It just so happens that Violet’s front yard was full of her namesake flower! Somewhat out of character, it was a balmy 80 degrees that day so we took advantage and went outside:

Smiley Baby!

Violet’s older brother Cameron spent some time swinging on a hammock

(L) Seasonally, DC is a few weeks ahead of us here in Boston. It was wonderful to see all the spring time growth happening down there. (R) Nothing like a brand new baby to really get in the mood of spring and new growth!

Family Portrait: Family of 4

:: The kids were in the studio for the session so we took the opportunity to get some family portraits as well. What a gorgeous family! ::

:: The outfit worn by her Mom for  her Mom’s 6 month photos … and a gorgeous smile! ::

:: It’s tiring being a super model ::

For Ella’s 8 week old baby portraits, I headed into Boston.  We took some fabulous family photos while I was there, as well as smiley baby portraits and of course the details. She was an absolute joy to photograph.

:: Look at those eyelashes and adorable soft hair! ::

I’ve been photographing a lot of newborns (under 2 weeks) lately and the difference between a 2 week old baby and an 8 week old baby is phenomenal. Not more than 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you the difference, but the growth and change is almost hard to believe. Here is Ella, smiley and giggling!

: Mom Love :

Such an adorable baby!

Boston Family Portraits :: Tired Baby!

Fast forward only a few days and enter photographer Korri Leigh Crowley and her adorable 6 month old son, Teddy.  As a photographer with a baby, Korri no doubt has already accrued hundreds of baby photos of Teddy in his short 6 months of life (most notably these photos, check ‘em out!).  But sadly, she doesn’t have a ton of family photos of her and Teddy.  So she contacted me to fix her distinct ‘lack of photo’ situation. That’s what I would like to think of myself as – someone who fixes a situation in which there is a lack of good photography in your life!

I suppose my Grandmother was a little girl in the 1920′s, but for some reason I saw this carriage as channeling the (late 50′s early) 1960′s. So naturally, I asked Korri if she had any appropriate clothing and not so naturally, she did! She geared up in her high heeled saddle shoes, pill box hat and gloves, pearls, and gray wool skirt to create the look.

6 month old baby Teddy was dressed in the most adorable little suit complete with black velvet vest, and plaid flannel pants that are unfortunately hidden in these shots.

A few more shots: (L) Teddy being kissed on the head, (Middle) Mom the photographer using an old Polaroid Land Camera of mine that worked appropriately as a prop, and (R) Teddy kissing Mom on the hand (melt!).

Although the buggy shots were amazingly fun, we did manage to get some other baby portraits taken while in the studio.  Can you stand that face!? What a happy little baby boy.

(L) Mom + baby are all smiles (R) What’s the point of winter unless you can wear adorable hats?

Henry, all smiles, holding a bow was an absolute joy to photograph.

:: Family Photo ::

The three kids ranged from the oldest son age 6, middle daughter age 3 and youngest daughter age 8 months.  The kids were absolutely charming and a blast to chase after.  A special shout out to my “assistant” for the photo session: Mom! Always nice to have another person there to help corral the troops.

:: Fun dancing and throwing leaves. Ahhhh, to be three! ::

:: The oldest of the bunch ::

:: Sisters ::

:: The whole family! ::

You may remember this cutie from her baby photos, taken in June.  Here she is, such a trooper in 30 degree weather, in one of my favorite photos:

:: The whole crew! ::

:: Adorable Family Portrait ::

:: Sibling love! ::

:: Andover family photos taken at a nearby park ::

Look at that face! Adorable!

I headed up to Kennebunk for this family photo session.  There were three adorable + rambunctious kids, cute hats, tutu’s, piles of leaves, pumpkins, matching dresses, gorgeous fall foliage … so many amazing photo opportunities!  These three kids were no strangers to my lens. I had been up in Kennebunk for the youngest’s newborn photos about year before.

So let’s see if I can give you a taste of each of the things I listed above, in that order! Starting with “three adorable + rambunctious kids” (and their mama):

Next, “cute hats” on adorable children (I added the last part, it’s fitting!):

Thank God for little girl babies in tutu’s.  Her solo shots away from her siblings, this was little Cate’s time to shine in her 1 year old portraits!  She had a blast exploring the tutu and stumbling around … most of the time with the cutest, infectious smile plastered across her face.

PILES OF LEAVES! Well, one very special pile of leaves collected from neighbors and friends yards for this very purpose:

Their mom had me create a storyboard of the “jumping in leaves” series and I thought you might like to check it out. If you’re interested in a creative way to display your photos from our session, I would highly suggest going this route. Here is a blog post with some information on storyboards.

Let’s see, what’s next? Oh yes, pumpkins!  And they appear to be HIGH-LARIOUS!

You’ve seen the matching dresses and gorgeous fall foliage already, so I thought I’d share a set of sisterly love photos with you instead.  This is a shot of the two sisters about a year before for Cate’s newborn photos:

And here is this year’s shot:

Acorn Street in Beacon Hill is considered one of the most picturesque and frequently photographed street in the US. It’s easy to understand when you see it- it was built in the 1820′s and made of cobblestone. Absolutely gorgeous.

The last shot of the day and the shot I will leave you with: Peek-a-boo I see you!

The Boston Common is a fantastic place for family photos.  Clearly this is no secret because the day we were there I must have seen at least 4 other various photo shoots happening!  Here is a family portrait photo (R) as well as a cute moment between Mom + Luca (L):

:: Luca admires the fall foliage and view of the pond ::

:: Smily Baby (L), Moment with Dad (R) ::

The last time Luca was behind my lens he was a newborn. What a huge difference 6 months makes!  I’ll end it with a great family portrait :

Meet said adorable girls and let me know what you think! I had a blast following these two girls around. Super smiley and happy girls.

:: The older sister swinging in tree swing and hanging at the beach ::

:: The younger sister IN the tree and swinging from the tree! ::

:: Sisterly LOVE ::

:: Some Mommy Love and a stroll on the beach ::

:: This little one was under the weather, but still managed to be adorable for his baby photos! ::

:: Plenty of running + jumping to be had at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary ::

In other news, you may remember his Mom + Dad’s Save the Date photo session.  Well the date is fast approaching Tricia + Scott are getting married this Sunday, 10.10.10! Stay tuned for their wedding photos … I can’t wait!

:: James Smiles for Mom + Dad ::

:: James is NBA bound, at this rate he’ll be dunking by age 10 ::

:: The normal James serious photo … that I love too! ::

:: Nashua Family Portrait ::

If you’ve ever lamented over the quality of your family photos, or the fact that you’re almost never in them (since you’re the one busy snapping), hire a professional. And if you’re local, consider Kate McKenna of Crabapple Photography. Whether you want wedding, maternity, or family photos, Kate can hook you up with beautiful shots that might just convince you that your kids are never, ever cranky.

We got 85 comments! I was so psyched and couldn’t wait to find out who the winner was.  As it turns out the winner was the mother of a beautiful one year old girl named Ariana.  Ariana has the cutest curly hair and quite the gorgeous smile.  This was great timing as Ariana was turning one and had far away relatives in town. Her Grandmother and Uncle were able to join us for the session, which worked out perfectly.

The location! The location of the shoot was absolutely phenomenal. Ariana’s Mom and Dad had quite the history with the Minot Rose Garden in Brookline, MA.  They were engaged there!

(L) Ariana + the Paparazzi (R) Flying Baby!

Boxford is a quaint little town north of Boston off of I95.  It’s the sort of town that might have one traffic light and has a population of less than 9,000.  Growing up in Massachusetts, I had never even heard of Boxford.  When she first mentioned the name my reaction was, “Oh.  Wait.  Boxborough?”  No, Boxford and it’s a gorgeous place to be!  It’s a woodsy town and the land her family home is on goes for acres.  There are large fields and back sheds, impressive huge trees, wooden fences and stone walls.  There is a family burial ground and a field that can serve as a soccer field in the summer and a hockey rink in the winter.  Basically, it’s what childhood-growing-up location dreams are made of.

The children have long since moved out and Judy and Clyde are the current occupants of the house.   They married in July of 1979 and are wonderful people to spend an afternoon with.  Clyde has an amazing 1950′s Ford Tractor that is his pride and joy. When I saw it, I understood why!  Clyde had never had his picture taken on the tractor, so he pulled it out from it’s resting place in a back shed and had a blast posing, and raising and lowering the tractor’s bucket.  Judy and Clyde joked with each other in ways only couples married 30+ years can. They were tender with their gentle teasing as they let me shoot their portraits.  Later Judy and Polly gave me a tour of the interior of the home, recalling stories from each room.  This house is a home with many memories.

:: Judy + Clyde ::

:: Family burial ground on the left, view of the barn + fields on the right ::

:: Clyde’s Tractor ::

:: Judy in her home of 40+ years ::

I’ve learned something very important while taking these photos. What I’ve learned is that I’d give an arm and both legs to have taken photographs of my Grandparents together in the home they shared for decades and where they raised their families.  I haven’t figured out what to call this type of photography session yet but this phase of life is just as important to capture as newborn, toddler, teenage and wedding photos.  I highly recommend it to anyone who still has the chance.