beats per minute among those who got to hug their partners during the experiment. Decreasing heart rates will help in decreasing blood pressure and cardiac illness

9. Less Likely To Get Sick

Dr. Shelden Cohen conducted a study of over 400 healthy adults who were interviewed about their perceived social support. They participated in night phone interviews for two weeks. They were asked about the frequency that they engaged in personal conflict and received hugs that day. The researchers exposed the participants to the common cold virus and monitored to assess symptoms and signs of infection. They found that the people who perceived themselves as having good social support and received frequent hugs had less or no number of symptoms and signs of infection. The people who went through interpersonal conflict and the people who received less or no hugs, however, exhibited different symptoms and signs of infection. Hugging can decrease the stress hormone which inhibits the immune system and increase the hormones and peptides that regulate the functioning of immune cells.

Give your children hugs and keep them healthy and immune!

10. Reduces Worry

A study revealed that hugging and touching reduce worry. The study also discovered that even hugging an inanimate object like a teddy bear was enough to soothe an individuals fears. Moreover, simply imagining hugging a person you love the most can cause your brain to release serotonin, dopamine, and endorphin, triggering feelings of happiness and joy. This will also negate the worries by decreasing the levels of stress hormone, by altering the perception of the brain, and by evoking positive emotions.

Don’t worry, hug and live long!

So how can you observe the day? 

Give someone a big hug and use #NationalHuggingDay to post on social media!

Our information about the benefits of hugging were found here- http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/03/the-chemistry-of-hugging-11-benefits-of-hugging/

In no particular order, this sums up 2016. We had cake smash and splashes, high school senior portraits, babies and children of various ages, and a couple of families.

Of course we can't forget about our school dances, which included three mother-son dances, two father-daughter dances, and a mother-daughter luncheon of fun various themes. Except for the two western themed ones this past year, each one was totally unique in background design and presented their own challenges, but my favorite part is still once I get it all setup at the dance being told how much everyone loves it, and how it perfectly fit their theme. That is what makes it all worth it in the end. 

2016 School Dances

Had a great session with the beautiful fall foliage over the weekend. I was really nervous with the threat of rain predicted for Sunday, but we got really lucky and it held off until afterwards.

The dark clouds started to roll in as we walked back to the car, and it began to pour as we drove home. I don't know if these kids had more fun hanging from tree branches, or climbing on the cannon, but it was definitely a memorable portrait session.

Sometimes it's really fun to capture those candid moments when the kids are talking to each other, not realizing you are taking their picture. 

Mom didn't really want to be in the portraits, but was up for a beautiful partial silhouette to end the day. 

We decided to try out Solebury Orchards which is near Peddler's Village. They have a little tractor ride from the shop over to the rows of apples that are ripe that week (varieties change from week to week. Apple season is the end of August until the beginning of November) 

We let Kaeden pick one, he was so happy with himself, and then he immediately (without any prompting) took a bite!

They do allow munching as you go, and even have trash cans just for apple cores available in the picking areas, which is great because then you can taste the different varieties to see if it's better for baking or eating. (They do also note on their website what the different kinds are best for) 

We picked three different types, Pixie Crunch for eating, which was my favorite (and what Kaeden is happily munching on), Honeycrisp for baking (they were also some of the biggest apples I have every seen) and another variety that was for baking but could also be eaten because it wasn't too tart. 

We had so much fun, that when we ran out of apples we actually returned to pick more a couple of weeks later. By then the varieties were different, and are more of a baking variety than eating, but are still being enjoyed.

If you want to learn more about picking your own apples, check out the Solebury website here- http://www.soleburyorchards.com/pick-your-own/

2016 Senior

This past week I had a session with high school senior, Mackenzie, who just graduated. The session kept getting rescheduled due to the threat of rain, so we were so happy when the weather finally cooperated! 

She wore a gorgeous prom gown, which really sparkled in the evening light. I love all the rhinestones! It took a couple of minutes for her to relax, but after we tied her up in tulle and played with balloons, she smiled more easily. 

I love this shot of her peeking through the balloons, it's so much fun!

There was a bit of a breeze, so the balloons did blow around a bit, but we still managed to get some nice shots in between the gusts. 

We played around with the wildflowers, the evening light highlighting her hair, which was beautifully curled for the session. 

After the field we moved on to a metal bridge. We had to stop several times because the bridge is apparently very popular in the evening and there was a lot of foot traffic and people walking dogs. 

Though she started out uptight, she smiled easily, and I loved capturing her expressions. 

The back of the dress was also covered in glittering rhinestones, so we made sure to have her turn to show it off. 

After a quick change we went to the long grasses and had some fun goofing around.

I decided to throw in a black and white, which ended up being her favorite shot from the whole session. 

I love the golden glow as the sun sinks low in the sky. 

And as we let her kick off her fancy shoes and head for the cars, she gave me this awesome "I'm DONE!" look. I love it! 

We took a ride over to Winding Brook Farm which is on Bristol Road, only about 15 minutes up the road. We had tried twice before to go pumpkin picking but when we went during a weekend the weather was rainy, it cleared up so we took a drive over, then an icy wind appeared as we got out of the car. It was just too cold to try to wander around, so headed home and tried a weekday, but they were only open weekdays the following week (had misread the information on their website) so we came back on Friday night right as the sun was beginning to set. 

There were two fields available with pumpkins, one right as you walk in, or you can take a hay ride over to another field which takes about 15 minutes to get to. We had asked someone if we could leave the stroller off to the side of where they weigh the pumpkins, then he asked us if we wanted to ride over to the other field since he only had 2 people in his wagon. (I guess Friday night isn't typically when people go pumpkin picking. haha) So we jumped in and took a very awesome sunset hayride with the moon overhead. 

Moon over pumpkin patch

Winding Brook does both haunted hayrides as well as evening moonlit hayrides. Kaeden is much too young for the haunted stuff, but we would absolutely do an evening hayride again. My husband and I both said we felt very content during the ride, and Kaeden sat quietly enjoying the ride and occasionally playing with the hay in the wagon. 

At the field Kaeden picked out his own little pumpkin, and even carried it until we went back to the wagon. 

Once back in the wagon, we had another 15 minute ride back, in which Kaeden happily held onto his pumpkin most of the way, until he got a little chilly, then he curled up on my lap to snuggle and get warm until we got back. 

As we headed back to the car we passed a large crowd of teens all excitedly lining up for the haunted hayride, which seems to be a big draw. Maybe we will come back to try it out when Kaeden is older. 

We were greeted by a pair of balloons tied down for balloon rides which would go up about 30 feet. 

Hot Air Balloons

As we walked in I heard the announcer talking about the balloons that were being laid out on the airport runway. 

Balloon being inflated Before a balloon is inflated with hot air, they first blow a fan into it to open it all up with normal air. Then add in the hot air, and the balloon begins to slowly rise. 

Rainbow balloons inflating They keep it held down until a certain point, then the balloon eases into an upright position. 

A couple of minutes later they begin to rise off the ground, ready to begin their journey through the skies. 

The balloons are now at the mercy of the winds. The pilot can raise and lower the balloon, but has no control over where it heads. 

The balloons will be up in the air for around an hour, a chase car following them the entire way until they land. 

We saw a balloon basket setup, they were smaller than I thought, but they may have only had a small one setup for people to pose with as I heard later of someone taking a ride in one that held nine people. Of course when we posed Kaeden it was super sunny at the time so he's all squinty. 

I got a better photo of him later with a balloon launching in the background. He loved watching them. He's pointing at a few floating by behind me. 

I honestly never realized how large hot air balloons were until this festival.

 After all the balloons had been inflated and flown away, a giant birthday cake balloon appeared.

It floated near the ground for a while as the sun became low in the sky. 

I never knew that balloons have a quick release at the top to let the air out until they deflated the cake balloon. Then a team of people had to squeeze the air out of each candle and roll it up to put it away.  

Then a second balloon was inflated, and was used to demonstrate the glowing that would be taking place with multiple balloons later where they were lit up from the inside. 

They would pop bursts of flame up into the balloon. 

And the balloon would light up. It was fascinating to watch. 

Kaeden even was watching the display as they popped the bursts of flame into the balloon. 

It was getting dark as they brought out more balloons for the evening glow event. We decided it was getting late since we still had an hour drive home, so headed out early, getting a glimpse of this balloon that had just joined the evening glow as I rounded the last corner on the way to the car. 

Since the cake smash was scheduled for after her birthday party, I knew what she would be wearing and designed the setup to compliment her pink and yellow outfit. 

Right after the cake was put in front of her, she grabbed the Pooh Bear toy off the top and ate the icing off of it. She then picked up little pieces of the cake in between swinging around some beads, which I think she enjoyed more than the cake from those expressions!

While I was paying attention to Sophia, someone else was creeping closer and closer to the cake from the other side. 

Kaeden wasn't sure what it was, but he sure wanted to find out!

While I was snapping shots of Sophia, he scooted right up to the cake and stuck his fingers in, wanting to try this food that she was enjoying. 

He was intrigued, not sure what it was, but it tasted good!

So the cake smash turned into a little party, and they both ate cake and had a good time. Then it was time to clean up. 

We tried to put Sophia into the tub for the Splash part of her session. She wasn't so sure about it, so clung to Mom for a couple of minutes until she warmed up to the idea. 

Ok, maybe this isn't so bad! She played with a ducky and got cleaned up. So did the cake covered floor from all the splashing! 

While Sophia was getting dried and putting a diaper back on, Kaeden hurried over to check out the tub and have a little fun of his own before we picked it up and got the floor dried. 

Once everything was cleaned up, they decided to have their own after-party with all the balloons. Happily chasing them all around the room while I was getting the photos uploaded from the camera. (So this is a phone shot)

A fun end to a playdate, and cake smash and splash session. 

You may be wondering why my mom would want to go along, which for a normal mom may be odd, but the Philly Zoo is something special between the two of us. When I was 14 we became volunteers together, the only mother-daughter team, and I was the youngest volunteer working there at the time, still in grade school. I was assigned to the children's zoo, and my mom was in a program where she would do surveys or tables around the zoo if they needed her (I would often do it with her), or was in "CZ" with me. I worked there for about 2 years, until going every Saturday became too difficult since I was then in highschool and had a lot going on with school. 

So anyway, for my mom's birthday I decided to surprise her by taking her to the zoo, and it was also Kaeden's first trip which made it extra special. 

Flamingo in the GrassesYou can't see me!

I used to go to the zoo with the intent to take the best photos of the animals that I could, then share them with everyone when I got home. This time though, I went with a new goal, to show off the zoo from Kaeden's perspective. It's funny how different you see the world when you are seeing it through the eyes of a child. 

Kaeden with the FlamingosKaeden with the Flamingos The images I am sharing are a mix of phone shots and taken with my DSLR throughout the day. I took a lot with my phone because my husband wanted to know how the little guy was doing and if he was enjoying the animals, so I tried to take pictures of him throughout the day to text to my husband to enjoy since he wasn't able to join us. 

Giraffe leaning down for a snackGiraffe leaning down for a snack

This is what it's like to watch a giraffe normally. Then I bent down to see Kaeden's view, and that's when I decided on getting the baby eye's view of the day as he sees it. 

Baby view of a giraffeBaby view of a giraffe

"What's that thing???"

Watching the ottersWatching the otters Kaeden is just beginning to learn to point at things. We parked him next to the otter tank and he was fascinated by them swimming past as they would go into a little door at the top left of the enclosure, grab a big fish, then dive back into the water with it, landing right in front of him before each heading down to the lower tank to eat, then would swim past him again as they went for another fish. They made some noises as they waited for their next fish and he looked at me quizzically, like 'what's that noise?'. 

We stopped to eat lunch and an Icee, which Kaeden loved getting little tastes of, then headed for the Lorikeet exhibit. First I held him and fed the birds, then my mom held him while I took pictures. He was fascinated by the birds. I was surprised that they don't land on you anymore, you just walk the cup of nectar over to where they are hanging out now instead. 

Lorikeets Of course they do still fight over who gets the nectar, so there's some pushing and shoving to stick their heads in. Haha

Lorikeet

This bird wasn't going to get involved in the nectar fight, just kept a distance and watched us like waiting for an opportunity. 

Tiger selfie

It was a very hot day, in the high 80s to 90s, so of course we didn't see many of the big cats in Big Cat Falls. We decided to stop in the air conditioning to cool off and snap a 'selfie' with a tiger. As soon as I started posing next to the standout, Kaeden reached over and grabbed the ear, then the little ham grinned at the camera as I snapped the picture. He is definitely a photographer's son. Haha

BUBBLES!BUBBLES! After Big Cat Falls we walked by the gift shop and Kaeden had his first experience with bubbles, and LOVED it! But I guess that smile is pretty self-explanatory. lol

Checking out the animals

I can't remember what animal this is we stopped to look at, all I can think of is 'zoo-boom-a-foo' which was a similar looking animal from a kid's tv show where the Kratt brothers would take you on a journey to learn about a new animal each episode, while zoo-boom-a-foo would ask questions about it. They were just sitting there when we went in, but the air conditioning felt good so we hung out a couple of minutes. 

The zoo is a fascinating place, whether you are a little kid or an adult. I love getting to capture expressions like this of him taking it all in. He was so into everything around him that even though he really needed a nap, he absolutely refused to fall asleep. 

Making friends

Kaeden is very much a people person, he likes to make friends everywhere we go. I was looking at the gorilla, turned around, and he had made friends with this guy and they were pointing at each other which was really cute and funny. I especially love the tongue hanging out, because why not. haha

primate house Whenever I was watching an animal, I had to remind myself to turn around and see if Kaeden had noticed it. We were watching the orangutans sitting outside, and he was too. (Sometimes he would completely miss the animals we were looking at, and other times he had no problem seeing them). I think it's so funny how he likes to ride around with his feet up on the stroller. 

bird house

We took a walk through the bird conservatory and "Bob and Nancy" were calling back and forth at each other. Kaeden had no problem seeing these animals with all the noise they were making. 

penguins We took a walk through Bear Country, taking a look at 'Coldilocks' the oldest polar bear at 34 years, then stopped to see the penguins. We then headed into the reptile house to cool off. I had always wondered why their was a dinosaur statue outside the reptile house, but just read an article while looking for something else that says there is a statue of the first intact dino skeleton that had been found and displayed at one of the museums in Philly, and it had something to do with one of the founders of the zoo. (I can't find the article, but if I come across it again, I will post it here) 

After the reptiles, we headed for the new children's zoo, located where the elephants used to be, the building has been completely redone on the inside, and they now have an assortment of goats, birds, and chickens for the kids to interact with. Here Kaeden has spotted some pigeons and thought they were interesting, the picture below you can see the pigeons in the background. 

'Look, that pigeon is flapping it's wings' my mom says to Kaeden.

Oh look, I managed to make it into this one! We took Kaeden into the petting zoo to see the goats. Finally, something he can touch! 

This shot needs no words. Up close and personal. 

Then we went to see the chickens. He couldn't figure out why I wouldn't let him get down to crawl with them. lol

Finally, somewhere he could crawl around! They now have a little tots area for children under 3. He wasn't sure what to make of this sheep, he stared at it for a long while. 

Then decided nope, don't want anything to do with that sheep, and headed for the exit. (Or rather wanted to go use the fence to stand up and look around to see what else he could get into). 

Of course every great day must end, and he finally passed out when we reached the gift shop at the front gate, and slept the whole car ride back. 

First off, photoshop is a great tool, but you can only do so much with it. If you start with harsh overhead shadows during the middle of the day, no amount of photoshop is going to make it look like an evening shoot (and actually look good for the effort). 

I went on a location scouting walk the other day to see what is around me now that I live in Warminster, and came across an out of the way area that had potential. I took some shots as I went along, using Kaeden as my model, and thinking wow, this would be an awesome place to do a session. Except.. the lighting during the day is very different than when I came back in the evening, and the tree line totally messed me up so most of the spots I thought I could use, I wouldn't be able to get the same effect I was going for. 

Now don't get me wrong, some of the spots would still be nice to use for something else, but it's definitely not going to be the gorgeous sunset lighting I was looking for. I also feel I should mention that I was trying out an app on my phone that shows the direction the sun rises and sets, and I was looking at it backwards, so thought a lot of the spots I liked would have sun coming from the right direction for an evening shoot. 

Sunset SessionSunset Lighting is Beautiful

Anyway, I decided to run back in the evening to scout the sunset light (and was greatly disappointed by how little I had to work with at the time the sun was low enough in the sky to get the look I wanted) but was pretty happy with the one spot I found where the sun sets about half an hour earlier than I expected due to the tree line, but still offers a great opportunity for a sunset session. 

Evening lighting Oh, and please disregard the fact that my little guy has hair covering his eyes, it is just way too long again and we are taking him for another haircut this week. haha

So if you look at the quick image of Kaeden in the stroller compared to him in the grass, you can see how big of a difference the lighting really is for the session to be successful. These were all taken at the same place, the same day, just different times of the day. 

Cityscape Sunday began with my two amazing friends Jennie and Hugo coming over to give me a hand. I didn't know they had taken classes for building models, just thought they were crafty, then as I struggled to create some sort of building shape, they both had a whole section done. I bowed out of the design part and got to cutting out the design instead. 

I forgot to get a shot of everything together before we took the pieces outside, so only have a couple of the buildings as we were spraying them, so will share the whole setup later, but I have to admit I was pretty impressed by it all. There is even a city hall! 

Today I will be working on a Thor's hammer prop which I got half done yesterday, as well as trimming black paper off a large section of the city that we had covered. I can't wait to see it all come together!

what makes me tick: I love my garden, I start my veggies from seeds around Jan-March then plant them outside in the spring, weeding and taking care of them over the summer into the fall, then comes a couple of months off for winter, before it starts all over again the following year. Since I just moved in September I need to get used to my new yard and figure out my placement of things, but it's fun to figure out, and add things into the already professionally landscaped space. The amount of random baby trees popping up all over the yard is making me a bit crazy as every time I think I pulled them all I find a few more, but it is what it is, and I just have a reason to wander my garden beds checking them out each week. 

Besides the garden, I also am big into couponing. I have a set budget each week that I need to stay under, so need to really be careful what I am buying so I don't go over. I love getting good deals and freebies make me super excited. My husband told me I really need to stop bringing home free mustard as our cabinet is getting rather full with the 10 or so bottles I have now. (They are a couple of different kinds at least, not all the same)

my food vice: chocolate! and ice cream, and I love fresh fruit! Oh and if there are strawberries covered in chocolate, I just can't resist! lol

my favorite vacation spot: I was one of those kids who got to travel quite often, so actually have a couple of favorite places for traveling. I love Maine, and we spent many summers vacationing there in different locations, usually by a lake. My favorite town would have to be Boothbay Harbor which is very fun and touristy with lots of cute shops to wander through and some great whale watching. They also have the most amazing Lobster Bisque I've ever had, and not been able to find anything quite as good since. 

Another place I love is the shore, I am a Philly kid in the sense that the Jersey shore is something I look forward to every year, even if we only take a day trip down to walk the boards. A trip down normally involves hanging out in Cape May during the day, ending with the sunset sinking down over the waves at Sunset Beach, then hitting the Wildwood Boardwalk before heading home, stopping for some Polish Water Ice and a free sample of Douglas' fudge, which then turns into walking inside to buy some! Yum! 

Want to ask me a question? Either ask in the comments or send me an email, and maybe your question will show up in the next blog!

This year's theme was National Parks, there were a lot of trees and stumps in the displays this year and not as many flowers, but overall everything was well done. There was a geyser in the main display, and some really neat animals made from plant material. (I have the fox and wolf I found in the slideshow)  

I do feel I should mention that this year was a challenge, I had to take all images while carrying Kaeden because he didn't like being in the stroller with all the crowds.

As soon as he was at eye level with all the people, he was just fine and liked taking it all in. 

Kaeden and Maura at the flowershow

He even fell asleep in the carrier, and stayed asleep for about an hour, waking up right before my mom and I headed back downstairs to head home. Here is our end of the day selfie shot with him sound asleep in the middle of the main display. 

I want to talk about something that has been showing up a lot lately, #ExistInPhotographs, something that a growing popular photographer named Sue Bryce talks about often. Why am I talking about this you may be wondering? Because this week I lost my grandfather, a man who I lived with almost my whole life, and who was like a father to me.

The first thing I decided to do when I heard the news, after crying a while, was to pull up photos to share with everyone. In one day I learned that digitals are both a blessing and a curse. I love digitals because in 2 days I was able to go back through all of my folders to 2005 and pull out images of him, something that took several days when my grandmother had died because we had to go through piles of printed photos from multiple people to make the photo board. I was able to in just a couple of hours pull out everything I needed and send a quick order to target for quick prints to glue onto the board. (As a side note, I suggest either doing quick prints or making copies of your prints for a display board as many photos were ruined trying to get them back off the board after my grandmother's funeral) 

Well if it was so easy to pull up images, why is it a curse? Because I had to go find my old hard drive to go back before 2012, then we had to find the cords for it. Not a big deal, but it took a couple of minutes to get it together. Then once I started going through the photos I found a folder that had been corrupted from one of our vacations to Maine. On a positive note, I had a different folder for each day, so only lost one that said traveling to somewhere for a day trip, so it might have just been a handful of shots while driving around, but I'm not going to lie, it scared me. I was so scared that I would find more folders I couldn't open, and this hard drive is the only place I have most of these images apart from a couple that may have gotten printed here or there, but that someone else would have, not me. It made me realize that I really need these images backed up somewhere else, and I also really want to print them in albums. I also discovered while I was going through them that the image quality back before 2012 wasn't so great. When I would try to brighten up some darker images, the blacks became very grainy, so I could only adjust them a tiny bit. 

I am writing this because I want you to take a moment to think back, where are your photos? Are they all printed? Are they all on a hard drive or disc somewhere? If they are digital, when is the last time you opened them to make sure they still work? I found a couple of video clips in my old files, they would no longer open, but I did get the sound to play on the one. I wanted to hear my grandmother's voice, but it was jumbled up amongst a room full of sounds and voices from the last time we were at Bugaboo Creek together for dinner. 

I also wanted to mention when I decided to write this that you should exist in photographs like Sue Bryce mentions. What does that mean? When is the last time you had a real photo taken, not with a phone camera? As I went through my thousands of images, the recent ones I had of my grandfather in the past year were taken with my phone camera, and you want to know something? I was pissed at myself for not taking an extra 2 minutes to take out the real camera so they were clear and not blurry, dark, crappy images. I do have one of him and my son together taken with a real camera (bottom of the page, taken for an ad I made which is below that), but I had intended to take a photo of my grandfather and his first great grandchild together in my studio, or just nicely done, and I never got the chance because "I was too busy". We moved and life was chaos, there was always some excuse. What would it have taken for me to stop for just an hour or so to walk my grandfather and my son down to my already setup studio and take a couple of portraits? Why do we make time for everything else, but not the important things like capturing these precious memories that only last a short while? My son is already almost 10 months old, growing right before my very eyes. I told myself in the beginning that I WOULD take a professional portrait of him every month and fill in a 12 month collage template I have, and I have done it so far, but I am kicking myself for not getting real photos of him with my grandfather. 

I think I have learned a valuable lesson, that I should make the time to capture these memories. Put away the phone, and pull the camera back out. I think my new goal for this year is to actually set a date for the grandparents and great grandparents to come into my studio and have portraits of them with Kaeden, and even each other. 

If you are reading this, when is the last time you had a portrait taken of yourself? Of your family together? It's probably time.

This is the last photo I have of my grandfather, not taken with a phone camera, which I took to make this image below. 

First Mother's DayMaura and Kaeden

The first time you celebrate a big holiday like Mother's Day, you never really know what to expect. I thought my husband might get me something from my son, who is 9 months old now, but wasn't really sure. It started the other day when we needed to return something to kohl's, we we having an issue with the return so were waiting for the woman at customer service to call the phone support. While waiting, my husband wandered away, came back a few minutes later to grab my son, then wandered off again. I didn't know what he may have found, but he didn't come back with a bag or anything, so I assumed he didn't find what he was looking for. 

Moonlight Magic Lavendar Rose

The day before Mother's Day we went to Lowe's, looking for something for our moms. I was looking for something that loves shade for my mom, and something nice for his mom. We stumbled across a clearance section all the way in the back where we found roses and arrangements for $3 and $5. I got excited when I found a light purple rose called "Moonlight Magic" in the clearance section after I had just been admiring one out front. It smells absolutely amazing, and as a purple lover I was hooked! We found our moms their gifts, then I was allowed to pile 2 roses and 3 potted plants onto a flat bed as part of my gift. My husband told me I was grinning ear to ear as I was picking them out and loading them onto the cart. We found some very bright potted plants called "Dragon's Breath Celosia" which went onto my back deck and really brightened up the space. The roses will go in the back of the yard by the shed where we pulled out 2 mostly dead roses that had been left by the old owners. 

Dragon's Breath Celosia on the Deck

I started Mother's Day with Kaeden climbing all over me, ready to be up around 9:30 (he let me sleep in! *chuckles*) then my husband came in and took him so I could go get my contacts in. When I walked back in, my little guy was holding a box which my husband said he had picked out just for me. I opened it up to find a silver bracelet with a "Mom" charm, the back reading "Mom, Before I knew your words, I knew your love". My husband told me that he had taken Kaeden to look at a rack of bracelets, and that's the one he had grabbed, so that's the one he gave me. Awww! 

Mother's Day Bracelet

We had Cinnamon rolls for breakfast, visited his mom and grandmom for a couple of hours, then came home and made dinner. It was a great Mother's Day, and we ended the day with my mom coming over since she was watching Kaeden for me in the morning, and our group of friends was over to watch Game of Thrones on our big screen. 

Pink Rose

First they touched toes..

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ 2 babies touching toes, indoor studio, with bunnies and plastic eggsFirst they touched toes

Then they touched faces..

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ two babies reaching for each other, indoor studio with bunnies and eggsThen they touched faces

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ little girl reaching for little boy's face, indoor studio with bunnies and eggsSophia reaching for Kaeden's face. Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ kids looking at each other, indoor studio with bunnies and eggsKaeden and Sophia looking at each other Then they looked at us, wondering what they were supposed to do..

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ two babies looking at the camera, indoor studio with bunnies and eggsLooking at us, not sure what to do. Then Kaeden got bored with Sophia and rolled over to try to crawl away..

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ little girl smacking little boy's butt, indoor studio with bunnies and eggsSophia smacks Kaeden's butt And she swatted him in the butt! The mischievous face she's making while reaching over to swat him made me laugh, but not as much as the next shot.. 

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ little girl covering mouth after being caught smacking little boy's buttBusted! BUSTED! Her face like 'oops, did I do that?' is priceless! 

STEP 1: Start by going to www.QuantumFoxPhoto.com, on the top of the page you will see “Client Portal", click it to open up the galleries. 

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ Step 1 of how to share images from zenfolio galleries, click client portalStep 1, From the Home Page, select the "Client Galleries" option

STEP 2: Click on the gallery where your images are located. 

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ Step 2 of how to share images from zenfolio galleries, click the galleryStep 2, select the gallery

STEP 3: Find the picture you want to share and click on it. 

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ Step 3 of how to share images from zenfolio galleries, click the image you want to shareStep 3, Select the Photo you want to share

STEP 4: There is a “Share” button at the top right of the page, click on it and a window will pop up, giving you different options for sharing. If you click the Facebook icon, it will post the image on facebook for you. 

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ Step 4 of how to share images from zenfolio galleries, click the share button and choose where to shareStep 4, Click the Share button, then choose where to share

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ Immature Northern Goshawk, sitting on a post, looking through a windowBackyard Bird of Prey stops by for a visit

In February comes the GBBC (Great Backyard Bird Count) where you are asked by the audobon society to spend as little as 15 minutes up to however long you want from February 12th through 15th counting the backyard birds, then submit your results to their website. You might be wondering what the point of this is? It is to help get a rough estimate of the bird species, where they are hanging out, and see how their population is doing. So if you like to watch birds, which I personally am quite fond of, then spend a couple minutes helping with the count. (Oh, and don't forget the bird book, you never know what may turn up!) http://gbbc.birdcount.org/

Next we move to March, where the Philadelphia Flower Show takes over the convention center for a full week from March 5th through 13th. This year's theme is "Explore America", highlighting national parks. I imagine it will be another beautiful presentation as on their site they describe it as "Guests will climb a mountain, ford a stream, hike trails, and pitch camp in the exhibits and special events of the 2016 Flower Show." http://theflowershow.com/

Quantum Fox Photography_ Fairmount Park, Pa_ Fairmount Park Tea House with pink blossomsThe Fairmount Park Japanese Tea house during Sakura Sunday Cherry Blossom Festival 2014

In April mark your calendars for the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival in Fairmount Park. The cherry blossoms are celebrated the week of April 11th through 17th, but the actual festival takes place on Sunday the 17th. The highlights of the festival include traditional and non traditional japanese music, dancing, and presentations on the main stage. The cherry blossoms when in full bloom are amazing, so hopefully they will be in bloom during the festival this year. (they were not in bloom yet at last year's event, but were absolutely gorgeous the year before) You will also come across all sorts of interesting characters as this seems to have become a fun meetup for cosplayers of all types as well. While you are here there is also a pretty little japanese tea house that you can buy a ticket to tour, which I haven't managed to get inside yet,

but I hear it's beautiful. http://subarucherryblossom.org/

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ brown horse in the rain at the Devon Horse ShowThe day it poured at the Devon Horse Show

As Spring turns to Summer it's time for the Devon Horse Show and County Fair. Some of my favorite highlights are Ladies Hat Day, which is usually on Wednesday, the ladies compete for who has the most fun hat while being all dressed up. Watching the horses jumping, as well as ladies riding side-saddle are also rather interesting, and there is always a special event each year which is always worth the trip. (I have gotten to see the Budweiser Clydsdales twice as the main event, they show off how well trained the horses are to be able to pull that multi-horse cart, and they are quite amazing.) It's too early to know what will be the main attraction this year, but I'm sure it will be great. http://www.devonhorseshow.net/

Well that's all I have for now, if you have any suggestions for more things to add leave a comment here or on the facebook post and I'll check them out. 

Anyway, do you want to know what's inside? Scroll down to find out!

Inside this little package

Tied up with a little white bow

A family portrait awaits you

But whose you want to know!

Oh look, I snuck in this one! XD

This session was our annual 'everyone put on something nice and pile together for the Christmas card picture!' I did request we all do some level of matching for our outfits this year which we haven't done in past years, and I like that we ended up all in different shades of blue. 

Anyway, a card wouldn't be complete without the back, and this image was perfect for that!

We call this our "Blooper Shot". I was setting up the camera to make sure the lighting and everything looked right and just when we were about to start, my husband got a call from work that he had to take. While we waited I was trying to get my remote to work, but it wasn't for some reason, so I was testing out the length of the timer to see how long I needed to be able to get to the back of the group and pose while everyone was sitting around waiting. I wasn't even paying attention to what everyone was doing, and when I opened it up on the computer and saw this I started laughing and sent it to my mother-in-law. Everyone who saw it on facebook said it should be on their card, and so it was added to the back. 

Inside the smaller package 

The one that has the cute little sprig of pine needles

I wrapped up the cards

Here is the front

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ outdoor family photo, group of cousins, wearing shades of green, christmas card frontChristmas Card Front And here is the back

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ group of cousins, outdoor portraits, shades of green, back of christmas cardChristmas Card Back Inside the bigger package was the same 3 portraits but the whole group was a 16x20 while the shots of all the boys together and all the girls together were sized at 11x14s to hang on either side. 

This was a just a quick session as the family was all together for Thanksgiving day, and this was in the morning before heading to the house to spend the day together so we did a couple group shots of everyone together, then the siblings together before everyone headed out. The weather was nice, chilly but not too cold like in past years when we might have worried about seeing some snow flurries.

 If you want to see the rest of the session, you can go here. http://www.quantumfoxphoto.com/p158264044

The day started with great weather, sunny skies and temperatures around the 50's with no noticeable breeze making it surprisingly warm for this time of year and perfect for an outdoor session. What also made this session great was the family I got to work with, they were so much fun to work with and their little girl Adeline was so delightful. Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite shots that I couldn't wait to share! Quantum Fox Photography _ Warminster, Pa _ one year old at sunset surrounded by pine treesThe baby loved being pulled in the wagon. Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa _ family of three, candid photo, baby on dad's shoulders, surrounded by pine treesA beautiful candid moment.

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa_ baby in red dress standing next to pine tree, reaching for red bowAdeline wanted to grab the little bow on the tree.

Quantum Fox Photography_ Valley Forge, PA_ high school senior, outside, leaning against log cabinPam in Valley Forge

Quantum Fox Photography_ Valley Forge, Pa _ senior girl in a field of wild grasses, autumn, outdoorStanding in a Sunlit Field

Quantum Fox Photography _ Valley Forge, Pa _ senior girl at sunset in a field of wild grassesA beautiful burst of evening light. Quantum Fox Photography_ Valley Forge, Pa _ high school senior with white scarf standing under trees at sunsetSunset is the best time of day for outdoor sessions. Quantum Fox Photography _ Valley Forge, Pa_ senior girl with fall leaves holding a pink 2016 pumpkinClass of 2016!

Quantum Fox Photography _ Valley Forge, Pa_ senior throwing leaves at sunset silhouetteEnding our session with some fun silhouettes

Quantum Fox Photography, Warminster, Pa, baby in a carseat outside with pumpkins and cornKaeden's First Pumpkin

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, PA_ 3 month baby outside Three month's already! Quantum Fox Photography _ Warminster, PA _ baby outside, 3 months, looking upJust being himself.

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, PA_ outdoor baby, laying at an angle, 3 months old, red leavesOutside with the fall leaves.

So imagine it's free slushie day and you have a group of children running around the house with their slushies. They get way too sugar-hyped and a slushie ends up flying across the room and hits a piece of artwork hanging on the wall. Do you panic, or do you simply wipe away the mess? If it's an oil painting that can be wiped easily, then no problem! If it's a print or other form of artwork that can't be easily cleaned, then you better hope there is some glass covering it. This is the slushie test, will your artwork survive being attacked by a slushie.. It's such a simple thing, but is often overlooked, and until something happens to your precious artwork, you don't realize it wasn't properly protected until it's too late. So is your artwork safe from slushies?

Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, Pa _ family portrait, red and black Choosing 2-3 colors keeps the focus on the faces. Quantum Fox Photography_ Warminster, PA _ Family of four, white and blue, with candy canes

Credit to Miss Mwac- http://missymwac.tumblr.com/

My name is 30x40. 
I realize it’s an odd name, but that’s what I go by. 
I’m 18 years old. 
I live in a home on a wall over a fireplace. 
I’ve lived here all my life. And well, it’s been nice. 
I live with a family--if you look at me, you’ll see them smiling back at you. 
They’re pretty great. 
Actually, they look a bit different now.
That little boy is a man and that little girl is a young woman.
But I remember when they weren’t. 
And I help them remember, too.