New Year, New Package!

Last week's blog post mentioned a new package that would be introduced.  The time has come for its arrival!  We are excited to announce our "Watch Me Grow" Package! 

Our "Watch Me Grow" Package is designed to document the first year of your child's life through several photography sessions at different stages in their development.  This package will include five sessions during the first year - maternity, newborn, six month, one year, and cake smash.  Each session will include a product credit that may be used towards prints and/or digital images.  The choice is yours!

The Maternity Session is typically done when momma is at least seven months pregnant.  The session includes a $25 product credit.  We understand that some mothers do not wish to have a maternity session, therefore we are providing the option to exchange the maternity session with a family session. 

The Newborn Session is typically done when the baby is about ten days old.  The session includes a $50 product credit.  This session can be done at your residence if you wish, however we will be limited as to what items we can bring.  Some items such as posing beanbags are rather large and difficult to transport.

The Six Month Session is a fun session!  Babies can typically sit up on their own or with minimal assistance at this stage.  They laugh and smile....a lot!  This is such a fun age!  The session includes a $25 product credit. 

The One Year/Cake Smash Combo Session is so much fun!  We begin by taking photos for the one year portion of the session.  Often times parents change outfits and request a certain theme to match the child's upcoming birthday party. Some parents even request a certain setup for party invitations.  After the one year portion of the session, it is time for CAKE!  We get the setup ready for the cake smash portion of the session while you get your baby ready. The cake smash portion can go very quickly or it can take a long time...it all depends on the child and what they decide to do with all that cake!  After the cake smash portion of the session, we move onto the bath.  After all, do you want your child in the carseat covered in frosting??  This session includes a $40 product credit and a personalized 8x8 storyboard of the cake smash.

After all of the sessions have been completed, you will choose your favorite image from all the sessions.  This image will be given to you as an 11x14 canvas gallery wrap. 

Our normal policy for booking a session requires a 50% deposit with the remaining 50% due anytime before the day of the session.  However, since this package includes so much we are offering a payment plan for those that would like to take advantage of it.  A deposit of $89 will be due at the time of booking, with the remaining amount due divided into 4 equal payments of $89.  Each of these payments will be due at the time of each session. 

We are looking forward to watching your baby grow in front of our camera! 

National Breastfeeding Month is HERE!

August is National Breastfeeding Month and each year this special month gets off to a start with a bang!  Every year the first Friday and Saturday are the days of the Big Latch On event.  You might we asking yourself, "What is the Big Latch On?" 

Groups of breastfeeding women come together at registered locations around the world to all latch on their child at a set time. All the breastfeeding women and children are latched on for one minute at the set time and are counted by the witnesses. The numbers are added up and we see if we can beat previous Big Latch On records! 

The Big Latch On supports communities with identifying and growing opportunities to provide ongoing breastfeeding support and promotion.

The key to the Big Latch On's success is allowing communities to hold their Big Latch On events, empowering them to create an event that relates to the people of their community, while still taking part in a worldwide event.  You can read more about the Big Latch On here. 

I have co-hosted the Big Latch On in Waco, Texas for the past two years.  The first year (2014) we had roughly 20 successful latches at the set time.  This year (2015) we had 22!  Next year will be even better!  I was pleased with how the event turned out this year, but I'm already making plans for improving the event for 2016. 

The group photograph for the Big Latch On in Waco, 2015.  There were 22 successful latches!

In 2015, a new record was set globally for the Big Latch On with a whopping 14,889 successful latches!  The old record was set in 2013 with 14,536 successful latches. 

People often realize that the first week in August is World Breastfeeding Week, but in fact the entire month of August recognizes the importance of breastfeeding.  Here at Smith Family Photography we are celebrating by offering Breastfeeding Mini-Sessions for the entire month of August!

Breastfeeding Mini-Sessions to celebrate National Breastfeeding Month.

My favorite quote to summarize my personal feelings about breastfeeding can be found on a collage I put together with the help of several nursing mothers and their babes.  This collage was originally put together for an art piece to be displayed at the Texas State Capital to support several breastfeeding bills. 

I'm a Believer

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a birth.  People have always told me that witnessing a birth was something beautifully amazing that could not truly be explained.  I have had five children and at that very moment in the delivery room I have always felt far from amazing!  Only afterwards when I am holding my tiny miracle do I realize what a truly amazing experience childbirth is.  

As a photographer and witnessing all the emotions first hand was incredibly touching.  It made me a true believer in the statement, "Childbirth is beautifully amazing."  Throughout that day I witnessed so many emotions - people were nervous, people were ecstatic, people were anxious.  We laughed....a lot (thanks to a very comedic visitor).  We cried tears of joy.  I witnessed parents crying as they watched their babies making them proud.  I have never been surrounded with such an array of emotions in one day.  Amazing.

As this was my first birth session, I had no idea as to what to expect exactly.  I showed up with the parents at 7am at the hospital for the induction.  We waited.  We waited a little more.  And we continued to wait.  About nine hours later it was time...the time we were all anxiously awaiting!  The baby was going to be here any minute! 

The beautiful baby boy came into this world surrounded by people that already loved him.  He is truly blessed.  They welcomed a healthy, gorgeous baby into their family with loving arms.  I am blessed they asked me to capture the special day for them.  July 23, 2015 is a day that I will not forget.  I will hold those memories with me for the years to come.

This experience proved to be a rather personal experience.  For that reason I have only chosen to include a few photographs from the session within this blog.  If you are interested in a birth session, please contact me to discuss the details.

The Day I Met Huckleberry Finn

Last Wednesday began as typical as any other day.  I knew I had a fun, Huck Finn themed session later that evening, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it was going to be! 

I knew "Huck Finn's" mother was just as excited as me (if not more so) because she was asking for my opinion about his outfit well before the session.  I absolutely love when my clients are so excited about the upcoming session!  That energy is captured and makes the photographs so much more beautiful.

I arrived at the location and met up with "Huck Finn" and some of his family members.  "Huck Finn" was so cooperative for such a young boy and complied with every request willingly.  Maybe it's because he was so excited.  Or maybe it was because he just loved spending time with me.  Or maybe (and more than likely) he wanted to go swimming after our session :) 

Certain poses and ideas are easy for young children to understand.  These are the typical type of photos that work in themed sessions such as this, but are more of a "regular" session type of edit.  For example, this photo of "Huck Finn" fishing.

Other poses however are a bit more difficult for children to understand, such as the boat photograph.  This image started with him standing nice and tall holding a cane pole.  That is it.  I told him that he was standing like that because he was going to be on a boat.  Of course, he wanted to know where the boat was.  I explained it was like magic and it would show up after I put the photographs on my computer.  He was such a sport throughout the entire session!

I had so much fun during this session and I am looking forward to sharing this experience with other children!  If you are interested in booking a "Huck Finn Imagination Session," now is the time as I have two dates approaching for the mini-sessions.

Huck Finn mini-session

Huck Finn patiently waiting for his cane pole to get set up

Huck Finn fishing

Huck Finn enjoying the beautiful day

Huck Finn camping among the fireflies

Huck Finn!

As Keith Thibodeaux once said, "I liked Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, and that is the kind of character that I would have like to have played."  Thank you for visiting my blog! 

P.S.  Mention this blog article and receive a 10% discount on your Huck Finn Imagination Mini-Session on August 1st in Mexia or August 8th in Waco.