Welcome to 2018! Do you have big hopes and dreams for this year?

I thought it would be appropriate to start the New Year with a new blog featuring a brand new little baby!

The Robinsons first invited me into their home this fall for a relaxed in-home maternity session. During their session, they shared that they had designed their house themselves and I loved seeing all the little details they had added to make it home, including artwork and several wall hangings that they had made themselves. And all the light filling each room was a photographer’s dream!

Then in December I returned to photograph them again as they welcomed baby Luke into their home. They had added more sweet details to Luke’s nursery but I couldn’t help thinking that the thing that made it feel most like home was the way that Luke nestled right into their home and their life. It was such a privilege to capture them in this sweet new season as a family of three!

What makes your house feel like home for you? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

I really love getting to connect with other creative entrepreneurs in my area. I feel inspired by the lovely things they create and by their tenacity in pursuing work that brings them joy.

Emilee is one of those creative entrepreneurs. Though she is a photographer herself, she recently branched out into a new business venture as well, starting a wedding décor rental company with her husband Tony. As newlyweds themselves, they remember what it felt like to plan a wedding, recalling both the excitement and the stress of managing all the details and balancing a budget. As they were planning their wedding, Emilee noticed that many brides chose the same few weddings themes and purchased similar decorations. After the wedding, they then had to either sell or store those decorations. Now that Emiliee is married and settling into a new home with Tony, her recent experience with wedding planning led her to start Wedding Decor & More, a company that rents wedding décor to brides to help them save time, money, and hassle in the wedding planning process.

I loved hearing how this new business was fueled by Emilee and Tony’s own lives and experiences. I think one thing I’m learning in this adventure of running my own business is that business and my personal life aren’t as starkly separate as I used to think they needed to be. I’m realizing that who we are and the things we love really do influence the work we pursue and HOW we pursue that work.

And so my session with these two was less about what they do with their business and the products they offer and more about who they are and the way they love each other. It was about the way Tony makes Emilee laugh (something she loves about him!) and the way he supports her in every crazy idea she has, including supporting her in running two businesses. It was about how Emilee is so energetic and upbeat (which is the first thing that attracted Tony to her when they met working together at a restaurant) and hard-working. It was about how comfortable they feel together, content to relax in their home with one another and their three dogs. Doing their session at home, cuddling on the couch, relaxing in the kitchen, and sitting with their dogs, seemed to fit these two and the relaxed, cheerful demeanor they offer in all they do, including in this new business.

I can’t wait to see these in action on their new website (coming soon!). In the meantime, you can find out more about Wedding Décor & More on Facebook.  

Even a gloomy, rainy day couldn't dampen the sweetness of this family's in-home session. These moments are simple, cuddled up by the window, reading a few favorite books, but they're the kind they will treasure in the years to come, as their daughter grows and changes. 

(I’m actually going to post Chris and Hanna’s session in two parts, because there’s just too much goodness to fit in one post! So stay tuned for Part 2!)

I love photographing couples and families in their homes. These in-home sessions happen most often when a newborn baby makes his entrance into a family or when the cold of winter pushes us all indoors, but I think the home provides a sweet, intimate setting for a photo session in any season (and in any season of life). Home is the space we come to rest, to relax, and to be most fully ourselves with the ones we love, and I enjoy seeing the ways each home reflects the life and personalities of those who inhabit it. 

So you can imagine how excited I was when Hanna and Chris asked if we could do their session their cozy Westport apartment! This apartment was their first home together as a married couple and holds many memories of that first year and a half as newlyweds. They are preparing to move this year, though, and wanted to commemorate that season in their first home with a photo session before they go. 

Their apartment is full of light, warm color, and the kind of character that only an older building can offer. Every room held little details that spoke of Hanna and Chris’ personalities and life together, from the walls that friends help paint when they first moved in to Hanna’s easel and paints in the dining room, the theology books lined up on the shelf next to a globe of the world, the old newspaper stand that proclaims “You’re Married”, and the potted plant trailing on the window sill. 

Before their session, Hanna shared that the two of them met in college, while riding together with friends on the way to a dance. They hit it off on that car ride (so much so that they may have freaked out their friends!) and both fell in love with their ability to banter back and forth and make each other laugh. It wasn’t hard to imagine the banter of that first meeting as I watched them joke and tease and laugh together during their session. 

Chris and Hanna, thanks for being vulnerable enough to allow me into your home to photograph you together! It really was a joy to spend that Saturday morning together!