R Maternity Session

It looks like 2019 is going to be the year of the Babe (our favorite year) at the CMP studio!!!! Though we’ve started the year out by not blogging anything, we’re very excited to share our first (blogged) Baby bump and our first, but hopefully not last, snow day photo shoot!

You would never believe it by looking at it but these sessions were literally done only one day apart from one another! It started snowing about 5am and I was texting R repeatedly at about 6am, telling her to wake up and get ready! Our original session wasn’t until the following day but we had both talked about wanting some snow photos and in Nashville you have to take it when you can get it! I’m sure she hated me in that moment and for sure hated me even more when we went out into single digit weather but it was sooooo worth it! Despite being frozen the whole time Mama R somehow managed to look like a professional model our whole session and if it was slightly warmer or the wind wasn’t blowing so hard I probably would have tried to keep her out there much longer then I did!

Annnnnnnnnnd this is the day after, about 20 degrees warmer, same location! It was still pretty fridgid out, especially when the wind blew but we couldn’t complain because it no way did it compare to the day before! Thankfully Papa E managed a little free time off of work and was able to attend our ‘real’ session.

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O & K Family Session

It always brings me such great joy when my newborns make their way back to me and I was SO happy to see Mama K and the handsome Baby O! O is now about half the size of his Mama, which isn’t a hard feat to accomplish, sorry K, wears a mans size 9 shoe, and despite what some photos might show, has lots of wisps of red in his hair! He was so well behaved for our session and even let me spend a little time solely photographing his beautiful mother while he stomped around and tried to find whatever mud puddle he could.

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O Cake Smash

Baby O was my first cake smash of 2019 and I was able to bring back an oldie Goldie set for him! Even though I put extra special love and care into making his cake he was more interested in the cut out One on the top than anything else. All the other damage was done by Mama and me!

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E Fruit Bath

Did you guys know I have a child? Two at that!!! They just so happened to been birthed by another woman and are being raised by said women… Anyways, I love me some Baby E & her big brother G! It’s always such a treat getting to spend time with this adorable family and I try to exploit our time as much as possible!

I’ve been dying for months to do a fruit bath shoot and seeing as we’re creeping into fall I feel like that time was slipping away! Thankfully I had me one of the most precious chunky babies to love on and photography and she loved chewing on her lemons! Her big brother G loved the strawberries and kept picking them out of the water as we were shooting!

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Baby T 2nd Birthday Session

I can officially start marking some stuff of my bucket list and I don’t think I would or could have done this Snow White themed session with any other little lady!

E Newborn Photos

Baby E is finally here!

V Cake Smash

Today this little booger turns 18!!! Wait, no he's one, don't be deceived by his very adult face, Baby V is just one!!!! 

Following in the footsteps of his cousin L Baby V wouldn't break past the icing of his cake so we had to give him a little extra 'nudge' into 'smashing' his cake. Lets just say he was not so please at the fact that he got so messy!

C 6 Month Session

So now that I'm not complaining about the cold, or the rain, I can complain about the heat... I can't actually complain about the heat cause Baby C's Papa works in the blazing heat all day, but I'm still going to gripe. I always love seeing my babies grow and Ms. C and her big sisters were AWESOME, as expected. I can't imagine the grief Papa E & Mama S are going to go through when these girls get older because they've got 3 very different and lively girls all of are exceptionally gorgeous in their own ways! 

S Cake Smash

G Maternity Session

Now that Mr. S is a month old I GUESS I can finally share photos from his Mamas Maternity Session...

I can no longer just call the G family children 'some of my favorite girls' because they now have a little brother! Sadly, Papa R is still greatly outnumbered... This awesome family has basically become family over the last few years and my portfolio can't contain enough photos of them! Mama J handles pregnancy along with raising three other children so gracefully, I'm in their house and just get tired watching her & Papa R wrangle everything and everyone! We picked one of the unfortunate days of being out in the cold, where the wind was blowing like crazy, but these ladies & Papa toughed it out, as always!

N Family Session

I'd like to welcome back some serious CMP veterans, the N Family! Mama C and I have known one another since high school days, which I don't care to say how long ago that was, but the fact that her oldest child is almost in the double digits is a super unfriendly reminder! As I always complain, it was freezing cold this morning, even though the day before was about 20 degrees warmer, yet the kids somehow managed to do SO good. I had two jackets on because the smallest breeze might kill me so I had no clue how they were doing it! For the most part we just allowed them to run wild, the only rule was not to fall into the water, which W didn't really follow too well! 

All of these guys get along AMAZINGLY and spent the whole session giving each other a hand up whenever they tripped, or attempted to climb something, it was the best! I did realize though I have no clue what to talk to kids that are between the ages of 7-10, especially these guys because they all acted way older than they actually were! 

P Six Month Session

Little Ms. P came back for a visit and I thought it had only been 6 months but she's the size of a one year old!!! This blue eyed beauty is the cousin of the little ladies I posted in my last blog and she is equally as adorable! (Luckily for Mama and Papa, it looks like she only has eyes for Daddy) These cool cats make the family life look like a cake walk, a beautiful cake walk at that. Little Ms. P is always so well behaved and is obsessed with her parents. She was however kind enough to let me take some photos of her beautiful Mama & Papa while Blake awkwardly held her. (just kidding Blake, you did adequate)

As always Mama C was on top of everything and we had this session planned months ago, but between Nashville weather and injuries/sickness it just didn't seem like it was going to happen! Thankfully, Nashville had one of those rare 50 degree days and we were all able to go out and bask in the sun! We had originally planned on doing a little Valentines Day mini for Ms. P and even though the day had come and wayyyy gone we still decided to sneak that in there! After all the time Mama C & I spent trying to decide which one of her many adorable outfits to wear we weren't about to put all that planning to waste! Thankfully P still fit into all her adorable outfits and made the simplest set look amazing.

It's crazy to think that this session happened... two (?) months ago now and we'll be planning her cake smash soon! I think she'll enjoy our next session together a little more because it'll be much warmer but P, a baby after my own heart, LOVES her some food and will probably pulverize her cake! 

M Cake Smash

Anyone that follows me on ANY of my social media accounts, if you don't I'll be posting that at the bottom of this blog, has seen THIS MOST HANDSOME LITTLE GUYS FACE!!! When I first started my photography journey my lovely friend Lindsey Huff and I knew we were both going to become famous from our shoots together. We kind of did, we've got posts on Tumblr with 100k notes but NOBODY knows it's us so... Today, I think If I'm ever going to get found online it's going to be from this.guy.here.

It's been a good minute since I've had the privilege to do a Cake Smash (what's up with all you people being health freaks huh!?!?!) and when Mama T brought her handsome little booger to our wedding pre consultation I jumped at the idea! Thankfully Mama T is just as dedicated to her session as I am, she had custom made M an outfit to go with the theme of his session and it  absolutely made the session! She is ridiculously talented and creative, her abilities put me to shame!!! Baby M definitely was a 'Wild One', exploring everything around him, crawling through the mud and leaves, climbing whatever he could! Once he starts walking both his parents are going to have a hard time keeping up with him, I did and he was just crawling!!! 

Both Mama T & Papa A need to continue to have babies, even if they just have another one and give it to me, because they made the most adorable and well behaved child! Mama T & Papa A were so incredibly amazing too, M is not only lucky enough to have some knockouts as parents but both of them were so incredibly kind and patient throughout our session! I can't wait for their wedding to truly focus on both of them in all their glory! 

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N Family Session

After working with a few preteens/early teens, the last few weeks I've realized that I'm not super sure how to talk to them. You can't talk to them like a child because they haven't watched Disney Junior in 5 years but you can't talk to them about adult things so... how do you relate? Fidget spinners? Thankfully talking to these two was like talking to a few 21 year olds. They're both way too smart for their own good and they had such good values! We talked a lot about the future and they both and such big hearts but an AMAZING work ethic! That must come from their hard working and beautiful Mama.

I've gotten to work with these stinkers throughout the years and I realize just how old I'm getting. Thankfully they're still just as sweet as they were when they first came to visit me! I remember Mama L being pregnant with her youngest (or was that your oldest, oh God) and they're both in middle school now. L was part of the first group of people that were with me when I started my journey with photography and I'm so grateful that over the years she has continued to trust me with capturing her family! I also can't thank her enough for putting her faith in me, even when I was not so terribly good... She's always been incredibly kind and supportive is such an amazingly inspiring woman! Despite all of us being mortified of heights we all managed to fight the wind up hill and down and got some amazing photos in return! I hope one day, MANY years from now, they'll be bringing their children to me and I can be that woman that says 'I remember when you guys were THIIIIIIS big'

WE'LL FINISH THIS OFF WITH A FLASH TO THE PAST! I'M NOT CRYING!

2014

2013

Baby O Newborn Session

First newborn of the new year has me encouraging women to get pregnant. After not having a newborn shoot for about 3 weeks I felt like I might start loosing my touch, however Baby O was a dream from the moment he arrived to the moment he left. The home studio was a bit chilly do to the continuous very cold weather outside so we kept the space heater on him the whole time and he loved it! While Mama, Papa, & I were all burning up O slept like a rock and allowed me to change his fur, hat, and poses multiple times in a short span. This little dude even smiled for me in his very first photo and then again for the third! O didn't fight me once with his fingers or hand placement and even grabbed a hold of his foot all by himself! I could literally shoot newborns everyday if they were all as easy going as O.

His Mama & Papa chose a baseball theme which was great because we literally have a collection of baseball cards and autographed baseballs but I spent 3 days trying to find the glove we had to no avail. (Thankfully the next day one of my awesome friends found one for me and brought it over!) O rocked every color and every set and you couldn't even tell that Mama K had just had a baby, I was so jealous! I had actually shot Mama K when she was a senior in High School and she hasn't changed a bit! She's still just as sweet and beautiful as ever and she made a great choice in companionship with Papa N, who was a very hands on dad. He helped just as much as mom during our shoot and even laughed at all my jokes, which is always a plus for me!

I'm still having a hard time not posting more photos to O's blog and might come back and add a few more, his handsome face is already making its way into my portfolio and updated packet!

Mini Snow Maternity Session

Happy 2018 y'all! Yes, I know it's almost February...  I've been waiting to post blogs till I completely updated the website and now that that is done I've got a lot of catching up to do! Thankfully we've all been snowed in the last few days which has given me nothing but time to work on business, so I feel like it's appropriate to share one of my first snow shoots of the year! As much as I hate being cold I absolutely adore winter, but you can't truly enjoy winter unless you have snow, which we have gotten plenty of the last week! Most of my clientele includes young children so this normally limits what I can do outside however when adults can tough it out I jump at the opportunity! I haven't been able to leave my house for about a week because I live up a very steep driveway, that leads to a steep hill, and then you to have to climb another hill to leave the neighborhood. However Ms. J has a very dedicated man who was willing to come pick me up and drive all of us to a location some miles away to get some killer photos! J is also a very talented photographer so it's always a pleasure getting to work with her and as a fellow photographer she knows all her best angles so it makes my job so much easier! When we got to the location she had a thick jacket on so I was very surprised when she removed it and saw her almost sheer dress and lack of sleeves! It sure did look good though...

This beautiful woman toughed it out though and I'm so thrilled that J & J both convinced me to come out with them! We probably only spent 20 minutes out but I am in love with all the photos and can't wait for little Ms. M to be born! 

Thank you J, J, & D for another awesome play date together!

Baby C Newborn Session

I always try and convince parents to allow me to take their newborn outside because the payoff is always soooo worth it but with Nashville weather we're always chancing it! Especially these last few weeks, we've gone from 30 degrees to 65 degrees the next day. (I fuss about weather a lot) Mama S & I ended up planning their session in about a week and I think Mama S caught on that overtime we talked about weather on the day of our session I just dodged the question. I'm a firm believer that if you talk about it, it brings it to light and I didn't have a plan B! We met at a separate venue and they followed me to their location, in the mean time it starts raining, which means it will get colder and I was starting to panic a bit! Thank God once we actually got there (which was only about a 5 minute difference) it had stopped sprinkling and despite being in a big open field where the wind was blowing, it felt much warmer then we were expecting it to be! 

I was also expecting to encounter two shy older sisters who would probably run away from me & their new sister the whole time but oh my gosh I actually forgot for a second that we were doing a newborn shoot and just had a blast working with these ladies! Any time their sister was eating they were running circles around me and loving all over one another! Little Sister N was definitely Big Sister E's shadow, where ever she went N was right behind her! I loved their overdramatic faces and motions and at such a young age they are already so maternal to their new baby! 

Baby C was just as good as her older sisters, if every newborn and siblings could be like these three I would do a newborn shoot every day! (added bonus if Moms & Dads were as cool and cute as S & E were!) Even though C was over the 14 day marker (I think) and it being a bit chilly outside she slept the whole time, despite receiving lots and lots of kisses, being moved around a bunch, and getting stuck in a bucket. There are so many more photos I'd love to share from this session but I've got to keep some a surprise for this family! I can't thank this family enough for enduring the chilly unpredictable day, and I can't thank them enough for being every photographers dream family!!!

Ms. I Six Month Session

Little Miss I was so incredibly animated her whole session, she made me fall in love with shooting babies all over again! I think I've decided that 6 month olds are my favorite age to shoot because they have enough of a personality  to have great interactions with, they're growing into their unique facial features, AND they can't run away from you (which is half the battle most the time!!!) This little lady came for a mini session and was SO good I made her and her Mama stay much longer. She did all the things you hope your babies would do while having their photos taken and her outfits were just to die for! Her Mama was stressing a little bit on what to wear but Auntie came in and saved the day and provided us with some of the cutest dresses ever!!! Do they make these in Adult Size? Doesn't it seem like kids have the cutest clothes? Step your game up old navy!!!

J Gender Reveal

This pretty Mama just COULDN'T keep the fact that she was pregnant a secret, she did however manage to keep it private just what she was having and I was lucky enough to be the lady to help her share that info!!! After two handsome boys this Lady is FINALLY getting a girl!!!! We couldn't settle on how we'd exactly be revealing that info so we ended up doing about 3 different things, even though we had more planned! 

A & T Anniversary Session

As T & A make a quick stop in Nashville after a 20 hour car ride from RI (eclipse traffic!) and we were able to do a really quick session before the rain really started coming down! Literally, as we were leaving it started to pour, we were able to make it to the cars and I was able to make it home, which was about 3 minutes away! I'm happy we didn't do the 25 minute drive to the location we were originally wanting to shoot at because we would have never made it! 

Working on such a short time frame wasn't a problem with these two as interacting with one another came so incredibly easily and the jokes flowed like honey. I would start a pose and they would completely make it there own, which is what every photographer wants in a couple! These two were celebrating 15 years of marriage and I was informed at their wedding they actually ran in jumped in the ocean after the ceremony so this was a bit of a cake walk for them! The session is short and for now the blog is short as we are in the process of helping my brother move!!!

The wonderful woman in the photos is also the owner of SweetSouthernBabies and makes the cutest outfits!!! https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetSouthernBabies?ref=l2-shopheader-name