So I think it’s safe to share this families pregnancy announcement blog now, considering their baby boy is now one month old. Mama K is one of the MVP’s of CMP, I did her senior photos in High school (don’t want to admit how long ago that was), I shot her baby boy when he was first born, and after this announcement I was fortunate enough to shoot her maternity session!
I found this location on the way to my brothers house wayyyy out in the country and was dying to use it, so naturally when K & B asked me to shoot their pregnancy announcement I knew just the place!
These pregnancy announcement pictures came out perfect, but I did have the cutest models to work with! Big Brother O was very excited that he had a new baby on the way and I can’t thank these guys enough for entrusting me with their secret! I kept it wayyyy longer than necessary!!!
baby boy
M Family Session
One of the biggest compliments you can ever get as a photographer is having clients that continue to come back to you and I was so happy when the beautiful Mama M contacted me about getting up to date family photos/Baby M’s 18month pictures! I had the pleasure of photographing Baby M (now big boy M) last year when he was 6 months old and he was nothing but rolls and a big ball of happiness. Not too much had changed since that time, except now that he’s mobile he’s lost some of those precious precious rolls but he was just as attentive and sweet as ever! I guess you’re extra smart too when your Mama is a teacher and has had extra time home with you…
Just like our prior session it was an insanely hot day in Nashville and of course our location required a bit of hiking to get to. I felt so bad for Papa M who had already been working outside all day but none of them complained once. I was sweating by the time we got to the lakeside but somehow Mama M & Papa M still looked perfect! I guess I’m just really out of shape. Baby M was so well behaved and was so attentive to everything we were doing, he was probably the easiest baby to get to look at the camera. He was in such a good mood for his photoshoot, he didn’t care who was holding him, which made family photos so easy, or what he was doing, he was just happy to be out on an adventure!
We thankfully avoided all the rain that had been looming all week, this was the first nice day in a while and we had already had to reschedule once or twice, and I couldn’t have picked a nicer family to work with. Baby M got to model one of the new outfits I have available for little boys and he was the perfect baby bear. He also loved the chair I had brought for him and kept sitting in it no matter where I moved it. He even tried to sit in it when I was trying to put it up, it was the cutest thing. My favorite part of the session though was when his parents had him identify all his body parts, which you can see in some of the photos below. He was starting to get tired so to keep his attention we asked him to find his belly, his nose, and his ears, and he got every single one!!! Oh, and his Chris Farley impression was pretty dang spot on
J At home newborn session
in Newborn
Things that happened just a month ago or so really seem like they happened a year ago at this point. Going through so many of my recent sessions I realize that even though everything still seems to be at a standstill, time has gone by insanely fast! Take this little handsome booger… after seeing some of his most recent photos his mama has shared, he doesn’t even look like the same baby anymore! This precious newborn boy now looks like a handsome full grown man and I’m so glad I was able to go over to his parents house for his newborn photos before he made the jump!
Sweet Baby J has some minor (what seems like minor now of course) hiccups when he was first born so we really hesitated on when we were going to do his newborn photos. We originally decided to wait a month to do his newborn photos but after seeing how much he changed in the first week Mama made the call to have his photos done early! I was fortunate enough that this amazing family allowed me into their home during such an insane time and despite what I can only imagine was sleep deprivation, both Mama and Papa both looked like super models and made everything so insanely easy! Baby J was such a great sleeper too, he was so well behaved through all his newborn photos and transitioned through sets with ease. We did a combination of jungle themed newborn photos and incorporated the fact that his father is a professional football player into his photoshoot but my favorite photos are definitely the family photos!
L Mickey Mouse Cake Smash
in Cake Smash
I feel like I say this about every session but Cake Smashes are definitely one of my favorites! Sadly, last year I only did about 3 to 4 a month, which sounds like a lot, but it’s not!!! Out of all the Cake Smashes I’ve ever done though I’ve literally only had a request for Mickey Mouse about 3 times, which is again, another big shocker. Especially with Mickey Mouse Club House being so big I was half expecting to do at least two a month (but last year was all about Mermaids and Neutrals) so I was really excited when Mama C requested this!!!
My very first CS session was Mickey Mouse and that was over 5 years ago and the set looked much different from nowadays but, still classic in my book! I was fortunate enough I had lots of decorations from a friends Babies Birthday party and was able to alter most of them to fit this theme. This little man was so incredibly sweet and if I had let him he would have sat there and picked at his cake all day, it was very obvious he loved the icing and was very talkative about it!
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E Newborn Session
in Family Photos, Newborn
I have had a few people who I started my newborn photography journey with contact me this year expecting their second child and that’s seriously the best compliment! Being a family photographer and newborn photographer has been so rewarding and the fact that there are those who started with me, when I wasn’t so good, and have continued to put their trust in me has been amazing. It’s been wonderful having them grown with me… but this one took me by COMPLETE surprise! Though Mama L and I are friends on FB I have not seen one post from here for at least a year so I completely missed this pregnancy and birth! (Even though she’s posted about it, thanks FB algorithm)
I was lucky enough that she contacted me pretty soon after though and just a few days later she brought the Handsome Baby E to me along with his Big Sister C! I was completely taken back by how big C had gotten, how well spoken and polite she was, and the fact that she'll be 4 this year (which is actually much better than I thought because I could have sworn she was 5 and I was wondering how so much time had passed)! I think I was just in denial at how much time had passed because it makes me think of how old I actually am! I can’t tell you how wonderful it was that she was VERY big on saying thank you/yes ma’am, which is such a huge relief because it seems like we’re all sadly falling away form that! All of you who move to the south need to adapt to our manners…
Sadly Papa R couldn't make it to this session but Mama L came looking like a super model with a full nights sleep. I remember she was the same after giving birth to C, she came in full makeup, hair done, and in her Sunday best, which I can't even manage with zero kids...
Enough of my rambling, these might be some of my favorite sibling photos ever, I can't tell you how many times I said 'Oh my God' or 'Awwwwwww' during this session. Mama L told me when they got to my home studio that he had a safari themed nursery and had brought him an adorable elephant outfit to be photographed in by sadly it was slightly too big… but that gave me the chance to bring out a newborn prop I haven’t used in years!!! Last time I used the Elephant hat/doll was probably almost 4 years ago now but it has been lying in wait for this exact moment and it was so worth it!!!!
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Baby R First Birthday
My handsome little Nephew turned one last month and spent the week getting lots of ouches in preparation for his birthday photos!
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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!
R & T Snow Day
Mama T & I have had the pleasure of working together a lot the past year and we were both thrilled at the idea of being able to shoot in the snow! I mean, how often do we actually get a good snow in Nash? The last one I really remember happened when I was in middle school, where we all got to school and were dismissed 5 minutes into the day but were still stuck there for 7 hours!!! We spent the morning texting trying to figure out if the roads were safe for travel and we finally decided it was worth risking all of our lives. I ended up having my friend/neighbor take me to the location who owns a big ol truck and it looked like Mama T did the same!!! (Thank God for men with trucks who can drive in bad weather)
Even in the dead of winter and dressed in all those layers Mr. R and Mama T were still so incredibly fashionable and looked like professional models ready for the runway! R loved it, he immediately started picking up large chunks of snow and started throwing them at everyone. There was even a brief time my lens got super foggy because there was so much snow on it that I could hardly get a clear photo. (Note to self, bring lens cleaning cloth to every shoot!) R was all about throwing snow on everyone else but wasn't too crazy about having the same done to him, which you can see from the last 3 photos. Thirty minutes was definitely enough time to enjoy the snow and then be done with it. I was so excited to finish these photos I literally spent the whole night working on them (& finished them) only to have my internet go out before I was able to send them out...
P Family Session
You don't realize just how long two years has been until you see a family you haven't seen in ages and they have one child running around and another who is just starting to sit up (that you had no clue they even had)! Two years ago I had amazing photo session with Baby C, who is now Big Brother C, and his amazing Mama & Papa! Nashville weather, as much as I love it, I hate it all the same. We had to reschedule twice to do rain and sickness caused by allergies, so the third time was definitely the charm! We did however end up finishing right before it started to storm, the storm that brought all this awful Nashville humidity, & I'm so thankful we had such a beautiful and cool morning to shoot! It's definitely not going to be like that again till fall!
Baby C had such a big personality, she was well beyond her years and such an incredibly happy baby!!! She was nothing but smiles (& tongue) her whole session and was reaching for her brother every time he was close enough to grab him. Big Brother C was a little ball of fire & despite what the photos might show he wouldn't sit still! There were so many exciting things going on around us, he was such an adventurer and was so incredibly fearless! (Hence why Baby C was reaching for him, she was trying to get him to hold still so she could get home & take a nap!) I don't know how Mama C & Papa R keep up with them!
To see just how much this family has changed check out BB C's 6 month session with me! Still the cutest pumpkin I think I've ever seen!!! http://www.chelseameadowsphotography.com/blog/2015/11/13/fe2dqbzud2e3tsnywfwfd1jvpu7fya
Baby N Newborn Session
in Newborn, Family Photos
I always talk about how newborns are one of the most challenging sessions I ever have but the most rewarding... well... this little dude was easy peezy lemon squeezie! At almost a month old Baby N definitely had me a little nervous for his session. After about the 10 day period most babies don't want to cooperate nearly as much as we would like and are less likely to sleep or do certain poses... HOWEVER, Baby N slept the majority of his session and preferred being photographed outdoors, which is my favorite place for babies! He loved basking in the sunlight and made me want to exclusively shoot outdoors from now on. His wonderful mama gave me creative control of his session and thankfully she was just as big a fan of bonnets with ears on them as I am! I was finally able to use some props I have never gotten to use before and I couldn't have picked a more handsome guy to break them in! He looked good in almost every color and I made sure to keep him and his mama the whole 4 hours I generally schedule for my newborn sessions!
Mama A and I got along from the get go because we both have such awful senses of humor and we both have the same taste in style. Even though we had only exchanged a few texts I knew I'd love her company and she did not disappoint! When we were discussing what she was going to wear for her session I 'politely pushed' the white gown I had in my inventory that I had yet to use and she thankfully obliged! She rocked her outfit and it matched perfectly with Baby N's knit outfit from Boutique De Marzian!
I don't think I've ever had family photos of as smoothly as I did with this session. Every newborn session I try and lay out a plan to make the session go as smooth as possible however it all depends on how the babies are when they arrive and generally never goes the way I had intended! For this session we were able to save Mama/son photos till the very end and it's of course when Baby N slept the hardest! Every move came so naturally to Mama A and N just went with whatever she did,I've never had to maneuver a baby as little as I did for this portion of the session, everything just looked amazing. Despite just having a baby too Mama A looked so amazingly beautiful! I actually had her model for me for a few minutes while N slept in his car seat and nearly forgot we were doing a newborn session!!! I could have spent a whole hour just taking photos of her by herself.
I'm about 3/4 done with this gallery and I'm so madly in love with the outdoor photos I def put the studio photos off till the end. I don't think I've ever had such a hard time choosing photos and I feel like I need to redo all my packets now and update it with the photos from this session! I can't wait to show this awesome family their full gallery and I can't wait for more beautiful mama's and babies like this to come my way soon!
Baby R Cake Smash
Another Baby R graduated from the Baby Plan this month! This pouty lip baby just gets more handsome & is probably the #1 reason I'm so dead set on having a boy when the time comes! (Come on now Blake) I can't think of a better way to start fall than with a session with the most handsome little one year old boy, the most stylish mama, & the most handsome papa! We've had this location planned for more than 6 months & thankfully they had a lovely display out that made an amazing backdrop for our session.
Cake Smashes are probably my most favorite part of the Baby Plan, but they're also the worst because it means I won't get to see my little ones as frequently! Baby R's Beautiful Mama (who I always gloat about how I want to be like whenever I have children) had R's theme picked out early & made the set planning so easy! She knew exactly what she wanted & also made the two blue banners you see in the set, which really made it 10 times better! Looking back now it would have been so boring without them! I normally only share a few photos from the cake smashes but R was just too precious & I couldn't help but showing a ton of them! Baby R was a little grumpy at the last part of the family session & we were thinking for a moment that we were going to have to postpone his cake smash, however, as soon as we brought it out he had a complete attitude change & was willing to tolerate me for the rest of his session! As Papa N cheered him on (in the best 'Dad voice') Baby R kept saying 'Mhhhm' so it must have been a pretty decent cake!
T Family Session
Last weeks family came all the way from Ohio!
Ms. A contacted me late last week & we were able to manage a quick and precious 'family reunion' session! Her sister, little doe-eyed brother, parents, & fiance accompanied me on one of the warmest mornings of August & I couldn't be happier with the images! I had only originally had the pleasure of knowing A through in passing & through the grape vine so it was such a pleasure actually getting to spend a little time with her (& who I'm going to now have to recruit to model for me whenever she's available!) & I am so grateful her family gave me the opportunity to work with them during their very short stay in Nashville!
Baby B Newborn Session
in Newborn
I don't know if I'm getting better or these babies are just getting sweeter! I had a postponement on a newborn last week who was still a little jaundiced so I got to play with this handsome boy instead! Mama E was referred to me by another amazing photographer/videographer Husband & wife team that I know & I've been overly giddy waiting for the arrival of her little guy! We had spoken a few months prior & it seemed like the day would never come! Baby B must have known I was incredibly impatient because he came a few days early & was at the home studio not too long after! Baby was so well behaved & slept through his whole session, however, He did have an exhausting night keeping his mother & father up all night though (lucky me!). I always gloat about how babies have the best eye lashes (etc) but Baby B skipped over having baby acne completely & had the most perfect complexion I've ever seen!
Baby B was known as Harry Houdini to his parents & I quickly learned why. I'd turn around for a split second & he had somehow managed to free his arms & legs from his wrap, which resulted in me having to wrap him in layers. I was incredibly thankful that when we moved to his 'nakie' photos he was completely content being posed in so many strange ways, as long as his hands were by his face! This little guy looked so handsome in whatever color I put him in it was hard narrowingdown what to use.
I always love meeting new families & after speaking to E for so long it was so nice to put a face to her & her husband. They were so patient with me as I kept them much longer than necessary (I tried to get them to leave without B a few times & just told them to come back in a few years) & came up one of the most unique themes I've gotten to incorporate into a newborn session in a long time. I can't wait for them to see their gallery tomorrow nor can I wait to see all the updates I'll hopefully be getting on B as he grows! A huge thank you to the G family for allowing me to work with your adorable growing family & cuddling your precious son!
Blue Knit Bonnet - Lavender Blossoms - https://www.etsy.com/shop/LavenderBlossoms
Gray Knit Bonnet - Boutique De Marcipan - https://www.etsy.com/shop/BoutiqueDeMarcipan
Baby R 1/2 Year
The fact that I'm doing Baby R's 6 month session makes me super sad because it means he's halfway through the baby plan which means I won't be able to see him as frequently soon!!! Baby R is the epitome of cuteness and style, he's everything I would want in my own son, & his parents are everything that all parents want to be!
Ash & Ruch
in Maternity
All of you parents know that once Baby comes along it's all about them! Mom & Dad get put on the back burner, it's a sad fact but we all know it's true... SO! It was incredibly nice to get to meet Mama Ash & Papa Ruch before their cutie pie to be comes along! This couple was so incredibly kind & interesting & it was so easy to carry on a conversation with them! We basically held an ongoing conversation throughout our session.
Ruch, being the smart husband he is, sent me to Ash to talk about all the details of their session & Ash knew way before we even spoke what she wanted to do for their family photos & I was so thrilled to put all her brilliant ideas into play! These two were such wonderful models for their maternity session & were up for just about anything, including climbing a very questionable ladder to get up onto an even more questionable platform!
Despite my ridiculous fear of The Grudge Girl, who resides in any dark corner of the earth, I sucked it up & went inside an incredibly creepy (but beautiful) barn & didn't die. I still refuse to go into any attic ever, for anything other than Christmas decorations.
Despite the storms a few days prior (taking off most of the leaves we were hoping for) & our original location being unavailable we had an amazingly colorful & creative (thanks to Auntie & her adorable props) session!!!
I love meeting families at the beginning. I love watching two people become parents & I love that they allow me to experience & document a small portion of that first year as a family. Though they still have what seems like forever till their little guy is here I feel like I'm once again going to be constantly checking FB watching for baby updates way earlier than necessary! Congrats again to the interesting couple & I can't wait to see you two again!
Baby C's 1/2 Year
Some time ago I received an email from the beautiful Mama Courtney, asking about a family session for when her little dude hit his 6 month marker. I have not so secretly always wanted a baby boy (FIRST, I'd love a little girl after) so whenever I have a session with a little dude I get overly excited. We exchanged emails & texts for some time & when I was sure she wasn't a serial killer we set a date & started making plans for Baby C's 6 month session!
I've said this before but typically before a client actually books a session with me I'll find one of their online accounts & browse through their baby photos. Whenever I see an extra adorable baby on FB or IG I always imagine what type of stylized session I would do with them & what type of colors they'd look good in... it'd be a lot more creepy if I wasn't a photographer right? I didn't get this luxury with baby C & his family right away. I couldn't find Mama C anywhere online & it wasn't until much closer to our session that I actually asked for a photo of C. She sent me two of the most adorable photos of C I have ever seen taken on a cell phone & I fell in love with him right away! I still didn't know what Courtney or Rob looked like but that wasn't important at the time. The day of our session finally came & I was invited to C & R's home to start our shoot. I was pleasantly surprised to not only see that they had a fat cat (& an okay dog I guess), but that R was so handsome & C was so beautiful! The two were so incredibly kind & hospitable & though they had basically never had their photos taken (other than both their senior photos) the warmed up to the camera incredibly quickly!
After we left their home we went to a gorgeous location that the couple had suggested, which has now turned out to be one of my favorite places to go walk in the morning! I've lived in Nashville all my life but had never been to Radnor Lake, which was RIGHT down the road from where my mother lives! I seriously probably burned more calories pulling a wagon full of pumpkins two miles (yes I'm exaggerating) down a windy trail, but I think Papa Rob had it worse pushing Baby C in his stroller. These two were so patient & kind while I tried to determine tree from tree, trying to recall which way took us to our location. It was worth the short walk though & even though the trails were semi busy everyone around us was kind enough to stay out of our way!
Though C was only 1/2 a year he had more personality than most adults I've met! He is wise beyond his years & is so incredibly photogenic. This family was nothing but smiles but it's hard to be anything else when you've got a happy/handsome little pumpkin like this with you!
Working with these 3 was such a wonderful experience & Baby C was so well behaved he seriously gave me Baby Fever, which I haven't had in ages! I couldn't have asked for the shoot to go any better & I couldn't have asked for better models! Thanks again to the P family & I hope to see you guys again at some point! Happy 1/2 year Baby C & thanks for being such a great sport throughout our session!