Did you know as a family photographer, I’m often one of the first people who know about a special announcement, such as a pregnancy? It truly is an honor to be given this type of personal and exciting news, and I’m always humbled by how much families open up to me!

I recently had the honor of photographing pregnancy announcement photos for the Cassell family. Elaina made a cute chalkboard sign that said, “I’m leveling up to Big Brother, April 2019,” which I thought was SO fun and creative! I learned her husband is a professional gamer, so it was fitting for the sign to say, “leveling up,” right? We captured announcement photos of their family together as well as photos of her son holding the chalkboard, and it was seriously the cutest thing EVER! Baby R was such happy and smiley boy, and was incredibly adorable in front of the camera.

We also captured a lot of lifestyle and candid portraits of them as a family of three! They live on a beautiful farm and we had so much fun playing in the open field during golden hour. Baby R is a HUGE lover of the outdoors and nature (just like his parents!), and they are a family who loves to rescue animals! It was such a treat being able to capture some photos with their dog, horses (Gunner and Sunny), and their miniature horse. In addition, Elaina is a horse trainer and had Gunner since she was 14! Gunner was such a sweet horse and also LOVES the camera. During our shoot, he walked up to the pregnancy announcement sign and posed for me (seriously, see below!).

Lastly, another memorable part of the session was the 130 year old oak tree in their front yard! It was incredible and HUGE, and I wanted to incorporate it somehow into the shoot. So, I had them next to it and interacted with one another because I wanted to play on the idea of a family tree! :)

Enjoy scrolling through these sweet photos!

Are you in need of Durham Family Photographer, Maternity Photographer, or Newborn Photographer? I'd love to work with you and capture this special season of life! You can get in touch with me by sending me an inquiry here. I'm proud to serve the greater Triangle area including Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and beyond.

I recently had a beautiful lifestyle newborn session with the Pelissero family! I’m so grateful we were able to document newborn photos of their fourth baby. If you didn’t read my previous blog, Baby A was born THREE WEEKS early! What a surprise! In addition, Baby A was breeched so Jennifer ended up having a c-section. All this to say, we are SO thankful that both baby and mama are healthy!

When I got to their house for the shoot, I was warmly greeted by their two daughters. It was so sweet to see how excited they were! After we did a little tour of the home, we ended up choosing the master bedroom for most of the shoot. The lighting in the room was absolutely PERFECT! One of my favorite moments was seeing baby A falling asleep in Jennifer’s arms when they were sitting! Baby A’s left hand laid perfectly across her chest and her face was so peaceful. I’m all about baby-led posing, meaning I do not like to force a baby into certain position; I typically like to see where their hands and feet naturally rest. Sometimes I might adjust the hand or feet a little, but never put them in a position that is unnatural or uncomfortable.

I also loved it when the whole family got on the bed, and I was able to capture them together as a family of six! We did some candid photos as well as some silly-face photos, and the kids loved it! I also asked each child to suggest a pose they wanted to try towards the end of our shoot - this is something I’ve found to be a fun way for letting the kids feel like they are part of the session! Their son wanted them to hug and snuggle with Baby A; their second daughter wanted to write a letter to her baby sister; and their oldest daughter wanted all the kids at the edge of the bed with the parents in the background. It was truly precious and adorable! See for yourself below!

Enjoy scrolling through these gorgeous lifestyle newborn photos! I bet y’all can’t help but smile, too! :)

Interested to see their Maternity Session at Duke University? Click here!

Are you in need of Durham Newborn Photographer or Maternity Photographer? I'd love to work with you and capture this special season of life! You can get in touch with me by sending me an inquiry here. I'm proud to serve the greater Triangle area including Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and beyond.

I recently had the honor of working with the Pelissero family again, and this time it was for a maternity session at Duke University for their fourth baby! This was photo shoot was so special in so many ways. It was their first time getting maternity portraits, and Duke was a special place for their family. Craig recently finished his divinity studies at Duke and we thought it would the perfect backdrop to tell their story!

The Pelissero family is truly a sweet, loving, and affectionate family. Any time I asked them to give a hug or kiss, they eagerly did so! You can tell they absolutely love being together and have such a beautiful bond with each other. The three children were also delightful! They absolutely LOVED giving hugs and kisses to their baby sister, and snuggling with mom and dad! Their son (and only boy!) was also SO funny during the session, and would playfully jump in the shot when mom and dad were getting photos together! He also jumped in when his mom was getting solo portraits to give her a flower, and it was seriously the CUTEST thing ever (see below!!!). It’s truly these real, honest moments that makes these sessions so beautiful and memorable. Even though I pose my clients during the session for some nice portraits, I also LOVE to let things naturally unfold to really capture the essence of my families!

The last fun fact is that TWO DAYS AFTER we took these photos, Jennifer went into labor!! Talk about timing!! She gave birth about two weeks early, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl! We are all so thrilled for their newest addition to the family! Enjoy scrolling through these gorgeous maternity and family photos, and stay tuned for their stunning newborn session!!

Location: Duke Campus, Durham, NC

Are you in need of Durham Newborn Photographer or Maternity Photographer? I'd love to work with you and capture this special season of life! You can get in touch with me by sending me an inquiry here. I'm proud to serve the greater Triangle area including Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and beyond.