Fun, vibrant family photos for a high-energy family of three with an (almost) one-year-old at the Steel Stacks…

I photographed Ashley & Joe’s Lehigh Valley engagement  and Bear Creek wedding and was thrilled when they contacted me to photograph another milestone in their lives, the start of their family!
Ashley shared, “We knew that we could count on you for exceptional and creative images.  After working with you for our engagement session, and throughout our wedding, we knew that the feel of the shoot would be easygoing. We truly love your vivid and creative images, and the emotions they capture!”
The Steel Stacks is a Lehigh Valley icon and provided the perfect backdrop!  Ashley shared, “We fell in love with the industrial feel of the stacks, the easygoing feel of the park areas, and the large variety of textural backdrops the architecture and surrounding areas would be able to offer for our family.  We knew the area would provide you with opportunities to showcase your unmatched creativity-which we love!”
Here you can see the PBS-39 building the the background– if you look closely you can even see Big Bird, Elmo, Count and the gang silhouetted in the windows…

Joey loves his mommy…

This little man has definitely stolen Ashley’s heart 😉

Ashley, you were right, I was absolutely inspired by the modern architecture at the Steel Stacks!  Seeing your family was inspiring as well!

Joey loves his daddy!

Especially playing with him…
Peek-a-boo and Pat-Pat…While Dad plays peek-a-boo mom plays Pat-pat, a game that was introduced to him by his grandpa.
Ashley shared, “We love making him laugh and have no problem being silly, singing, or doing whatever it takes to see him smile!”

I used a shallow depth of field to show mom’s clapping hands in the foreground, yet focus on Joey’s tapping and joyful expression.
You have to love that little 4-toothed smile!

It was so surreal to see Ashley and Joe again– they looked exactly the same, but were just parents this time.  I snapped a few portraits of just the two of them together.  This was my favorite!

Ashley shared, “When we got married, we already knew that we wanted children.  We had a strong relationship and knew that our love would only continue to grow as we added to our family.”
This family photograph totally reminds me of their firefighting engagement session!

Joey had a rough start in the beginning.  It took several months to determine that Joey had reflux, a milk allergy and torticollis.  With their focus on Joey and advocating on his behalf, they really had to rely on each other for support.
Ashley shared, “Little by little we began to see improvement. Joey’s precious toothless smiles, kicking feet, and newborn curiosity were the highlights of our day. We focused on those little moments and would spend the little quiet time we got in the evenings reminiscing on the good things that had happened over the course of the day, and the gradual improvements that we were seeing. Slowly but surely the confident, smiley, curious, happy-go-lucky boy that we all know and love today emerged.”
She continued, “Looking back on those early months, we are able to see how strong our little family is, how far we have come, and yes, it truly does get better.”

I love capturing interesting perspectives…

Here is the same scene from a different perspective…

And another… They each come together to really tell a comprehensive story…

This photograph made me do a double take– he looks like a doll!

Ashley shared, “We have found parenthood to be the most challenging, yet rewarding job there is.”
She continued, “Joey has come so far growing out of his reflux and milk allergy, and he receives weekly physical therapy to help correct his Torticollis. He has gone from being behind in physical development to ahead. It truly has been a journey already, and it has only just begun.”
Here Joey checks out this new playground equipment, he seems a little unsure, as if he’s wondering if he can play Pat-Pat on it, haha!

Joe shared that the family enjoys taking walks together and playing outside and that Ashley has taken an interest in baby wearing.  Her Tula was the coolest thing…
I love that you can see her engagement ring here, too!

Joey loves to walk!  I think it is so sweet to see his parents bending down to his level so that he can easily reach their fingers.  It will be so much fun to watch him grow!
Ashley shared, “We tell each other all the time how there is no one else we would rather go on this adventure with!”

When I asked them what “look” they were going for with their family photography session, Ashley explained, “Overall, we were looking for a modern and creative spin on an old historic site.”
She continued, “Within the pictures we were hoping to capture the fun loving, simplistic moments that we share together as a family-watching little Joey grow.”

The sun began to set, and it made me think of Hawaii! I mentioned it to Ashley and she thought it was really funny!
She explained, “We traveled to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and spent every evening dining oceanfront and admiring the brilliant colors as the sun set over the Pacific ocean. As a couple it is one of our fondest memories, and we reflect on it and talk about it often.”
It is hard to see from the blog post but this would look epic on a canvas…

Ashley continued, “This past November we were able to take a family trip to San Diego, CA and watch the sun set over the Pacific ocean again- this time as a family of three from the Sunset Cliffs. The sunset reminded us of these memories and there could not have been a more perfect way to end our photo session.”

Ashley and Joe, as always it was such a pleasure to work with you!  Thank you for choosing me to capture the milestones in your lives!  Happy (almost) first birthday to little Joey!