BOSTON CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER, BOSTON FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER, BOSTON NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

What are the chances that within 24 hours I would photograph two families with adorable boys and both of the moms are from Texas?  Houston I think!  And both moms are awesome, and both dads are cool?  I am lucky.  Very lucky.

I am even more lucky because I have known Josh since before he was born.  Really.  No joke.  Our families are BFFs.  Really BFFs.  It doesn’t matter if we don’t see each other for months on end, we are still BFFs.  I can’t actually even put it into words the connection we have with this family.  When I was like 6 or 7 I was looking out the window at the neighbors getting ready to go to Prom and I apparently said “Josh Chaffin can take me to the prom.”  When I was reminded about that in later years (as I am actually reminded whenever I see Josh or my mother wants to embarrass me), it’s really really funny!!

I found a prom date other than Josh… and a few years later, Josh found Maisie who is a dream.  She is so kind, open, and brings an amazing spark to not only Josh’s life, but also to Peggy & Nate’s (after 39 years, I apparently have the green light to call Mrs Chaffin “Peggy”).  She is beautiful and has a lovely spirit.  Josh grew into a handsome, articulate and caring guy.  Together, they have Issac.  And he is beyond yummy.  I spent about 30 minutes with just Issac and I was IN.  LOVE.  Everything about this boy is the bomb.  It was so fun to see this family together, and to watch how careful and loving they are with their boy, and to see how much they love each other.

Thank you for an amazing morning.  You guys really are like my second family.  Can’t wait until you are living state-side again!

There is one image from this session that I think is Perfect. I’ve asked some other photographer friends their thoughts and this is what they came up with “Love the swinging hair,” “I love that she is both thin and strong at the same time,” “That one of her walking toward them is somehow both sexy & sweet. It’s like, it shows she’s still a gorgeous woman, but a mom, too, and that you can be both.” “I want to be her.” That pretty much summed up what I was thinking when I shot the image of her skipping down the beach [in a way more eloquent than I could have].

As for the rest of the session, it was lovely. I met Holly at a workshop and I think we totally clicked so I was super psyched to shoot her session! I was equally psyched to meet her husband because he works at Adobe and you know how I love my Brands. I figured two cool people would make an awesome kid, and I was right! Their son is a gorgeous little boy filled with a lot of expression, determination and a little bit of spunk!

I had a great time! I am so glad everyone hung in there through the sun and the heat and we got it DONE!

We are all so excited to meet this baby.  I can’t even put into words how much we love these guys and how happy we are that they will be parents in just a few short [and they will be short!] weeks!  I’ve been thinking about this maternity session for a while, knowing how beautiful Lisa is, and what a great area they live in, with easy access to the beach.  I was a little nervous since everywhere I looked on the weather map, it said rain… but Mother Nature really got it together for Sunday and pulled out a winner.

I have so much more to say about this, but I can’t because I have a 20 month cyclone destroying my office… too sick for school, too well for home and into Sharpies & Post-its.  And I have to pack us up for our trip tomorrow.  And do about 10,000 things.  Like post nursery contest updates, and all that jazz.

So these can pretty much speak for themselves.  Love.

Is your baby between 6-12 months old (ideally sitting!)?
Do you have a super cool nursery?
Would you be interested in winning a free session and mini-print package?

[contest information will be pinned to the sidebar until the contest is complete!  check there for details and updates!]

If you answered yes to all three of these questions, we would love to see pictures.  What’s in it for you?  A chance to win a free photography session featuring your baby and your nursery!  We would like to see between 1-4 photographs of your space.  At least one photograph must include your baby in the nursery itself.  We are looking for creative use of light, color and design elements.  Images must be taken by you or someone in your family (as in “please don’t submit images taken by another professional photographer.”)

All submissions must be received by midnight, March 5, 2010.

Entries will be judged by a panel of photographers who will narrow down the selection to 5 nurseries.  The finalists will be posted on the Kristina Young Photography Blog and the winner will be chosen via a public voting poll.  Voting will occur between March 10 – March 17, 2010. There are specific rules around voting that will be clarified during the voting round of the contest.

Winners will be announced on March 19, 2010. There will be 2nd & 3rd place prizes also awarded — gift certificates to Kenzie Kids (Wellesley & Dedham) & The Flat of the Hill (Beacon Hill)!. Winner must schedule session so it takes place between March 27 – May 8, 2010. Winners must sign a release to allow participating photographers to display images on blog, website, Facebook Business Page and any other print or web materials as deemed appropriate.

To enter, complete the following submission form: http://kristinayoungphotography.com/blog/nursery-contest-submission

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Don’t live in Boston? Have friends across the country? Check out these photographers who have nursery contests running in other cities! Their contest, terms and conditions may vary, so please make sure you read the details with care.

Birmingham, AL: Stephanie Fisher Photography
Northwest Alabama: Jennifer Weddington Photography
Denver, CO: Laura Werner of Vibrant Life Photography
Connecticut: Crista Acosta Photography
Central Indiana: Kristi Hibbetts Photography
Metro New Orleans, LA: Amy Drouet Photography
Frederick, MD & Washington DC/Baltimore metro: Shey Marin Photography
Northern VA & Washington DC: Amber Scruggs of Little Moon Photography
Mississippi Gulf Coast and Pearl River County: Emotional Imagery by Brandi Head Photography
Central New Jersey: Kim Schmidt Photography
Northern New Jersey: Christie Adams Photography
Cincinnati, OH and Northern Kentucky Area: Jessica Wright of Memories That R Precious
Columbus, OH: Andrea Roberts Photography
Philadelphia and Main Line, PA: Bernadette Uzcategui Photography
Pittsburgh, PA: Seedlings Photography
Rhode Island and South Shore of Boston: Amy Ro Photography
Houston, TX: Kerri Mathis Photography
Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma, WA (and surrounding areas): Susan Berman of Whimsical Photo Design
Spokane, WA: Jaidean Baker Photography

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The Fine Print.

This is our contest, we make the rules.  We have researched many different ways of voting and there are pros and cons and hanging chads in just about every method out there.  This is how we have decided to run our contest, if it’s not a fit for you, we respectfully accept your decision to decline participation.  We also know there are ways to work around the system, so we will actively monitor IP addresses and research anything that appears to be fishy.  We reserve the right to disqualify any entry that appears to be suspicious.

All participants must agree to sign a model release allowing images to be displayed on participating blogs.  Winning participants must sign a release allowing images taken by participating photographers to be displayed on web site, blog, Facebook and print advertising sources.  Participants must also agree to standard Terms & Conditions of participating photographers.

Winning participants will receive a complimentary session focusing on nursery, baby and/or family as outlined by participating photographer.  Additional items may also be included.  Regular session terms and conditions apply.

We require an electronically marked consent that you are entering this contest voluntarily and that participating photographer is not promising any winnings or other compensation for participation.

Jennifer and I are “imaginary” friends (Owen’s term). We met on a rather large photography forum only to find that we live right in eachother’s back yard (that’s not totally true because if I lived in her backyard I’d be swimming in the ocean). We decided it would be great to do a session swap, but really, images of your family (esp for a photographer who is never in them), are priceless. So instead of calling it a swap, it’s more like a gift and a regift!

I met up with Jen and her awesome family and they took me to their favorite beach.  And what a beach it is!  Although I love Devereux Beach for it’s location, this beach has WAY better sand!  And it has this fabulous grassy area with neat little paths and hideaways, so completely perfect for catching late afternoon light (and containing little boys that like to run!).    Jen’s family is really gorgeous.  You know how I get all excited over long haired boys, their boy is just beautiful.  And her husband is really great.  He’s a very talented fine art photographer.  And if you can believe it, we totally failed to make the Greek connection.  I am fairly certain had we done that, I would have suggested finding some ouzo somewhere and quite possibly would not have made it home to my family until very late!

Jen, thank you SO much!  I am really looking forward to my session with you.  I am really happy I made a new friend in the area and that you are no longer imaginary!  I’ll get the rest of the files to you at some point soon!

(extra big sneak peak, just because!)