Brewer, 6 Months Old | Atlanta Family Photographer

Brewer is named in honor of his mama’s maiden name, and I think it’s such a cool, unique choice for this little guy. I hadn’t seen him since his newborn session back in November, so I was really excited to get together for his 6 month milestone photos to see how much he’d grown and how parenthood had been treating Elizabeth and Hunter. He looks so much like his daddy, and he is just the sweetest bundle of smiles and blue eyes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — this age is one of my favorites to photograph. Babies are just starting to get their personalities and are usually full of smiles… and they can’t run away from me (and the camera) yet! I can’t wait to see how much he grows in the next 6 months… stay tuned for his one year session coming later this fall!

Happy Birthday, Coleman | Atlanta Family Photographer

Coleman turned one in April (I’m a little behind on blogging), and he is just the cutest little doll. I mean, doesn’t he look like he could be straight out of a sweet children’s book? Anna has been a dear friend of mine since the start of college — we lived right next to each other in our all girls dorm Freshman Year. For years now, we have been going to monthly dinners with several of our girlfriends who also lived on our hall — isn’t that so cool that we not only all ended up in the same area, but are still such good friends after all this time? It’s been so fun watching Anna and Joseph become parents this past year. They have shared their love of travel with Coleman, and I’m sure he’s going to have a lifetime of great adventures to look forward to with them. I also love that Anna brought along a bottle of champs to toast to Coleman’s first year… why have I never thought of that?! Cheers to them for not only surviving but thriving during their first year as parents!

 

Our Family Beach Session | South Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Every year, we travel to St. Augustine, Florida for some time at my grandmother’s beach house. This house is near and dear to me, as it’s been in my mom’s family since she was in college. We grew up making memories there, my husband and I held our rehearsal dinner there, and now we visit every year with our little family. It’s been such a joy to share this special place with family and friends for so many years, and now with our little girl!

For the first time ever, I scheduled family photos to take place during our vacation. We had our photographer, Megan of Upon Waves, come right to the beach house, because that’s the most special place to us. It started out as a bright and sunny afternoon, but the sky turned dark with rain clouds as we approached sunset, and we got the most beautiful images in return. She let us just be ourselves, so with an almost 3yr old, that meant running, playing, splashing, and collecting sea shells. Leighton is not exactly a “sit and smile” kind of girl, and as a photographer, I should have been ok with that from the beginning (meaning since she was about a year old and able to move), because I really do love the more candid, authentic images anyway. Learning to accept that has helped me to be so much happier and in the moment during our personal photo sessions, and it’s also helped me with relaying that sentiment to my clients. I know that as parents, we all tend to want the “Christmas card shot” where everyone is smiling at the camera, and I do always aim to get that for my clients. But the rest of the images I want to capture… they’re shots like these below that speak to my mama heart and help me remember exactly what my baby girl and our family were like in this way-too-short phase of life.

In addition to our family photos, I requested that we get some anniversary photos of just the two of us. It couldn’t have been more fitting, as we got married just down the beach from this house 9 years ago, almost to the day of our session. We may have felt a little silly in the midst of shooting these, but I love that we trusted her and just went with it. I am absolutely in love with the collection of images that Megan gave us, and as I told her, I wish I could wallpaper our house with them. These photos will always hold a very special place in my heart. I hope you enjoy them. There’s a pretty cool story behind the house, too — you can also read the full blog post from Megan here!

Baby Evie | Atlanta Newborn Photographer

Evie was born this spring with a full head of brown hair and the prettiest little lashes. If her session had to have a theme, it would have been “you are loved,” just as her blanket says. She was so happy and content, and it’s pretty obvious that she’s the apple of her mommy and daddy’s eye. Her mom had some really adorable swaddle blankets to wrap her up in, and I always like using a family’s favorite items to add a more personal touch to portraits. I could not get over how cute their two puppies were with her… one was all about being close to baby sister, and the other just wanted the spotlight. 🙂 Enjoy these sweet highlights.