We enjoyed working with this beautiful couple to capture their growing family. We met them outside with their first fur baby to show the glowing mamas growing belly. A few weeks later we met them in our newborn suite to photograph the new addition….and oh how cute!! She was such a dream…from staying sleepy to flashing the sweetest smiles, we were in love at first sight.
Guest post by Andrew Shaw
I can distinctly remember having our preemie twins in a photoshoot at the Mudpies studio, which, somehow, was five years ago. Or yesterday. It all seems the same.
My wife and I fell in love with the work of the Mudpies team that we saw adorning the walls inside Wellspan York Hospital near the NICU. When we found out they can expertly handle premature babies, we were sold.
At that point, with so much uncertainty in those early days of our second and third kids (we had a 2-year-old son as well), we would take any certainty we could get.
The girls ended up looking absolutely perfect, as did our son with a bashful smile as he was placed near them. My wife looked gorgeous holding them, too.
In the years since, we’ve done many Mudpies shoots, with their work now adorning our own walls. Newborns becoming infants. Infants becoming (loud) toddlers. Toddlers becoming… well some days it seems like teenagers but the calendar says they are 5, 5, and almost 7.
I’ve grown a lot, too, since those early days. I learned how much pressure is on a mom to do everything for everyone. And how expectations vary so much for dads — it was a surprise to see a dad in the NICU, for instance.
That all helped inspire me to write The New Mom’s Guide to New Dads, my effort to help mothers understand what it’s like to be that anxious, confused new father who is trying to pretend he has it together. I tell my own stories of #dadlife, tap into expert advice, and mostly help new moms get into the mentality of a new dad so they can have better conversations and a better, shared empathy for each other.
I don’t know what life will bring me next as a dad. Who knows what our next portrait will be like — what stories we’ll have shared since the last one. But I do know we are all better when we improve our communication and understand that there’s a lot more that goes into parenting than the perfect Instagram shot or the memorable canvas that hands on a wall. All of the life that happens in between those moments — that’s what makes those picture-perfect moments worth saving.
What an exciting promotion…becoming a Big Bro!! This little guy cannot wait, or so he thinks, lol!! We can only hope that his baby sister loves the camera as much as he does. We love to be able to incorporate some indoor and outdoor shots in these bump sessions. It was actually fairly cold the day of this session, but momma was a champ about it. And she could not have been more stunning in this mauve gown. She and her 2 handsome boys made our job easy. We can’t wait to meet you baby girl!
Getting ready to add another baby? Don’t forget to capture the time of your growing belly and the excitement of the older sibling(s)! This sweet family is patiently awaiting the arrival of baby #2 and we love documenting these special moments.
We have known and photographed Ryan and Kelly (and their beautiful children) for quite some time and when asked to document their special Veteran’s day wedding at the Savage River Lodge in Maryland, we were nothing less than delighted and honored. This secluded venue and small, intimate wedding day was filled with beautiful details and spectacular scenery. It was a gorgeous late fall afternoon ceremony, followed by some amazing eats and ended with some snuggling by the fire and s’mores. Congratulations again Ryan & Kelly, it was a pleasure to be able spend your special day with you.
This beauty was such a pleasure to photograph! Lily has a great sense of style and a big, bubbly personality to match! After she finishes her senior year at South Western High School, Lily is moving on to study Meteorology at Ohio State University. We are so honored to have her as one of our Loft Senior Spokes Models and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!
What makes a perfect backdrop? Well nature sings for this beautiful senior session and granted her wish and captured exactly what she wanted. With such a stunning young lady anything looks gorgeous, but what a creative concept, We love this idea! We are very excited to see what other seniors bring to the table for their personal photoshoots.
Beautiful Jemma had a blast shooting at multiple locations with Laura and well… we think the images speak to the fun! Have a great Senior year!
A Sneak peek from our Outdoor Holiday Sessions, Campfire theme😍 We were so happy that we booked these early fall before the freezing temps. We waited to post as to not ruin any Christmas gift and card suprises but here is a small peek. What a fun time everyone had toasting marshmallows and cuddling around the campfire and of course our VW camper "Rosie" made an appearance to add variety to each session.
Change. It's inevitable. We do it daily. Actually, every second of the day things are changing all around us. We welcome and embrace each new season.
So with seasons changing, so do we. While we are true to our style and brand...we haven't been just shooting behind the lens. If so, we would be stale! Year after year we keep growing and evolving. If we wouldn't, how can we stay up to date fresh and stylish for our lifetime clients?
We brainstorm, get creative, and pull together some amazing sets and concepts. We also spend hours and hours learning and perfecting our craft. Behind the scenes, we are taking workshops and classes from world renowned professionals. We strive to stay on top of the latest trends while creating timeless, sharp, crisp, clear, and vibrant images for all of our families.
Sometimes we find some photographers like our ideas and often they replicate concepts and sometimes they just plain ol' playgerize. We are flattered ...but one thing that contributes to success that has stood the test of time isn't from mimicking others, it's from being innovative yet doing so in such a way that our clients want to come back -time and time again, because it's about the experience they had while with us and the professional product they leave with.
We wanted to write this blog to keep you updated on the things we have changing! We are adding some new faces to the Mudpies team, but, just because they are new to the team doesn't mean they are new to photography or new to the studio, but rather their focus is on other areas of Mudpies that can be grown. Stay tuned for formal introductions!
We had been keeping a secret this year.... (Many of you have already visited) We added a huge new natural light studio in southern York County to our client set options and we are excited to offer this space to compliment our awesome studio hosting our carefully designed newborn suite in Dover. With 18 floor to ceiling windows and sky lights, this will receive gorgeous light year round! We look forward to hosting brides, boudoirs, bumps, babies, seniors and more in our space.
And that's not all...we are keeping a few other BIG 2019 Announcements for another blog 😍
As we move on from fall folliage sessions ..we continue planning out wardrobes these fun Camping Christmas minis as well as our natural light studio farmhouse Christmas style for the holidays. Timeless images that are not "Christmasy" and will look gorgeous on display year round.
We also are pleased to announce we can offer snow sessions ALL winter- SNOW or NOT, starting late December. How awesome is that?! Yep. We have our own snow machines and these sessions will be sure to show off the beauty of winter! We are planning some playful sessions in January and February with our very own winter wonderland creations You will want to book these now! Spots will fill up fast!
Before we rush into the next season, let's soak in the last part of Autumn. Although the leaves were not changing as soon as we thought, we were able to add a little magic to make everyone's images colorful and stunning. Here’s a peek at some of our foliage sessions!
This adorable family is about to grow by 2 feet! We loved capturing this time for them. Kristen booked a Rock the Bump Session to highlight their little girl becoming a big sister. The session was super fun and Mommy was glowing! Check out a sneak peek!
We love shooting outdoor family portraits! It's all about you and your family having fun together with lots of laughing and smiling while we capture each precious moment. This family made it so easy to do just that! Do you have a special location that is sentimental to your family? We would love to photograph you and your family so you have these memories to savor for years to come!
Autumn is right around the corner and we are thrilled to start taking some beautiful portraits outside with the leaves falling. Nothing is more amazing than colorful Fall foliage! We would love to capture your family’s portraits in a relaxing, outdoor, setting. Email us today to schedule your session- servelovecapture@gmail.com
