This sweet family melts our heart. We've had the privilege of getting to know Dani and Carl through their Maternity session, Newborn Photos and now 6 Month photos for their son, F. Little F is a happy-go-lucky kind of guy that makes you want a dozen more kids. The joy he brings to this family is unsurpassable, and Dani and Carl are naturals. We met up in our studio in Lowertown to get some updated shots of their family, and then braved the brisk but sunny outdoors for a few shots outside. Little F didn't complain a bit about the cold, and instead bopped around and was happy to have the extra snuggles from Mom and Dad. We'll get to photograph this darling family again come November for F's first birthday, but in the meanwhile, enjoy the sweetness!
Stephanie + Baby M
It's such a joy to watch your friends become mothers. My dear friend Stephanie has been in my life for over ten years - from the dancing days in college to rendezvous in Paris, weddings, dinner parties and everything in between - there has been no greater time than the last seven months as we've shared in Motherhood together. Stephanie and her little sweet pea M came into the studio around Mothers day for some portraits of just the two of them and it was such a treat to capture their special connection. Little M was full of giggles and coos and it's clear from the photos that Steph glows when she sees her daughter. She's such a wonderful Mama. I couldn't resist sharing some of the images from our time in the studio together, and hope you love them too.
A - First Birthday
Few things are sweeter than a one year old baby. Eyes glittering with life, love brimming over and a spirit full of adventure, there is a reason parents of babies transitioning to toddlers are happily exhausted. Sweet A's family asked me to photograph their newly minted one year old in our studio and we couldn't resist. A few simple and colorful streamers made a happy accent to Miss A's bubbly personality. Shooting in our new studio was also a treat for me since we've spent several years renting space from others but photographing this sweet peach was the best part of it all. Happy Birthday little A, you are a lucky kid to have such an amazing family!
The E Family
It seems like just yesterday we were photographing Maggie and Louis' Wedding in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Fast forward a few years, a cross country move and two babies later - this family has grown in size and love. It's not often we get to document personal friends of ours, but when it happens it's incredibly special. We enjoy every interaction with Maggie and Louis. They are thoughtful, smart and fun folks to be with. Their kids are lucky to have such strong role models in life! They welcomed their daughter in October and when they invited us to come take photos of their new family of four, we were honored. Big brother R seems to be settling into his role with such grace, and little C is just a bundle of sweetness. Maggie and Louis, we are lucky to call you friends. Thank you for allowing us to photograph your family!
2015 - In Review
2015 marks our fifth year documenting weddings full time. We've always said that you can enter a career by way of education or experience - and our path has been experience. Of course we are constantly pushing ourselves to take classes and workshops to learn more, but there are no professional photography degrees behind our team of photographers. In 1993, a professor at the University of Colorado - Anders Ericsson, wrote a paper about how 10,000 hours of experience will make someone an expert in their field. After five years, we've well passed the 10,000 mark, and while I wouldn't say we are experts, I can say this business has taught us far more than we ever thought possible about entrepreneurship, hard work, setting boundaries, weddings in every shape and form and dreaming big.
This year brought us documenting weddings in 13 states, photographing past (and new!) clients growing families and a true welcome as Midwest Photographers in addition to our New England base. With over 300,000 images processed (I'm not exaggerating) by Matt, myself, Chuck and Abby not to mention our crew of phenomenal second photographers - Missy, Jenny, Devin and Mike - it was a year of living and loving big. With the volume of work it might seem like we're a well oiled machine with lots of minions to keep things running. And while we have our workflow down, each and every wedding and portrait shoot is handled in our humble little studio without elaborate outsourcing. It's a labor of love, and one we are honored to call our life's work.
Thank you for joining us this year. From the highest points in Maine to the shores of the Mississippi River, we've been honored to tell these stories with our cameras. We are eternally grateful for your support and look forward to another year documenting love.
*Previous years in review: 2011, 2012 (part I, II, III), 2013, and 2014*
Baby F
You may remember Dani and Carl's Maternity Session on the blog a few weeks back. They have made it to the other side with little baby boy F and we couldn't be happier for them. I visited them on a cold December afternoon a few weeks back when little F was just two weeks old to document the first few days of their new lives together. He was a photo champ the entire time I visited and when he wasn't happily taking in his new world he was soundly sleeping like a bug in a rug. His Grandma got him a cozy 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' outfit which we had to take some photos in. Dani and Carl weren't sure about the little outfit but once it was on him we all swooned at the sweet little bug he was! Little F; you are a very lucky boy to have such loving and strong parents. We will be documenting his 6 and 12 month photos, so keep your eyes peeled for more baby goodness in the months to come! Congratulations Dani and Carl! You did good.
Baby M
We love this little family and their newest member. Stephanie and Peter are dear friends of ours (we may have had something to do with their courtship beginnings....;) ) so when they shared with us that they would be welcoming a baby into their lives we were over the moon for them. A few weeks before her anticipated arrival little M decided she could wait no longer to meet her family. They welcomed her with open arms and loving hearts and she's already made things better in her first weeks on earth. I had the privilege of chatting with little M's great-great grandmother (baby M made for great great grandchild number 13!) and she remarked that at just shy of 5lbs M was the smallest of her roost yet, but no doubt the mightiest! Sounds about right. This sweet girl has such a loving life ahead. We're so happy for you, Steph and Pete - and think you're already amazing parents. Congratulations!!
Baby C
You might remember Kristen + Jay's nautical maternity shoot a month or so back up on the North Shore of Massachusetts. They told me in private that although they were waiting to find out the sex of the baby until the birth - that they both suspected their new baby would be a boy. Their suspicions were true and they welcomed little C into the world nearly a month before his due date! Babies born early are prone to health risks, but little C got along like a champ and has made himself quite comfortable in the hearts and home of Kristen and Jay. Chuck photographed this new family of three in their home in Roslindale and we are smitten with the results. We try to approach newborn photography from a lifestyle portrait session perspective (versus elaborate studio set ups) and focus on the family unit as well as the new addition. We feel like the parents are just as important during this change as the new family member, so there is much to be documented as a couple becomes parents. Kristen and Jay - we couldn't be happier for you during this delicate, joyful and trying time. Congratulations!
Mini Family Session Remix
We're breaking our blogging mold today by sharing one big post as a recap of the last few months of mini family sessions we've been doing. What's a mini session, you might ask? Basically it's a shorter version of a traditional photo session where families shoot for only 20 minutes with us and the shoot yields a fewer number of delivered images. Typically, we schedule a marathon day for ourselves when we do minis so that we can shoot 15-20 families in one weekend. We had a mini marathon scheduled for June in Somerville, Mass and the weather didn't cooperate. Wouldn't you know it that the rain date got rained out too. So what were we to do except reschedule everyone at various times of the year during our travels to New England and also take advantage of the studio for some sessions during the rain. Everyone was so flexible and wonderful in scheduling again so basically what would have taken 2 days ended up getting scheduled in a three month span.
Now that you understand the back story let me gush a little bit about these beautiful families. I'm part of an online parents group that I joined a few weeks before our daughter was born. The group capped off around 200 women and basically we share bits and pieces of our lives as parents and people and show support for each other in our various journeys. It's an incredible group of smart, talented, strong, thoughtful and compassionate women. When several of them reached out to me to photograph their families, I opened up the opportunity to the group to plan out a mini session marathon. Getting to meet many of these families and children whom I've only met online was such a treat. I'm sure you can relate to the phenomenon of online friendships and how interesting the dynamic is when you know so much about some people but have never met them in person. I tell myself it's sort of like pen pals of old. :) I'm needing to end this post so I'll end with this: never have I been given so much joy as I am gifted as when I photograph families. The love is immeasurable and eternal and it's such a gift to document. If that's not an impetus for creating art I don't know what is. Thank you, S1TM's for showing up with so much love.
Baby J
Be still my heart. What an honor it was to come into Sarah and Stephen's newborn baby bubble when sweet little J was just one week old. Sarah is very near and dear to us here on Summer Street, so when she and Stephen announced they would be welcoming a little boy into their lives in June, we were over the moon for them. These two are about the best parents a baby could get - so we are also thrilled that little J got so lucky. Sarah, you are just a natural. Your love for your family radiates from every fiber in you. And Stephen? You are going to make such a strong and gentle Dad. We can already see little J toddling around throwing a ball to you. Congratulations on your new arrival! We love all three of you to pieces!