one year later | amelia island beach photographer

I CAN NOT WAIT for the weather to make up its mind, so that I can start shooting at the beach! So in the meantime, I'm thinking back to the end of beach weather last year when I photographed this sweet family for the second time. It was great to see little S as a one-year-old after photographing her as a newborn not so long ago. I have a feeling she's going to grow up to love the water. She was headed for it from the moment we stepped onto the sand!

 

40 days at home | jacksonville newborn photographer

Oh, this baby! I couldn't be more excited for these two! Shinji and Jenn have been close friends since before our kids were born. They took good care of us when we had newborns by bringing Chinese food from Jenn's family's restaurant or Japanese food that Shinji had made. They always bring souvenirs to the girls, green tea to me, and curry to my husband when they visit our beloved Japan. They are the reason why my kids can eat with chopsticks! So I was super excited for them to start their own family. In Chinese culture, mama and baby stay at home for the first forty days, so it was important for us to shoot sweet baby girl at their house. She one week new in these images! As meaningful as it is for me to see Jenn as a mother, loving on her little one, I'm not surprised at how naturally she has settled into the role. But it's been really cool to watch Shinji go from carefree college student (I was his English teacher years ago!) to being totally smitten with this tiny person. I think his love for Jenn and Baby M comes through in the images we captured!

At Sunrise | Ponte Vedra Family Vacation

When my kids were small, I knew they wouldn't be at their best when the light is so pretty right before sunset. The end of the day can be so unpredictable for kids who are ready to sleep! So what's next best? Right after the sun comes up, early in the morning, so I love a family who will get up with the sun for pretty light and a happy baby! This is another group who came to Ponte Vedra from Atlanta for vacation, and we captured their sweet memories on the beach near their condo.

my favorite: another moving portrait | jacksonville beach photography

I have photographed my dear friend Audra's family more times than I can count, and it's awesome because she always has great ideas for locations and concepts.  This time, we were documenting baby P's first steps.  He was on the verge of walking for a while and when I finally got the call, I knew we had to act fast while those steps were still new and before he got to be too much of a pro at strolling around.  He was so happy to be mobile and so proud of how big he was!  And really, for a new walker, he was fast!

It seems like watching the weather on session days is my new normal, so of course it rained hard as I drove to the beach, but since Audra had gotten her makeup done, we were determined to make it happen!  I'm so glad we did because we started with a rainbow above us and the sky continued to clear up and our session ended with a gorgeous sunset.  As much as I love photography, there are some things still images just can't capture, like the faltering first steps of a one-year-old, and that's why I love video. I was super lucky to have my friend Meghan of Meghan Stewart Photography shoot the stills beside me so that I could focus on the movement. Enjoy! And if you're on a decent internet connection, click up to 720p so you can view it HD--it's worth it!

 

All We Ever Wanted (short version)

sweet baby girl | jacksonville newborn photographer

Here is the sweetest baby girl, adored by big sister and both parents.  Being more than a week old and born just past her due date, she stayed wide awake for most of the session, but was happy to do so.  Baby A enjoyed stretching out and and being loved on by all of us before she finally fell asleep.  Can't believe she has already hit the three month mark!

in-home newborn | jacksonville family photographer

Contrary to the evidence on this blog, I've been busy, busy photographing my family and lots of others over the past few months--so busy that I just haven't gotten around to recording much of it here.  I can't believe this little one was just in her mama's belly and it's already been three months since she was born.  The morning I spent with this sweet family was so calm and relaxed.  I remember things being a bit chaotic in those first few weeks with a newborn and toddler, but we had lots of quiet moments to capture the newest member of the family with her parents and older sister.  I'll be back soon to share the newborn portraits.  Thank you for another beautiful session with your family, Naomi!

 

nine month milestone portraits | st. johns family photographer

It was only two posts ago that I was talking about our crazy Florida weather and how much it can affect photography plans.  The morning of this sweet girl's session, her mom and I talked and decided to postpone the session because of rain.  I kept checking the sky, thinking "There's no rain yet."  We talked again and decided to go forward with it, and I'm so glad we did.  We didn't feel any rain until the very end of the session, and the light was perfectly beautiful for highlighting little G's perfect baby skin and gorgeous blue eyes.  The humidity even helped with her curls!

This session was so fun since mom, big sis and I were doing everything we could to get smiles out of little G, and unbelievably, she stayed put on her blanket through all of it!  If it hadn't started raining, I think baby girl could have modeled for me all day and I would have been happy to keep on shooting!