loved meeting this sweet and mellow baby girl – and i’ve got to say, now that audrey is a year and a half, i’m so glad i took time to really record what she looked like as an itty-bitty baby.  it’s cliche, but it really DOES fly by and those images are huge treasures to us…for fathers day, i framed some of the sweetest ones of her and jason (it’s hanging in a little spot in our master bath) and audrey looks and points to it at least once a week to say ‘dada’ with the biggest smile on her face. 

so, after having a child, i’m on a huge soapbox for making great images as often as you can – and catherine’s mom totally got it…i’m due back in a few months (yay!).  for newborn sessions, i’ll often do those in a clients home so everything they need (food, diapers, change of clothes, etc) is all at hand.  it’s so fun to meet these babies. 

i’m often asked when a child should be photographed…regarding the first year of life, here are my thoughts on when you’d really want your child photographed professionally. 

first 7-10 days – babies are so sleepy that they’ll just snooze through anything which means we can photograph longer than we will be able to once they become more alert at 2 weeks.  Since we can’t pin down an *exact* time for these sessions, we reserve a window of time and you’ll have dad make a quick cell call once the baby is here so I can get a time pinned down for you.  these are typically scheduled in the morning but it’s also important to see when light is best inside your home (is there a room that’s flooded with light at a certain time of day?), and we’ll always do this in your home (i’ll send a list of tips to help with planning but one is to turn up the thermostat so the baby will be cozy with less clothing).  we’ll definitely want mom and dad in some of these!

4-7 months – typically this is when your baby is sitting up but not yet super-mobile.  they’ll need breaks to refuel and morning sessions are typically preferred by most families since it’s the baby’s best time of day.

12 months – those sweet one year photos!  and please, no worries if your baby isn’t yet cruising around (to be frank, i actually appreciate it when they aren’t since new walkers tend to watch their feet a lot and getting photos of their sweet faces is much harder). if you aren’t camera-shy, i think it’s nice to do some family shots at this session.

If photos are really important to you, don’t be shy to suggest to a baby’s grandparent that a session would be the perfect gift for your little one…they’ll enjoy it a bunch, too!  -m-

love the sensibility of this little english on-line shoppe. -m-

i met 2 year old ella at the arboretum and was instantly smitten – she’s DARling!  and i loved how she played so well during the session but would pause to give me cute looks (ie: see if i was still watching with that black box in front of my face).  keeping my fingers crossed that this sweet family stays firmly planted in lexington so i can watch this little girl grow! 

you’ll be seeing someone new around mmp – laura, our office manager started last thursday and is SO amazing!  i can’t wait for you to get to know her…she’s wonderful! 

there’s a little game going around with photographers and their blogs and i’ve been tagged…list 8 random (or perhaps little known) facts about yourself:

Melanie Mauer Fact #1: i have a major sweet tooth…brownies, berry trifle, magnolia bakery cupcakes, wedding cake (hint, hint)…it’s all good
Melanie Mauer Fact #2: (related to #1) we have a secret white chocolate truffle stash in the office
Melanie Mauer Fact #3: i’m related to johnny cash (my paternal grandmother was a cousin)
Melanie Mauer Fact #4: i love the color gray
Melanie Mauer Fact #5: i was born smack dab in the middle of the year – June 15th (and on personality tests, I always come up in the middle of those too – neither introverted or extroverted, etc)
Melanie Mauer Fact #6: motherhood is the most challenging thing i’ve ever undertaken (oh, i love it so though!)
Melanie Mauer Fact #7: i’m a traveler – love a little change of scenery every once in a while and this month i happily have two commissions that have me flying the friendly skies (a family shoot in chicago and a wedding in nyc – both places that i adore). 
Melanie Mauer Fact #8: (related to #7) i want to go to some yet-to-be-determined northeast coast island with jason and audrey where we can bike around, look at cute shoppes and eat lots of yummy ice cream.