Dear DJ
I had the pleasure of photographing Dorian last week. I kept telling mom that I love the tv show “Scrubs”. The main character is “JD” (John Dorian). Well, this is “DJ”.
Dorian arrived on the scene in November, so he’s older than most of the babies I photograph for a newborn session. The key difference… Dorian didn’t want to sleep. I think he gave us a total of 4.4 minutes of sleep. All infants regardless of age fight sleep while at the studio. This amazes every parent, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least. The older they are, the less they sleep. And when they are awake… the limbs are moving everywhere. Dorian was no exception. I gave him the stink-eye for it and he told me to talk-to-the-hand.
Mom wanted a dreamy capture of her little cherub.
I’ve been trying to involve the parents more in my newborn sessions recently. Most new moms are afraid that they look tired and fat (leftover from pregnancy), but new moms are glowing! The parents assume that the newborn session is all about the baby, and it is, but I love to capture the love and awe on a new parent’s face before the 3am feedings get old. hehehe
Isn’t mom stunning?
Portrait Sale
The dip in the economy as well as the dip in the temperature has inspired me to give you something to cheer about. How about some HOT discounts to warm you up?
• Purchase a Wall Portrait and get a FREE 5×7 print
Book and complete your Individual Child or Family studio session between January 25th and February 28th and when you purchase any size wall portrait, you’ll receive a free matching 5×7 to give away.
Newborn, Maternity and on-location sessions not eligible,
(however if you book a Belly & Baby it will apply to the “Baby” session).
Does not apply to wall portraits purchased as part of a portrait collection.
Cannot be combined with gift certificates.
Storyboards & Collages do not qualify.
Free 5×7s do not count towards early bird special.
5×7s may be cropped differently than the wall portrait.
No substitutions.
• Prepay for any portrait collection over $500 and your session fee is waived
Book and complete your Individual Child or Family studio session between January 25th and March 20th and prepay for either the Lasting Impressions or Heirloom Collection, your session fee is waived.
Newborn, Belly & Baby, Milestone Series and on-location sessions not eligible.
Cannot be combined with gift certificates.
Cannot be combined with early bird special.
Cannot be combined with the above free 5×7 special.
No substitutions.
2.5 weeks
I love the name Xander. I’ve met a few but this is the first one I’ve photographed. Xander wins the award for most yawns during a session. Not every newborn gives me a good yawn, but Xander gave me several. He was also very expressive for his age. I could have sworn he rolled his eyes at me and gave me the stink-eye a few times.
I took a great shot of Xander & Dad together; both were shirtless. Dad was unsure about the skin on skin pose so I’ll spare him from becoming eye-candy on the blog. hehehe I’ll share this one instead.
Thanks to mom, dad and grandma for a fun session. 
Introducing Jazzi Girlz - apparel for girls
Last summer I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with entrepreneur, Tanaya Parker. Tanaya is a clothing designer and seamstress in the Metro Detroit area and the brainchild behind Jazzi Girlz. Jazzi Girlz is a line of boutique-style girl’s clothing as well as hair bows, refashioned denim, jewelry, accessories, room decor and more. Tanaya custom designs holiday outfits, party dresses and pageant couture.
The Family Room is excited and proud to be the official photographer for Jazzi Girlz apparel. I also designed her logo and business cards. This spring we will be putting out a casting-call for models in the 4t - 6t range. We’re looking for girls who can ham it up for the camera. Jazziness is a plus. Get your snapshots ready!
If you appreciate sturdy, american-made clothing with attention to details and if the little girls in your life have “the jazzi factor” then you should check out jazzigirls.com.
Meet Declan
Check out this handsome little boy. Declan didn’t want to sleep, as is standard baby-procedure when they arrive at the studio. Mom had a nursing mini-triathlon. In between each segment we tried different poses. He finally slept for a stretch at the end. Mom and Dad were very patient and their patience paid off. Me? I’m always patient with newborns. There really is no other choice.
Mom is a saxophone player. She brought her instrument along for a special pose.
Thanks for introducing me to your son. It was great working with you.
Special Projects
In 2008, The Family Room took on a couple of special projects. I teamed up with well-known Stamper, Scrapbooker and Paper-Crafter Erika Martin for The Soulology Project. The Soulology Project is a weekend scrapbooking workshop that helps women create scrapbook pages about themselves. Usually it’s the scrapbooker who is behind the camera, documenting their family’s lives. They seldom make pages about themselves and even if they wanted to, they aren’t sure what to write. Erika’s emotive course helps you get in touch with your soul and journal a legacy for your children. My job was to photograph all the participants so they would have photos of themselves for their scrapbook pages.
Erika also offers The Soulology Project and Journaling 101 as online courses through Papercraft Planet.
Here are just a couple of the women who attended the class in Pennsylvania this fall.
Nicole Seitler is designer and owner of Sugar Plum Paperie. She is a digital and hybrid scrapbooker.
Melanie is a Stampin’ Up rep who makes a lot of hand-made cards and posts them on her blog.
The other project is a partnership with JazziGirlz. I’ll post about that in a bit. I have a 1 month old coming in soon!
Babies and Toddlers
Such a cute sailor suit.
I have a serious addiction to baby eyelashes…
and red hair…
It’s so hard to choose just 2 or 3 images from a session to post on the blog. Some of my favorites lack presence when reduced in size. I don’t want to post all tight close-ups either. I try to post a variety.
Surprise for Dad
This sweet family session was a special gift for their father. We met for their session at a playground on the water.
Sometimes when photographing two little ones, it’s a challenge to pose them together. This session was no exception. I photographed Grant when he was about 3 months old and I’ve shot him several times since. This time was his new baby sister’s turn in the spotlight and Grant was still unsure about this new little person in his home. I photographed Makayla by herself, and then Grant by himself and was able to put them together after the session.
I love it when families bring items to the session to include in their photographs. Makayla was an autumn baby, so mom had some pretty leaves and branches to set the mood. Mom also provided the pink and lavender blanket with the star pillow attached.
I’m always happy to incorporate personal touches into your portraits.
A girl, A boy and twins
Marina’s family brought a family heirloom baptismal gown.
Isn’t this little guy adorable? He was very pensive. He gave me a few really great smiles, but I liked the serious ones better.
You know me and baby wrinkles.
This pair stole my heart.
Twins are a lot of work to photograph. I can only imagine trying to parent them. My hat’s off to you, mom!
Metro Detroit Portrait Studio
Mom requested a very specific scene for this pose of her son.
Don’t you just love wrinkly newborns?
Sitting Pretty.
“Ptthhh”
These sisters were a couple of tigers, if you know what I mean.
Remember baby Jade? She grew up and I understand she has another sibling on the way. I can’t wait.
