Jenn and Brady have welcomed a new addition to their family, Asher James. Jenn is an old friend and former colleague of Heather’s from her days in Philadelphia and we stopped by this weekend, on the way home from a weekend of visiting Sam’s grandparents, for their newborn and family shoot.

Asher was adorable and we made some nice photographs of him by himself, but one of the things I love about taking a lifestyle approach to newborn shoots is that we can photograph the whole family.

Since Heather was there with me and we had Sam with us as well, Asher’s big sister Emma spent a lot of time playing with Sam. She’s going to be a great big sister.

Asher is going to be a very well loved and lucky little guy

For a look at some more, click on any of the images in the gallery below…

Maya was a very cooperative subject and I could swear she was already getting ready to start breaking out the smiles, even though she’s only just over two weeks old.

Once we’d done some photographs in the “studio” setup, I followed Cecelia and Yuval around a bit while they took care of Maya.

It’s always great to see new parents and how they interact with their babies. As I joked this weekend while we took a break for Maya to feed, you don’t have to tell a new mom or dad to show more emotion, it’s all right there.

Every time I photograph a wedding I feel honored to be invited into the relationships that the bride and groom have with their friends and family and this Saturday, photographing Michal and Paul in Philadelphia was no exception. Michal and Paul chose to be married in the Physick House in the middle of society hill’s quaint bricks and cobblestones before moving back across the country to their mutual hometown of Seattle. It was clear that they’ve touched many lives as they’ve moved through their own and they were surrounded on their wedding day by new friends and old, classmates, neighbors, and family.

The ceremony, officiated by Michal’s aunt Vidya, was touching in it’s simplicity and honesty. The reading turned out to be one from The Velveteen Rabbit that Heather and I had given ourselves a couple of years ago at my sister’s wedding and I had to keep a tear out of my eye.

Keep reading below for a quick preview gallery of Michal and Paul’s wonderful wedding.

As well as shooting the usual pictures of Sean, and Sean with Mom & Dad (and in this case Kaya, the dog), I took a point to take more pictures of the in-between times. The times when Matt & Katie were relaxed between shots holding him, changing him, or trying to soothe him.

I’ve noticed in the last couple of shoots that I’ve done that the couple of shots I’d fire off during those breaks were always my favorites. This is the first shoot where I’ve made an effort to try what the industry calls “lifestyle” approach and I have to say that I think I like the results. I think it feeds into my love of the documentary nature of photography.

Here’s a quick gallery of some of my favorites from the shoot.

Friday afternoon we went over to Polly and Ryan’s house for a session their new daughter, and our new niece, Naomi. As well as taking pictures of the beautiful Naomi we also took some pictures of her with her big sister, Ella, and the whole family. Keep reading for a little gallery of pictures from the session.

This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Teddy for the second time. I did a newborn shoot for Hillary & Steve last summer right after Teddy was born and he already had the nickname “Teddy the Tank”. Eight month’s later he’s a curious little guy who’s really living up to that nickname. We had a lot of fun wandering around the always beautiful Brookside Gardens looking for little pools of early evening light — and trying to stay out of the way of the wedding that was going on in the fragrance garden. Teddy was very patient, in spite of being kept out later than usual so I could shoot one more setup and even flashed his “Teddy Monster” smile for the camera right as we were finishing up. Keep reading for a gallery of pictures from the shoot.

Laura & Josh met years ago, drifted apart, and then reconnected around the same time that Heather and I met. Laura and Heather had been very close friends for years so Josh & I both got to meet the rest of their friends at the same time. Last summer Josh & Laura got engaged and asked if I would shoot their wedding, a big leap at the time, since I had never shot one.

This weekend we went up to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania to be there with Laura and Josh and the rest of those friends. While Heather was at Laura’s side, I was making pictures. The wedding was exactly what you’d expect from them: quirky, unconventional, and a riotously good time with great food and drink to boot. Laura’s dress and Josh’s tie was sewn by Laura’s mother, from the fabric of her own wedding dress, Josh’s Mom made the cake, and many friends and family made cookies for the desert table. The venue, the Yellow Barn at the Landis Valley Museum was a photographic treasure trove, and while the overcast and blustery day wasn’t the best for the guests, it was a goldmine for me.

Josh & Laura, Thanks for having me be part of your day and here’s a preview of your pictures…