Caleb and his mom were visiting family here and Rochester and we headed over to Highland Park.  Katrina shared that she and her husband work for an animal safari which was fun to learn about.  It was a beautiful spring day and the flowers were in bloom.  If you’d like to see more session from Highland Park click here. Highland Park Professional Baby Photography.

He wasn’t quite sitting up on his own yet and so we were able to prop him up and then edit out mom’s hands. That works well for babies around this age if you’d like 6 month photos but your baby isn’t quite sitting independently.

As the mom of a baby who doesn’t smile much, I thoroughly appreciated Caleb’s smiles. He was such a happy baby!

His mom wasn’t planning on being in the photos but it’s worth being prepared to jump in a few. Most moms take all the photos and don’t end up with any of themselves!

For more location ideas, click here.  Rochester has some amazing photography locations including the University of Rochester, Corbett’s Glen and the George Eastman House.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful family with me!

Gavin would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

What do you do when you want family photos and the weather is less than ideal? You get creative! Outside is always an option in the colder weather for the weather resistant people in the world (click here to see outdoor winter portraits), you can choose an open-to-the-public indoor location, or you can have photos taken in the comfort of your own home (which young kids really love since they’re already familiar with the environment).

If you are in the market for in home family christmas photos, one challenge is that you have to set up your tree a little bit early to have the time to choose your photos in time to send out Christmas cards, but it can be done! (Nicole is proof!)

Gavin is eagerly anticipating his first Christmas.

In Nicole’s non-mom life she happens to be a super human who restores the ability to function to people with thrown out backs, hips and any other joint you may happen to have. Her website is here and I cannot recommend her highly enough (says the person who could barely walk Friday and the next day could pick up her two year old again).

A little trick of the trade – most six month olds can’t quite sit up on their own and aren’t quite tall enough to have a Christmas tree background, so mom or dad’s shoulder make an excellent prop.

And what is Christmas without a little baby in plaid action? Who said boys weren’t fun to dress?

Thank you so very much Nicole and Steve for sharing Gavin with me! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year!

Sam turned six months old right around mini session time, which was perfect for catching the six month milestone. Mini sessions are 20 minute sessions that happen in late September and early October – if you’d like to be notified when they happen next, click here to jump on the list.

Sam and I first met when he was a newborn and he posed for one of the best eye open newborn photos I’ve ever taken.  To check it out, click here.

Sam along with most other six month olds, wasn’t quite sitting up yet. A great strategy for this situation is using little chairs. You still get the sitting up look, but they have some support.

Another great pose for babies of any age is the over the shoulder shot.

Jenna didn’t really want to star in the photos, but this way we were able to get some really super happy baby photos and she was barely in them.

And this photo can be done really quickly, with mom or dad holding on, then letting go briefly for the photo.

Those eyes…

Thank you so much Jenna and Tony for sharing your beautiful family with me!!!

Westley arrived early and was a deliciously tiny newborn. Fast forward eight months and you would have never guessed he was a preemie!

Jaime wanted to have some almost naked baby photos to remember that once in a lifetime baby chub.

They have a beautiful home in the city of Rochester that has a lot of character and options for backgrounds.  There are a number of great indoor locations to choose in Rochester, but families’ homes are my personal favorites.  There’s something about being in your own home that reflects your personality and is generally much more relaxing than a public indoor location.

Westley humored us as we embarrassed ourselves trying to get him to smile. Some babies make you work for it.

One of my favorite images of all time is this image of Westley over Peter’s shoulder.

They wanted to recreate a similar image for his eight month session.

It’s cliche to comment on how fast babies grow up but you only have to be a parent for about a week before you realize how quickly it goes by. I know many of our children were born from that feeling of, “wait, I wasn’t ready for them to grow up!”

When babies get tired of looking at faces, the next step is to do introduce a little tummy-raspberry action.

Thank you so much Jaime and Peter for sharing your beautiful family with me again. I’m so looking forward to seeing you all again in a few months!

When baby TJ arrived I thought Andy and Betsy had coordinated their clothing to each other and to their wall colors in these images, but it turns out that neutral is how they roll.

And if you love neutral clothing an added bonus is that you really don’t ever have to worry about not being dressed like you’re having a professional portrait taken.

Betsy said she spends a lot of time watching Andy play with TJ. There’s not much sweeter than a dad with a baby.

Since we first met, TJ has discovered smiling, his feet and is just about ready to sit. His parents are enjoying the last little bit of time where there’s no chasing involved in parenting.

He’s also discovered “kissing.” Ah, the slobbery joys of motherhood…

Lucy, who goes to grandma and grandpa’s house with TJ each day, participated fully in about two photos.

Taughannock Falls State Park (pronounced Tah-gan-uck) is one of our family’s personal favorites for the very flat trail along the creek and spectacular waterfall at the end.  We didn’t do the whole trail, but Ashleigh and Ray proved to be quite adventurous.

This is the overlook above the falls.

Baby Ray was all smiles – he especially loved the oinky pig.

This spot is early on the trail and required some climbing over rocks meant to keep people like us from going down there. It was especially challenging pregnant (me, not Ashleigh :).

They were even willing to get their feet wet.

Then Ray decided he wasn’t quite so sure about the oinky pig any more and it might just about be nap time…

But not before we snuck in some mommy and daddy love.

Katie and Todd told me that Cora was “pretty smiley” by which they meant she smiled about 90% of the time, just because. Eye contact was good enough reason to smile combined with her stunning blue eyes – angelic!

This is the first pink themed session that I’ve seen and I absolutely loved their choice of clothing. This is a great example of how different shades of the same color can work beautifully in an image.

Congratulations Katie and Todd on the birth of your beautiful baby girl. It was a pleasure to meet you all!

Laurette and Amorette spent a lot of time exploring the different plants, looking at the turtles, and examining (and perhaps munching on) the flowers.  She said that she’d been to JCPenney’s once and quit going because of the rushed experience.  You end up with a different set of images when you allow children to play and explore a natural environment.

Laurette also wanted some mother daughter images. While Amorette was definitely more interested in the plants and turtles than being snuggled with, she did allow a few hugs and kisses.

It was really, really hot in the conservatory.  Laurette and I were both sweating bullets!  If you ever need to warm up in February, just hang out in there for a few hours.  It’s like a sauna!

This one is my personal favorites. I love the expression on Amorette’s face, the mother/daughter relationship and the playfulness.

Laurette is a member of the Deaf Community and she chose me, ostensibly, because I admitted to having a degree in ASL.  I was nervous because it had been a while, but she was so gracious with me and we had a lovely time.  She even told me I signed well (!!).  What a huge compliment.  So for any members of the Deaf Community out there who are tired of not being able to communicate, I would be honored to be your photographer.