Oct
08
2014I’m toying with the idea of doing pure sweet newborn photography mini sessions during the winter. I really enjoyed the outdoor mini’s this summer and I don’t want the fun to end. What would you think of a 1 hour long newborn mini session and two set studio set ups (here we did family and one beanbag backdrop)? Interested? Let me know!
Meet tiny little Brooklyn. She loved nothing more than cuddling in mama and daddy’s arms.
See that little grin? Oh, it melts my hear! Mama and baby shots are always my very favorite and I was so happy to give Tracy this precious gift!
Okay… so maybe family images are my favorite. Daddy Mike is so in love with his new little girl and his beautiful wife.
And then we add in big sister Bailey who completely posed herself for this image! I couldn’t be more happy with how this family series turned out! It helps to have such relaxed subjects 🙂
Brooklyn was one of the best sleepers that I’ve had in a long time. Easy to pose and so sleepy. Relaxed parents really make a session run smoothly and I really appreciate when parents have such confidence in me.
What I loved so much about this little mini session was being able to showcase Brooklyn’s delicate little features with simple images and simple hats/headbands like these ones.
We did capture a really cute image of big sister Bailey with Brooklyn. Bailey wasn’t quite two yet and this age can be a total wildcard in images with newborns.
Lest you think I’m a two year old whisperer, know that daddy and mommy were right outside of this frame and all of the below silliness occurred. These are real life images of a toddler and a baby.
Tracy and Mike, thank you for letting me photograph your precious girls and family! I so enjoyed having you in the studio!
Oct
01
2014
Remember this little guy? So adorable right?!
And do you remember this show stopping image with his mama which is still one of my favorite mother/baby images I’ve ever taken?
Well, little Henry is growing up so quickly! See?
Henry was eight months old when we did these vintage baby boy sitting photos in Greer SC. I think six month session is often a misnomer since my clients usually wait until their child is sitting well on their own before this session. The sitting milestone typically occurs between 6-8 months and more often than not I’m photographing 7.5-8 month olds.
I love this age. The personality is just oozing from all of their little pores. They smile readily and explore even more readily! 
This constant exploration makes the sitting milestone session a surprising workout for mom! I typically don’t touch babies/toddlers in the 6-18 month range because of separation anxiety. Babies at these ages love to explore but want their mama’s close for a safe home base. So I recommend the mom of a sitting milestone baby come dressed in something comfortable especially if baby has mastered crawling like Henry had! Mama’s move baby back into the area with the best light and place their babies in props. I often have to remove mama’s legs and hands in Photoshop. 
But I would rather my babies feel safe and secure with mama next to them. So I concentrate on getting engagement with the camera and snapping all these adorable images while mama stays near her baby. Six month sessions are definitely teamwork between mama and photographer, but the results are always so precious! Jenn did an especially good job putting Henry back on the set over and over and over and over again. We were both worn out! But with images like this: it was so worth it!
This face pretty much melts me. Henry… you are going to be a heart breaker!
Do you want to freeze time with your sitting baby? Do you want to capture their budding personality as art for your walls or an album? Contact me today and set up your booking.
Sep
24
2014
Meet Cora at six months old. This little girl is such a beauty!
I love the way Cora’s mama Amy styled this session. All of the outfits had this sweet vintage flair that made the session such a pleasure to photograph. This cute dotted chambray blouse and leggings set with matching bow reminded me of Audrey Hepburn style. 
When picking out clothing for a baby session, always make sure the clothing fits well. I know I’m guilty of buying a size with room to grow, but your child will look best in photos in a just right size.
When choosing clothing for a baby session, try to pick timeless pieces. Like I said, Amy did a fabulous job with the blouse set and this dress is perfect too! Following trends too closely with photographs will equal a fine art piece that is easily dated (think pink jelly shoes and stirrup leggings from the 1990s!). A great place to shop for unique and timeless baby outfits is The Grey Goose in Greenville, SC.
Amy also brought the sweet wooden blocks as well as the heirloom rocking chair. It’s so refreshing when a client comes with a few ideas and allows me to put my own creative spin on them.
Cora took a really short nap prior to our session which resulted in this sweet sleepy image. But I never would have known she was so tired: Cora is the most laid back baby!
My favorite images are always the simplest ones. A sweet baby, a couple vintage themed hats, and their rosy cheeks and perfect skin.
Thank you, Amy, for choosing Quiet Graces to capture your precious Cora at this fun age!
Interested in booking a six month/sitting milestone session or a 4 session vintage baby plan photography package for your little one? Contact me today for details.
Sep
17
2014Mandolyn Makes is a local store that offers sustainable sourced natural body care products and cute crochet items. I’ve been lucky enough to test a few of her items and wanted to write an review for you. But first let me introduce you to Mandolyn.
The Business Owner
Mandolyn Orrell is and incredible woman who has walked through more than her share of difficulty. Right now she is battling a crippling auto-immune disorder that leaves her in constant pain. Even so, she’s daily on a mission to choose joy and bless others. Her business, Mandolyn Makes, started like most home businesses: by gifting a friend or two with a special item she had made. Suddenly friends of friends were asking for crocheted minion hats or sweet owls or boot sock cuffs. She was happy to oblige. 
But crocheting is not Mandolyn’s only passion. She’s also super passionate about removing chemicals from her daily life. Part of this stems from the effects that chemicals have on her autoimmune disorder. The other part of her passion comes from her desire to produce sustainable sourced and fair trade items that are good for both people and the global economy. So Mandolyn started offering the natural bath and body products she was making for herself.
Overview of Her Body Care Products
Mandolyn creates her body products with sustainabe-sourced ingredients with no extra chemicals. All of her products are gentle and safe for babies and their mamas but are not tear free. Her products are include the following:
- handmade cotton wash cloths
- shampoo bars formulated for dry, normal, and oily hair types
- body butters
- soap in many luscious scents
- shave soap (with extra “slip”)
- mustache wax
- Face wash
- bees wax candles
- bath fizzies
- laundry soap
- beard balm
My Review
I had the pleasure of reviewing three of Mandolyn’s products. Two of these products were gifted to me in order to review, but I purchased the Goat’s milk bar, however, all opinions are my own. Let me tell you, my shower is a happy place right now 😉
Goat’s Milk and Honey Oatmeal Soap
The smell is my love here. I feel like I’m enjoying a spa date even when the 2 year old is standing in the bathroom asking “What’s this, mom?” over and over again. If you’ve never smelled a milk and honey soap before… you have to get this. It’s such a calming scent.
The lather is also superb. I run this bar across my loofah one time and that will last me a whole shower.
The shea butter in this bar means that I don’t usually need body butter after the shower. This streamlines my morning so that I can quickly get the crafty two year old out of the nail polish or mascara or whatever little goodie he found while I was in spa zone.
Unscented Moisturizing Baby Bar/Shave Soap
I’m using this as a shave soap and it is perfect. The lather on this shea butter bar has what soap makers call “slip”. This means your razor glides along smoothly.
I have super sensitive skin and I can’t even use a women’s razor because of the irritation caused by the “moisturizing pad” at the front of the blade. I also find traditional shaving cream extremely drying so I was super excited to try this soap.
It exceeded my expectations. It’s so moisturizing that it was my go-to soap when I sun burnt myself this summer. I’m about to start using it with the kids as the sensitive/organic baby soap we’ve been using is starting the flare the exczema on one of the girls. I’m sure this is going to be the best fit for her!
Citrus and Herb Combination/Oily Hair Shampoo Bar (she has one for normal/dry hair too!)
Confession: I haven’t used shampoo in nearly a decade. I had switched over to a baking soda “no ‘poo” routine early in our marriage. I switched because I have oily hair and no ‘poo was supposed to help with that. I used straight baking soda to wash my hair and I could go 3-4 days without washing my hair. I loved it, but during the summer I struggled with dry and brittle hair. Between the sun and the swimming pool, my super fine hair felt so coarse and dry. So I gave this shampoo bar a try.
For those of you using traditional shampoo, there is a detox period as you scalp normalizes to not having as many natural oils stripped from it where you might be a bit greasier than usual for 7-10 days. I did not experience this, but what I did experience was a return to supple ends. No longer was frizz-zilla taking over the lower portion of my hair: even after multiple days in the water with the kids.
However, this bar carries enough moisture that I do have to wash every 2 days to keep the grease away. All in all, the extra washing is a sacrifice I’m willing to make to avoid having to use products to keep my hair from frizzing.
Conclusion
If you’re in need of natural beauty products, passionate about supporting local business, love a little luxury, or need a crocheted gift: Mandolyn Makes is your girl!
Sep
14
2014The birthing room is a sacred space. Hallowed ground where life breathes for the first time. A man and a woman are catapulted into the new roles of mom and dad. And hope cries loudly in the form of a tiny human.
I have never felt so honored to be invited into any space as to be Abigail Faith’s Greer SC Birth Photographer. I was awestruck by the entire experience.
When Allyson booked her newborn session for her third child, I asked if she would also like birth photography. A photographer herself, Allyson whispered an excited “Let me ask Jim!” And Jim said yes.
Labor began around 5 in the morning when Allyson’s water broke. We texted back and forth for hours of slow progression.
Around 2, I stopped in to begin telling this story with images. Pitocin had just been started and Allyson and Jim were enjoying each other’s company for this special time. An epidural brought relief a few hours later.
Jim and I headed out to grab a bite to eat separately and Allyson caught part of a Lord of the Rings marathon on TV. We were all anticipating a long labor through the night.
I pulled back in the parking lot to frantic texts saying we’d better head back now as she had progressed from a 4 to a 7/8 in just a couple hours. When I reached the room moments later, Allyson was doing her best to hold back the instinct to push while the nurses set up the room for birth and the doctor made her way over.
At 8:02 pm August 17, 2014, Abigail Faith made her debut. The hospital policy at Greer is to place the baby skin to skin with the mother for the first hour after birth. Those precious snuggles caused both the fogging up of my glasses and my camera viewfinder 😉
Since it was still early, big brother James and big sister Elsie came to visit. Abigail gave them some gifts. Then the siblings watched their new sister being weighed and measured, before heading home with grandparents for bed.
Abigail was 3 weeks early and having a hard time stabilizing her blood sugar so those final images are of Jim and nurse Lydia spoon feeding Abigail colostrum. Lydia was amazing for both mom and baby as was the rest of the staff at Greer Memorial.
I’m beginning to think that if I could only photograph one thing: birth might be that one thing. Allyson’s first response to the first draft of this slideshow (we messaged back and forth a ton to make sure every image showed just what she and her husband wanted shown!) sealed that deal. “Oh my goodness! They are amazing!!! You have totally found your calling! I can’t believe it was your first birth.”
Interested in having these precious moments when you first meet your child face to face photographed? Please don’t hesitate to contact me today. I only book 2 births every three months to protect my primary role as mama to 3 small children of my own so these slots could fill up fast!
