BOSTON CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER, BOSTON FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER, BOSTON NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER » Boston Family Photographer

The Boys Are Back.

Kristina — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:51:37 +0000

And they’re better than before. Hey la, day la, the boys are back! [You can thank me if you end up with that song in your head. If you don't know that song, you're too young to read this blog, and yes, I card anyone under 21]. And yes, I know it’s supposed to be “boyfriend” and not “the boys” but that would have been weird. Okay, enough.

I am [of course] late on posting these, so my apologies. And I have to be short on words because I am [of course] catching up on what I owe everyone [including some amazing things for the mama of these two].

Enjoy!

12 Weeks New.

Kristina — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:39:00 +0000

This is a fabulous age if you miss the 2 week “newborn” window and still want to capture your little when they are little. Any time between 12 – 16 weeks in the infant stage is wonderful, you get engaged eye contact, tummy time, smiles, baby acne is gone and they are really oh-so-lovin’ their mammas.

This fabulous and delicious little number was an at-home mini session — at a home with wonderful light, at 9:30-10:30AM time frame (when babies are happiest!) and a very accommodating little man. He quite possibly might be one of the cutest babies I have photographed in a LONG time. It was my pleasure!

[P.S. A great follow up time to this is when your baby can happily sit on their own!]

It is that time of year. Already

Kristina — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:28:06 +0000

Somehow my crazy season crept up and began in July. Last year it was August, maybe September. But it starts out with me thinking that I am not that busy, and that I have life and work under control. And then I take vacation (for me it was vacation, staycation with family, staycation with friends) and I woke up in a cold sweat with orders to deliver and galleries to proof and everything else that keeps me up until all hours both worrying and working.

So with a few power hours in front of me, and nothing planned personally for quite a while, I am charging forward and catching up. Hopefully I can say that by the end of this week, everyone who has ordered from me will either have their goods, or will their goods will be ordered… and hopefully I will also be able to say that I only have my current week galleries outstanding. Dare to dream, dare to dream.

It’s also the time of year when I am HORRIBLE about blogging. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. And so look for more single images on Facebook... and sadly, look for blog posts with no words (for some, that might be a welcome relief to not have to read all my verbal diarrhea — wait, did I just put that word on my blog?).

So here’s a few from a session that goes out tomorrow, late, but still under three weeks, so in my overall timeline, not late, but for 2011 work, it’s late. My sincerest apologies. I loved this session, I loved this family, I loved this neighborhood, I loved this little boy, I loved the people that referred them to me… I loved the city that night and then going home refreshed and happy to see my own family. I love it when sessions do that for me. Get it, I loved it.

Enough said. And to just change it up, yo, and all BW post. Because every once in a while I wake up and say “I should just do this all in BW because I love it that much more.” No worries, the gallery and slideshow have both. This is just me being crazy at midnight.

Forget Me Not Blog Post.

Kristina — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 20:13:56 +0000

This session screams forget me not, because it was an awesome session, for a wonderful return family, who has already seen their gallery. My goodness, I have become a bad blogger. Every week I have a sit down with me and decide how I will be a better blogger. I think about the hilarious anecdotes that have happened throughout the week, I snap shots of my kids, and generally a lot is going on, and somehow, even for sessions, my blog is the last thing on the list. So I have yet another goal for myself… to blog, but I am worried about putting that out there because you know, public failure and all…

Anyway, I loved this session. We went to Long Hill in Beverly, which is simply gorgeous. We had a wonderful, warm, sunny day. Kids were awesome. Parents were too. All in all, it was easy, fun, and I am really happy we were able to catch up again. It really is just like catching up with old friends when clients return. It’s especially fun when they are clients that started with me, my very first year, and have enough faith in my work that they return! I am so excited to see what the end up doing with these images — it was by far my largest gallery of the year and I shot such a mix of images, locations, and perspectives!

So B fam… thanks again for coming back. It was a blast.

[little] a is for Austin.

Kristina — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:18:35 +0000

Let’s back it up about 5.5 years. I am not yet a Mom [well, like 8 weeks pregnant with Christofer], but I have a “really nice camera” and a brand spankin’ new copy of Photoshop Elements. I tell people that I am a photographer and that I love taking pictures. It’s almost painful for me to go on with the story, but I am not shy about my beginnings. I volunteer to take maternity pictures for my friend Jen and her friend Ravi [I should really use my laptop camera to photograph the pained expression that is on my face as I type these words]. Let me be totally clear when I say my subjects were beautiful and so it’s not about that. It was about me setting up some sort of rigged getup with curtains, a lamp (for backlighting) and an on-camera pop up flash and shooting on auto mode. Then it was about me jacking it up in Elements. Not because I had to “fix” my work, because I knew so little that I thought wonking the daylights out of everything actually made it look cool. It’s a memory I suppressed. Completely.

Flash forward to about 12-18 months ago. Beautiful Ravi and her lovely family move right down the street from me. Still, the memory was too deep to recall. One evening I am teaching a workshop and looking around at my past clients (including Ravi) and a wave of embarrassment hits as I realize that the EXACT people I am poking fun of (people that go into business too soon or shoot sessions before they know what the fork they are doing)… well that “people” was me and like a movie, a movie of all my early sessions (oh, there were a few, you know who you are) start flashing before my eyes. I am sure I was inexplicably bright red. I also know that I am not alone, and that every photographer has a session or two hidden in their closet or under their bed that they thought was THE bomb and now realize it was A bomb.

Flash forward again to about 2 weeks ago. Ravi brought her gorgeous kiddos (and lovely mom) to the studio for a quick little newborn mini session [newborn sessions typically aren't mini sessions, but I'll shoot them that way if you are looking for sibling shots and a few quickies for a birth announcement rather than a full newborn setup]. I really feel like it was my time to redeem myself and make good on all those earlier images.

I really love Ravi. She might be one of the nicest people I know. I am not kidding. She is just genuinely REALLY REALLY nice. Her children are gorgeous and I am so happy she’s a member of our community and it’s so nice to see her face around town. I haven’t seen her husband since they moved here, but he’s good with me because he is of my people [this is where I start to channel my mom and talk about the villages even though I have never been to the villages and cannot speak a word of Greek. Unless I've had a lot of Ouzo. And I am in Santorini trying to communicate with a waiter.].

And so here they are! Ravi, we can set up a time for you to come by and see them all!

Goodbye but Not Farewell

Kristina — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:05:15 +0000

Last weekend (has it already been a week?), I zipped into Beacon Hill for a “goodbye” session for a family who is moving from one neighborhood to another. They are sad to leave their beautiful home with their fabulous view of the city, their park, their neighbors, but excited for what awaits them just a few blocks away (a parking spot, an elevator, a pool, and another baby!). In Boston, each neighborhood is so amazingly unique, with friends and neighbors and restaurants and routines… it seems like a move to an entirely new state when you move just one mile… but I get it. It’s a sad goodbye. But it won’t be farewell, it’s so close, and an easy little trek over the bridge. And their new neighborhood, when they finally settle, is just as amazing with a whole new slew of cool city families and amazing parks and maybe just a tiny bit more parking.

I loved meeting this family because truth be told, I really like getting away from mine sometimes… but also just because I really liked them! Adorable boys and gorgeous parents and just a really nice vibe, despite the hectic-ness that is about to hit full scale as they finish packing and make their move.

This, right here, is called holding court. If you know me, you know that I have multiple photographs of my own kids making fun of me and killing themselves laughing while doing it. And so that is pretty much happening here with these two delicious, spunky little gentleman!

See this one on the left? It is everyone smiling and looking at the camera. Yes, I love every single other spontaneous image from this session, but I really love ones like this and consider them to be the Holy Grail of my style of family photography. Everyone smiling and looking at the camera doesn’t have to look old school stiff and posed… I know so many photographers shun these because they like to say they don’t shoot posed images where someone is saying “cheese” as if it’s a bad thing… but being able to capture everyone together this way is super important to me. So W family, I hope you love that shot as well!

Third Time is a Charm

Kristina — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:40:34 +0000

Do you all notice a little trend here on my blog? It’s called happy sitting babies, between 7-8 months old, that live in the city. There is a posse of them, they are all super cute, well dressed and they all have the most excellent moms. And the very odd thing is that even though they are almost all in the same development class at ISIS Parenting, and their moms are all mostly in the same workout classes, they all came to me from completely and totally different referrals… it is just by random chance that I can connect them all. As luck would have it, I REALLY like their families, and I have really loved all their sessions!

So Saturday I was excited to meet this family because they came from my favorite red-headed superstar Lilly Pulitzer model. You know who I am talking about if you peek in my studio and see the giant canvas of her sitting with her lovely girls. And this family did not disappoint. You guys know the drill, I walk in… we chat… it’s Six Degrees of Kristina Young… I look around and determine maybe I should set up camp and move into their living room… they are all super cute… and the rest of the session is a wandering-around-town-conversation about all things Boston, work, marriage and parenting. As if I have known them forever. So I really enjoyed myself if you can’t tell. I hope they did as well!

So Laura, Jake & Johnny…. I hope you love what I captured. Your son is gorgeous and contrary to what we worried about, I captured a ton of smiles! Thank you so much for having me!

You’re My Best Friend.

Kristina — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:37:47 +0000

You’re the best friend
that I ever had
I’ve been with you such a long time
You’re my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You’re my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
I’ve been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You’ve stood by me girl
I’m happy, happy at home
You’re my best friend.
- Queen

Homegirl here is my best friend. She has been since we were almost six. In dog years, that is like 100 years and in cat years we’ve lived out about 8 lives together. Nothing makes me happier than seeing her beautiful face with her beautiful family.

Love you Wendy.

Happy.

Kristina — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:25:54 +0000

What makes me happy?

Being in the city. Seven month old babies with perfect posture. Big blue eyes. Sunny days. Brownstones and bricks with glorious shade light. Big beds next to big windows. Clients that become my friends. Morning breaks from my children. Sipping hot fresh coffee while walking down a city street. Window shopping. My old neighborhood. Six degrees of Kristina. Gear that works properly. Husbands and wives that are in love. Parents loving their babies.

So pretty much every single thing about this session. I have to admit, I am actually obsessed with it a little bit.

What a glorious morning for me, and I also hope for Ethan and his parents. I truly enjoyed my time spent with new old friends.

Olivia Turns One.

Kristina — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:29:09 +0000

Do you remember this yummy baby with the best nursery ever? She turned one. And now she has the best eyes, thighs, little wispy curls, wardrobe [and parents] ever. I was really excited to come back and see her at one year… even more excited when I saw three of my canvases hanging in their kitchen! It makes me really happy when client do things with their images ::: cough cough says the women who does nothing with her own:::

I think I want to convince her parents to either come see me at the studio, or to do a follow up, not only because I miss seeing them in the images, but because I really like them!

And so here she is, in all her awesome one year old glory… introducing Olivia!