I will be pretty sad when Veronica gets bigger.  Or, actually, when her parents sell their place.  It has this great blue wall with a white coverlet on the bed and the perfect window…sigh.  I used it for their clean and simple newborn photos HERE and then again this past weekend when we visited.  It’s great to work with friends – you just tell them “Actually I want her undressed on your pretty white blanket”  And they say “Okay!”  (Fine, if we’re being honest I would say it to a client as well.  But it’s a lot more comfortable when it’s friends.)  We went back to visit John and Rachel and see “baby Veronica” as my daughter calls her.  My has she changed!!  So much bigger with the most adorable little rolls.  I think she is just about the cutest seven month old on the planet.   No, I’m not biased at all!!!!  ;)  But can you honestly look at these and tell me she isn’t?  Those cheeks, that dusting of red hair, those lips GAH!!  Perfection!  We even got to go outside for a few minutes and use the pram that was Rachel’s when *she* was a baby.  I have had plans for that since I saw it at her shower.  Ideally it would have been about 60 degrees warmer but I’ll take what I can.  She is perfect as are her mommy and daddy.  Much love to you guys!!  (And just remember, I need a blue wall in the new place, too.)

I really shouldn’t do photos for friends.  I am a sucky friend photographer.  Jamie here is over a month old now.  And I am FINALLY blogging his newborn session!! Eeeeks!  My only saving grace in all of this is that I *was* there photographing when he was born.  So really this is just a bonus newborn session, right???  ;)  We split this into two times – once at my house for the newborn part and once at Dani’s house for the family photos.  And I am going to share a bunch here because, well, I’m a sucky friend photographer and made her wait this long.  :)

3,516 miles, two cities, four plane trips, 12 hours of flying time, two and a half hours sitting on a propellor plane on the tarmac in the snow, eight hours spent in airports.  All in eight days.  And you wonder why the blog’s been a little slow???  ;)   After three sessions in one weekend, it was time to turn around and go on back to back trips – one to New Orleans and one to Philadelphia.  Both for work – New Orleans was a photography conference called Imaging USA and Philly was to shoot a maternity session and baby shower for a client.  Now, New Orleans is going to be a whole separate post at some point here.  (I actually didn’t take lot of real photos *gasp*!)  But yesterday and today are all about Philadelphia.

A few years ago when we were living in Philadelphia, I did some head shots for Sheila for her job as a realtor.  Even after we moved, she stayed in touch with me and then a few months ago I got a very excited email from her – she was pregnant and she knew that she wanted me to do her maternity and newborn images!  I was, obviously, beyond flattered and also super excited.  Because I’ll let you in on a little secret – Sheila is gorgeous.  And she has great taste.  (If you didn’t see her maternity photos yesterday check them out HERE)   So, we started planning everything to come.  At first we were going to do a December session in time for cards, but then she asked me if I would come photograph her baby shower as well and we could do the maternity that weekend.  Although as a general rule I do not photograph parties, I will do them for former clients so I said sure and we made our plans.  A giant snowstorm, a few hours of sitting in a teeny propeller plane on the tarmac, a lost suitcase and a very late arrival later, I got to Philadelphia.  We ended up (due to my horrific day of travel) doing the maternity session the morning of her shower and then in the afternoon I arrived to shoot what turned out to be one of the most beautiful baby showers I have ever been to.  Surrounded by a ton of friends and family at a gorgeous home there was a lot of eating, talking, laughing and of course gift opening.  Even Sheila’s husband got in on it surprising her with flowers towards the end.  :)  It was so amazing to see all of these people gathered to celebrate this little baby (boy? girl? it’s a surprise!) and the mom and dad to be.  And I love that she had me there to capture it for her.

I can’t wait for April!!

Baby Ben decided to come a few weeks early into his family – six to be exact!  And after five weeks in the amazing NICU at Women and Infants he is now a handsome eight week old little guy that I had the delightful pleasure to photograph on Sunday.   After spending some time with mom and dad I can’t really blame him for coming early – they’re pretty cool people!  Mom wanted much more family interaction and not traditional beanbag-style shots and I was more than happy to oblige her.  Not-so-secretly, this is the type of newborn shoot I love and kind of prefer.   We spent about and hour and a half together getting lots of shots of Ben with mom, with dad, with both and, yes, just a few on his own.

I don’t know what it is – perhaps NICU families have an extra special bond between them.  Maybe they appreciate something the rest of us don’t yet.  But being around this little family, you could just feel and see a kind of love above and beyond what you normally see in newborn sessions.  Even Charlie the dog was in love with the little guy!  I left this session with such a full and happy heart.  :)  J&J it was so great to meet you; enjoy your little guy, he’s absolutely precious.

When I met little miss Isla for her session last week, she was only five days old.  One of the youngest newborns that I have ever done.  But even at that early age, I could already tell the amazing family that these guys had become.  Mom and dad were high school sweethearts so their new baby girl?? Like completing the circle.  Although she wanted to be awake and hang out with us for a while, she did grace us with some cute sleepy shots as well as some gorgeous calm awake shots.  And the family shots?  LOVE. I want to share them all!   This is why I go to clients’ houses.  There is just something so special about being in the place you brought your baby home to.  :)  Congratulations K&D, she is just perfect!!

One baby is fun at a session.  Two is really really fun but really challenging.  When mom called me for this next session, I admit, I was a little bit nervous.  A family of four with nineteen month old twins and at the end of November outside!  So many things could have gone wrong with this shoot.  But it all came together beautifully.  And I mean ALL.  The weather was stunning.  November 20 and it was 61 degrees and sunny.  The family – absolutely gorgeous.  The kids – adorable and so so well behaved and just so stinking CUTE.  The hand-knit sweaters on the kids – perfection.  It was seriously so much fun.  And never in one session have I had as many family photos as I came away from this session with where everyone is looking!!   As an added bonus I also definitely got my cardio workout in.  ;)  We met up at Lincoln Woods for my first time shooting there – an absolutely fabulous location!!  The family took me all around and showed me the good spots.  And we did the usual Amy Ro session things until the sun set – sang lots of songs, quacked like a duck, jumped up and down, said the word “poop” a lot.  ;)  All the good stuff.  But clearly, it paid off.  :D

It goes without saying that as parents we love our kids.  Whether it starts the moment that stick shows a positive sign, or the first kick a mom feels, or the first moment they are placed in your arms, or when adoption papers are signed, we love our kids.  They truly are our hearts walking around outside our bodies.  But every once in a while you meet a family who reminds you just how lucky you are to be parents and shows just an extraordinary amount of love.  Meet the H family.  Their baby girl decided to come in an unconventional manner – an emergency c-section.  And after all was said and done that day, the doctors told them that she probably was not going to survive.  But the next morning, she opened her eyes for the first time and continued to heal and get better.  For 20 days she stayed in the NICU and then was able to come home with her mom and dad.  And in the nine months since then she has defied doctors, early intervention specialists, everyone.  And she has thrived.  And she has been loved.  So, so loved.

When I met up with this adorable family of three on Saturday morning at slightly chilly and windy Colt State park I knew they were going to be special and fun – mom’s excitement in her emails to me had almost jumped off of the page.  But spending an hour and a half with them, watching them snuggle, make complete fools of themselves for smiles, seeing the looks, the kisses, the touches, it was truly special.  By the end I felt like the lucky one.  :)

Thank you for a delightful Saturday morning, guys!!  I will be in touch soon!

I had a really difficult time narrowing down what to show from this session.  You see, it was kind of a dream session for me.  One where the family really didn’t want anything posed.  They wanted photos of them just being a family in one of their favorite places, and I have had very few sessions where families say that.   You see, we live in New England and we are famous for traditional portraits.  And that is awesome, really it is – I never mind doing those photos at all!  But when a family says we don’t want anything perfect, we just want something that shows us – ah, that will put me in my happy place every time.  So we did exactly that.  I met the P family (with Oliver the bulldog) at Beavertail Park in Jamestown for some family photos on Saturday morning.  Thankfully we are having a *great* stretch of weather here – sunny and 55 in November – so all of us romped around, racing, dancing on stages, climbing, singing, being silly and eating grass (okay, that last part was the dog).

There are extra photos in here.  Usually sneaks are four, but today there are seven.  And I could have shown more except for the fact that I am only human and can’t edit *that* quickly and have other work as well.  But this gives you an idea.  Look at these photos and tell me you do not feel the happiness and love emanating from them.

P. family it was SO great meeting you!!  I’ll be in touch in a few days  :)

On this rainy yucky day here in RI I am choosing to remember Sunday.  When it was sunny.  And pretty.  And not raining.  :)  I met up with this little cutie and her mom and dad at their house for some family photos.  Since the weather blessed us by being nice we were fortunate to be able to be outside for a majority of the photos.  They had these gorgeous tall trees in the back that filtered the light beautifully.  And with such an adorable little girl and family, it made my life really really easy!!  :)  Not to mention I *loved* the outfit choices!!

S family it was so great meeting you! I’ll be in touch soon.

When mom first contacted me about doing this session I’ll admit I was excited.  Ten and eight year old brothers.  I do some older kids, but not too many; the bread and butter of my business are the newborns and the little ones.  But ten and eight?  Whole new world for me!  I am not even sure what ten and eight years old IS yet – my son just turned 6!  All I know so far is Diego, legos, Epic Mickey and Penguins of Madagascar.  Okay so *maybe* I was worried a teeny bit…  See — that communication and relationship between a photographer and their subject is really key.  If they don’t like you, it is just not going to work!

Thankfully, these two boys and their mom made it beyond easy for me!!  We met on the campus of Moses Brown where both boys attend school.  Turns out there is this absolutely gorgeous college-like campus setting right on the East Side of Providence.  (I admit, I had no idea!)  But being on their home turf, they were definitely a little more relaxed (until they saw someone they knew! ), plus they knew some cool spots – always helpful!  Although it was definitely different not having to sing Elmo’s World or quack like a duck, they were truly delightful.  They were goofy and adorable and serious – all things to look forward to when my own boy reaches that age.  :)  SO without further ado since I know mom is really excited to see these, meet the K brothers.

It was so great spending the afternoon with you guys, I’ll be in touch soon!!