Baby Victor – Newborn Photography
I’m excited to post the gallery online today for Baby Victor’s parents! They’re close friends of mine. His mom and I go way back to story hour at the public library! So it’s no exaggeration to say I care deeply about her and I was so thrilled when I found out they were expecting and then I prayed with all my heart for a healthy pregnancy and baby.
When she texted me to say their little one had entered the world a healthy, (almost) 8 lb baby boy and they named him Victor, my eyes filled with tears of joy. I was THAT happy!
So without further hesitation, here are some of my favorite portraits from his newborn session. I captured all these images at their home in the Twin Cities. Needless to say, I had LOADED my van down with blankets, backgrounds and wooden crates… anything that might be needed for this monumental photo session! I am sure they thought I was moving in when I arrived. I suppose they would have been grateful for an extra set of hands to help, although Victor’s daddy is not averse to changing a dirty diaper! He jumped at the opportunity to handle any of his needs, which I admire.
Congrats M & J!
Enjoy,
Becca
Camellia + John Paul : Children’s Portrait Session
These littles are very dear to my heart. They just so happen to be my niece and nephew who live just far enough away to make taking photos a little hard to coordinate with school and work schedules. Needless to say, I was thrilled to finally have them back in my studio for some fun portraits documenting their ages (4 & 7).
The outfits their mama dressed them in were adorable and classic and so fitting for their ages. Camellia loves the camera and strutted her stuff like a girl who has seen a few episodes of America’s Next Top Model. Such a honey.
And JP, he’s golden. He really is. My parents get to spend lots of time with them since they live right next door and they never have a bad word to say about either of them. Gotta love grandparents.
I hope you love these images as much as I do… well, maybe that’s asking a lot if you’re not also related to them, but leave me a comment below and let me know which picture is your favorite!
Enjoy!
Becca
Katie : Northwood – Kensett High School Senior Portraits
Hi there! Wow! Where did August go?! I can’t believe it’s September, my older son is in school and the thought of decorating with pumpkins is starting to creep into the edges of my mind. I just have to say, I LOVE fall! The cooler weather, beautiful colors, and more structured schedules make life more enjoyable for this country girl! I am heading out to Sioux Falls for a couple photo shoots this weekend for past customers and I am wishing the weather was a little more fallish and not so summer-y (is that a word? LOL. Probably not.) today. It’s going to be roasty toasty warm from the sounds of it.
I have a new senior to share with you today, she is a stunner and totally down to earth and funny. I just had a blast with her and her best friend while we captured these great senior portraits for her. She just so happens to be another younger sibling to a senior guy I photographed a few years back. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… I love my repeat customers! Loyal to the core! 🙂
It was quite the session, about everything that could go wrong, did… somehow we managed to get locked out of the car a couple miles down the road from the studio… but luckily her mom had decided to stay back in the studio lobby and work on paperwork she had to do and so she was able to bring my van to come pick us up. Then, we went over to their farm to take some portraits with her horse and what does the horse choose to do? Whips his head and smacks poor Katie right in the mouth, splitting her bottom lip and so that was the end of his photos! Bad boy!
But, we knew with mine and Katie’s schedules, finding time to re-shoot wasn’t a great option and the weather was perfect, so we pushed on quickly, before her lip got puffy. I am in LOVE with the portraits we captured on the farm. So many pinterest worthy images, if I do say so myself!
Katie, thanks for being such a great sport! I appreciate your good-natured attitude through it all!
Enjoy!
McNaughton Family : Professional Family Portraits
Hello again!
I’m excited to share a few great images from my most recent session with you. They are of the McNaughton family who has done several sessions with me over the last few years and it’s extra special because they come all the way from the Washington D.C. area! They are just THAT loyal! … Oh, and her parents live about an hour from my studio so they stop by there for a visit since they’re in the area. 😉
This time around, we have the little guy who is 2 years old, almost 3… and little miss who is 5 years old now. I laughed when I was taking these because for her 2 year old portraits, she was “challenging” my photo taking skills and her brother tried to follow suit, but in both cases I worked my magic and captured some of the family’s favorite portraits.
Carys now, after 5 years of working with me was amazing! Last session I was so impressed by her willing and eager attitude, but this time she just blew me away. I think she’s taken up watching America’s Next Top Model, judging from some of the poses this girl was giving me! Love her so!
Here’s a sampling of a few of my favorites. I really love the outdoor ones of Carys with the flowers and the family ones turned out great too!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
Jenni : Mason City High School Senior Portraits
I love welcoming old friends back to the studio. Jenni visited in 2011 when her brother, Taylor was getting his senior portraits taken. Here’s a cute picture of them together back in 2011… #tbt 
Well, since then, Jenni sure has grown up and is a gorgeous young lady who is very athletic like her older brother and very much interested in sports.
We actually did two full sessions in one day to capture all her cheerleading, track and softball images as well as all the more classic looks. She picked a wonderful variety of outfits so I felt like she opened a door for me and all my creativity just started flooding out.
I’m in love with these images. I had such a hard time narrowing it down but luckily since we did two sessions, I get to show twice as many for their proofs! LOL! Now they are faced with the hard part, choosing! (Yikes!)
But that reminds me to mention…. One of the best parts about choosing my studio is that I am there for my customers, every step of the way, with an amazing ordering experience where we work together, in my studio with their images and lots of samples and I’m able to show them different creative ideas for displaying their favorite images with my state of the art ordering software. It’s so great, why don’t you call and book your session today and see what it’s all about?! 507-383-2344
🙂
Enjoy!
Rebecca
Little Eve – 6 Month Baby Portraits
Another fun session with this little beauty and her mommy. I just love getting booked for the whole first year of a baby’s portraits because I know I’ll be able to see that customer again and again and see their child grow up and really get a strong grasp of their personal taste and style. By the one year session, I can almost predict what they’ll order and lots of moms and dads let me take the wheel and steer them in the direction I know they’ll love in terms of wall portraits or framed collage prints.
I hope you love these images from Eve’s six month session as much as I do. The half-way point for baby’s first year… if you’d like to see her newborn portraits, click here.
Enjoy!
Becca
Baby Gabriel : 6 Month Old Baby Portraits
Little Gabriel is back again, for his six month session on my baby plan.
The baby plan features three sessions the first year. One newborn session (ideally within 10 days of birth), a sitting up session (around 6-8 months of age) and a birthday session. These three sessions give new parents a wonderful variety of images to document their child’s first year in portraits. I have been recommending just three sessions for the baby plan for several years now because the older method of 3, 6, 9, 12 months just got to be too much for most parents… (especially when newborn photography gained popularity).
Some people were trying to fit 5 sessions into a year… which just gets to be too much work for the parents… every time they turned around, they were needing to find outfits, set up appointments, decide on their order, pick it up… YIKES! It was too much of a good thing… they didn’t even have time to enjoy the order they received before they were planning for the next session.
The three session plan is perfect! At first it might not seem like enough because you are so enraptured with your newborn and it seems like they change sooo fast… (I’ve almost been tempted to add one more session in there.) But I love the dramatic difference in the portraits… little sleepy baby, cute chubby sitting, (maybe crawling?) baby, and standing, (possibly walking) baby.
The parents are able to enjoy each order for a few months before they even need to think about scheduling the next appointment. They are also able to invest more in each session because their budget isn’t being spread so thin… so they’re able to create wall groupings, collages, or even get that big canvas gallery wrap they’ve been eyeing!
But let’s get back to sweet little Gabriel, shall we???
His parents had lots of outfits for him to wear, and we started off with a little boy classic… a simple polo and shorts. No shoes or socks here! We want to show off those cute little toes!
I had to work for the first few smiles we squeezed out of him… Apparently, Gabe is a big daddy’s boy and he ONLY bursts out the big grins for him. After Daddy arrived, it was much easier! I was laughing so hard at the silly sounds his dad was making that it was hard to hold the camera steady!
I can’t tell you how much fun it is to see a parent get so involved in the photo session. Some photographers are kind of snobs about letting the parents be involved. I’m all for parent involvement. I don’t mind if the parents just want to go in the gallery area and take it easy, but if they want to stay in back and get on their knees with me.
After the first outfit, we did some sweet bare baby portraits with a little elephant shaped piano his parents brought for him to play with. His daddy is a great pianist/organist and so it was very significant.
I love adding special touches into your portraits that make them even more personal and tell a little part of the story of your life. Little Gabe loved banging on his piano, and some of the images captured even make it look like he already knows how to play it.
Other outfits included showcasing their love for their favorite sports teams, the Twins and the Vikings. Lucky little Gabe has already been to Target field for a game!
Well, I best get back to work.
I’ve ordered some postcards to advertise for senior portraits this summer and I’d best get my labels ready!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
P.S. If you want to see Gabe’s newborn session, click here.
Schlaak Family : Family Portrait Session
You’ll probably recognize this adorable family if you’ve been reading my blog for over a year now. These boy’s mama has been diligent about having their annual portraits taken ever since she discovered my studio and fell in love with my work.
I have to say, I fell in love with them too! I love these guys. The boys, Aiden and Ryan are sooo sweet. Just rumble, tumble, healthy little boys. And the family as a whole, they just have that young, fun-loving personality that I adore.
This year we decided to try out the long grass by the pond and I must say it looks darn good considering we had bright, open skies. Then, later we traveled to another location I have and did some with the steel siding on the shed and the old doorway.
I captured some really funny facial expressions of the boys, ones that I’ve seen on their faces over the years so I know it’s very “Aiden” and “Ryan” of them… if you know what I mean.
I am thinking a 9 opening collage of square images would be perfect to use these in.
I’m pretty sure their mama’s going to want to strangle me because I uploaded a gallery of about 100 images! YIKES! Normally, I am able to keep theirs below 80, but the extra 9 face shots of each boy added up.
I’m thinking it will be hard for her to “eliminate” any of them since they’re all so cute! But that’s what the multi-opening collages and proof books are for.
I only wish I had the time to design coffee table books because that would be a fun thing to create from a session like this.
Enjoy!
Rebecca
P.S. If the slideshow below shows up kind of “wonky” I apologize… I’m trying to figure out why I haven’t been able to get them to work lately.
Paul : Clear Lake High School : Senior Portraits
Well, it’s true. I do take lots and lots of portraits for senior girls, but this year the guys have been few and far between. Paul here, was actually my first for the ’12-’13 school year! Crazy!
I love working with guys. At least the ones like Paul. He was so happy and smiled a ton. I didn’t have to beg for a little grin like I do with some moody teenage boys.
His mom was thrilled to see her little boy all grown up and looking so handsome in his shirt and tie studio shots.
I adore the outdoor images, with the black and whites and the vintage toned images.
And the indoor ones for drumline turned out pretty darn cool too! They rock.
Great job Paul!
Enjoy,
Becca
Megan : Austin High School : Senior Portraits
I’m trucking right along with my senior portrait season, here at the studio! It’s Megan’s turn in the spotlight today, and boy, can this girl shine!
I loved working with Megan and her mom because they are super sweet people. Megan is just as beautiful on the outside as well! Look at all her amazing images in the slideshow below!
The clothes she chose really worked well and enhanced her natural beauty. I loved all the dresses! I was hoping she’d forget the cute dress we photographed in the water in the dressing room! 😉 Just kidding! I’m sure she wears it better than I would.
Well, back to the grind stone! Have more sessions to proof and another senior this afternoon at 1pm!
Enjoy!
Becca
Dayne : Newborn Session : Little Miracles Baby Plan
You probably remember this lovely family from the maternity session I posted in July. Well, the little guy finally decided to arrive over a week past poor Karie’s due date.
But, he is a healthy, happy baby boy. I just love being able to watch their family grow up through my photographs. First, I did their engagement… followed through with Gracie, and now little Mr. Dayne.
Isn’t he just the sweetest. I adore the simple images, of just a baby, without a diaper, lying on a blanket… although the little bear hat is pretty darn cute.
I am so blessed to have this family as customers, I appreciate them so very much.
Enjoy!
Rebecca
The McManus Family : Dubuque, IA
One of my great friends from Austin, MN moved to Dubuque, IA after her husband was tranferred with his job. It’s not easy maintaining long-distance friendships in this day and age. Even though it seems easy enough to keep “updated” on facebook, you still can’t beat a good ol’ phone call or better yet… an in-person visit!
I was lucky enough to find a weekend that worked for both of us, where I was able to drive down (sans Collin) to have a nice visit. We also were planning on taking some family portraits since it had been over a year since we’d been able to do that… and also to celebrate the fact that they ADOPTED a son! 🙂
This little heart-breaker stole their hearts last year before Christmas when they were sent the first picture of him. He was a little baby in an Ethiopian orphanage then, and now he just turned 1 year old and is a very lively toddler!!!
I felt so blessed having the opportunity to document this amazing moment in their lives. I know how badly my friend hoped and prayed for a new member to be added to their already wonderful family. I am so thrilled that their adoption went along so smoothly and they have a happy, healthy boy. He is totally adorable and has the BEST laugh!
His big sister, you might recognize from previous posts if you followed on the old blog… she is just as pretty as ever with her long dark hair and chocolate brown eyes. I just love her gorgeous eyelashes.
She is also very smart and loves to “read” books. She has dozens memorized and it won’t be long until she really is reading them.
I hope my friends love the images I captured for them, I sure put my heart into this job.
Enjoy!
Becca
Ruth : 6 Months Old : Baby Session
If you follow my blog at all, you should recognize little Ruthie by now. Her mommy and I have done four sessions already this year now. 🙂 (not just for Ruthie, but for her family and her mother’s family as well)
But back to business… Ruthie is just too, too cute! I mean it! I don’t think I can look at another picture of her smiling. It’s making me sick! I have such a hard time narrowing them down! 🙂
It’s about as bad as when I have to narrow Collin’s pictures down. LOL!
And Ruthie is the queen of making funny faces… really cute ones! I also know how much her mama adores the “bloopers” so we have quite a few to pick from and I’m thinking a collage will be necessary.
Enjoy!
Rebecca
P.S. Don’t you just love the pettiromper on Ruthie??? I think they work so well for the 6-12 month baby girls. I have three of them… in pink, ivory, and aqua!!! 🙂
Kylie : Senior Portraits : Albert Lea High School
Oooo la la! Lovin’ me some Kylie! Isn’t she just the cutest? I just love her auburn hair and glasses!
She looks so smart, but you know she’s gotta be sassy!
I had a great time with her and her mom, driving around during our Scandalous Session. I just love going new places and being creative.
The ones in the orange hoodie are among my faves. She really looks great in that bright orange! Not many girls can pull that color off! LOVE IT!
And this one… I adore! (P.S. I don’t know about your monitor, but it might look a little bright. It looks much better in print, I promise!)
Enjoy!
Rebecca
The Juhlin Family : Mason City, IA : Family Portraits
This family came to me via a referral from one of my favorite clients so I had a pretty good feeling we’d be a good fit and as soon as I arrived I was at ease. They were such a nice group of people!
I loved their home and their big, shady yard. The kiddos were just the cutest and so well behaved. It was like a dream come true! 🙂
Also, the one son just go engaged to the sister of the gal that referred me so they asked to do a little mini-engagement session at the end. Of course, I obliged!
The whole thing went so amazingly well, it made me thankful I accepted the Sunday morning session.
I can’t wait for the family to see these!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
The O’Connor Family : Lake Madison, SD
This great family comes to me from my wonderful brother-in-law, Dan Houg who works in Sioux Falls, SD and was on the Make A Wish Board of Directors last year.
The O’Connors and I tried to get together this winter to do a session, but the weather got in my way and I wasn’t able to travel that weekend.
Since a family this large doesn’t have the opportunity to get everyone together all that often, I was more than happy to accommodate their request to have me travel even further to Lake Madison, SD to do their family portrait session.
It was a very sunny and hot day, which wasn’t exactly ideal for a lake portrait. But I managed to work my magic and got a few different settings with the whole big group for Karla to choose from to display over her mantle.
Next, we headed to a more comfortable shady spot in the front yard where we took lots of great shots of the individual families and their kids.
It really was a great way to spend a Saturday. Such nice people! (And good looking to boot!)
Enjoy!
Rebecca
Erin : Senior Portraits : Albert Lea High School
Erin had a gorgeously sunny day to take her senior portraits. We sure have been blessed with some nice weather around here lately!
But to tell you the truth, I prefer a few clouds in the sky, it just takes away those harsh shadows that you get when you’re trying to do outdoor pictures at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Even with the bright sun, we got tons of amazing outdoor shots. Just look at these!
Naturally gorgeous girl! Love her!
Enjoy,
Becca
Urijah : 3 Month Session : Baby Portraits
Normally, I encourage my baby plan customers to do 3 sessions during their son/daughter’s first year. Once, when the baby is a newborn (ideally less than 10 days old), again when the baby is sitting up strong (maybe wait till they start crawling) and before their first birthday (standing/walking). This allows for a good variety in the portraits as they are in three very distinct stages.
There are lots of people, photographers, baby books, etc. that encourage portraits at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months the first year. That’s a great idea, and I definitely encourage my moms to take their own personal photos at those milestone ages, but I just think it gets to be overwhelming for moms that aren’t big “picture people.” It gets to be a lot of trips to the studio with the session, ordering, and picking up the order… (at least 12). Also, you are picking up the finished prints about the time we are scheduling the next session so you don’t have as much time to just enjoy them before you are planning the next order.
That’s just me. But I definitely have moms that want lots and lots of pictures of their babies. And it doesn’t bother them to have to make the quick trip down to my studio for each appointment. (Lots of my clients say they really enjoy the relaxing drive out to the country) Many times they did the more frequent schedule of portraits with their older child and they want to keep the tradition going. (Kuddos to them! Because we all know the 2nd child often gets the shaft!… 😉 this is a comment from a 2nd child, by the way!)
Urijah’s mom falls into that category of parents that love professional portraits and had done the newborn, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 month sessions with their oldest in Florida with their past photographer. (I should write her a Thank you) LOL!
I’m happy to share this little chubber’s three-month portraits with you. They are just too cute! Christina brought the cute little blue knit sweater and hat… and I just keep thinking those pictures would make such a cute Christmas card (this one in the munchkin stocking hat looks like he just saw Santa!) But he will have changed a lot by then and have lots of new portraits to pick from.
Enjoy!
Becca
Mark : Senior Portraits : Northwood-Kensett High School
I have just been getting the most handsome guys walking through my door this year! Mark is no exception. He was pretty pumped up for his session with his truck, his dog and his gun… oh, and his sister, along for the ride.
I took senior portraits for his older sister, Cari, a few years ago when she graduated. So it was good to see her again and catch up on everything she’s been doing.
Mark had a great time watching the two of us trying to get his dog’s attention. You can’t tell by the pictures, but he just did not want to look at us! Luckily, I didn’t have to work hard to get Mark to smile.
Well, that’s all for now, back to my to-do list that is never ending this time of year!
Enjoy!
Becca
Belly Love Session : Maternity Portraits
Today I am sharing a few images from a recent maternity portrait session… or as I like to call them, my Belly Love Sessions.
The beautiful gal in these pictures drove all the way down from Lakeville, MN to have me photograph her after comparing my work to several other photographers in and closer to the Twin Cities.
I think she might start to give me a big head! LOL! She said she loved the authentic emotion that I capture and appreciates the fact that I don’t feel the need to contort newborns into unnatural poses. I sure loved hearing that! It just validates all the choices I make to stay true to my unique, personal style and not attempt to copy other people’s work.
In return, I want to give her the praise she deserves. I am always so proud of my mamas who are brave enough to step in front of a camera in the late stages of their pregnancies. It’s not easy when you’re starting to feel like you’re the hugest pregnant lady that walked the earth (even though you know that’s not true, all rational thought has left by the start of the third trimester and “baby brain” has taken over.)
I always recommend getting your pregnancy portraits taken in the 32-36 week window. Opting more toward 32 weeks to be safe, in case your little one decides to make their appearance early… and it gives you time to order and appreciate the images before you give birth (and then all you really want to see are pictures of your newest love). LOL!
Having a professional photographer capture the end of your pregnancy is such a great idea because if you’re anything like me… you have been looking in the mirror and seeing pictures your family/friends took of you and aren’t feeling the best about your self-image… But when I take pictures of expecting mothers, it’s done with beautiful lighting and tasteful posing so that when you see the images you are thinking “WOW! I sure looked amazing, after all!”
Enjoy!
Becca
Kelly and John : Engagement Portraits
Can you feel the love??? I just adore engagement sessions. It’s all the love, without all the wedding day pressure. (Or the super-tight dress!) 🙂 Who can really breath in those things anyway? Glad I didn’t live in the day when you wore a gown all the time. I’m not sure I could have survived.
Anyhow, back to the task at hand. Focus, focus! I haven’t been working much this week as I’m attempting to take a vacation since our daycare gal has the week off for her own vacation.
But, today I have my parents watching the little guy and I’m catching up a bit and needed to show off some great images from Kelly and John’s engagement session.
Aren’t they just cute? I can really tell that John’s just head-over-heels for Kelly. He looks at her with such love, it is sooo sweet.
If you like these, stay tuned, I have more engagement pictures coming up and a senior…. and next week is chock full of sessions, so there will be lots to share!
Enjoy!
The Carlson Kids : On-location session with Baby Chicks
I just loved this session! It is the kind of session that I really started my business to do. It’s shot all on-location with a story to tell.
The family had ordered these adorable baby chicks (and you might recognize Ruthie from her newborn portraits) and it was time for Ruthie’s 3 month portraits. So we were able to have some fun and get some great shots of the kids.
Personally, I love all those “blooper” type of shots. Don’t you? The one of the little brother putting the chicks on his older brother’s head is a favorite of mine… that and the one of the little guy thinking about dashing out of the group picture. Just priceless!
Anyhow, I hope you feel the same way… and if you do, give me a call and we can brainstorm a portrait concept that would make your family portraits even more personal and unique!
Enjoy,
Becca
Rebecca Lynne Photography : Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota's Best Photographer! 