Category Archives: Newborn Photography

March 12, 2024

PERSONALITY PORTRAITS IN NJ

Personality portraits – for me, nothing beats a classic black and white photo. They’re timeless and free of distractions. It leaves the focus on your child, their personality, and those adorable little expressions that they make that truly show who they are. From 1 – 108, a black and white portrait will stand the test of time and will capture them through all of those phases that in the end we all know go way to fast. Yes, even those really DIFFICULT ones <3.

My personality portraits are offered as pop-up events at local businesses or as a custom personality portrait session in my Scotch Plains, NJ portrait studio. What’s the difference? Well, there are a few things to consider.

Pop-up Events

Timing – Pop-up Events are scheduled as 2 hour events with a max of 20 people. Does the time work with your child’s schedule? Oftentimes parents are looking for a time that works around their schedule when the most important consideration is the child’s schedule. These are also very QUICK paced shoots, usually 5 minutes per child, with limited time for kids to warm up to me, my camera and my big light.

Location – The other consideration is the location of the event. Oftentimes these pop-ups are in spaces with lots of things going, noise and other attractions and activities. It can be difficult to pull them away from another, more exciting, activity. It can also be overstimulating for some kids who are distracted or overwhelmed easily. How does your child do in these environments?

Products and Editing – Pop-up events are extremely discounted. They will usually include (1) digital file and each child needs their own booking. The editing is minimal and does not include extensive retouching. They are digital only and prints and wall art will not be offered for these sessions.

Who’s Included – These sessions are booked per child, individuals only. When siblings are in attendance, I will try to get a photo of them together should time allow and you can purchase additional files a la carte.

To read more about Minis to decide if these are right for your child or family, you can read more here.

Pop-ups can be a great introduction to professional photography without the investment. But they also may not give you a good read on what a Custom Session is like. If you are looking for a quick snap of your child, only want a few digitals, and are okay with REAL personalities to come out, then this could be for you!

Custom Session

Timing – You have flexibility on the timing of the shoot. You can schedule something that works around your child’s schedule. Custom sessions start at 1 hour which gives us plenty of time for your child to warm up to me and check out my Studio.

Location – These can be done in my Scotch Plains NJ Studio OR the comfort of your own home! My Studio is quiet and calm and it will only be YOUR family during our shoot.

Products and Editing – My Custom Sessions all include a credit towards the purchase of images. You can purchase individual files (includes both a digital copy and a printed copy), Collections, Albums and Archival Wall Art for your home. My prints come from my professional print lab and they are to DIE FOR! Editing is more extensive for these as well.

Who’s Included – Who do you want to include? Grandma? The family dog? Your family? The sky is the limit here! When you book a Custom Session we design it around YOUR needs.

large german shepherd mix poses for a black and white portrait at Joan Marie Phography

Want to Book?

If you would like to set-up a pop-up event with these adorable, timeless black and white photos, reach out to me! I love collaborating with other local businesses! You can fill out my balck and white personality portraits form here!

Want to book your family’s own custom session? Fill out my inquiry form here!

Want something IN-BETWEEN? I’ve got something for you! You can sign up for one of my Mini Events! I hold these quarterly. They include your private photoshoot in my Scotch Plains NJ Studio, 2 retouched digital files and special pricing on additional digitals. These sessions are also discounted and digital only, but it will give you more time than 5 minutes in a quiet and calm environment where your child can relax and ease their way into it! You can find out when my next Mini Event is here!

Wall Art is AWESOME!

HANG THOSE BABIES UP!….NO, REALLY! You got the black and white photos now HANG THEM UP!

Something as simple as hanging family portraits around your home can increase your child’s confidence! It gives children a sense of belonging, acceptance, and love that can help their confidence soar. I know from my own personal experience, that in the hum drum of everyday life, with stress and work and ALL of the things, simply looking at my big canvas of my kids hanging on the wall gives me a moment of calm. It centers me. It reminds me of how lucky I am and how grateful I should be. And It reminds your children that you love them. And that they are important to you and that this is their home.

March 4, 2024

“Physics elevated to an artform”

That is the slogan for the Oakley brand. Just found that out. Kind of love it! Kind of like “Baby Photography elevated to an artform”. Did I just come up with my own tagline? I think I may have!

Sweet baby Oakley came to The Studio for a baby photography model call I was doing. I wanted to work on an all wrapped flow and put a model call out so I could work on this workflow.

I think one of the reasons I love baby photography so much (and there are MANY REASONS), is that there is ALWAYS things to learn, to improve upon, and ways to grow. I’ve been taking pictures since I was a little girl. I started to shoot newborns around 2010. And I STILL find myself learning and growing! And I LOVE that!

Baby Oakley came to the Scotch Plains studio and the boy was PASSED OUT! He let me do anything I wanted and didn’t make a single peep! We captured some really great images for his mom and dad and I love how he looked on the tannish-brown fabrics I used!

Here are some of his momma’s favorites from our session <3

To see more of my Newborn work, you can check out my Gallery here.

January 16, 2024

Newborn Session with Mountainside Family

And 3rd baby makes 5

As a Studio Newborn Photographer in Scotch Plains, families trust me with their babies. And what a fun Newborn Session I had with Mountainside Family! Rory’s parents were the absolute sweetest and chillest <3 with their baby boy. This is their third baby. They already had a boy and a girl and I guess you could say this baby boy was the tie breaker! And omg, you guys! Their kids are the absolute CUTEST!

Rory was a total sweetheart and just an absolutely beautiful baby boy. The cheeks, the lips, his skin. Ugh, I know I say it all the time, but I am obsessed with what I do! I LOVE IT!!!

Family Photos

As a Newborn Photographer in Scotch Plains, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take some family photos as well! What a beautiful and fun family to get to know! The kids were just so sweet! And we were able to capture some really cute family photos!

Baby Boy in the moon

Here are some of the pics that mom picked out from our session. And I have to say I think she picked some good ones! I even got to use my new moon crate! And I couldn’t help it, I had to add some stars to the one photo. It was BEGGING for it!

Have you thought about booking a session with a Studio Newborn Photographer in Scotch Plains? Don’t wait! Reach out today by filling out my contact form and we can start planning your very special session!

November 23, 2023

So many options!

One of my most favorite prop companies, Hello Little Props (HLP), is always coming up with amazing and unique ideas and designs to provide the Newborn Photography Community. A while back they came up with something called “bucket huggers” which are basically beautifully designed magnets with a variety of designs to put on their “everlasting bucket”. This is a game changer for us Newborn Photographers because it really is the answer to a lot of our “problems”. Especially the space saving problem.

Their newest design is an everlasting CRATE which also has this magnetic ability giving us even more variety when it comes to our prop options! Incase you don’t know, Newborn Photographers in general, are a very special breed. I keep saying that we need our own episode of “my strange addiction” 😂 . We are obsessed with fabrics, headbands, furry and textured layers, and probably the strangest thing we are obsessed with is looking at things and wondering if we can put a baby in it. LOL! I mean, if you were an outsider to this underground world of newborn photography, you would likely think we are absolutely nuts the way we carry on about these things! But, and this is a BIG BUT, our addiction is YOUR benefit! Because when you find one of us crazy prop addicted photographers, chances are we are going to go above and beyond to capture the most beautiful Newborn Photos of your little ones. Again, it’s all part of our addiction!

But what about that CRATE??

So back to the crate! I recently received mine and to say I’m obsessed is an understatement! It will take me some time to build up my collection of “huggers” for it, but it doesn’t matter. The crate itself is absolutely gorgeous and looks like an antique crate. Do I already own 2 or 3 crates? Maybe…but they aren’t magnetic and fit these freakin’ gorgeous magnet designs! So far I’ve gotten these huggers for it:

What about the BUCKET?

Well, I have A LOT of these already. But I recently got some more 😜. I’m not even sure if I have pictures of them. 2 new ones I got that I’m really excited about are a Football one and a Basketball one! OMG they are so cute. I don’t have a photo of the basketball one yet, but hopefully that will be coming soon! But here’s the football hugger:

Buckets in Use

I thought it might be cool for people to see a little bit of the huggers in use by me, so here are some samples:

Want to see more?

Check out my full collection of huggers here!

November 22, 2023

NJ Monthly | Award of Excellence

In 2021 my Dad sent me a link to a call for entries to the NJ Monthly and Unique Photo cover contest. He encouraged me to enter. The prizes were substantial and I love both the magazine and the camera store so if nothing else, my submission would be supporting both. So I did it. I entered one of my favorite drone shots. And low and behold I placed first in the aerial category! I won a DRONE! It was awesome and exciting and scary and all the things, but I did it. I put myself out there. I think that when you put yourself out there, you open up the Universe to new opportunities for growth and connection. And you may even give someone else the courage to do the same.

I also think it sends a really imortant message to my sons. It shows them bravery and courage and that their mom is a badass photographer who is making things happen not only for herself, but for them! It gives them a sense of pride and admiration. So do it, put your work out there! Here is the post from that awesome and exciting win for me.

Feelin’ the funk

I didn’t submit anything for 2022. Not sure why exactly, I guess I just didn’t feel compelled to. Maybe it’s because I have felt like I’ve been in a funk for like a year straight. Thinking back, 2022 was a REALLY difficult year for me and my family. My son was having a really hard time in the public school system which translates to me, his momma, ALSO having a very difficult time. It’s been heavy on our shoulders and in our hearts for YEARS. But this year we finally received an out of district placement and it has legitimately been life saving, life giving, for all of us. A completely different experience. He is seen and even APPRECIATED for the wonderful person that he is. Intelligent, kind, compassionate, full of RANDOM FACTS, artistic and not stigmatized, shamed and punished for the areas he lacks.

Getting our lives back…

I feel like I am getting my life back. And so I submitted one of my favorite images from November of last year to NJ Monthly Cover Photo Contest. Baby Ari being held up by her dad. This session was so special for Ari’s family but also for me. Because it showed me COMMUNITY. Something I have been missing. And that actually is very much in part to my son’s challenges. Am I being too vague? My son has ADHD, Anxiety and something called DMDD (Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder). I, myself, have Anxiety. Quite honestly I do believe I have been living with undiagnosed ADHD my entire life.

We have been ostrasized by our community because he is different. Imagine that? Labeling a child at the age of 6 as “bad” and making life even more challenging and lonely for us. Having that label follow him around all through elementary school. A child who has a hard enough time regulating his emotions. In school he was seen as the “bully” and yet children would purposely antagonize him and try to get him to a state of dysregualtion. Even the adults didn’t understand him or give him grace or compassion.

I’m clearly getting off topic, but it’s been a struggle. If someone you know has a child with these disorders, please reach out to them. Ask them if they are okay. See if you can be their community <3

So back to this session 😂

Raise them UP

Crystal and Lamar (Ari’s Parents) wanted to include their COMMUNITY in their photoshoot. Check out their shoot here. My heart exploded into a million pieces during their session. It was incredible how their community SHOWED UP last minute to be a part of this.

But this picture…Lamar wanted to do something like the Statue of Liberty and the Lion King (Ari means Lion). And as soon as he said it I was all in and it was this. It’s amazing. I love it. And I love it for all the reasons.

A man holding up his baby girl – this means so much to me. My dad was a huge supporter of me. He gave me the confidence to follow my dreams. He encouraged me to follow my heart and always believed in me. He was the first man in my life and was an amazing example of how I deserved to be loved and treated. The composition of this image I feel is extremely powerful as is the symbolism. You don’t need to see Lamar’s face in this. We know it is him. But we also know that it could be MANY men who are there, supporting their babies, raising them UP!

And my son(s) thankfully have men like this in their lives. Men who raise them up, lifting them high overhead, giving them the praise and confidence and SUPPORT that they need and that they deserve.

NJ Monthly Cover Search winners

Anyway, I know that this post kind of went off topic (thanks ADHD). But it’s my heart. And I am thankful, grateful and honored to have this image that we made TOGETHER be recognized by the judges, NJ Monthly and Unique Photo. I may not have received the placement on the Cover of this month’s magazine, but what I did receive is priceless. To see the winners and read more about it, hop on over to the NJ Monthly article here.

November 21, 2023

It was a model call

A little while ago I held a Newborn Model call to work on a new newborn photos posing flow option that I want to offer my Newborn Clients. This beautiful baby’s momma reached out to me and the rest is history. The history being that we had a difficult time getting through the workflow LOL! But I also had some new backdrops and props that I wanted to test out and photograph, and this little peanut was so cute that we kept going.

Eventually we were able to get some really great newborn photos and I’m so happy we did! I also really enjoyed hanging out with momma. It’s honestly one of the things I love most about this job. It’s more than a job. Sometimes I feel like it’s my lifeline to the outside world. I get to sit with women and hear their stories and share in experiences. It’s sacred. And I love it <3

Here are the shots momma chose from this beautiful Newborn Baby’s photoshoot <3

Show me some more baby photos!

If you’d like to see more of my Newborn Photo posts, you can check them out here!

November 15, 2023

The Early Bear gets the Worm?

Momma was still scheduling her baby photos when Little Baby Noah came earthside earlier than expected. And momma had an HOUR drive to the hospital! What a warrior! She made it just in time for this beautiful little guy to show up.

Mom liked the idea of using sage green for Noah’s session and what a great choice that was! The color was perfect for him! Oh, and did I mention his beautiful HAIR??? OMG, I die!!!!

It’s a Family Affair!

We started the session with family portraits and big brother Matteo was so sweet with his little brother. He wanted to make sure that he was safe and wanted to help in all the ways including holding the pacifier for lil’ bro. We ended up getting some really beautiful family portraits. But this photo….this one right here…it takes the cake! It has my whole heart! I love a good family portrait. But do you know what I love even more?? The IN BETWEEN photos. The ones where not everyone is looking at the camera. The ones where you see GENUINE connection between people. The ones where you capture LOVE!

Do you see Abuela looking down at Noah? And Noah looking back at her?? And then Mom and Dad looking at big bro and big bro looking at me??? THIS!!! It’s EVERYTHING!

A girl, her camera and baby photos

I’ve been doing photography literally my whole life. I’ve always had a camera. But most people don’t the time, the studying, the work that goes into what we do. From setup to breakdown, the photoshoot, the editing. It’s alot of work. But when you LOVE what you do, it really pays off. I want to share a quick little example of what I’m talking about.

Noah was having a difficult time “settling” during our session. But towards the end, he finally did. And he was in a green romper. And when a baby finally settles after a long time working with them, the less you mess with them, the better. I was NOT about to take that little outfit off of him. We did a setup in a really cute marshmallow bucket. Mom loved it and chose it as one of her final images. But for me, I wanted it to match the bucket better. And with all my knowledge and experience with editing, that’s exactly what I did. Take a look at the before and after…

Before and After photos

The rest of the baby photos!

Without further ado, here are the final images that momma selected for her Collection. There were so many good ones, but these were the overall winners! Plus another one that I worked on as well because, well, it’s gorgeous 🙂

October 14, 2023

A Newborn Session with Sweet Mateyko

One month of sweetness <3

Sometimes mommas contact me after baby has been born to schedule their Newborn shoot. And while we (speaking for Newborn Photographers across the world) always recommend booking in advance, we understand that is not always what happens. Why? Well, because, LIFE! Life in general can be crazy and busy and overwhelming. Now throw in growing a baby in your belly and all the planning that takes place just to be prepared for the baby!

What’s the best age for a newborn shoot?

All Newborn Photographers have different thoughts on the “ideal” time to photograph a newborn. And the windows can vary greatly. Some don’t take on Newborns after they reach a certain age, like oh, I don’t know, over 2 weeks. And while that may sound crazy calling a 2 week old baby “too old”, the reality is that the photographer doesn’t believe they will be able to deliver the images that they would be happy with. So thank them for being honest with you and themself about it! It CAN get more difficult to do a newborn shoot as the baby gets older because they are awake more often and can be more difficult to pose.

Then there are also some photographers who legit don’t have any availability for a newborn session because they have a full calendar of shoots that were booked 6 months before baby was born.

But the good news is…there are a lot of us! Especially here in NJ! With various price ranges and packages and experience and props and equipment and training. There is no shortage of Newborn Photographers in NJ to choose from. 🙂

And I am so happy that I had availability on my calendar when this momma called me. I actually only take a number of Newborn Sessions a month so that I am able to accommodate parents who didn’t have a chance to book months in advance. He was just super adorable and so were his big sis and bro!

So Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you, this adorably handsome little boy Mateyko…

July 10, 2023

Studio Newborn Photography Session in Scotch Plains

We had a great Newborn Photography Session in my Scotch Plains Studio! Not only do I have the honor of photographing these precious little babies, but sometimes I get to photograph my own cousins! This is Finbar Toughey. My littlest cousin. He may be a 2nd cousin or 1st cousin twice removed, or some sort of version of a cousin that I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around, but HE’S MY COUSIN! 🙂

Hannah and Stephen came with their little Vivian from NYC for their Maternity session and came back once Finbar was born for their Newborn session. I do Maternity as an add-on for my booked Newborn clients (incase you were wondering). And Hannah had some ideas and inspiration for her Maternity session which I love. Because it is a collaboration after all.

They are the sweetest little family and I will cherish the time we spent together capturing the new life they have built with one another!

June 8, 2023

A Studio Newborn Session with Cranford Baby, Cole

Cole’s Newborn Shoot

Cole’s mom got in touch with me after Cole had been born to see if I had availability for a Newborn Session. That’s one of the reasons I only take a limited number of Newborn Sessions each month; so that I can accommodate parents like Cole’s. I’ve had families contact me after adoption, a difficult birth, a long stay in the hospital, health complications. I don’t ever want to have to say no to a new mom or dad who wants to get newborn pictures of their baby. So I told her yes! Of course!

Mom knew that there was a good chance that it would be difficult to get her 3 year old daughter to cooperate for pictures. That’s always a good thing when they know that it could go either way. And when she wasn’t quite feeling it, she didn’t push her. I really admired that. Lots of times we as parents want to get that really great amazing shot of the new siblings together. I know, I know, I know. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret…the little kids usually want nothing to do with it! So most of those adorable amazing pics of the sibling(s) with the new baby? Composites. HAHA! Seriously, they are mostly photoshopped to LOOK like they are posing there together all happy and angelic and whatnot. Yeah, sure, some are real. They’re few and far between. And the ones that are real are usually 1 good shot out of a series of 20. Some were shot in a millisecond before one of the kids started screaming, crying or jumped up to get out of the photo!

Honoring our Children

Cole’s mom wanted the image to be authentic and real. And when big sis just wasn’t feeling it, she respected that. This was a beautiful example of boundaries at an early age. I loved watching that. She honored that little girl and didn’t forced her to do it or to take a fake shot to photoshop something together. It was beautiful.

It’s me…Hi…

Oh, another funny story, Cole’s dad basically had to break open my front door with a razor blade because it had sealed shut from some insulation foam I used in the door cracks. HAHA! They got to The Studio and I literally couldn’t open the door. It was a little embarrassing, but hey, we are being real and they witnessed first hand a little bit about how I do things. LOL! Thanks, Steve!

And so let’s get to the photos… <3