You might remember a few of these faces from a maternity shoot I shared a few months back. If you didn’t check that shoot out, Casey is one of my closest friend’s sister. Chloé  is  was the little lady in waiting. I had absolutely noooo idea that Casey was interested in birth pictures. I’ve been trying not to put any pressure on any of my friends or their family in regards to birth photography so I’m not even sure that I ever asked. So again, I was shocked and thrilled when Ciera called and asked if I’d take these pictures for her sister. I believe my response was, “Wait. CASEY’S IN LABOR?! OF COOOOURSE, I’ll do it!!!! PLEASE MAKE SURE THIS IS WHAT SHE WANTS!!!” Chloé decided to make her grand entrance into this world a tad earlier than we’d all expected.

Now, I’m learning more and more that EVERY. SINGLE. EXPERIENCE. will be different. These experiences through photography have truly changed my outlook on life in so many ways. Prior to this day, I witnessed 4 precious babies come into this world. Besides intense pain and pressure at times, they’ve all gone pretty smoothly. I thought…”I could pretty much deliver a baby myself at this point”, but boy was I wrong. It’s not that I didn’t know this all along, but being there for this birth truly made me realize that if nothing else, we should always honor and respect our mothers. From day one a mother makes sacrifices for her baby, even if she doesn’t realize she is. We should appreciate our lives and new life because it is just so so sooo precious. Without going into TOO much detail, I’ll just say that I’m really thankful that Casey had the doctor she had because things did not go according to “plan”, but her doctor remained calm, delivered Casey’s baby via c-section instead of the plan that started out that day, and saved Casey’s life. Wait. Let me give Chloé credit as well. The doctor said that “Chloé’s refusal to come through pushing saved Casey’s life. Had she been delivered as planned, Casey wouldn’t have made it.” The doctors thought that they would have to resuscitate the baby when she made it here, but she came out perfect. 🙂 What an amazing birth story that Casey and Chloé will always have. Little angel baby.

Yep. She was born on THE 4th of July. “Doodle Bug”. So glad they decided against changing her middle name to something related to the holiday. LOL!

HUGE contractions. We were minutes away from “show time”.

Lol! I just love Mrs. Sally!

Ciera’s such a nurturing and supportive sister and friend. Nope, can’t tell at all that she’s working in the medical field. LOL!

Tron’s mom (one of Chloé’s grandmothers) waiting anxiously & Tron catching up on sleep.

So ready to love on her granddaughter. So sweet!

It was time….

As scared as everyone became…Casey’s support system tried not to let her see any type of panic and kept holding her hand and telling her all of the things she needed to hear at the time.

The last picture I got before things got to the point where I had to stop taking pictures and Casey had to be taken away to deliver the baby through c-section. 

A little while later,…in walks this proud dad.
I hate that I don’t have any more pictures from this special day with Casey in them, but I am very happy that she can experience those first moments that everyone saw her baby girl through these photos.

Kisses anyone?

Look at these looks. PURE LOVE.

The woman that came in on her anniversary to MAKE SURE that Casey had a safe delivery. I know this family is forever grateful. 

aaaand a few newborn shots.

The thing I am starting to RRREALLY love about maternity shoots is the anticipation of being asked to do newborn pics for my maternity clients. Eeek! 🙂 Also, I sort of try to check in to see how my clients are doing. For the most part this means checking in on your social networks from time to time. It’s pretty exciting watching how anxious parents to be are! Anyhow, Kelly-Ann and Nick came up to Atlanta for maternity pictures, and I truly enjoyed working with them. They needed very little direction and vibed sooo well together. Some couples just have “it”, you know? Getting them to have those special moments together was a piece of cake, and I think little Levi is going to be a perfect addition to their family. I’m hoping to do Baby Levi’s newborn pics, but even if I don’t, I can’t waaaait to see him! 😉

 

Hello family and friends (whether you are current or a soon to be friend)!

Ah. It just feels good to be here, present on my trusty little blog. As you can imagine, this last semester has been hectic. I’m pleased that I did not have to COMPLETELY abandon photography. I was able to meet with a few families for sessions. The Burnett’s were one of the first for 2013. We met for their maternity pics in January. Then, I had the pleasure of meeting with them at their home in March for a newborn session with their first baby girl, Sofia Grace.

One thing I have come to learn about newborn photography is that you MUST be patient. I’ve worked with about five newborns at this point, and I have only had one sleep the session away. Anyway, little Sofia let me know immediately that she was running the show in this home, at least for now. LOL! Her mom has these super cute headbands, and I had these super cute poses and ideas, but after she’d had enough she definitely let us know! I think that’s what I love about newborns, in a way they are predictable and then again they aren’t. Although they’re all so tiny and adorable and you know they wont be running away from ya, you still never know exactly what you’ll get!

It was great getting to work with the same family for these MAJOR MAJOR happenings in their lives.

I just love shooting during this time of the day. The “golden hour” light is pure perfection. It never disappoints and compliments my beautiful clients so well.

and then fast forward a couple of months… 😀

I love it when I catch them stretching out. So cute!

I have decided to offer announcement cards as an additional printing option. For pricing details please check out my Investment page.

Thanks for looking!

Ah. I’m going to try not to make this TOO TOO lengthy, but there is SOOOO much to say about this family…and this day. In the first week of January 2012 I blindly sent Craig Obrist an email. He did one of my classmate’s wedding early in the year, and his work really stuck with me. It wasn’t even just that he did an awesome job, but it was the blog that accompanied it. His beautiful work matched by beautiful words. I’d reached out to several photographers…some responded and some didn’t, but I hadn’t gotten the response I was seeking. I was almost desperate around the time I sent him an email. I thought…”He’d never respond, but I just want to know where I should start” & sure enough…The Obrists responded! I learned quickly that they were a team. It wasn’t just Craig…but it was Craig and Unchong. Not only did they respond, but they invited me to have coffee to talk about photography. Craig held nothing back…He told me where to begin & mistakes he made starting off. From that day forward…we’ve spent many weekends together shooting weddings and families and talking about photography. Without them, this blog would not exist & neither would my business. I thank God soooo often for bringing them into my life. They are genuinely an awesome family and I look up to Craig and Unchong on so many levels. Fast foward ONE year later…

Craig texts me on New Years Day, “Unchong is in labor! Are you willing to shoot the birth?” Woooo-hooo! I’d been trying to convince a family to do this for some time. I have yet to hear from a family that has had it done that they regret it. I’ve heard from birthing photographers that it is soooo fufilling to capture this moment in time. I was ECSTATIC that although it was a little uncomfortable for Unchong she wanted and trusted ME to do this. I did everything in my power to keep her as comfortable with my presence during the labor and delivery. I always left the room or turned around when she needed a private moment. I didn’t care about missing certain shots if it meant that I would have to make her uncomfortable. During the labor and delivery I was at her end of the bed. I didn’t care to blog ANYTHING without getting her stamp of approval for each picture…and now that I have that…I would love to show you the last little Obrist.

So funny now, we would be joking and talking and Unchong would be laughing with us…& then she’d say, “Ok guys. I’m gone again…here comes a contraction.”I’m not sure how Unchong would have done without Craig’s constant coaching and encouragement during the delivery process. The nurse said he used the bathroom as soon as he came out so really Unchong delivered a 9 lb baby. Unchong’s mom was there for the delivery as well. She stuck by her daughter’s side every second of the process.

There is nothing like a mother’s love…& that never changes.LOVE.Being a photographer, Craig couldn’t resist getting a few shots of his own.One of my faves!

THE NEXT DAY, THE BIG SISTERS, EMMA & ELI CAME TO SEE ETHAN FOR THE FIRST TIME…

Eli was a litte overwhelmed at first, but didn’t take long for her to want to love all over Ethan.

I adore The Obrists!

Thanks for looking!

Eeek! I’m just SO excited to share these precious photos. They truly are just THAT for me. If you read my about me section then you know that birth/lifestyle photography is what tugged at my heart strings in terms of photography. An old classmate had a baby and I found myself sitting at the computer, a big ball of tears and emotions by the last picture. It wasn’t that I had baby fever…AT ALL. Just something about new life. The entire process. How teeny tiny they are…and how quickly that changes. The thought of “freezing time” and capturing someone’s first few days of life…crazy exciting!If I somehow stumbled into millions and you asked me what I’d do. I’d probably quit school (yes, I’d absolutely become a college drop out) and open a newborn portrait studio.

This was my first try at it and it was aaamazing. Most of the credit must go to Taylor. She was a dream baby…and she is beautiful. I prepared and thought for months about what this session would be like and what the outcome would be, but it was much more than I envisioned. I’m glad that she was my first, but definitely a very tough act to follow up!

This was at the beginning of the session. Here is god mommy Cici spoiling Taylor already!

For the love of crafting and all things DIY, we (as in me and Ciera) dyed cheesecloth to make her wrap and we also made all but one of the hats that are in this post.

My favorite “look”/hat that we created. I’m looking forward to more newborn sessions and making things like this.

I love the details. Look at those perfect little lips!

He gave me a hard time behind the scenes initially but big brother came around for us at the end. 🙂

She really thought I was going to let her go the entire shoot and not get in at least one photo. Once again Ciera was to the rescue and helped put Nichelle together. If one of your kids is doing a photo shoot with me you might as well prepare because I’m going to try to convince you to join in. It’s all about the memories! I love old adolescent pics of me and my brother with my mom.

Nichelle had Taylor’s big sister come over for the photo shoot…and she was SO adorable, mature, and helpful.