The purpose of baby, child and family photography is for your child to grow into and through adulthood knowing deep in their soul that they are, and always have been, a beautiful, perfect person. Woah, that’s pretty deep for a family photography blog, right? Yes. Yes, it is. Welcome to Nicole Hawkins Photography.

Today, I’d like to discuss why we hire professional photographers and explain the philosophy behind our NJ family portrait studio located in beautiful Maplewood, New Jersey. The goal of hiring a family photographer, as I see it, is to celebrate your children and preserve their sweetness. When most parents inquire about hiring a baby, child, or family photographer it’s often because the later goal is pressing: the baby or kids are growing and changing so rapidly and you want to preserve their sweetness. I do that and I do that well because I adore little humans. (Five years experience with hundreds of families throughout NYC and Northern NJ, countless hours of education, and the work ethic of a corporate lawyer help a bit, too.)

But, while preserving their sweetness for you is an important and wonderful part of my job, often what I am thinking about just as much when I click the shutter, cull the images, and edit my portraits, is that this evolving person before me needs to be CELEBRATED. Celebrated! Celebrated as they are, for who they are. Goofy, sweet, serious, sensitive, beautiful, handsome, joyful and shy… absolutely unique. A child is ever changing, and ever becoming more themselves. That is worth celebrating.

Part of celebrating a child through portraiture means creating an image that enables the subject to see the beauty and depth in themselves that I see. However, just as important for a family session, is creating images that capture the beauty and depth parents see in their child. Sometimes it’s a loving gaze, sometimes it’s a shared laugh, and sometimes it’s as subtle as a proud arm around the shoulder or a tender holding of the hand. However it manifests, I’m looking out for, and gently encouraging, moments where parents exude love and real pride for their little people.

How do we move from creating celebratory portraits to ensuring our people feel loved and supported for life? Framed prints and quality albums. Young children love to see portraits of themselves and their family up on the walls of their home. LOVE it. Just as special, imagine your child flipping through an album with you before leaving for college or when they visit you on your 75th birthday. When clients want to purchase “just the digitals” after a Classic Session with us, they leave the studio with corresponding 4x6 proof prints in a beautiful glass box. Do you know why? Because looking at loose prints of my parents after I became a new parent, or photos of myself as a child throughout my journey to adulthood helped me understand my story, feel connected, and, ultimately, loved and supported. There is magic and medicine in printed photographs, friends, I promise.

There you have it: Nicole Hawkins Photography, a NJ newborn, child and family portrait studio located in Maplewood NJ. We create timeless, honest and joyful portraits of small people and family life, beautifully preserved in print. We hope to see you and your little people (and big people) in the studio soon.