Jan
24
2013
Starting around the time that I was in the process of writing my Life Statement, I’ve had a string of sessions that are right in the middle of living their beautiful-mess with grace. First, there was Karen with her heartbreaking story of trusting wholly in the grace of God. And then there was this session with fellow photographer Amanda of MyOhmanda Artistry and Photography. But then again, maybe God has just opened my eyes to the messy beautiful more because of that Life Statement. In any case, let me share a little of Amanda’s life with you.
Amanda’s had a rough year. Her mother, who diligently prayed Amanda through some rough situations in her life, went home to be with the Savior this year. Her hopes for a VBAC were crushed. And she has two boys 4 and under and was expecting a third. Children that young just make life joyfully ridiculously full of unexpected mess.
Micah came on the very special date of 12/12/12 as a little reminder of how many unexpected ways God blesses us through pain and through joy. I don’t know the end of this story, but I do know that like all parts of His story it’s going to point to the gospel: the story that our perfect doesn’t have to be perfect because He loves us enough to die for us despite our failings. I’m excited to have been introduced to the joy of walking with her through this season.
My personal favorite part of Micah’s Session is the Greenville, SC mother and baby newborn photography images we took. Amanda was so willing to get in the picture with her family. It’s not easy as woman to see yourself in images and try not to listen to that evil voice that says we should look a certain way. It’s even harder to get in the photograph right after you’ve had a c-section and it’s physically painful to do so. But Amanda wanted to be in the picture. Having just lost her mom, she knows how valuable ever single image of her mother is. Her boys will always treasure these images.
Even this family image is precious. It’s real life lived gracefully with a 4 and 1 year old plus a newborn. The joy, the laughter, the tantrums, the tears, and the sheer absurdity of each day all rolled up in one image. (Does Newborn Micah really have his eyebrow raised as if to say, “Who are these people?!”)
Don’t worry, we did get one great image of all three boys together. A miracle image if I do say so myself!
Here’s just a sneak peak of all of the rest of the adorableness in this session.
Amanda, it was a real honor to be invited into your life during this hard season. Thank you for choosing me to capture your Greenville, SC Mother and Baby Newborn Photography.
Dec
11
2012In addition to a Lifestyle Family Session, the Connelly’s also chose to do a traditional posed newborn session with Ivey. I’m honored when families choose me as their Greenville, SC Newborn Photographer.
Ivey is a very special client because her parents are my first repeat client. Ivey is the sister of my very first newborn ever, sweet Lydia!
Just look at how much I have grown as a newborn photographer in 2 short years:
Lydia in 2010
Ivey (October 2012)
Speaking of Lydia, look at how much this quirky little girl has grown in the past two years! I think she easily could have stole the show 🙂
Unlike Lydia, Ivey did not love my bean bag. We managed a few bean bag images both asleep and awake before she demanded to be fed. I love that she gave me eye contact in the following shot! So rarely will newborns look directly at a camera.
After she nursed, Ivey finally clonked out right in Tamara’s arms. So sweet! I’m such a sucker for mother/child images because mom is so often the one behind the camera that she’s rarely in the shot.
Ivey really liked this basket. It must have been this snuggly purple blanket! She slept so peacefully .
But my favorite image from this whole session is of Tamara with Lydia and Ivey. I love Lydia’s sneaky kiss, Ivey’s sleepy body, and Tamara’s pure enjoyment of having two little girls to love.
Tamara, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your family each year. I love sharing life with you and capturing your joy!
Aug
07
2012Mom overheard me teasing Casey as I rocked her about being so nosy, and had to laugh! Mom calls her nosy too! She just loves to listen to people talk and be wide awake. I have never ever fought so hard to get a baby to sleep for one of my sessions!
Casey finally clonked out fully for 20 minutes of shooting at the very end of the session. Unfortunately, I had already taken down my beanbag set up. However, I got to try a lot of prop shots! I love the effect of prop shots, but rarely get to play with them so I really enjoyed doing this!
Casey was just a tiny little girl. 11 days new and barely 7 pounds. She brought back so many memories from when my twins were this tiny!
Casey, as the youngest of 4, I pray that you will bring peace and laughter to your parents.
May
24
2012I’ll be honest, I was a little anxious going into this session. Skye has a big brother Ashton who turned 2 in February. I really felt like the classic sibling shot was going to be a miracle, especially since I don’t think I have a single beautiful image of my own Sedryn with his sisters from the newborn stage. But we got our miracle! (Thanks to a promise that daddy would find Ashton a ‘special treat’!)
Skye Eliana was just beautiful. She had the perfect newborn skin just felt so tiny compared to my 7 month old almost 20lb hulk!
However, Skye did not want to sleep! We rocked and patted and bounced and fed her for nearly 3 hours! Finally, she drifted into a deep sleep for about 20 minutes of blissful photographing. Just goes to show that the newborn always calls the shots during a session!
Heather, Mike, and Ashton, enjoy these early days with beautiful Skye. They drift by so quickly!
