I had the pleasure of meeting Shelley and Alex at a portrait photography session event I did at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco when Alex was a baby. Soon after they came to my studio bringing along daddy Dustin, and we had such a fun time capturing Alex’s plentiful smiles. We made an adorable book of Alex’s baby session images, and after a couple of years I noticed on facebook that Shelley was pregnant again with another boy!! We waited just long enough til he was the same age as Alex’s session, and then they came to the studio! Seeing Alex so grown up is amazing, and meeting his little brother was just a joy! We faced adversity (it was early evening – not a good time for toddlers and babies, and something like 100 degrees at the studio…) and we jumped around, laughed, bounced and cajoled the boys into a great session!! On this Fourth of July weekend, I wanted to share a couple of my favorites so that daddy can see them too! He’s off serving our country in the reserves, and I send my gratitude to him and all the others! Here’s some family portraits!

One of the things I always love is capturing images of the families that grow out of my wedding photography business! It makes me so happy to continue to be your family photographer throughout the many phases of family life! Often friends of my couples are starting or growing their families at the same time, and my clients have so kindly referred many of their friends to me to become their family photographers as well! Recently a family that is friends with two of my wonderful clients came in to bring their brand new baby boy and their adorable daughter to enter my Watch Me Grow program! I know that having a new baby in a family is an exciting time for all, but often the big brother or big sister needs a little extra attention too, since Mom and Dad have to take care of the new little one! This special girl got to wear my special fairy princess dress at the end of the session, and she was just perfect! I’ll share more later of her adorable baby brother, but she is getting her own post!

Ahhhh newborn teenie-tiny babies… I just love them so much… So much in fact that I will photograph a newborn in the family home (or studio) in the first two weeks of life and waive the session fee!! I know what it was like to be a new parent… completely in love with this little person, and bleary eyed from lack of sleep!! That’s why I come to you! It makes it so much easier than trying to get out of the house, and less pressure dealing with feeding, changing and the challenges of parenthood! I also have a great baby plan for the first year which includes 3 sessions at key developmental milestones, and gets a collection of images worthy of your child’s first year life volume!

They change and grow so quickly (I write this as my cranky, tired almost-four-year-old just won’t drift off to sleep…) and you do want to remember each new moment! Here is one from Kai’s newborn photo session. Please feel free to tell any of your friends or family who are expecting to contact me about the newborn special session and Mill Cottage Kids baby plan!!

I have to kick myself into gear and blog… I have so many images to share, but lets start with one from a really fun session with Starla and Parker! So excited for them as they expect their first baby, and to add to the excitement, there is a documentary film crew following along to showcase the ups and downs of a first pregnancy… yep, that’s right people… today I got to be in a movie. Verdict is in, and I definitely prefer to be BEHIND the camera, but it was great fun! I love their style as a couple and wanted to do something beyond the ordinary maternity session… so we sought out interesting places in downtown San Francisco, and even got kicked out of the doorway of a private club… {puh-leaaaazzze… apparently people don’t like people standing on a sidewalk in front of a brick wall, so don’t forget about that…) Thanks to Parker and Starla for braving the “wilds” of the City, and being so completely adorable!! Enjoy!

Isn’t she adorable? Here is a cute little slideshow of baby Lily’s portrait session at Mill Cottage Kids Studio a few weeks ago!

NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Did you have a new addition to your family this year? Do you have a beloved furry creature who is always there for you? Will beloved family members be coming into town for the holidays? Capture those amazing moments and make your holiday gift giving list a little shorter with a fun holiday portrait mini-session from Mill Cottage Photography. I am offering some holiday mini-sessions so you can get up, get out, and get your family portraits done in time for the holidays! Here’s the (amazing value) deal… Just $95 for a mini-session, which is about 30 minutes long and a $200 savings from our usual full session fee! If you need a session on the weekend, then there is a minimum order fee of an additional $200, which is credited back to you for your order. I am going to be at the San Carlos studio and a nearby park (weather permitting) on the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 27-28, so you can combine your holiday shopping with your holiday greetings!!! Specials will be available for holiday cards, and if you bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots, you will receive a bonus 5×7 print for your donation! Call 415-515-6370 to schedule your family!!! Happy Holidays from Mill Cottage Photography and Mill Cottage Kids!!!

Seems like yesterday you saw Matika’s gorgeous baby bump in her San Francisco Urban Maternity Session, and newborn baby Liam came just a few days later… Oh, he’s a yummy little guy, and I am so glad I got to hold him, and get my baby fix… Here’s his first professional family portrait in his home… So wonderful to see you guys today, and can’t wait to show you all the images soon!

It’s never too late to schedule your maternity session… well, at least if you schedule it before the baby arrives… Matika & Mike, and their son Luke are expecting a new baby this Thursday!!! We headed out to Golden Gate Park to the Queen Wilhemina Tulip Garden on Sunday and it was a beautiful spring day!! Look at the glorious beautiful mama!! Good luck on Thursday you guys!! Can’t wait to get my lens on the new little babe!!

I promised to show off each of my little subjects from our day of mini-sessions at my San Carlos kids portrait studio! First to arrive was the Carrico family, Joel & Pia, being fellow photographers, welcome the chance to get the family in a photo without having to resort to self-timers and photoshop of multiple exposures… Baby Ossi, just a tender newborn two weeks old, stole my heart, but his big brother, Noah, was quite a charmer himself!

I am feeling the spring time, and am so pleased to offer a special portrait mini-session in and around my San Carlos children’s photography studio on Wednesday and Friday, February 10 and 12th,  just in time for Valentine’s Day!!! Only $95, which is a savings of almost $200 from our regular session fee! Reserve your 30 minute studio or outdoor session today by calling 415.515.6370, or sending an email to inquiry@millcottagephoto.com. Sessions are available between 10AM and 4:30PM on those two days only!!! We also will be having a special Woodland Series portrait event on Monday, February 15, and are accepting only three clients for that day for an on location session in the Los Altos Hills. The times available are  11:30, 12:00 noon and 12:30, and sessions will be 20 minutes, 1-2 children only.

All new clients will receive a special $25 gift card with purchase of a session, and current clients will receive a complimentary 5×7 print of their favorite image from the session as well as a $25 gift card! Images will be shown in your own personal, password protected web gallery, and will be available for purchase on-line for 3 days after they have been posted, so alert the grandparents, friends and family to be ready! Reposting your gallery after those 3 days will incur a $100 fee, which will automatically be applied to your order!

One of the things that makes a birthday party, and thus the birthday party ph0tography, so much fun is the activities provided for the children who attend! I know when I go about planning the next birthday party for MY son, Josh, the only website I will visit is California Puppets planning site for Bay Area kids birthday parties! Not only will you see puppet show ventriloquist extraordinaire, Jungle Joe, but there is a plethora of amazing tips and ideas for making your child’s event a huge success! It is a really great resource, especially for first time parents, who have no idea where to start and what to do! Mill Cottage Kids has a great bunch of party ideas, so make sure all your lovely party plans get the photographs they deserve so you and your tot can look back on the occasion for years to come!

Sound the trumpets, strike up the band, in other words, “hit it!” Sydney is here, and she’s such a pretty little newborn baby. You forget how small they are when they are newborns… and how soft they are, and how cute and tiny their feet are, and those soft little birdie sounds they make… Ahhhhhh!!! I love to photograph newborn babies! (Nicole, yours are next, just say the word when they are ready!!)

I am very proud to be Brooke and Todd’s family photographer… I love to go to their house and see images of them that I photographed over the years, their engagement, their wedding, them at friends’ weddings… Love them! Todd was one of the very first people I met when I moved to San Francisco through our mutual friend Dina, and fate would have it that he would meet and fall in love with the wonderful Brooke, who was friends with my friend Jamie, and the fabric of all of our lives was woven together from all different directions… Ok, so that’s the story of how eventually we would all be completely elated at the arrival of their beautiful daughter, and again me with my camera in tow (which is a great excuse to get in for visits with friends with newborns by the way… :^) gathered with the family to capture Miss Sydney’s new sweetness. I was tempted to sneak her out in my camera bag, and leave my 5DMark II in her place, but even though Brooke is a photographer, I don’t think she would be at all excited about the switcheroo…

Ok, Kim, quit your yapping and show us some pictures…

Special thanks to “Uncle” Mitch for giving Josh his first flying machine today! Daddy and Josh took the plane out for a spin, and crashed a lot to Josh’s giggly delight! Daddy giggled too… :^)

Kim