One of my greatest joys in being a photographer is life… I get to document life.  In all stages.  This session was especially special to me as this is one of my best friends.  I was SO excited she decided to go ahead and do a maternity session.  She was 39.5 weeks pregnant here and stunningly beautiful.  I know Shannon very well, so I knew she would absolutely love this location and water.  And let’s just say I think BOTH of us were thrilled.  This was Shannon’s fourth little one & she was at the very end.  Her and her husband decided to not find out the gender of this little one.  Shannon, you are stunning.  Watching you grow life and be a mother to your littles is an absolute joy.  You are an amazing friend as well.  My family and I are truly blessed to know you and your family.

That being said Shannon welcomed her baby girl early this morning, Farah.  She is absolutely beautiful and mom and baby are doing well!  I absolutely can’t wait to meet her and capture her beautiful soul and her brother and sisters with her. 

Here’s a few of my favorites from your maternity session!  <3. 

{Are you expecting?  Or just had a little one?  I’d absolutely love to document such a special time!  Feel free to reach out to me for more information!}

So as you all know I absolutely love newborns….All newborns.  Haha.  But this session was absolutely so special.  I was so thrilled when Andrea reached out to me, while expecting her second child, to do her newborn photos for little miss L.  I had seen Andrea and her older daughter, Little miss I, for a session a year or so ago.  I love to watch families grow.  And this was no different.  When getting to their home I was immediately struck by how friendly everyone was, how put together everything was and how beautiful the art work was in the house.  Specifically I loved L’s room and the family/kitchen area.  Turns out that Zain had actually painted the beautiful tree mural below!!!  So amazing and so talented.  Anyways, little miss L was an absolute joy to be around as was her big sister.  I had such a hard time narrowing down just a few favorites from their session, but here are some of them!  I hope to see you all again very soon, and congratulations again!!  <3. 

For starters let me just say these two are so gorgeous, so sweet, and so kind.  I was absolutely so thrilled that Stacy reached out to me and asked me to a mommy & me session for her and her sweet little girl, Margot.  I actually had the chance to meet Stacy a few nights prior to our session during a Mother’s Day dinner… We have a mutual friend who ended up introducing us and me to a bunch of other mamas in the area.  I immediately was struck by how kind and gracious and beautiful Stacy was.  Throughout dinner chatting with her about her and her family it was so evident that she absolutely loves being a mama.  To her daughter Margot & her second little on the way.  I feel so honored that you asked me to capture that bond between you and Margot, thank you!  I can’t wait to get to know you both more and your new little one!  Here’s a few of my favorites from your session!  <3. 

I want to start this with just saying how absolutely blessed I feel to get to be a part of Birth Sessions.  Being asked to be in a room to document a family bring their little one into the world, is nothing short of a miracle.  And this session with Becky, Allan and Bradley was no different.  This is just a preview of their birth session.  I was lucky enough to get to do Becky’s maternity photos as well, and this mama is gorgeous!  Earlier this week I got ‘the call’.  Every birth is different, being on call is different in each case.  Meaning some births are induced, some are spontaneous and in the middle of the night, some are c sections.  All are BIRTH and all are beautiful.  Back to Becky… Tuesday A.M. I got the call that it was time for me to come in to the hospital.  I was so excited, as was she.  Let me just say Becky, rocked birth.  She not only was strong, beautiful and courageous she was SO sweet and Allan was also amazing.  He was supportive, listened and was so excited to meet his little boy.  It is also absolutely undeniable that Becky had one of the best Midwives around, as you see the photos below you will see one of her delivering sweet Bradley and she does nothing, but radiate joy.  The room was filled with love and support this entire birth session.  Becky, again, you did amazing and Bradley is beautiful.  The love you and Allan have for him is absolutely undeniable.  Thank you so much for asking me to document such a beautiful moment in all of your lives.   Here’s a sneak peak into Becky, Allan & Bradley’s birth session.  <3.  I can’t wait to see this little guy for his newborn photos. 

It’s so hard to believe that this little guy is ONE already!  Can you believe that I photographed this little guy as a newborn?!  I sure can’t believe it’s been a year already.  And what a year it’s been.  Luke is just as sweet, cute and fun as ever.  He’s walking and is so much fun.  I loved that he loved smashing his cake and being with his family.  I can’t wait to see these guys for another family shoot and to help document their lives.  Thank you guys so much!  Here are a few of my favorites from Luke’s Cake Smash.  <3.

First… Let’s just stop and admire how beautiful this mama is!!  And let’s stop and hear this.  She was just a couple weeks shy of having her beautiful baby girl here.  (Which you’ll get to see in a later blog post)  I absolutely love maternity sessions.  Everyone is so different and we all grow our babies exactly how were supposed too.  I also especially loved Jessica’s beautiful dress and her willingness (though daring) to walk in these beautiful wedges!  Jessica, you are stunning.  I had so much fun during our session and getting to meet Delaney.  I can’t wait to send out your gallery of her as well.  Here’s a few of my favorites from your maternity session.  <3.

So today were doing things a little differently.  This was a family session I did that I was immediately struck by, struck by the courage, the influence they have on their children and the absolute love both of these parents have for their little ones.  C first contacted and immediately I knew she was just as sweet as can be.  Not only that, but she was honest, which I love!  She then emailed me shortly after telling me a bit about her family, her and her twin boys… (more about that soon!)  After delivering C her gallery she emailed and asked if I’d mind if she wrote something for her blog post, and I couldn’t be more happy she did!  It’s beautiful & raw.  Here’s a bit about her family and our session from C herself…

‘We are divorced. When I first reached out to Micah to schedule a spring mini-session, I was really just thinking about me and the boys. After all, their dad and I split almost a year ago. But after talking with a friend, I sent two very tentative emails, one to my ex-husband, and one to Micah. To my ex I wrote, “I want to invite you to do a photo shoot with me and the boys. We’ve been telling them we’re still a family, so let’s do it.” To Micah I wrote, “You might think this is crazy, but I’ve invited my ex.” Micah’s response was so positive I began to feel reassured that my idea wasn’t totally ridiculous. “I actually think it’s pretty amazing,” she wrote.

So a few weeks later, the four of us met Micah and enjoyed what I hope is the first of many family photo shoots. We had a great time, and as you can see the pictures are gorgeous. We’re not the family we thought we’d be, but we are still a family. I look forward to next year’s photo shoot and other new and unexpected traditions.

To Micah, thank you for capturing my family so beautifully. We’re not broken. We’re actually pretty amazing. ‘ -CDF

C, thank you for asking me to help document you and your beautiful family.  You are family, no matter what.  Here’s a few of my favorites from your session!