There have been an awful lot of babies born the last two months but I have to say I'm most excited for this little family to welcome their baby girl! Unlike most girls these guys know exactly when their little lady is coming so they've been counting down the days for months and it's the cutest thing!
I've yet to share my last two trips from NOLA however I somehow managed to get this session finished and blogged in just a few weeks!!! Maybe that's because a beach maternity session has been on my bucket list for some time now and I couldn't have asked for a better couple to check this off with!!! Those of you who follow me on any social media account have had to deal with me sharing N & D's couple/maternity photos off the last few weeks and you'll continue to see them... until I share them all.
I could write paragraphs about these two and how much I loved this session BUT I can also write the same amount about how perfect these two are together, so much so it's almost sickening! They were also the kindest, most hospitable, most willing couple and I adored every second with them. I initially told them I'd stay far out of their way because I didn't want to interfere with their 'Baby moon' but I ended up spending every moment with them. I do believe these two were truly made for one another and I'm so thrilled that their little lady is going to be able to be a part of their wedding, which will be the following year!
I also gotta say I'm so amazed at how dedicated they were to their session! We woke up one morning before the sun came up in order to get our pastel beach photos, made a fool of ourselves in public, they acted out every scenario and pose I asked them, no matter how silly it seemed and I will forever be grateful! As I'm writing this we've got just a few more weeks till their little lady arrives and I look forward to being part of her birth and part of her and parents lives for years to come!!!
Besides the awesome time I had with these guys I had I also had an incredibly relaxing and completely undeserved trip. I was wide awake at 4am every morning and I would generally go right outside and sit on our designated beach (I'm surprised I wasn't murdered) chairs with my fleece blanket and just watch the sun come up and listen to the ocean... very 'tumblr' girl I know, but I can defiantly see why people retire to Florida!!! We had umbrellas too, which I've never had at the beach, I've always just hidden under my towels because I don't tan... I burn... I'd rather just be pasty white! When we weren't shooting or under the umbrellas the soon to be Papa A, who was such a hoot to be around, and I went snorkeling while Mom watched us on the beach and told us not to go out too far. I'm not accustom to not being the 'mother', it was actually pretty funny being watched over the whole time. I don't think I've ever had such a fun time at the beach and there was never a dull/awkward moment! We talked about everything and I truly look forward to spending more time with them in the future!!!
I of course found a stray beach cat but he looked like he was being taken care of... his ear was tipped and he wasn't too nervous about being around people! He had two to three cans of wet food every day though!
So now that I'm not complaining about the cold, or the rain, I can complain about the heat... I can't actually complain about the heat cause Baby C's Papa works in the blazing heat all day, but I'm still going to gripe. I always love seeing my babies grow and Ms. C and her big sisters were AWESOME, as expected. I can't imagine the grief Papa E & Mama S are going to go through when these girls get older because they've got 3 very different and lively girls all of are exceptionally gorgeous in their own ways!
This little guy didn't only luck out in the fact that he's being born into an awesome family full of love BUT, he's got 3 older sisters, which means he'll have a continuous supply of older girls around the house when he's a teenager! Too bad he'll always be known as the baby brother though!!! This little guy makes 6 for the G family, but Mama & Papa have some of the best helpers in the forms of Ms. G & Ms. R, who are the best second Mommies. After having a house full of girls for years though Mama J & Papa R finally got their little boy and let me tell you... he's going to be spoiled. When J found out the gender she immediately went to target and started picking out clothes, you should have seen him at the hospital too! He had the coolest swaddles, a custom hat with his name on it, and the most stylish 'coming home' outfit... monogramed of course.
Over the last few months I've gotten over my weird phobia of photographing people in public (it's mostly I hate people watching me work) which was awesome because otherwise we wouldn't have been able to take these outdoor newborn photos at one of Nashvilles biggest tourist hot spots! We at CMP had the privilege of documenting our friend & fellow photographer Jessica Elvir's gender reveal, pregnancy, birth, and of course newborn photos over the last several months and though Ms. M is almost two months old now it feels good to finally be able to share some of them! Despite the wind Baby M did awesome for her outdoor newborn session, her photos also have the same color scheme and style I'd want with my daughter if I ever had one! Yellow and red are my two favorite colors, I love florals and bright vivid colors, ANDDDD, we were able to reflect her Mamas love for photography in some of her photos with one of my vintage cameras (my spy camera as I call it). Baby M's Papa was also a firefighter and the only piece of his uniform that Mama J had was his firefighter helmet so I was more than happy to include that!
I know some pretty Kool cats but these guys are ranked up near the tiptop!!! Baby E is now about a month and a half old (see how behind I am in blogs) and is sleeping 5 hours at a time for her Mama, and just like Big Brother G, is full of smiles!!! I could shoot this family ten thousand times and never get enough photos, nor do I think I could truly capture Big Brother G's obsession with his baby sister E! Here's to many many more shoots together and lots of adorable photos of Baby E & Big Brother G! Its going to be crazy looking back in a year and seeing these photos
White Headband - IvyandNellBaby
Fox Headband - Pixie Blossoms
White Feather Headband - Pixie Blossoms
Pink Headband - IvyandNellBaby
Gender Reveal - http://www.chelseameadowsphotography.com/blog/2017/10/26/g-family-ge
Maternity Session - http://www.chelseameadowsphotography.com/blog/2018/3/9/c-family-maternity-session
Now that Mr. S is a month old I GUESS I can finally share photos from his Mamas Maternity Session...
I can no longer just call the G family children 'some of my favorite girls' because they now have a little brother! Sadly, Papa R is still greatly outnumbered... This awesome family has basically become family over the last few years and my portfolio can't contain enough photos of them! Mama J handles pregnancy along with raising three other children so gracefully, I'm in their house and just get tired watching her & Papa R wrangle everything and everyone! We picked one of the unfortunate days of being out in the cold, where the wind was blowing like crazy, but these ladies & Papa toughed it out, as always!
This new generation of kids is a handful already, they're all already 10 times prettier than any of us have ever been too, I feel bad for all you Mamas and Papas out there! Little Ms. I turned one a few weeks back but you wouldn't believe it if she was standing right next to you! This little lady is so tall and so far beyond her years already, if she had a little more hair on her pretty little head you'd think she was pushing (1)3! This girl was wonderful for her six month session so I was extra excited for her follow up, and of course so honored that Mama L came back to me to document such an important part in her life!
After a beautiful drive out to a private lot we were able to shoot in a beautiful field of wild flowers in 70 degree weather! We had to be extra careful tiptoeing around though because we weren't allow to pick or step on the flowers and little Miss I was so well behaved and resisted the temptation! Mama L gave me creative freedom for her Cake Smash which always creates some pressure but I'm pretty pleased with our woodland themed session!
I'd like to welcome back some serious CMP veterans, the N Family! Mama C and I have known one another since high school days, which I don't care to say how long ago that was, but the fact that her oldest child is almost in the double digits is a super unfriendly reminder! As I always complain, it was freezing cold this morning, even though the day before was about 20 degrees warmer, yet the kids somehow managed to do SO good. I had two jackets on because the smallest breeze might kill me so I had no clue how they were doing it! For the most part we just allowed them to run wild, the only rule was not to fall into the water, which W didn't really follow too well!
All of these guys get along AMAZINGLY and spent the whole session giving each other a hand up whenever they tripped, or attempted to climb something, it was the best! I did realize though I have no clue what to talk to kids that are between the ages of 7-10, especially these guys because they all acted way older than they actually were!
Little Ms. P came back for a visit and I thought it had only been 6 months but she's the size of a one year old!!! This blue eyed beauty is the cousin of the little ladies I posted in my last blog and she is equally as adorable! (Luckily for Mama and Papa, it looks like she only has eyes for Daddy) These cool cats make the family life look like a cake walk, a beautiful cake walk at that. Little Ms. P is always so well behaved and is obsessed with her parents. She was however kind enough to let me take some photos of her beautiful Mama & Papa while Blake awkwardly held her. (just kidding Blake, you did adequate)
As always Mama C was on top of everything and we had this session planned months ago, but between Nashville weather and injuries/sickness it just didn't seem like it was going to happen! Thankfully, Nashville had one of those rare 50 degree days and we were all able to go out and bask in the sun! We had originally planned on doing a little Valentines Day mini for Ms. P and even though the day had come and wayyyy gone we still decided to sneak that in there! After all the time Mama C & I spent trying to decide which one of her many adorable outfits to wear we weren't about to put all that planning to waste! Thankfully P still fit into all her adorable outfits and made the simplest set look amazing.
It's crazy to think that this session happened... two (?) months ago now and we'll be planning her cake smash soon! I think she'll enjoy our next session together a little more because it'll be much warmer but P, a baby after my own heart, LOVES her some food and will probably pulverize her cake!
I feel super bad for Papa M, not only because he wasn't able to come to our super fun girls only photo shoot BUT he has three beautiful girls he's always going to have to be on the lookout for. Not only are his girls going to be knockouts but Mama B is... well, we'll just say Papa M is super lucky to have her! S & H are also going to have to worry about bringing their future boyfriends over because it could easily end up like a Stacey's Mom situation... and also their girlfriends because Papa M is also going to be 'The Hot Dad' and their friends will be looking for excuses to come over!
These ladies are always so amazingly fun to work with. Mama B & I talk like we've been best friends for our whole lives, never an awkward moment, H is too terribly smart for her own good, like seriously... she's scary smart, and S is soooo tender and sweet she actually makes me consider wanting a girl! I've been dying to share their images and what better day to do it than S's First Birthday!!!
The best thing about starting your day early is you get to call dibs, which includes waterfalls! We didn't start our day too early, we got to our location at 9, but we still had dibs!!!!After trying to plan a snow maternity session out of state for weeks we had a random heat wave, in-between the days were it was 20 degrees out, and the location we were looking at was a no go. Fearing we were running out of time we found the best alternative!
B picked out one of our 'Glamour Packages' at CMP which gave us aaaaaaaall day to play! After deciding last second we were going to shoot we picked out a new location literally 10 hours before our shoot and headed out early the next morning! Neither of us had obviously ever been to this location and the last time I visited a location without exploring it first did not go well... so I didn't have high hopes with my very pregnant lady friend and her very small child (Dad came along later at another location!) however this might have been the easiest fall that I have ever accessed! Literally had a paved trail to it and a nice little bench for G to sit on while I photographed his Mama, that is when he wasn't throwing rocks in the water (he's got a good arm on him too, he made lots of rocks skip!)
Mama B knew exactly what she wanted from her session and did everything she could to help make it everything she had envisioned! She also went way out of her way to do everything I asked and somehow made it ten times better! She knelt in mud and pricklies, changed 80 times, laughed at all my bad jokes, but most importantly, she did not slip and fall... Working with her & Papa K was like working with very old friends, the hour car ride was spent telling stories and discussing the best horror movies, poking fun at each other in ways I wouldn't dare do to friends that I've known for years, there was never a silent or awkward moment between us! We text each other basically every day now, she's even on my meme list! I could sit here and gush over how great they are and how badly I want to steal their son but I'll save that for their newborn blog!
I might regret saying this in 10 years, when I have a little girl reading over all my old blog post, but I've always wanted a boy! Just because I would literally probably go bankrupt buying floral everything and I feel like you have less to worry about with boys. The only good thing about me having a little girl, when the time comes, is that she might have a chance with Mr. G, even though I'm sure his Mama has promised him to a dozen girls already!!! This little fella is notes incredibly smart and is great at acting out the words he hasn't learned yet, like vey detailed acting out, he's an amazing listener, no matter how badly he might not want to listen at the moment, plus I absolutely love his Mama & Papa and could totally deal with them as in-laws!!!! Plus he's just so stinkin handsome!!! This little buckaroo was the first child to break 'Woody' in and I've been dyyyyying to use it in a shoot! I can't wait to see this little guy again when his little sister gets here know he'll be just as enthused with her as he was his rocking horse!!!
Despite us having snow yesterday everything is in full bloom and beautiful in Nashville! The sad part is, stuff only stays in bloom for about a week, but the allergies stay ALL.SUMMER.LONG!!!!! Due to this I bribed Ms. N with the promise of pretty flowers, which didn't take too much convincing, to do part of her maternity session a little bit early! (I'm still super dooper excited to do her full maternity session in Florida!)
I already shared a few of her photos on some of my other social media account and I spoke about how jealous I am that all these pregnant women have themselves together more than I do, which I am, but who wouldn't be jealous of this gorgeous lady! She is one of the kindest most graceful (not like, won't trip over her own feet graceful, like elegant) women I have ever met and truly has the pregnancy 'glow'. Like seriously, her hair, skin tone, everything just radiated! I don't know if I can attribute that all to her pregnancy but I can sure as heck blame it to make me feel a little more adequate!!!
She also picked up the cutest maternity dress last second at Target, which I am considering going to get for everyday use! The material was so soft and it was so flow and elegant, I couldn't have asked for a better outfit or model!!! I am so grateful this beautiful lady came out with me last second on one of the prettiest days we've had in Nashville for some time and so happy that we were in-between our rainy and snowy days! All the trees we stopped by for our shoots have already lost their bloom and we did this shoot less than a week ago!!!
Her dress - https://www.target.com/p/maternity-knit-kimono-sleeve-dress-isabel-maternity-by-ingrid-isabel-153/-/A-53217490#lnk=sametab
Anyone that follows me on ANY of my social media accounts, if you don't I'll be posting that at the bottom of this blog, has seen THIS MOST HANDSOME LITTLE GUYS FACE!!! When I first started my photography journey my lovely friend Lindsey Huff and I knew we were both going to become famous from our shoots together. We kind of did, we've got posts on Tumblr with 100k notes but NOBODY knows it's us so... Today, I think If I'm ever going to get found online it's going to be from this.guy.here.
It's been a good minute since I've had the privilege to do a Cake Smash (what's up with all you people being health freaks huh!?!?!) and when Mama T brought her handsome little booger to our wedding pre consultation I jumped at the idea! Thankfully Mama T is just as dedicated to her session as I am, she had custom made M an outfit to go with the theme of his session and it absolutely made the session! She is ridiculously talented and creative, her abilities put me to shame!!! Baby M definitely was a 'Wild One', exploring everything around him, crawling through the mud and leaves, climbing whatever he could! Once he starts walking both his parents are going to have a hard time keeping up with him, I did and he was just crawling!!!
Both Mama T & Papa A need to continue to have babies, even if they just have another one and give it to me, because they made the most adorable and well behaved child! Mama T & Papa A were so incredibly amazing too, M is not only lucky enough to have some knockouts as parents but both of them were so incredibly kind and patient throughout our session! I can't wait for their wedding to truly focus on both of them in all their glory!
Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!
This is a rare thing, this might literally be the one time in my life I properly planned ahead, so this year I was able to do a mini Valentines Day shoot!!! All of you know that I am all about some frill,I love incorporating pops of color into any and every session so when the Lovely Lauren Cummings was willing to go frolic with me fighting cold and wind I was over the moon! This sweet lady is almost sickeningly sweet, she has the most positive attitude and the most contagious smile! We had discussed late 2017 doing a session together but traveling kept me busy and this lady is hard to get ahold of! Both of us go nonstop and I think that's one of the reasons we got along so well! She also laughed at all my jokes, even the ones she didn't get, so that was another big bonus. This small portion of our shoot yielding so many awesome photos and the second part deserves its own blog!
Working with other photographers is always so nerve wrecking, especially when they're as talented as Ms. Jessica Elvir! Her and her amazing family have always been so wonderful to work with and I looooove her boys so much! She's blessed me the opportunity to work with her and her growing family so many times and I feel like both of us have grown together so much over the last few years! Her Hubby to be is always such a hoot to be around too, he always laughs at all my jokes, is such a good dad to his boys, and is always such an awesome sport, even though I know he probably hates being photographed!
As nerve wrecking as it is, photographers are probably the easiest to work with, they know how to pose themselves and the ones they're being photographed with... She made me feel like I wasn't doing my job at all! She made pregnancy with two (Three if you include John) rowdy boys look like it was nothing, but we all know better! This is this families last child and they're getting a girl out of it this round! All the boys are already smitten and Ms. M isn't even here yet. If she's as pretty as her Mama they all better watch out!
Despite shooting outdoors on ANOTHER chilly day this whole family did so well enduring the cold and the hike to our location. This is a location another one of my most favorite ladies introduced me to and I'm glad I was able to break it in with Jessica and her Wolf Pack!
Just like Vampire Diaries I have my very own Originals. These are the people who started it all and helped me build my portfolio and shaped me into the photographer I was going to become! Much like The Mikaelson family, all of my Originals are beautiful and sometimes show back up unexpectedly in my life... I so wish I could add emojis to my blog, That was about as cheesy as it gets, but I'm not about to start the fight of comparing my original models to the originals! I don't want everyone fighting to be Niklaus. (G might be the closest temper wise to Klaus!!!!)
ONE of my many fabulous originals recently (December) spent the morning frolicking with me in the forest and much like her Mama I was the most wonderful model! She went dressed as a Pikachu Princess (you can't see her tutu) and spent the first portion of our session bouncing off everything in sight and the second part trying to carry her mother. This session consisted of lots and lots of tickles, laughter, and what I can only call I's... threats? I'm pretty sure Mama G was told her eyeballs would be eaten a few times.
It was really hard not to include every single photo from this shoot, I gave me so many wonderful and silly facial expressions and was the most perfect model I could ask for! I never thought I'd be so jealous of a 5 (is that right Glynn?) year old! Even though I kept her and her mother for more than an hour she never once fussed about what we were doing and was so engaging!
Before we had our lovely Snowmageddon we had lots of days where we were in the single digits and this family lucked out on having their session scheduled outdoors on one of those days! They faked it well enough, even the kids somehow managed to look like they were having fun in the sun but we will forever be able to see the pain in their faces.
This group was so awesome to work with and so patient, they made my job so much easier! We all got stuck behind the train, which made a pit stop for a good 20 minutes and the parents were awesome enough to go pose near the immobile train. De Once the train finally passed we made it to the wall we had planned on using as our backdrop only to have a police officer come up and tell us we were in a dangerous area! He was kind enough to sit there with us while we finished our session however I couldn't help but think about all the pretty young girls I had made travel down that street before for the sake of photos.... Needless to say it was an exciting day
