Tag Archives: scotch plains

Scotch Plains, NJ | Cake Smash | First Birthday

One thing I love about my job is the people I meet and the connections I make! I met Leanne last summer when she was expecting her first baby. She scheduled me to do both Maternity and Newborn shoots. She and her husband are the sweetest couple and are so adorably in love. And I feel blessed that they chose me to capture that for them!

So fast forward to a year later and little baby Violet is ONE! So of course we had to do a Cake Smash session to document this milestone! We chose hues of Purple for her special session and I love the way the setup came out!

What about the cake?

Leanne has a baker that she uses for her special events, Allie’s Kitchen, and she made this beautiful cake for Violet! Isn’t it gorgeous?!? I do prefer to have parents bring the cake because they know their child best and with allergies I just think it’s the best bet. I like to use “naked” cakes because the star of the show is your little one, not the cake!

Just like her momma!

Momma owns her own Pilates Studio locally called M pilates + Yoga. What I found to be the most adorable thing is that Violet is always pointing her toes and showing off her form! She definitely takes after her momma in that respect!

Leanne and Rich, thank you for trusting me to document your journey with Violet! I always love seeing you and making the magic happen! And I will be in touch soon because your Album and prints are IN!!! And they are GORGEOUS!!!

Scotch Plains | Newborn | Mars

I am so excited to introduce you to my newest baby cousin, Martin! And how ridiculously adorable is it that he is going to go by the name “Mars”??? My cousin was calling him Mars Bars!!! <3.

Allie added a maternity session onto her Newborn Session and the results are nothing short of incredible! God do I wish I had images documenting the beauty of pregnancy. She killed her session and we had so much fun creating these super special SURPRISE images for her her husband. But you know what always happens? When we think we are getting portraits done as a gift for someone else, they ALWAYS end up being a gift to ourself. I know that Allie will be able to look back on these images years down the line and think to herself, “Damn! I am a magnificent Goddess!”…because, well, just LOOK! She is a GD Goddess!

Mars joins his 2 other brothers, Caden and Owen, who are just the cutest and sweetest little boys. Caden is totally head over heels in love with his momma and will randomly just call out,”Mom, I love you”. And Owen is a fantastic big brother and I know that he will be such a great helper with Mars.

My cousin Rob is no stranger to boy families. In fact, my mom and his dad come from a family of 7 kids. Five of which were boys (my poor grandma LOL)! And Rob has 2 brother and a sister of his own. I also have 2 brothers. Boys just run STRONG in our family! And I know that Robert is an amazing dad and these boys are so lucky to call him theirs.

Robert John and Allie I feel so blessed to have been able to document this time in your life. I am so excited I got to meet Baby Mars and see my little cousins Caden and Owen. And most importantly I am so happy I got to see you both and the wonderful way you work together as a team and make this all look so easy and natural <3

Scotch Plains | Newborn | Liam

Here I am again! Catching up with more newborn session updates! This little guy was WIDE AWAKE for almost the entire session! He was just so interested in all the things I was doing! While usually I prefer babies to be asleep for their sessions, I wasn’t mad about it. Just look at these images! HAHA! He was STARING right at me!

I was so happy to capture baby Liam in the first days after his arrival earthside. His momma grew up in the same town as me and I’ve known her parents for years! It’s so fun to see grandchildren of people that I literally grew up with and see the similarities in their looks. Sure, babies are combinations of the parents, grandparents, and on and on. But I can’t help but see a lot of his Grandpa Brian in him. 🙂

Welcome to the world Baby Liam! I’m so behind in posting, you’re probably walking and talking by now LOL! Just kidding, he’s like 4 months old HAHA!

Scotch Plains | Newborn | Veronica

Well, I’ve done it again. LOL. I have waited excruciatingly long to blog. But just like the prodigal son, I return HAHAHA!! What?! Too mom jokey for ya? Have we even MET?

When Veronica’s mom contacted me, she had already been born. In fact, she was close to a month old! But hey, I am always up for a challenge. Did you know that most newborn photographers schedule their newborns for 7-10 days after birth? Did you know that some photographers will actually TURN AWAY a newborn that has missed this magical window? Yes, it is true. And while it is coming from a place of love, a place where we know that babies that age will be more sleepy and flexible, it can be heartbreaking for a new momma to be turned away. Imagine you JUST had a baby and are already being made to feel like you’re FAILING?!? That you might have missed out on something that you can never get back because…TIME?!?!

I’m a mom. I suck at scheduling. People will tell you that I will be late for my own funeral. I planned on having my kids around 2 years apart. Then my second STOLE my 2 year old’s Birthday. The GUILT! I actually lived in GUILT for too long to admit feeling like I did this to him. Moms don’t need anymore pressure, stress, guilt or shame. Believe me, we give ourselves enough of it unfortunately. As does this society we live it.

So obviously, I said absolutely! Of course I set realistic expectations, but also promised we would end up with amazing art. Because making art from my newborn experience is just as important to me as it is to the parents who trust me with their investment. And this lil’ girl did NOT disappoint! <3

So yes, some newborn photographers will turn you away, some will tell you your baby is too old. It’s not their fault either. It is usually that they don’t think they will be able to get the images you hope they can capture. So they shouldn’t be faulted either. At the end of the day, we all strive to deliver what we promise. We all want to perform our jobs to the best of our abilities. If they say your baby is too old, it means that they do not think they will be able to deliver the images that best represents their work. That while they are confident they can capture the poses and images they can with a 7-10 day old, they aren’t sure they can get them with an “older” baby. HAHA, “older baby”…sounds ridiculous, but you know what I mean.

But also, lots of Newborn Photographers have Newborns booked MONTHS in advance! So sometimes it’s just a matter of not having availability! So there’s that too…

In any case, if a newborn photographer turns you away for missing the window, just call around. We live in a very saturated market of newborn photographers. And I am sure you will find someone who you connect with, click with, whose work moves you and who will welcome your month old baby with open arms! Maybe that photographer is me? 😉

Scotch Plains Newborn Photographer | Gianna

Wow, I’ve been so busy! And I feel so blessed for all of the new Clients and BABIES I’ve been able to meet lately! So now after the Holidays are over I will be catching up on my blog posts!

This little angel was such a little peanut! So tiny, and SOOOOO CUTE! Just look at the adorable images we were able to get from her session!

Thank you so much for choosing me Becky! I can’t believe this was already a MONTH AGO??? XOXO

joan marie

1728 E 2nd St
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

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