Baby DW III Newborn Session

The Saga of the DW family continues with their most recent installment Baby M, who is also my God Son!!! Just going into his birth knowing that made the moment so much more special when I was able to witness his birth and be one of the first few people to hold him! I'm hoping these guys will make another dozen babies because gosh dang they are awfully cute! Big Brother M & Big Sister R wanted so badly to hold M and to help with him however they could it was so cute! Mama & Papa have said that Big Sister R has repeatedly taken M out of his rocker and brought him to one of the, crying, sleeping, whatever! They both want so badly to hold their new baby it makes me hopeful that since I'm waiting so long to have kids if I have them close together they'll be this loving!!!

I so wish I could share some of photos from M's birth. We had waited and waited for what seemed like weeks for M to make his big debut, I had made sure to keep my schedule relatively open so I could leave at a moments notice but of course as soon as I started a newborn session (which typically last 4 hours) I got a call from Mama T that she was in labor... SOMEHOW, I still managed to do the newborn session and drive the hour and a half up to Kentucky to see this little guy come into the world! I even got to cut the cord which was one of the most special moments I've ever gotten to share with a family, or just in general!!! M was also kind enough to be born around 3pm instead of 3am like his big sister! 

Even though he looks like he was awake in a few of the photos I posted he slept like a rock. I don't think I can express enough how hard he slept no matter how much I loved him or changed him or wrapped him he just slept and gave me some of the best faces! I can only imagine what he was dreaming about, it was probably me... or the booby. 

G Family Session

G Family Session Part Deux, this family deserves a trilogy but for now will due with a sequel blog!!! I adore going to their property and shooting, every time I visit I find something different and always gives me such a great variety in photos in such a small location!!! We even did their family photos in the pond across the road where just a few days later Papa R found a poisonous snake... thankfully we managed to make it through this session without getting poison ivy or eaten!!!

Baby P Cake Smash

This little lady has graduated from the baby plan and oh my goodness she grew about 2 feet from the time we did her family session to the time we did her cake smash!!! She's so long and beautiful just like her sisters, I hate it for Mama J & Papa R! They're going to have it rough with three beautiful little girls... I feel like these little ladies are now my nieces I've gotten so close to all them! They're always so kind, well behaved, and engaging and I look for any excuse to go see them! Anyways, just a few weeks back Baby P had her cake smash and oh my goodness I can not tell you how many images are in their gallery that are just of the cake smash!!! (It's somewhere around 50!) Because there were so many photos I am so in love with just from the CS I'm doing a blog exclusively on this portion of the session and another one for the family! Her Mama & I share a love for all things Shabby & Frilly, which I guess you have to when you have 3 girls, and I loveeee outdoor sessions so this made for a perfect combination! Little Ms. P has so much self control too, we learned from her birthday that she is not a huge fan of icing so I made a nude cake covered in lots of yummy fruit for her! It was still surprising though when she didn't even break into the cake, she spent her session munching on the strawberries and dodging the blueberries. You can tell in some of the photos too where she hit a bitter one an was not pleased but overall she loved it just as much as we did! 

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

Baby P Newborn Session

I've recently discovered that little boys sleep ten times better than letter girls... It last their whole lives for that matter! Little Ms. P was so good for her newborn session, even though she hadn't been feeling well for the last few days and was spitting up lots! I thought she wouldn't be comfy on her tummy because of how upset it was and shows going to spit up the whole session but I was wrong on both counts! Despite being over the 10 day marker she did some amazing poses, on her tummy and back, and to my pleasure didn't spit up once (she did get the hiccups a ton though)! This lady rocked some of my favorite props, some of which I've never used before, and gave me the chance to showcase the fabric to one of my favorite swaddle wraps!

Just like her sister in law too Mama C had a better figure post baby then I have after months of running and looked like a super model despite what I assume was only 4 hours of sleep (I look and feel dead after sleeping 6 hours, so unfair!) Papa J was such a good helper during the session too and despite having worked a ton the day before Mama C told me he was always overly excited to get home and hold this little lady all night (Dad goals ladies). This awesome family had the best color scheme/theme picked out as well. I LOVEEEE all things frilly and pink (I talk about it all the time) but they also wanted to include some of my cat props into the session! I'm saving those photos for their gallery, even though I'm dying to show them off! After spending most the morning indoors, while it was nice and cool outside, we decided to head outside and do family photos on a day where there was about 70% humidity, or that's what it felt like at least. Based on the weather the last few days you wouldn't know just two weeks ago it was miserably hot outside! Mama & Papa were so patient outside during family photos and somehow little Ms. P stayed asleep for a few photos in the garden (but even she was sweating!) My mom always strives to keep the garden up too, for this very reason. She's always tickled to death to see her flowers in my photos.

P & A Maternity Session

I made a statement the other day on FB about how my ladies need to go ahead and have their babies anddddd I guess I'm getting what I wished for! Within two days of posting one of my pretty Mama's went into labor and just a few days later my beautiful cousin looked like she was about to have a baby fall out of her during her shower! Sadly Papa A had to go to work before the Baby Shower ended and before Mama P could escape I made her come out back and let me get a few photos of her! Thankfully she was model ready and so very happy to accept!!!

Our family is so incredibly happy for her and her awesome guy, they're going to be fabulous parents when we allow them to have their little guy! Thankfully he's being born into two big loving and very family oriented families.

C Graduation Photos

I have a huge problem when it comes to photoshoots, I get carried wayyyyyyy too easily, which isn't a bad problem I suppose! For those of you who can't tell I'm a huge fan of bright colors. My whole business palette is just a giant blob of shabby chic inspiration/explosion of florals so when C agreed to shoot at one of my favorite locations and gave my creative control I can not tell you how ecstatic I was!!! I did a session similar to this some time ago but wasn't able to capture the feeling I was wanting the photos to represent. Though the original model did a stupendous job, it turned out that I was missing one key element... a handsome boyfriend to share the excitement and ice cream with! These two played off each other so well and were just so happy in the moment I really didn't have to do anything except try and keep up with them! 

I might have taken like 100 photos in about 3 minutes. Though we spent a good amount of time at another location, shooting other outfits, I am madly in love with these photos because they represent the excitement and dramatic flair I want my photos and business to portray! 

Also, it was an extra special session because it was Panda's first birthday!!! She might have been the best listener and most responsive one year old I've ever worked with ;) 

K & Z Family Session

In between all the babies I've had these last few weeks I somehow managed to get a little 1.5 year old in my grasps! I love all the babies and will always welcome them but it was nice to work with a child who was about 95% less likely to pee or poop on me. It just so happens this darling little ladies Mama was someone I intentionally made friends with in High School just so I could photograph! It only occurred to me later that she was more than just a pretty face, she was an incredibly sweet and an all around remarkable lady! The last time I saw Mama K was the last time I attended High School, which... I don't even want to talk about how long ago that was. People always seem to make a huge change in personality from 17 to early 20's but Ms. K was still just as flattering as ever. She was also just as easy to get along with as ever! We talked like we've been in contact all this time & as socially awkward as I am that's a super hard trait to find in someone! 

As amazing as Mama K is she had some competition with Baby Z who spent most her session running away from me with my stroller. Z has the personality of a 16 year old girl and was definitely in charge of the session! She also had some of the best outfits I've ever seen (do they make pants like that in adult sizes?) and the most beautiful blue eyes! 

We ended up having to go to our first location the following day because the place was closing early and we got kicked out almost immediately... (jerks!) It gave me a good excuse to see these two beauties again though and was well worth the wait. Because I had planned for most of the session to be shot at the first location we ended up improvising the rest of the session and locations. Every park we seemed to drive by seemed to be having HUGE family reunions or people letting their giant dogs run around like crazy (it's a park, I get it, dogs will run around and they should be able to but it makes it SUPER hard to keep a kids attention so it was a no go!) We were also racing against the rain and these two stills somehow managed to give me some truly awesome shots on such a restricted time line with so many distractions!

Ms. Z was bein so good too I was able to get some shots of this pretty Mama & I think I'm going to try & sneak her pretty face in my senior gallery to see if anyone notices ;)

DW Maternity Session

Baby DW number 3 is almost here!!! This means at any given moment I can be driving up to KY to witness this little monster to make her/his big debut! Lets hope unlike his/her sister, they decide to arrive at a hard noon! Hopefully this isn't the last of the DW children, I know if Mama can help it she'll get two more out of Papa K, because they make the most adorable kids! Check out this beauty rockin one of my maternity dresses & her adorable munchkins (& handsome hubby) giving her some serious love!

E Family Maternity Session

Maternity Sessions might be my favorite... I think I say all sessions might be my favorite, BUT, that's because they are all awesome! Maternity sessions though mean that I will have a little one to snuggle and photograph soon!!! Judging by this handsome Dad and Mom though my next baby is going to be a doll!

Though we had only briefly spoken through sporadic text messages (on my behalf!) it was like meeting old friends and we spent the whole evening telling jokes and me keeping them much longer then necessary! If darkness wasn't creeping up on us these two might have been stuck there an hour or so longer! Mama E made being 8 months pregnant look so easy. She somehow managed to hike trails that I got winded on (but I also get winded rolling out of bed), scale rock walls, and looked like a super model all while doing it! If you were to see her from behind you would never have known she was pregnant, she was all perfectly round belly! 

I don't know if I've ever met anyone as organized as I like to think I am. Mama E knew everything she looking for from her session, how to pose, the best spots to shoot, and was willing to wear just about anything I brought! She, much like myself, has a flair for the dramatic! Though I'm always overly excited about any session I have she had me ready to bring half my closet for her to try on before it was over! Surprisingly we ended up being able to narrow it down... Thankfully her husband was just as stylish and photogenic as she was. Unlike his brother who I don't think owns more then 3 shirts, Papa J had a large selection to choose from and made narrowing down outfits that much harder! He looked so good I even made him step aside and let me get a few shots of him by himself! They looked so good I even cut the belly out of a few of the shots and focused exclusively on them! 

I already consider these guys more friends then clients and I'm so thankful this awesome couple was able to get to me before Mama C has her little lady. I'm more excited for this session newborn session then I have been in a while because of the AWESOME concept and color scheme these guys have picked 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

Little Ms. R Pageant Session

No matter how often you work with a family or how well you think you know them they always seem to have a way of surprising you! That was very much so the case for Ms. R, even though I was literally there when she was born and have worked with her multiple times since then I was taken back how much of a little fireball she was on our private session together! Without her big brother or father around I got to focus exclusively on this little lady for her Pageant photos and she was such an incredible delight. Her personality is much too old for her age, she is so incredibly well behaved, exceptionally smart, and is just all around funny. The hour we spent playing peekaboo to get these beautiful cheeky smiles was by far the best hour of that day! If this little lady gives the judges in Texas just an ounce of the personality she gave me she's going to knock it out of the park!!!

Little Ms. R's floral headband by the super awesome 100AcreBoutique

Baby N Newborn Session

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!

Ms. Nadie R

Now that I've got a fancy computer where I can actually see what I'm doing I've been going through lots and lots of old files and I have to toot my own horn a bit and say I'm still amazed at some of my old work! It's so easy to be hypercritical of yourself and compare your work to others but stumbling across galleries like this really make me incredibly proud of my work and even more eager for every shoot I have!  One of my most wonderful and imaginative models to date! I look forward to the day I can work with Ms. Nadia again! 

Baby S Newborn Session

Almost 3 years ago, at the start of my newborn career, an awesome couple (& even cooler friends) welcomed their first child into the world and you best believe I jumped at the opportunity to shoot their baby! After hours of planning, because back then it didn't take me weeks to actually plan because I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I welcomed Mitchell & Brittany into my home studio and walked myself right into a whirlwind! I spent some time dying cheesecloth (which has ZERO stretch to it guys, don't believe all those blogs!!!), buying fabrics, the works, excited to use literally every newborn prop I had at the time for her session. I've got to say I psyched myself up for so long, after seeing all these sleepy adorable baby photos online and thinking that that would be the cutest thing ever to add to my portfolio, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Newborns have definitely been one of the most complicated, yet most rewarding, models I have ever worked with. I never imaged how much newborns pee and poop, especially when naked, nor did I think that it would be so hard to get them to sleep for more then 5 minutes! Isn't that what newborns do? Eat, poop, and sleep??? The photos you see online are a dirty lie and make it look so easy!

Now Big sister H was definitely a challenging newborn. Despite being fed and kept up before our session she was literally awake for the whole thing and loved the fur I laid her on so much that she peed on it more then once! She never cried but was the biggest wiggle bug I have ever seen! It was also the first time Papa M had been pooed on and it was an amazingly funny experience. Even though I wasn't nearly as knowledgeable about posing newborns/didn't have all the fancy cute props I have now, I still love the family photos I did from H's newborn session. Mama B & Papa M look so incredibly proud of their beautiful little girl that it doesn't matter her fingers weren't flat, her wrap wasn't smooth, or her arms were literally spelling out YMCA the whole time, the photos are still so sentimental even I can look past all the fine details to see the true beauty of the family.

Fast forward almost 3 years and M & B are welcoming their second beautiful little girl into the world and it wasn't an option for the now 4  to once again visit me! Baby S was just as beautiful as I imagined her and Mama B has a hotter postpartum body than I have on a good day so I was incredibly jealous. She also had more hair then I thought a newborn could have and her mama picked out a beautiful color pallet so I was incredibly excited to piece everything together! Following in her adorable sisters footsteps Baby S was awake for a good chunk of her session and was more interested in why I was moving her around so much then sleeping. Despite being such a wiggle butt we did manage to get her to sleep for a good 15 straight minutes which was all I needed!

Big Sister H amazed me at how well she handled her little sister! I've never seen a sibling so young walk around (or try to at least!) with 'their' baby with such ease as H did! She sat down and proper her upright, cradled her, the works! This little mama is going to be a huge help to her parents! S wasn't too terribly pleased we kept moving her around while she tried to sleep but still managed to look like a gerber model for her family photos!

Purple knit blanket - Baileys Knits

Puple wrap and headbands - Emmy Blue Headbands

Purple Bonnet - Pinkytinks Boutique

Purple and Yellow headband - Pixie Blossoms

White floral headband - Pixie Blossoms

Ivory Headband and wrap - Emmy Blue Headbands

E Family Maternity Session

Talk about a family that's hit the genetic lottery! Some 7 months ago Mrs. E announced she was expecting her second child and I was ecstatic! I knew I just had to buy my time and hopefully I'd be able to see them and though it took till Mama Brittany's 37th week it was well worth the wait! (It also means less time for me to wait till I get to meet Baby S!) Papa Mitchell had contacted me some weeks before our session and we attempted to plan a session for his adorable family in secrecy but it wasn't until Mama B got involved that the whole thing really came together! 

The hardest part of this session was not only trying to decide which of my maternity dresses Mama B would wear (the answer was all of them!) but letting this adorable family leave! Big Sister H was such a cute little ham and you can tell she's used to having her photos taken on a regular basis! Even when the chilly wind would blow H would just throw on the biggest smile as soon as I lifted my camera. She's super excited to meet her little sister and is going to be such a great little helper to her parents! 

Moms 29th Birthday

You only turn 29 once (maybe twice) and I can see no better way to commemorate her beauty and youth then in some awesome beach photos! Everyone on the beach watched mom in awe and lots of people took photos! We're pretty sure they thought she was a famous movie star or something to that caliber. 

I owe my success and devilishly good looks to this woman and hope that one day I am half as good a mother to my children as she has been to us. This woman inspires me to be better and I'm so lucky to have her there to guide me through all my problems no matter how small they may be! I did however draw the short end on the awesome hair though. At 29 my mom still has the thickest hair I've ever seen and I'm pretty sure every time I brush mine it's all going to fall out.

Happy very late birthday to the most wonderful woman I know!

Baby P 6 month Session

The first BLOGGED session of 2017 is well deserved to be shown first for the excessive cuteness!

It's crazy how fast 6 months goes by when it's not your child! Somehow it's already been 6 months & little Baby P was extra sweet & cuddly for her 6 month session. She was much happier to see me this time around & had thankfully forgotten how much I disturbed her while she slept during her newborn session! After planning for many weeks trying to work around this sweet princess being sick & Nashville's inconsistent weather we finally caught a lovely day in between the rain & wind to shoot on this awesome families beautiful property! We spent the first part of the morning going through the older girls (who are the best mini mommies) closet & my goodness I've never seen such a wardrobe with such exquisite taste! It was easy to see why mama J had such a hard time deciding between outfits. I can't decide what the best part of this family is. How sweet Ms. P is, how social and easy Mama J & Papa R are to get along with, or just how incredibly awesome the R & G are! The older girls, G & R, always acted like they were so happy to see me & have always so social & well behaved anytime I have met them, in ever setting! I always try & squeeze extra time in between photo taking to frolic with them & catch up on the latest gossip ;) 

Little Miss G & R were also kind enough to watch their baby sister while I snapped a few photos of Mama J & Papa R together! The two newlyweds looked so great together & photographed so well I could have spent another hour with them just taking couple photos, but we just so happened to shoot on super bowl Sunday & that takes precedence over most things! 

Believe it or not the hardest part of this session was getting Ms. P to look at me! There was lots of tasty grass all around to be eaten & having photos taken on game day wasn't exactly what this cutie had in mind! She fell asleep for a portion of the shoot & things became so much easier! You could also tell just how adorable & squishy her cheeks were when they were smushed up against her Mama! 

Though Ms. P is halfway through graduating the baby plan I'm always going to be looking for an excuse to work with these little girls & their awesome mama & papa! I've already recruited the little ladies to model some of my handmade dresses for me soon! I'm starting to try & slow down finishing these photos because I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I finish!!! 

Deer headband - Dearest Dreams

Red Headband - Pixie Blossoms

Matoka & Jarett Engagment Session

Going on adventures with friends is one of the best parts of being a photographer! As much as I love my many adventures with young Samuel there's just something extra special about going out and sharing in the mischief with equally as awesome people. Matoka & Jarett are always so much fun to be around and I always get some stunning images from all their sessions so when we planned on going to Cummins Falls I thought we would get some drop dead gorgeous images at the waterfall! Well, we got some awesome images but they weren't by the waterfall! None of us had ever been to the area & as beautiful of a drive & walk as it was it was atrocious to navigate. The weather was thankfully beautiful but that just meant the area was packed with people who didn't seem to notice that we were taking pictures. We went out of the way in lots of areas to get photos and not to disturb anyone doing their thing and somehow people still seemed to go out of their way to sit on the same rock or stand in the same area as J & M. The fact that it just so happened to be the one time of year I get sick & I had no voice what so ever didn't help too much! Thankfully Blake was there to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible & I had to use him multiple times to show the two what type of pose I needed them to do. Despite the craziness of the day these two were such good sports & always provide such amazing conversation. They managed to make a crazy day an amazing experience and despite the cluttered setting they still knocked it out of the park! In every photo, posed or not the way they look at each other is the way that all women want their man to look at them (& vice versa). One of the best things from the day was the fact that Matoka was painting her nails as we went, which takes some serious skill!!!

 I can't wait to finish this session up or for their wedding in October!!! 

Lady N Maternity Session

I think it's still pretty bad that I'm catching up on blogs from last year, but that's okay (is what I keep telling myself!) at least everyone has their photos! 

I had a brief visit from my very lovely friend Ms. N late last year & though she was only 4 or so months along in her pregnancy we faked it by eating lots of burritos and double stuffed Oreos before our session. I didn't need to, but I wanted to be there for support. 

The beautiful N modeling one of my favorite maternity dresses! Hopefully I get to meet her little lady at some point this year, even if it means I have to go to California!!! 

This is the second time I've gotten to shoot N & her little stinker J, who is always so well behaved & so very photogenic! As soon as he saw his mama in her form fitting dress he laughed at her with a huge grin on his face & said 'Your belly is so much bigger!' He was happy to show off his muscles & hold the pumpkin but he was definitely struggling! It was the cutest thing ever! J is going to be an awesome big brother & I'm so happy I got to work with these (3) the short time they were visiting Nashville!