Pittsburgh Weddings: Lingrow Farm

I’ve really enjoyed photographing weddings with George Street Photography this past year and look forward to the season ahead! This recent wedding at Lingrow Farm was a treat! There are a few things that really make photographing weddings fun and a sweet couple and a bridal party that likes to dance the night away are two of my favorites! This post hardly constitutes as a recap of the day, as I just went through and picked a few favorites. When my kids are in school and I have time to photograph weddings full-time again, I’ll be more thorough for sure! But for now, here are a few shots that caught my eye.

bride getting ready

finishing touches

putting on the shoes

The ceremony was moved inside due to soggy grass from the rain the day before. So the aisle was a short one, but I love this shot of the bride as she walks through the door with her dad.

walking down the aisle

It’s a treat to see the parent’s faces when I’m up close to photograph part of the ceremony from the sides. I love how intently this mom is watching every detail of her daughter’s wedding vows.

bride's family

And the anticipation on this mom’s face as she watches her son say, “I do!”

groom's family

What a bright and cheery recessional!

introducing Mr. and Mrs.!

It was a bright, sunny day, so we found some shade for a few portraits before their reception.

outside the farm

The entrance into a wedding reception can be daunting, but I think they did it with savior faire! Congrats and blessing to this happy couple!

making an entrance

Pittsburgh Newborn: Photographing Siblings and Baby

One of the toughest photo requests I get during newborn sessions, and one that I deeply understand the motivation for, is a shot with the baby and sibling/s—especially when there’s uncertainty about being able to hold the baby safely. There are lots of different approaches for this like propping them up between pillows on a couch or bed, or laying them side-by-side on the floor. But my favorite find during this recent session is when there are older siblings who can confidently hold the baby, to let the siblings interact and not really pose them at all.

siblings and baby

Aren’t these children adorable with their matching blonde hair?! And then their dog even sat in for a portrait! Impressive!

family portrait

When you have a larger family, I feel like a lifestyle session is really the best way to go. There is so much to photograph so why not capture the whole family in a free and lighthearted way?

a family and their dog

I love using shallow depth of field to lead viewers to the main focal point, but with just enough detail out of focus to tell the story. It’s important for me to have everyone comfortable and feel part of the shoot before we break away to focus on just baby and parents.

mom and baby with family

And this little sweetie pie, stayed awake for the whole session and was so pleasant!

mom and baby

dad and baby

parents looking over their baby

The kids were so great for this session, but they were naturally getting a bit restless, and we had one more family portrait in mind. And I love the result. Dads have a knack for embracing the chaos and this shot makes me smile to see big brother upside down. We have a photo like that too, when my second son was born. Maybe that’s why I like this one so much? Even though my oldest wasn’t into begin photographed that morning, I’m so glad our photographer captured our chaos.

embrace the chaos

And this last shot is a happy conclusion to this in-home newborn session. What a sweet and blessed family!

family portrait on the bed

Pittsburgh Senior Portraits: On-Location on the South Side

This recent session with a high school senior was a fun departure from photographing babies and weddings. We met on the South Side and walked along the river and back up East Carson Street, stopping along the way when we saw something interesting and there are lots of great spots on the South Side.

walking along East Carson on the South Side

This guy fits well in any setting so why not pose by the brown waters of the Monongahela?? I once swam in that river, so I can say that!

Down by the Monongahela

I love walking shots for all kinds of portraits. It’s comfortable and a natural way to show confidence.

walking shots

another walking shot

He did a quick wardrobe change to show some school pride for his college of choice.

A quick change into some college gear

And as the sun was setting, we squeezed in a few last shots at this mural. Fun!

in front of South Side murals

Uccellini-05.2017-034

Best wishes for a bright future to this high school graduate!

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Real Moments = True Beauty

I’d like to be more like this mama—what I admire about her most is how at ease she is in her own skin. This session took place in their home a few weeks after this sweet bundle was born. A time in life when it’s easy to feel insecure or crazed from a lack of sleep and all of the anxieties that come with caring for a tiny baby. And she and her husband had just celebrated their fifth anniversary over dinner out the night before. How easy it would have been to let a special occasion like that slip by shortly after bringing their second son home? But this darling boy did great and barely fussed for his grandma while mommy and daddy got away for a bit to celebrate.

knit with love

baby in Moses bassinet

I just want to note that the images from this session have not been retouched. When I returned to work over a year ago (after a two-year break to focus on my family’s needs), I had a strong conviction to drop the retouching and emphasize natural beauty. So I changed my branding and session structure and I hope you agree that real moments like these are truly beautiful. My conviction came from looking back at photos of my own babies and regretting the retouching because it felt so unnatural.

bright-eyed baby

We sat in her bedroom by the window with gorgeous morning light and she held her son in hopes he’d fall asleep for a few photos.

sweetly sleeping

And after a few minutes he did fall asleep.

sleepy baby

She sure did make that look easy, but the clicks of my camera were stirring him. That happens a lot with a noisy shutter clicking away.

mama soothes her baby

I love this set of black and whites with dad and big brother.

doting mom and dad

big brother looking over baby

And we finished our session with some shots just outside their front door. What a lovely family! Blessings to you all!

outside their front door

From the Everyday to the Time-Stands-Still Moments

When my friend asked me to come and photograph the reuniting of her family after her husband’s deployment, I knew I was being invited into an emotional and very personal victory in the life of her family, one that represents overcoming incredible sacrifice and the sheer joy of embracing after a long separation.

lifestyle portrait

My friend is like no other woman I know. She is strong and fearless—and while I know that no matter how strong she is, what she has done over the past 10 months while her husband was away is really hard. She cared for their three children, gave birth to their fourth, ran a household and just didn’t slow down the entire time her husband was serving our country overseas.

super mom

I just have to note, their baby’s onesie reads, “I’ve waited my whole life to meet my daddy.”

waiting for daddy

The kids were such troopers waiting for their daddy, even with a one-hour flight delay.

He's here!

This is their first sight of his bus that shuttled the soldiers in from the tarmac.

At last, daddy's home!

The kids ran when their mom said, “there he is!” and there was some confusion on where he was coming from, but they eventually all found one another.

a soldier meeting his baby

And here’s where daddy gets to meet his baby girl for the first time. I’ll just share the rest of these because my eyes tear up every time.

Looking at her daddy face-to-face

their second "first kiss"

snuggles

teary-eyed embrace

Going home together

This day couldn’t be happier and I’m so moved with thanks and awe at what this soldier and his family have done.