Inspire Me Baby
  • Family
  • Our frequent and beloved contributor, Chubby Cheek Photography shares some guiding, inspirational words for photographers reminding us…well, I won’t give away the lesson. ;) Read on and enjoy.

    Stepping outside of the bean bag box…

    thinking outside the beanbag….

    I originally set out to write this post to my clients, but the more I thought about it, I was really writing it more for myself…the photographer. There is nothing more beautiful than the simplicity of a brand new, just born, newborn baby. The quite stillness of watching a mom explore the parts and pieces she has waited so long to see, the slow rise and fall of their delicate breathes, yep its truly a miracle. As photographers we all see the utter beauty of newborn photography and as moms, dads, aunts, and even someone who has never had children we understand how quickly that “newness” grows up and the moment has passed.

    As a typical “beanbag” photographer , I am sometimes thrown for a loop when I arrive to a home where the baby is just not the sleepy, moldable, type. I have moved away from what I enjoy and gotten in the habit of checking boxes. Pose 1 (check), Pose 2 (check)… Having been in business for 4 years does not by any means make me a master baby whisperer and while I know so many baby whisperer-slash-baby-poser-extraordinaire’s in this industry, I have to admit I am not always one of them. And ya know what… i’m okay with that!

    The point you ask? Yes, I’m getting there…well, it’s kind of, that while the stunning, perfectly-posed perfectly-lit newborn shots are just that stunning and perfect, I would like to “allow myself” to think outside the box of the beanbag and just photograph this part of that family’s life. Maybe for you it will be mixing the two, a little of this a little of that. Maybe for me it’s moving away from the bean bag completely and maybe for her it’s to keep on keepin’ on and posing that baby like a rockstar. It doesnt matter, thats not really the point here. It’s just to get you thinking about what you really want as an artist and DOING IT :) (yep I’m kinda sneaky like that at hiding the real lesson in the story, ask the cheeks girls, ha).

    Just remember, while beauty often lies in the details, it can also be defined by the moments.

    Read More | Comments

  • This is such a cool session – a maternity session that is also a family session. And what a beautiful family! It’s also an amazing example of how photographers can capture so many different looks — relaxed, joyful, loving, sexy– from an expectant momma. Enjoy and please leave your comments for Lisa below.

    family and maternity photography
    family and maternity photography
    family and maternity photography Read More | Comments

  • This is a great story and a beautiful session from ginger unzueta photography. It is a joy to share not only the work submitted here to Inspire Me Baby but also the website or blog of those featured so that our readers can meet and follow photographers who are on similar journeys. It can also be an opportunity to see the landscape and light in a part of the country or world different from our own. Ginger’s blog is one you will want to follow. Her compositions are richly layered both within individual images and collectively as she tells the story of the session. As you scroll through Ginger’s blog posts, take note of the beautiful the styling in the family sessions — an inspiration!

    Read More | Comments

  • I know so many of you are busy this time of year completing the packages for your clients’ family sessions, creating what will soon be gifts, photo books and holiday greeting cards. This lovely session from Hope Toliver reminded me of the joy that a family portrait brings to grandparents, distant relatives and friends. As many of our featured photographers note in their submissions and interviews, photographing families is a great job! Thank you for sharing your work with Inspire Me Baby and be sure to leave some feedback for Hope in the comments below!

    formal family portrait

    formal family portrait

    formal family portrait

    formal family portrait

    formal family portrait

    formal family portrait

    Message from Hope:

    Davis Family Session: This has to be my most favorite session ever.  I love that the gorgeous family got all dolled up and the light was perfect. Combining a beautiful loving family, gorgeous light and styling and you get an A+ session with minimally required post processing…a photographer’s dream!

     //Hope Toliver Photography //

  • This Fall Apple Stand by www.kristenprivett.com shows how a concept can be iterated upon to fit the season, the color palet and the family. The little details really make this session a great inspiration for fall family portraits.

    Message from Kristen:

    I was very excited for this session to come out of my head and into reality perfectly.  I have been inspired by a few lemonade stand sessions lately, but wanted something Fall  related to kick off the busy season.  I wanted to do something big, that made people excited when they saw it to schedule their own session.

     

    I knew this family would be a perfect fit for this session from the get go.  I explained to the mom the apple stand idea, and she completely ran with it.  She was completely behind the color scheme and even made her daughter’s headband and the bunting for the stand!   I have worked with the mom, Charissa, before, and knew she had an etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/lulubellehats so I knew she was very talented and creative.

     

    This session did take a bit of work.  I had to make the cupcakes because I wanted red wrappers, and the caramel apples were a bit time consuming as well.  But, the weather and location was beautiful, and it turned into a perfect Fall evening.

     

    The kids had so much fun.  It’s always great to have a distraction for little ones, and I knew the daughter, Lucy, was only 16 months.  She was completely enamored with an apple the whole time.  It was also nice to have some cupcakes and juice to keep the boys (Matthew, 5 and Gavin, 3) happy until the end!