Newborn Photography CT – Branford Baby Boy

Newborn Photography CT – Welcome to the newest member of the Raw Photo Design family.

Before Planet Photo I worked as part of the Raw Photo Design team – we called ourselves the “raw family”. Raw Photo was started by Eric and Amber Langlois, a young charismatic couple from Connecticut with an amazing talent for photography. Eric and Amber brought a unique style to the CT wedding photography market and to couples wanting a modern, editorial style to their wedding day photography. I came on board to help with family photography and this little guy’s mom, Jill handled the studio management. With Brenden and Rob in the studio editing, the raw family expanded. Earlier this year Eric was lost in a tragic drowning accident leaving behind Amber, their two children and a baby on the way. Friends and family from all over Connecticut have supported and grieved alongside Amber and his loss is felt every day by many who knew him well and many who just admired his incredible talent. Although I no longer work for Raw Photo, I will always consider myself a member of the Raw Family and I was thrilled to welcome the newest member. Eric would have adored him.

The fund for Eric’s family

Jill’s beautiful baby boy was born when the leaves were falling and the air was starting to get a chill. Probably my favorite time in New England. No humidity, true blue skies and clear crisp days. We had to get him outside in the leaves and we wrapped him up in a cocoon to keep him warm. My son was born while we were living in Copenhagen Denmark. He took his naps bundled up in his pram and parked in the fresh air, even at daycare they put the babies outside to nap in rows of prams with no wheels! There has been much written about the Scandinavian tradition of parking prams outside a restaurant and leaving the baby unattended, something that would be unimaginable in the United States but is considered completely normal in Denmark. I will let you decide if you ever would dare….but don’t risk it in NYC, you just might be arrested!

Just a hint of a smile!

Family Photos – Brookfield, CT

This Brookfield CT extended family have a lot of energy between them! We met on a sunny but slightly chilly morning at Happy Landings Farm and they burst out of the cars ready and eager to run and chase each other around. Could you imagine trying to capture these six in a studio????

It was so fun to see how they interacted together and how comfortable they all were with each other. So often today families are scattered far and wide but this family gets the benefit of growing up knowing and loving their cousins. The big ones look out for the little ones and everyone joined in to help make each other smile and look in the direction of the camera!

Erin is a teacher and I imagine she’s a great one – her kids certainly respond well to her fun, outgoing personality.

I love how the twins are literally doing laps around Mom, Dad and their baby brother – it looks like he is used to it though and not at all phased by the chaos!!!

I was blown away by the classic celtic coloring of this family, their red hair is stunning.

All the cousins sitting still for a moment or two……

The kids were getting a little cold but with a tootsie roll waiting for them in the car they were such troopers and I think the rosy cheeks just add to their cuteness!

children ct beautiful CT family CT photographer Fairfield county family family photography lifestyle shoot

CT Family Photo Session

CT Family Photo Session – Planet Photo meets a beautiful baby boy!

I had the pleasure of meeting this little guy a couple of weeks ago for a newborn family photo and he was the cutest! Newborn sessions are completely unpredictable. You never know how fast the baby will fall asleep, or how much they will like me “fiddling” with them once they fall asleep. One thing I can usually count on is some time to hang out with the parents and get to know a little about the family this new baby has been lucky enough to be born into. I loved this guy’s parents and almost invited myself along to lunch afterwards!!!

Once I get the baby posed in a certain way then instead of moving them, it’s me that moves around and I try to get a couple of different angles of the same pose.

His moms didn’t really want to be in the shoot but this shows the love and the support this baby will have surrounding him in life – I love this!

Look at those big eyes! He was taking the whole thing in and didn’t want to miss a trick.

Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy!

baby in a basket CT family CT photographer family family photography new baby newborn sleeping baby

Ridgefield CT Newborn Photographer

Ridgefield CT Newborn Photographer – Planet Photo wants you to meet this future Rock Star Baby!

This shoot was planned on a bus ride to the Bronx Zoo – one school trip chaperone and one special-ed teacher chatting over the noise of lots of 4th graders excited to be out of school for the day! I love when a mom has time to look forward to the newborn shoot and has ideas to make it special.

I had an absolute blast with Kelly and her Mother-in-Law Karen and the newest addition to the family. Kelly’s husband plays guitar and loves music so we wanted to try to tie that in to the shoot. I love to make the newborn shoots a unique and personal experience, whether taking a prop from the home or including the colors the family loves, there is usually a way to make all newborn sessions just a little different. Some babies love to be on their tummy, some prefer their back, I listen and look for the cues from the baby and make sure they are always safe and secure. No photo is ever worth risking the safety of the baby. Thankfully my training as a nanny and my own children have prepared me to feel comfortable around babies and newborns and I love every minute of the shoot. Kelly and Karen were spotters in the guitar shots and were just out of the frame in case he came out of his deep sleep and stretched out his long legs!

So, grab a cup of coffee and check this one out – he is a keeper!

CT family CT photographer Fairfield county family photography lifestyle shoot new baby newborn

Sherman CT Family Photographer

Sherman CT Family Photographer Planet Photo in a Candlewood Lake Family Session

A relaxed photo shoot on the shores of Candlewood Lake in Sherman CT with an active almost one year old?????? You know that as soon as they are mobile, then chances are you are going to get a few cute shots of the back of a toddlers head as they take off across the lawn. This little girl was no exception, but she loved to smile at the camera, and I managed to get a few of those beautiful big brown eyes as well. She is adorable and everyone who meets her remarks on how much she looks like her mommy. I am sure you can see it too, but she sure loves her Daddy.

Photographing young families is always a question of balancing that “holiday card pose” with capturing the magic interactions between family members. I absolutely LOVE the shots of this family laughing and playing together. That’s what it’s all about for me – those moments of sheer joy when they forget that I am there with a camera and just enjoy each other. But those moments are captured for ever, and to me, they mean of so much more than that holiday card pose.

ct beautiful CT family CT photographer family photography friends holiday card session lifestyle shoot

Brookfield CT Family Photographer

Brookfield CT | Family Photographer Planet Photo at Happy Landings Farm

One of the perks of being a family photographer is being able to see how some of my regular families change over the years. I have always been impressed at how these Brookfield, CT siblings get along – at least when I am around…… and they usually have a lot of fun with the photo session. We chose Happy Landings Farm in Brookfield – we have done graffiti in Brookfield and fall colors over at Lover’s Leap in New Milford, so an open field with hay bales seemed like a good choice this year!!!

Happy Landings is a former dairy farm and a beautiful wide open nature preserve. It is hardly ever crowded and even if there were more than four cars in the parking lot there is plenty of room to find a moment of peace and quiet. We managed to squeeze a meeting into a hectic weekend of Irish dancing and hockey and even though the sky was gray, we certainly managed to capture the bond that exists between this brother and sister. I love the ones in the tall grasses, with a little help from some off camera flash you would never guess just how grey that day was. And best of all, no ticks were reported, although I think I got just a little poison ivy…….

Enjoy!

children ct beautiful CT family CT photographer Fairfield county siblings

New Preston CT Family Photographer

New Preston CT Family Photographer Planet Photo visits Averill Farm!

I love apple picking. When you live in New England you learn to make the most of each season. Fall brings slightly cooler temperatures, less humidity, the world famous fall colors and apple picking. Averill Farm has been my favorite go-to place for a number of years and holds a special place in my heart. I have a photo of me with my mom on her last visit to Connecticut taken just at the end of the rows of Macouns at Averill Farm. I nod to her when we pass every year and remember that day.

I try to encourage families to chose a place that is familiar to them, somewhere that means something to their family, and this family loves Averill Farm just as much as we do. Each year Charlotte and Ginny get a little taller, a little more independent and a lot more opinionated about just who manages to find The perfect apple of the day! A special thanks to Olivia and Avery who came along to the after school photo session – they helped to set up the shots and kept everyone focused on the apple cider donuts waiting for us at the barn. Ginny has been a little crazy about zebras for as long as I have known her so it did not surprise me that she brought her zebra hat along! Aren’t they beautiful? We love them both very much. xo

apple orchard ct beautiful CT family CT photographer Litchfield County sisters

New Milford CT Family Photographer – Harrybrooke Park

New Milford CT Family Photographer Planet Photo met this wonderful family in Harrybrooke Park

Almost every child in New Milford learns to ride a two wheeler bike at Harrybrooke Park on the mile long flat track away from cars and traffic! The 41 acre park was given to the people of New Milford in 1965 by it’s former owner Frank Harden. The upkeep of the park has proven to be an expensive one for the trust set up by Mr Harden but Harrybrooke Park has undergone a transformation over the last few years. The fenced garden has been beautifully planted, trees have been cleared and there have been a number of Eagle Scout projects here to clear overgrown areas and improve access to long overgrown river banks and pathways.

This Connecticut Family suggested we meet here at the beginning of fall. We had fun hanging out with all the family, Evan plays football for the NMHS so we got a chance to photograph him in his uniform, but we devoted the second half of the session to Lori and Emily. I have long admired the relationship Lori has with her eldest daughter and we wanted to capture some of those moments in a special mother daughter shoot. I hope that Olivia and I will someday have a similar bond.

NY Family Photographer – Modern Newborn Shoot

NY Family Photographer – Planet Photo

meets Gemma for a modern newborn shoot

Joya and Michael were a RAW Photo Design couple and their engagement shoot was in a garage in Brooklyn. So you know they didn’t just want a pastel newborn session….. The custom built motorcycle was in that original engagement session so we had to include that in our newborn session.

Gemma made her arrival a little earlier than planned and she was almost 5 weeks before I had the honor of meeting her. I let them know that newborn shoots can be a little unpredictable. Five weeks old is out of that traditionally sleepy newborn phase where eating sleeping take up the majority of the day. Well, of course Gemma proved to be a perfect model in almost every way…. she slept and posed and then slept some more! So much for that traditional sleepy phase…….

Joya and Michael had done a little research and had some ideas for shots which we managed to work into the session, but we still got those adorable sleepy baby shots that they will treasure forever. They really are only this small for such a short period of time and I love the simplicity of these shots.

I am crazy about the results of our session and I am sure you are going to fall in love with this little honey bee. With her parents arms always wrapped protectively around her Gemma has a bright future ahead of her.

Enjoy!

Connecticut Family Photographer at Tarrywile Mansion

Connecticut Family Photographer Planet Photo

Celebrating Family at Tarrywile Mansion in Danbury

I had such fun hanging out with this family at Tarrywile Mansion Park in Danbury, Connecticut. Finding a way for the personalities of older children and teenagers to shine through, while still getting some family shots can be a tricky at times. But Ben and Belle were up for the challenge and we had fun laughing (at each other) and hamming it up for the camera. My goal is to always get a couple of shots that immediately get a reaction of “that is so them” and I think we got a couple here.

Jeanette and Chris did a great job preparing for the shoot. Belle found her outfit and the rest of family planned around her (with her input of course). It is no accident that her nail polish matches her shoes…..She is destined for a future in fashion design or art, she always has a pair of scissors in her hands and a craft project on the go.

Here are some of my favorites from the day…..