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A smiling one year old baby boy during a 1st birthday mini portrait session in Scotch Plains

A special 1st Birthday mini portrait session

They say the days are long, but the years are short—and absolutely nothing proves that more than a baby’s first birthday at their 1st Birthday mini portrait session! It feels like just yesterday this sweet little one was a tiny newborn, and now, they are sitting up, smiling, and showing off a big, bright personality.

We recently hosted our highly anticipated Mini Portrait Day, and I had the absolute pleasure of photographing the sweetest one-year-old for their 1st Birthday mini portrait session.

Here is a little peek into their session, plus details on how you can snag a spot at our next event!

Why Mini Sessions Are Perfect for Toddlers

If you’ve ever tried to keep a one-year-old happy, dressed, and in one spot for an hour, you know it can be a workout. That is exactly why our 1st birthday mini portrait session format is such a hit with parents.

These sessions are specifically designed to be fast, fun, and completely stress-free:

  • Short & Sweet: Sessions are stacked back-to-back. That means we move quickly to capture your little one’s before they lose interest or run out of steam.
  • Focused on Your Child: These are individual sessions dedicated entirely to capturing your child’s current milestone.
  • All-Digital Format: This is a digital-only experience, making it incredibly easy to download, share, and print your favorite memories.

The Best Part? The Savings!

Because these sessions are run back-to-back on a single day, I’m able to pass those logistical savings directly on to you. Our Mini Days offer $300+ in savings compared to a standard, full custom session.

Keep Your Favorites, Discounted!

Your session fee includes a set number of gorgeous, high-resolution digital files. But let’s be honest—it’s almost impossible to pick just a few when your toddler is this cute!

To make sure you don’t have to leave any favorite moments behind! We offer discounted pricing on additional digital files purchased from your viewing gallery. You get to keep all the sweet smiles, silly faces, and tiny details without breaking the bank.

Looking for Something More Custom?

While mini sessions are incredible for quick, solo milestone updates, they aren’t the perfect fit for everyone.

For full family portraits or a curated, personalized experience, my Custom Portrait Sessions are exactly what you are looking for.

A custom session offers:

  • Time to Warm Up: If your little one is on the shy side, the fast pace of a mini session might feel overwhelming. Custom sessions give us plenty of time to play, laugh, and let them get comfortable with me and the camera at their own pace.
  • Space for the Whole Crew: Mini sessions are strictly for individual children, whereas custom sessions are designed to capture multiple people, beautiful family dynamics, and sibling interactions.
  • A Curated Experience: We will work together to customize the styling, location, and vibe to perfectly match your family’s aesthetic.

Don’t Miss Out: Our Next Mini Day is August 7th!

If a fast, fun mini session is exactly what you need, don’t wait! The next Mini Day is officially scheduled for August 7th.

Because of the massive savings and the limited number of slots, spots have already started to sell out. If your little one has an upcoming milestone, this is your sign to secure your time slot.

Click Here to Grab Your Spot for August 7th before they’re all gone!
A sweet newborn redhead baby girl sleeping during a customizable newborn photoshoot in Scotch Plains.

There is something incredibly special about a career coming full circle. Especially when I get to host a customizable newborn photoshoot in Scotch Plains. While Scotch Plains is home to my brand new studio, but I grew up in New Providence, NJ. Last week, I had the joy of welcoming a new addition from a family I’ve known for over 30 years!

The story of how this sweet little peanut got to my studio is a testament to sisterly love. The baby’s mom now lives in Morristown. When I posted a newborn model call to test out things in my studio, her two sisters (whom I grew up with!) immediately reached out to her. Urging her to apply—and I’m pretty sure they might have even filled out the application for her!

When they walked through my studio doors Thursday, I was met with the best surprise. This beautiful baby girl is a gorgeous little redhead!

Model Calls vs. Custom Sessions: Understanding the Difference

Because I am committed to offering a luxury experience, my model calls are incredibly rare and limited. When I do host them, they are designed strictly around my photography, styling, and posing needs for my portfolio.

For Thursday’s session, I spent the afternoon getting familiar with my new studio space. Utilizing the light to highlight this sweet girl’s unique features and testing:

  • The “Ginger” Palette: For our little redhead, I chose earthy tones and soft neutrals that made her rare hair color truly pop.
  • Artistic Backdrops: I selected new, high-end backdrops designed to create a timeless, editorial look.
  • Curated Textures: I finally debuted a new collection of premium bucket covers and wraps that I have been dying to photograph.

While a model call gives me creative freedom to test new equipment, it is a solo baby session styled entirely by me. A signature, paid customizable newborn photoshoot in my Scotch Plains studio, on the other hand, puts you in the director’s chair.

One really cool thing I can do as an expert retoucher is customize the color scheme in post processing. This was originally a light Purple and look at the variety I am able to add with a little editing magic!

A sweet newborn redhead baby girl sleeping during a customizable newborn photoshoot in Scotch Plains.A sweet newborn redhead baby girl sleeping during a customizable newborn photoshoot in Scotch Plains.
A sweet newborn redhead baby girl sleeping during a customizable newborn photoshoot in Scotch Plains.A sweet newborn redhead baby girl sleeping during a customizable newborn photoshoot in Scotch Plains.

Designing Your Dream Session: The Power of Customization

When you book a custom photography session with me, it is a high-end, collaborative experience from start to finish. You have the ability to collaborate with me on the design and vision of the shoot. Together, we curate:

  • Your Custom Palette: We select colors that complement your home decor and your baby’s skin tone.
  • Luxury Props & Setups: You choose from my curated collection of backdrops, textures, and props to match your aesthetic.
  • Deep Connections: Unlike model calls, my custom photography sessions include family and sibling posing.

Seeing this mom and remembering my history with her sisters in New Providence reminded me of just how vital those family bonds are. In a custom session, we design a relaxed, unhurried environment where big brothers, sisters, and parents are seamlessly integrated. We prioritize safety and comfort to capture those sweet, protective sibling shots and genuine family connections that eventually become heirloom wall art for your home. All of this is included when you invest in a custom session.

Ready to Create Your Custom Art?

When you invest in a luxury newborn experience, you aren’t just “showing up for pictures.” You are designing art tailored to your family’s legacy.

Looking for a Custom Newborn Photographer near Morristown or Scotch Plains? While my portfolio model calls are limited to solo baby photography, my custom luxury sessions are fully tailored to include your whole family and your unique vision. [Click here to inquire about designing your custom session.]

The Gift of Art: A Custom Newborn Session for a Sweet Baby Girl

There is no gift quite as unique and lasting as a Custom Newborn Photography Session in Scotch Plains. Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of welcoming a new mama into the studio for a newborn photography session that was gifted to her by someone special.

Welcoming a baby girl is a whirlwind of emotions, and being able to hit “pause” and capture this fleeting stage with a custom Newborn Session in Scotch Plains is a gift that truly keeps on giving.

A Custom-Curated Experience

Every session I host is custom-curated. We don’t just “point and shoot”; we plan. For this sweet girl, mom gave me full artistic freedom to choose the props and backdrops for her session.

Art Takes Time: The Meticulous Pose

If you’ve been following my work, you know my sessions are not quick. I don’t believe in rushing through these precious moments. My newborn sessions are filled with intention and purpose. I take the time to meticulously pose and perfect every finger, toe, and chin tuck. Why? Because I’m not just delivering a photo; I’m delivering ART. We always hold plenty of space for:

  • Patience-filled diaper changes.
  • Quiet feeding breaks to keep baby happy.
  • A calm, shushed environment where baby feels safe.

From Crate Posing to “Mug Shots”

We managed to get an incredible amount of variety in this gallery! We moved from whimsical crate posing to classic, clean backdrop posing.

But the real stars of the show? The “Mug Shots.” While the name sounds funny, these are essentially newborn personality portraits. Captured in timeless black and white, these close-ups highlight those amazing, fleeting expressions—the tiny pouts, the heavy-lidded sleepy eyes, and those heart-melting newborn grins. This girl gave me some GREAT expressions and she DID NOT disappoint!

The Best of Both Worlds: Digital & Physical

I believe that your memories belong both on your phone and on your walls. That’s why all of my custom sessions include the “Best of Both Worlds”:

  1. High-Resolution Digital Files: Perfect for sharing with the world and archiving forever.
  2. Professional Physical Prints: A high-quality copy ready to be framed, hung, or gifted to proud grandparents.

The Gift of a Lifetime

Know someone expecting a little one soon? There is truly no gift more meaningful than the ability to freeze time. If you’d like to treat a friend or family member to their own custom newborn photography session in Scotch Plains, I offer gift certificates. Let’s help them celebrate their new arrival with art they can hold forever. If you are looking for a unique and thoughtful Baby Shower gift that parents will cherish for many years to come, THIS is the sure winner!

Inquire About Gift Certificates
Artistically posed baby girl on a floral fabric backdrop during a custom newborn session in Scotch Plains
sweet little baby girl captured in a little yawn
A meticulously posed newborn baby girl sleeping in a custom-curated wooden bowl in a Scotch Plains photography studio
A meticulously posed newborn baby girl sleeping in a custom-curated wooden crate with floral accents in a Scotch Plains photography studio.
A meticulously posed newborn baby girl sleeping in a custom-curated bucket in a Scotch Plains photography studio.
A meticulously posed newborn baby girl sleeping on a brown flokati in a Scotch Plains photography studio.

View my Newborn Gallery here!

Capturing the New Chapter: A Luxury Newborn Session in Scotch Plains, NJ

The Story: Patience and “Big Feelings”

As a baby photographer, I know how important it is to document this time. Welcoming a new baby is a massive transition, especially for a toddler brother. During this recent session with a beautiful baby girl and her family, big brother had some “big feelings” about the new family dynamic.

As a Scotch Plains NJ newborn photographer, I know that you can’t rush perfection—or a toddler! We started with family and sibling poses, and when he needed a break, Dad took him home while Mom and I focused on the delicate, sleepy baby portraits.

The Importance of Sibling Portraits

I know how much parents treasure that first photo of their children together. That’s why we didn’t give up! We adjusted our schedule, and Dad brought big brother back at the very end. With a little extra patience and a low-pressure environment, we captured those precious sibling moments that Mom will cherish forever.

Beyond the Digital File: A Full-Service Experience

In a world of “quick digital exchanges,” I believe your memories deserve more. My studio is designed for the family who values quality and wants meaningful artwork for their home.

For this Christmas-season session, we ensured Mom had stunning images for her holiday cards, but the real magic is in the final physical products. This family chose:

  • A Custom Keepsake Box: A handmade fabric box, engraved with baby’s name.
  • Matted Prints: Every high-resolution digital image I provide is accompanied by a professionally printed 8×10 matted copy.
  • Legacy Art: We discussed options for canvases, acrylics, and metals to turn these portraits into home decor.

Why Choose a Luxury Photographer in Union County?

When you book a session with me, you aren’t just getting a gallery link. You are getting a guided experience that includes:

  1. Expert Posing & Handling: Safety and patience for your newborn and siblings.
  2. Professional Printing: No more “lost” digital files on old hard drives.
  3. Tangible Heirlooms: Custom-designed albums and wall art tailored to your home’s aesthetic.

Ready to book YOUR custom Newborn Experience?

If you are looking for a Scotch Plains NJ Newborn Photographer, and value quality over quantity, reach out to me today! I would love to capture this time for you and your family!

Want to see more of my Newborn work? Check out the gallery here.

family photos from Scotch Plains NJ Newborn shoot

Welcome to the “Little Garden”: Baby Rosanna’s Newborn Session

Are you ready to hear the sweetest thing ever? Leanne and Rich already have a daughter named Violet. When they were naming their second baby, Rich came up with the name Rosanna Lynne. Why? Because he wanted to have a LITTLE GARDEN! I mean, are you kidding me?!

A Calm and Creative Session in Scotch Plains

Rosanna Lynne finally arrived, and she is every bit as sweet as her name suggests. Like her mama (the owner of M Pilates and Yoga), Rosanna was incredibly chill. She was a total pro with posing and let me do my thing! It feels like we just did Leanne’s maternity session!

We even used a special backdrop for this session. Leanne had seen it in my studio and mentioned she loved it—I was actually thinking of selling it, but I’m so glad I didn’t! It ended up being the perfect setting for Rosanna’s portraits.

A Growing Family Tradition

It feels like just yesterday I was shooting Violet’s Newborn Session or her Cake Smash. Seeing this family grow from two to four has been such an honor.

Leanne, Rich, Violet, and Rosanna—I love you guys! You feel more like friends than clients, and I am so grateful you trust me with your memories. I can’t wait for you to see the final album!

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:

baby photos
newborn props

Want to see more?

Check out my full collection of huggers here!

newborn photo

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!

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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 🙂

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…

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!
joan marie

451 Park Avenue

Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

908.312.1788 | info@joanmariephotography.com

379968614