Golden Hour Family Fall Fun

Dad’s going to have his hands full with these pretty little ladies!

The golden hour didn't disappoint through this session — we always chase the best light, angels, and surroundings that match styles. We love aligning visions and creating looks that are both timeless and treasured moments. We make it our mission not only to capture the smiles, but also to frame the natural interaction, resulting in galleries overflowing with perfectly-edited digital images with VARIETY.

Our team of photographers always pays attention to detail: shirt tails, pockets full of phones, sunglasses on heads... hey, it happens. Getting all the kids to the session in one piece isn't always the easiest (WE KNOW). But once you're there, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing we have you covered. The hair out of place, the buttons you forgot to snap, the hair ties on your wrist, and everything in between… we’ll help you manage it all.

Our job is to deliver images and products you’ll be in love with. We stand by that goal, and we guarantee it.

Speaking of being in love, we fall in love with this family a little bit more every time we capture them. Here's a small glimpse.

A Sweet Remembrance Newborn Session

Our job as photographers is more involved than just simply snapping an image. It becomes learning about our clients and what makes them smile, capturing the exact moment they are going through in life currently, and conveying their feelings through the image itself. This newborn session was an excellent example of that. This sweet baby boy lost his daddy in a tragic accident prior to being born. His beautiful mommy has shown such strength through the heartache and wanted more than anything to remember his daddy throughout this session. Dax, you are so loved and we continue to pray for your entire family as they navigate through a whole new way of life and loving you.

A Citrus Session with my "Main Squeeze"

We are all mamas at the Mudpies N’ Butterflies Studios, and of course, have millions of ideas of images to create with our own children. While we have high hopes, you can imagine how it goes, we never get it all accomplished. One of our visions was to create a simple yet sweet citrus bath session with our newest addition, my “main squeeze.” Grapefruits, oranges, and lemons combined with this little one’s squishy rolls, dark, curly hair, and gummy smiles made this session beyond sweet. Grateful that my fellow photographer mamas made me snuggle in the tub with her for a few (we so often forget to get anything other than selfies with us in it). Below are a few of my faves from the session. ♥Mandy

From Bump to Baby

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.

From new father photoshoot to author of New Mom's Guide to New Dads

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.

You're about to be a BIG BROTHER!!

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!

Meeting Baby B

We have been working with this sweet family for years and were so excited to meet their newest addition. Big brother was so proud to show him off as well and not even being two years old, he did just as amazing as his little brother. Take a peek at some of our faves from the sweet and sleepy little babe and his family.

Dear Sweet Mamas with miracles on board,

We know this is always such a fleeting journey filled with so many unknowns, and now even more so.

As we all navigate through this trial we pray you will find peace in knowing your baby is safe and warm.

We pray you will find comfort in those around you.

We pray you discover the strength that we know roars within you.

The strength to meander this uncharted territory. The strength to go to those visits without your partner....as you are not alone, we are all pulling for you and your baby is right there with you feeling every movement and hearing your comforting voice.

Dear Mama, we will be here on the other side to capture the endless, fleeting moments to be forever remembered.

Find comfort in knowing you are created for such a time as this and we are all going to be ok.

Xoxo,
Mudpies N’ Butterflies

Sweet Summertime

Excuse our lack of blogging, we are soaking in the summer with our clients and our families. We love everything about this family session, from the cutest kids ever sharing watermelons and a bond that is evident. Here's a sneak peek of their summer petite family session.

Fall Maternity Session

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!

Family, fun, and lots of smiles!

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! 

Triple the love

We were swooning when Brian, Brayden, and Brandon came to visit us in the studio! These little fighters were born very strong at a little over 4 pounds each ! They were ready to take on the world with all of their might! Their sleepy smiles melted our hearts! The proud parents are originally from Ghana, so West Africa roots were near and dear to our hearts. We feel honored  to capture these precious little boys and we are excited to watch them grow. 

GET IN THE PICTURES

Moms, I'm here to tell you from experience.... life is short, time flies. I know you will come up with 27 reasons why you don't want to be in front of the lens or why the timing is'nt right to get those pictures taken. I'm here to tell you NOBODY is ever going to look back and regret getting TOO many pictures and moments captured!!

Your children will not remember how flabby skin on your tummy squished out over your jeans, or how you spent days trying to find a flowy top to hide it. They wont even think about why you wore those leggings for basically 7 months straight. They want the images that spark the memories of moments,  to flood back to the warmth of your embrace, how your skin felt as you held them, how you sounded as you read those bedtime stories or how silly you made the car rides with those songs.  You won't remember the sleepless nights, the constant spills or tantrums. You will want the images that spark the memories of those kicks you felt in your tummy while anxiously awaiting your bundle, that newborn flaky skin and fresh baby smell, the big gummy smile all the way up to them walking across the stage at graduation or that moment she walks down the aisle and your heart is racing.  We want to capture images for you that take you Right. Back There. 

Consider booking a mom and me session WE DO THESE YEAR ROUND..any ages, include grandmas too!!