Working with this family in our Maplewood studio was such a treat. Mom reached out to me about scheduling a studio family session with their children aged 7, 2, and newborn. Their baby girl was born in the middle of the busy holiday season, and mom was hoping to be able to give these special portraits to grandparents as holiday gifts. Luckily, I was able to offer an expedited viewing session to meet my professional lab’s deadline. I am always willing to do whatever is in my power to meet my client’s needs. Of course, it doesn’t always work out this way, but I was so glad that we were able to get these portraits back in time. 

Mom, Anthea, has absolutely beautiful taste. She knew exactly what she was looking for as far as outfits and portrait style. She chose to do her own hair and makeup so that she could wear her gorgeous curly hair naturally the way that she likes it. For the wardrobe, Anthea wanted to coordinate outfits for the family, so I reviewed her picks ahead of the session to confirm that they would photograph well. I love the tones that she chose. When I told her about our studio wardrobe, she was very interested in doing at least one outfit change with the studio pieces. I chose a few options for each family member from my wardrobe to have steamed and ready on the morning of their session. 

It was so fun to work with these cute siblings. When there are multiple active children in a session, I always talk to the clients so that I know which portraits to prioritize and get those taken first. They wanted to be sure and create a variety of full-family portraits for the grandparents, followed by a portrait of all three kids together. Once we had multiple beautiful options there, I moved on to individuals of each child and baby. We did an outfit change and documented a few more portraits of the family, siblings, and, of course, mom and dad with the baby. Even when I am working with a larger family, I will not skip these, because I know that the parents and the baby will treasure these portraits down the road. 

This family has a gorgeous historic home in Essex County near South Orange, NJ. They had recently worked with an interior designer in Maplewood to style their home, and they made sure to leave wall space to showcase these family portraits. We ordered a beautiful sibling portrait and a family portrait for each of the grandparents. We are in the process of designing a space in the home for individual portraits of the children that can be added to over time.