Now Offering: STUDIO SESSIONS!

So, it’s been a little quiet over here because I’ve been working on something super exciting…

I’m now offering STUDIO SESSIONS in the cutest little studio space located in Downtown Hammond!

After 9 years of photographing weddings + families and welcoming my own little girl this year, this felt like the most natural next step for my career and family. I’m thrilled to be offering various types of portrait sessions and photography-based events in the studio.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we share sneak peeks of the studio space (it’s in the works as we speak!) and details about TONS of events we have planned already for Spring + Early Summer. Think…mini sessions, Spring photo set-ups, Mother’s Day portrait events + more!

Have questions? Feel free to reach out on Insta or via my contact form, here!

Marin | Newborn Days

“Several realities play themselves out at once on the inner landscape of a new mother. Meanwhile, she is often hidden from society and--lets be honest--far too tired to adequately explain the miraculous and painstaking labyrinth she has suddenly found herself living within.”

Brave New Mama, Vicki Rivard

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When your job is to glorify motherhood, as it deservedly should be, yet you’re in the throes of new motherhood…let me tell you, it’s a weeeee bit intimidating to get back to work. While these past three months have abso-f**cking-lutely been glorious, they’ve been disheveled and messy. They’ve been sleepless and cranky, and full of a type of love sprinkled down straight from unicorns and fairies.

Nothing and everything prepares you for motherhood. Raising a human takes everything you’ve ever known, combines it with a dump truck of random, yet vitally important things you couldn’t have possibly known, then motivates you with the cutest little cooing, smiling face to put it all together and be the best possible version of yourself. It’s the most beautiful and welcomed chaos I’ve ever been a part of.

Thankfully, amidst the fog that is the first weeks with a newborn, my dear friend Lauren encouraged me to let her snap a few photographs of Marin and I. You see, I had a full newborn session booked with another friend as well, but we had to cancel due to sickness, then never rescheduled during those first days. I had all of the plans to take every little cutesy, cuddly photo of Marin with me and Cory. Surely, as it’s my bread and butter to document this season of life for other women, I thought I’d document this season with my girl so beautifully. I preach it ALL OF THE TIME as I observe and photograph motherhood for my clients, but those days pass by even more quickly than I’d imagined.

Here’s a little glimpse into one of our perfectly imperfect first days. My hair was in a braid because the thought of actually fixing it was more than laughable. My makeup was thrown on in minutes in between cries and nursing attempts to soothe a fussy baby. My dress, the first thing I grabbed out of my closet that I thought might fit. Being on camera felt like a gross bother to me and all I wanted to do in those sleepy, early days was admire my baby on my couch. But oh, my cooing, laughing baby. My baby who already doesn’t want me to hold her like a baby when awake. My quickly growing baby, how I will cherish these blurry, emotional, sleepy first days and the snapshots that will remind me of a little you’ll never be again.

And for all of the mamas out there, I now understand more than ever before, you are the superheroes, GOAT, rockstars, and the real MVPs.

As I mentioned, my good friend Lauren took the above photos for me when Marin was just a few days old.

Here are a few snapshots I took of my girl today, because she is THREE MONTHS OLD. Wah!

Elle | Mandeville Newborn + Family Photographer

“You are the books you read, the films you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in.  You are what you take from these.  You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air, the brightest light and the darkest corner.  You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life.  You are every single day.  So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence.  Let the words run through your veins and let the colours fill your mind.”

- Jac Vanek

This quote hangs on my refrigerator. Every time I see it in the midst of rushing or being overly stressed, it humbly reminds me to not move too quickly and enjoy even the mundane minutes of my day. What’s funny is, while I often take for granted my own repetitive actions of each day, I soak them in fiercely when I’m spending time documenting my clients.

When I have clients who hire me continuously for their family’s growth and changes, I get to know them a little more intimately with each encounter. For the children, this means a familiar face who plays on the floor with them or holds them while mama finishes getting her makeup on. For dad, this often helps take the stress factor out of wrangling kids and smiling continuously, as I do not ever go in expecting them to naturally feel comfortable in front of my camera. For mom, the lady who’s heart and soul this is likely all for, this may look like sharing a story of vulnerability with me after a few encounters with her family, knowing that I’ll understand her heart and use that information to document her family with that much more authenticity. Whatever the ways my clients choose to invite me more deeply into their lives, it allows me a connection to the art I’m creating for them that is invaluable to the both of us.

Here’s a peek at my most recent visit with Allison’s beautiful, growing family…

I’ve been documenting this little lady since she was as new as her sister. See some of our past hangouts when Kate was a newborn and when she turned one.

Demi | Hammond Children’s Photographer

“If I choose to always grow, maybe she will bloom like a wildflower.

If I make art from my everyday, she too, will create her days full of colour.

If I let my tears fall and always when they need, perhaps she’ll water the earth with an open heart.

If I’m clumsy-crazy and all about her Dad, a beautiful-crazy-love is what her heart will search for.

If I let him forever romance me in the wake of day, she will forever know no less…”

“If I say “I’m sorry”—even when it’s hard, maybe she’ll be quick to forgive others.

If I choose to speak life in vibrant and rich colours, let beige words never settle in her heart.

If I leave pretty love-notes, handwritten on every wall, affirmations will line the depth of her soul…”

“If I choose the uncomfy and forever shake up my ways, maybe she too, will stand to live life bold & brave.

If I take time to be alone & make dreaming paramount to my week, she’ll learn solitude is important and a golden gift to seek.

If I look in the mirror and speak kind and gentle words, she too, will forever know her worth…”

“If I fill our house with flowers, music & sweet loving scents, maybe the silhouette of home will always be warmth.

If our front door is always open to those who are in need, she’ll learn the golden purpose of life.

If I pray out loud and have real conversations with God, maybe she’ll move mountains with her voice…”

“If I tell her I love her a million times a day, maybe, just maybe, she’ll learn: that even in my flaws, my lack, and my mistakes, I gave her my entire heart—”

My Motherhood Monologue by Tess Guinery

New Collection Offer: "A Day in the Life" Motherhood Sessions

Tantrums on the floor and you cringe for your photographer to see? You think to yourself, “I mean, c’mon, those other families must have such well-behaved kids to keep it picture perfect for an hour.” Can I say a big NO NO NO NO NO.

Gimme the tantrums, meltdowns, and time-outs. Give me the snotty noses and bed head, the chaos along with the calm that fills your life. . . . 

You’re in the throes of it Ma, and you may or may not realize it, but these are the “salad days” of parenthood and you’re going to laugh one day about those meltdowns over the green beans touching the macaroni on the dinner plate.

Let me document the beauty in corners of your chaos that you may be too sleep deprived and behind on laundry to soak in right now. Because one day mama, you’re going to look back and want to relive every single minute of these days.

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These are not your average family photo sessions.  Every family has their own unique story so let's take a day to tell your story, unabridged and unscripted. This experience yields images guaranteed to bring on the happy tears during nostalgic times. 

Here are a few reasons we love “A Day in the Life” Motherhood Sessions…

• There is NO RUSH! We have an entire day to allow your family to spend the day together without pressure to perform for the camera.

• No decisions about which activities to document, we will do them all! Morning snuggles + bedtime routines and everything in-between!

• An entire day of being together. There will be giggles, tears, a time-out or two, but your family will make some amazing memories together and have photographs to relive them.

This session is a larger investment than an average photo session, as this collection is 8+ hours long and most likely done once while your children are young. The goal of these sessions is to capture an in-depth photojournalistic heirloom of personalities for your family during this season of life.

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For the year 2019 only, I’m offering introductory pricing of “A Day in the Life” Motherhood sessions. Introductory pricing begins at an all-inclusive price of $1500. Payment plans are available for these sessions and can be booked up to 12 months in advance. Introductory priced sessions must be photographed in 2019.

When you decide you are ready for your day in front my camera, reach out so we can pick a date. It will be the best decision you ever made in creating a personal time capsule of these ever-fleeting days.

Little Surprises | A Personal Note

Ohhh life, you're full of pleasant little surprises. This one's definitely one of my favorites...

Thank you Lauren Carroll, for using your talents for the best things and always capturing life's moments in the most lighthearted + genuine ways.

Welcoming Rodge | Baton Rouge Birth Photographer

“Good news!  Tomorrow is a new day.  Tomorrow you’ll count to ten before you lose your temper, and maybe they’ll eat every bite of the dinner you made and say something so hilarious you’ll think, Man people without kids are totally missing out!  You will experience every kind of day as a mama, and you will need to accept the grab bag of good, bad, ugly, awesome, magical, and miserable days as a parent. You don’t have to get it right all the time. You don’t have to do things like anybody else’s mom.

You only have to care.”

Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis

As I've taken on a new realm of photography with birth photojournalism, it's been such an exhilarating journey.  From the hours of connection, quiet, and vulnerable moments during laboring, to the sleepless and unsure first days of parenting, we have several weeks of fairly consistent communication and time spent together. By my clients keeping in such contact with me about their unique journey, feelings, and even struggles during this time, it allows me to truly enter into their lives, hospital rooms, and homes with my role as a quiet observer. 

Before contacting me to document their birth, I knew Sarah and Justin only as acquaintances and sibling-in-laws to a close friend of mine.  After the weeks leading up to Rodge's birth, the moments scaling in emotion in the hospital room, and spending a few hours hanging with them when they were settled back home after his birth, I left feeling like I truly connected with them as a family, documenting this beautiful budding season of life with raw authenticity.

Here are those days...