Baby Cannon surprised his parents by arriving a month before his estimated due date and the week after Christmas.  Born at 4 lbs, 6oz and measuring 17.5 inches long, he was tiny but strong.  We waited a few weeks to make sure Jill, Todd and Cannon were recovered from the emergency surgery and settled into a routine together before planning his newborn shoot.  Cannon is gaining weight steadily and is absolutely angelic!

Despite the early arrival, Cannon’s nursery is surprisingly complete and truly adorable- kudos to Jill on that one!  The cowboy theme is so fun, Jill commissioned an artist to paint the letters spelling out his name above the crib and had a seamstress create window treatments, pillows and closet curtains with vintage style rodeo fabric.  Sweet accents like the a stitched denim burp cloth, cowboy boot piggy bank and Hushabye Baby’s Johnny Cash CD make the room both functional and cozy.  Giddyup!

I loved watching both Jill and Todd cuddling up to their perfect son who slept peacefully through most of the shoot.  Every newborn shoot since Fiver’s birth brings me right back to the newness of parenthood – the days where you watch your baby’s tiny face like television, totally rivited, the days of disbelief that something, someone, so amazing came from you.

The family pup, Louis, ran protectively to Cannon’s defense whenever he cried and was game to get in on the family shots.

The painting in the background is of the Tuckahoe Plantation House where Jill and Todd were married last spring.  It made a sweet backdrop to these family photos.

We even got some shots while Cannon was awake and aware.  I am a sucker for baby yawns on film and I just love that spikey hair!

Here’s a slideshow with my favorites and click here to visit the online gallery.  It was such a pleasure to shoot for such a sweet little guy and his family, I can’t wait to see Cannon grow big and strong!

Posted by Mel @ 2:35 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

Shooting for Baby Hadley was especially meaningful for me since Hadley was born just a week after our son.  It was awesome to document a baby the same age as our little guy at home and  I couldn’t help but see Sam, Fiver, Arbus and myself in the interactions of Brian, Hadley, Nala and Louise.  As similar as Hadley and Fiver are in some ways, they each have their own distinct personalities, even at the ripe young age of four months: something I hadn’t really realized or appreciated.

Don’t let her seemingly small size fool you, Hadley is crazy tall like her dad and performing all kinds of physical feats… she’s rolling over, eating rice cereal with gusto, and full of smiles.  I loved watching Louise soothe her daughter with lullabies and watching Brian make Hadley laugh, reminding me that each parent really does have a unique roll in their baby’s life.

We always tell Arbus that she has a “three lick limit” when it comes to the baby but its awfully hard to enforce when Arbus hasn’t learned to count to three yet.  Like Arbus, Nala likes to lick her comparatively hairless sibling every chance she gets.  Babies might be funny looking pack members in the eyes of our furry kids but they get lots of love regardless.

The nursery is a fresh shade of lime with purple accents and sweet details.  Brian painted the purple panels over the changing table and, at Louise’s suggestion, wrote a dedication to his daughter on the back of a panel the day she was born.  The funny part was that he signed it, “Love, Brian” and had to cross out his name and write “Dad”… “Dad” hadn’t quite sunk in yet!  I think I’m still taking in the concept of “Mom” in myself…

You just have to love this little Wahoo bum:

Check out this slideshow from the session and you can visit their online gallery by clicking here.  Just don’t break my kid’s heart when you guys hit high school years from now, OK, Hadley?

Posted by Mel @ 5:50 pm, in Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

Lots of new things have emerged in the life of Baby Jasper since I saw her last: she’s been crawling, walking, and awaiting a baby sister too!  Not to mention celebrating her very first Christmas.  We took these photos the week after the Christmas holiday while decorations still adorned the house.

She loves reading giant picture books with her dad by the tree while Bess hangs out on her favorite chair:

Jasper’s nursery has a new, bright color with big paper flowers that hang from the ceiling.  I love her tea table too!

Jasper loves to splash around in the tub, I was lucky to be around for bath time!

Here’s a slideshow from our shoot.  I can’t believe its almost been a year since Jasper was born, I’m glad we have one more shoot to go!

Posted by Mel @ 4:27 pm, in Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

Liz and David wanted some urban shots around downtown Richmond so they headed out with Sam on a beautiful fall day to colorful and scenic spots around town.  I’m especially fond of the way the colors jive in front of the Globe Hopper coffee shop:

It was a lucky excursion: in addition to beautiful light, they also hit the tracks near the pipeline just as a train was passing through.  I love this shot especially, Liz and David’s expressions are so sweet with the evening hatch catching the light of late day, adding a little extra photo magic… Who would believe that a swarm of bugs could add such a romantic visual element?  Sam and I are always on the look out for what we call “magic bugs”…

Liz and David are such a dynamic couple, we can’t wait for their wedding in April.  Check out their online gallery with more shots here!

Posted by Mel @ 3:46 pm, in Engagement Portraits, Portraits, Weddings | No comments | Permalink