Time to update my professional portraits

A few weeks ago it was my turn to have my professional portrait updated. This is something I like to do once a year and had skipped the last two years because of being pregnant and then having James. Luckily for me I have amazing friends in the photography industry and gave my good friend Andi Diamond a call! She loves to bring her kids for my duck and Santa portrait sessions and I love to bring myself to her! In addition to updating my professional portrait I begged her for a few images of me and James. As a photographer it is so hard to actually get in the images with your kids. I am always the one taking them!

I decided it was time to practice what I preach … you have heard me say “Mom’s you MUST have portraits made with your children” many, many times. As the historians in our homes I know it is hard. We are always the one with camera in hand. However when our children grow up, they will want to have memories of us holding them, kissing them and snuggling with them. We may never feel skinny enough or pretty enough to get in front of the camera, but trust me … our kids DO NOT CARE! They love us because we are Mom and I promise you this … they think we are very pretty.

Getting Myself Ready

It is easy to sit at my desk and talk to mom’s on the phone about how to prepare for sessions with their children. Having photographed thousands of children’s portrait sessions in the past 10 years I have seen everything and I know how to help a client get ready for their session.

So.

You would think that when it comes time for me to be on the other side of the camera I could pick outfits and have everything figured out easy-peasy.

Ha!

I should have taken a photo of what my bed looked like the day before my portrait session with Andi. Outfits, shoes, bras … EVERYWHERE! My husband walked in and turned around very quickly not wanting to be sucked into my little tornado. After much debate I packed my bags (yes I said bags) and was ready to head to Andi’s the next day.

Behind the Scenes

Once I had my hair and makeup done and we were ready to start shooting it was quite the adventure keeping James occupied  … he was tugging at my feet, trying to climb up my legs, and pull down the reflector. Typical 1 year old! He just couldn’t understand why I wasn’t holding him.

Of course the behind the scenes silly images are just as fun to me as the finished portraits themselves. These tell the story of what that day was like! However I know you would kill me if I didn’t share some of these adorable finished portraits.

I knew I would love my portraits with James, but I am not sure I can really describe in words how these images make me feel (this is why I am a photographer and not a writer). I love my baby boy so much and seeing these images make my heart swell up even more. All I can say is THANK YOU to Andi for spending that afternoon with me to create these portraits. I will treasure them forever and can not wait to print them and hang them up in my home!

And now my new headshots!

Considering I haven’t slept more than 4 hours straight in over a year … I think these look amazing!! Love you Andi Diamond You are my soul sister!

If you are reading this blog and are getting married in Tampa give Andi a call or check out her website! In addition to creating beautiful professional portraits, she is an incredible wedding photographer.

As I wrap up my blog post I will say again how happy I am to have taken James with me for these portraits. Instead of just updating a few images for my website and social media I now have these incredible images of me with my little man. He will never be this small again and the days and years go by so fast.

Hugs to all,
Jeanine