Posts Tagged: studio baby portraits
Sarah Grace – baby portraits of an adopted angel
If we ever needed good news, it’s now. ‘Tis the season to celebrate and yet the news everywhere is of fear. If we ever wanted to hear about the triumph of love, regardless of sacrifice, it would be in this time when we focus on gratitude, family and an amazing birth that took place beyond all odds. Now, more than ever, we need hope and grace.
Sarah Grace is just such a beam of light. Adopted by parents who, along with their families and church, prayed for her birth and for her arrival into their lives, she is a sign that there is still reason to rejoice. Their prayers, as so often happens, paid off and not only were Sarah Grace’s mom and dad able to complete her adoption successfully, but were present at the hospital for her birth.
Not long after Sarah Grace was brought to her forever home, her parents contacted us about a photo session and we could not have felt more honored to be a part of starting them off with her first portraits.
Most of the babies we photograph sleep through their session – which is charming in its own way. It allows us to fold all of their cuteness into blankets, buckets and baskets. This was not true of Sarah Grace. Oh, she’s cute alright, but she was wide awake, so present and engaged and it was evidence of her will and spirit. Even at 3 months, she’s already had to overcome a lot and her survival instincts were in keeping with the level of energy she showed with us.
Almost half of the babies we’ve photographed from their very first newborn session have either been adopted or conceived through IVF. It’s remarkable to consider! We truly feel that God has placed these children and their families in our lives for a purpose. We don’t know yet what that is, but are thrilled and honored about it.
Like with many others clients going through the adoption process, we’ve cried with/over them, prayed for them, and waited anxiously for those hours and days to tick by until it was official and these babies were permanently in their forever homes with no threat of being taken away.
Waiting for the good things… praying for them, dreaming about what it could be like… is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience of a Herculean magnitude, as well as an understanding that things may not work out as planned. For this new family, however, things took shape and were punctuated with a happy ending. Seeing that kind of want, love and prayer answered makes our job so incredibly wonderful. Their gratitude at having a deep desire granted fuels our joy at being even a small part of it.
We offer custom framing and free wall collection design and installation! Ryan is seen here installing Sarah Grace’s images in her nursery.
Creating their gallery was rewarding and fun. We love saying that helping families create heirlooms is one of the best parts of what we do and it really is.
8 month old’s studio baby portraits + a little “dress up”
We photographed Madelyn’s (well, Maddie’s) newborn portraits earlier this year and somehow she’s managed to get cuter, her expressions more animated, her eyes more blue and her parents, Valerie and Jason, more delighted. In fact, they should probably just keep us on retainer.
Her newborn session was a complete joy, because she’s just so perfect. I say that knowing the bias is evident, so full disclosure: this little lamb is my second cousin.
Her mouth is almost always open, either in the biggest smile or because she’s chattering away. I foresee a lucrative contract in her future …. and most likely with an opera company or any advertiser looking for a child who expresses a constant, persistent joy.
Her eyes are unbelievable and we’ve dubbed them the McGuire eyes. Those big blues are hereditary. Her dad and granddad, my own dad and I ALL have them. Suffice it to say that photographing her is an exercise in seeing how many photos are NOT close ups. And those cheeks! Those cheeks power that smiling and laughing mouth.
Of course, we get tapped to photograph our own friends and family, but we would consider it a pleasure to photograph yours. For those of you new to our blog, please know that we love to photograph newborn babies, infants, toddlers, teens, families, seasonal portraits, newly engaged couples, weddings, bridals – you get the idea. We have an indoor portrait studio, an outdoor portrait garden and a variety of places, props and ideas to share. Please see our work and give us a call. We would love to create heirlooms for your family.
Pablo Neruda writes poems about the sea ~ Rayne Hatfield washes gently into this world, with style
Ocean, if you were to give, a measure, a ferment, a fruit of your gifts and destructions, into my hand,
I would choose your far-off repose, your contour of steel, your vigilant spaces of air and darkness,
and the power of your white tongue, that shatters and overthrows columns,
breaking them down to your proper purity.
– from The Wide Ocean, by Pablo Neruda
And here is Rayne, as if wrapped in seaweed and delivered directly from the sea. Even her name evokes refreshing water – a summer storm, a cool bath, a plunge into an adventure or just the way we all feel when running into the surf or diving into a pool and then reaching the surface for air – reborn. Rayne’s mom, Kim, is a friend of ours and owns our favorite pet store, “Waggles” and she brought this little mermaid to us with a wardrobe bigger than most of us have before our 5th birthdays. (Kim’s cool that way.)
Awash (see what I did there!) in blue – sweet Rayne’s portrait session was precious. She was this little bundle in sea foam and sweet baby freshness and ….. sleep. We love newborn portraits, because the babes are so stinking cute and mushy and perfect. Rayne’s was the very definition of that kind of session at our in house studio. Placing her in little outfits or her birthday suit with a bit of cute bling was easy and tender.
Check out the ruffles, the tush and the sweetness of this little surfer to be (maybe?). We always wonder what on earth these babes will think when they see themselves later, so we definitely cultivate strong relationships with all of our clients and relish watching newborns become toddlers, watching toddlers become kids and kids become siblings. The evolution is both spectacular and personally grounding. At Pixels, we do not take this lightly. We’re the documentarians. We’re the stewards of those bits of time that seem to disappear before you can find lost car keys or your cell phone.
Creative photography is one of our specialties, whether you’re a mermaid, bride-to-be, a family ready to snap a moment in time or just looking to capture something fun and smart about your life RIGHT NOW. Get in touch with us and we’ll figure out how to get the right shots of you …. and we try only to get the good ones!