a return

This sweet couple was married at Pebble Hill Plantation in Tallahassee a few years ago. How amazing to be able to go back to the very spot in which you once stood to say, "I do"...

What mommy wouldn't swoon with this sweet boy snuggled up beside you?  Darling, I tell you, just darling.

He was so good to me for the session, patient and kind and very tolerant, lol!  He even let me take a photograph of him thisclose to his little sister.  (Yuck!  Sisters!)  ;)

And this little sweetie was a treat to photograph (she wasn't icky after all, despite what her older brother may think).  ;)  Really, once she changed into her white dress... she just came alive!  She could have been the Princess of Pebble Hill that day and you couldn't have convinced us otherwise.

I love the fact that Mom wanted to incorporate her favorite loveys into the shoot!  This is such a precious stage, and I'm so happy when clients decide to embrace little things like this. :)

Thank you, F. family.  I truly enjoyed my afternoon with you!

Watch for another blog post tomorrow ~ with the Holiday rush, I'm so behind on the blog these days!  I'll eventually get caught up, I suppose!  With an insane number of sessions to shoot and edit, phone calls and emails to tackle, orders to place, packages to prepare and ship, Holiday cards to design and order...  it's such a crazy time of year for me!  Oh and the delightful swine flu that decided to plague our house for 10-12 days didn't help matters any either.  :(  Lila and I were both sick and down for the count for quite a while.  Thankfully, our house is nice and sanitized now and Parker and Chris stayed healthy the entire time!  But I'm behind now of course ~ thank you to my sweet patient clients who have called and emailed to check on me!  Your galleries will be up just as soon as my little fingers can get them edited and posted!  :)

the finest of products

Here at Stacey Woods Photography, I strive to only provide the absolute best quality (and the most beautiful!) products to my amazing clients.  I  want your experience with me to be wonderful and memorable, and I want you to love your albums and images for years to come.  That said, I have some gorgeous new albums and products to offer you this fall!  Take a peek.  :)

My Maternity Keepsake Box.  Perfect for those clients who have limited wall space, or who choose to save that premium wall space for their upcoming newborn session!  ;)  This box includes 10 matted prints which you can display in several frames, rotate your presentation on an easel, or store in the gorgeous box on your nightstand table or in the baby's room.  These albums, and the following products, are created by Cypress Albums, a fabulous vendor with whom I'm honored to work.  Each of these products are individually handcrafted in a bindery; the mats are handcut, as are the fabrics.  My clients will have their choice of breathtaking Japanese bookbinding fabrics and Swiss ribbons to customize their own album or presentation box.

Above right and below are my new Heirloom Folios.  These folios enclose two matted 5x7 prints, and also can be customized with your choice of fabric and ribbon.  The sweet little folio with the pink bow above is one of the items you'll receive with your Digital Collection!  You'll also receive a matching presentation box (photos to follow later of that box!) containing a 5x7 print of each image.  Again, your choice of fabric and ribbon so that you can coordinate with your baby's nursery decor, grandma's living room, and the colors of your own home.  Genius, no?

Don't forget to ask about these items at your fall or winter session!  I will bring samples and swatches so we can get the perfect match for your display area.  And more samples are on their way to my doorstep, of the Heirloom Album and Heirloom Image Boxes!

Just to show you how amazing Cypress products are, take a look at this video created at the Cypress bindery.  You will see the work and involvement that goes into every piece of art that they release.  I'm so excited to offer these gorgeous albums to my fantastic clients!

precious little man

I got the chance to meet Aiden, the sweetest little newborn this past week... he was 8 days old and absolutely perfect.  Such a good sleeper for me too.  See for yourself...

You know me... I have to capture those details, no matter how tiny they are!

And I have to give credit to Daddy here, who came up with the idea of the next pair of images.  I can't wait to see these hanging side by side in their new home!  What a blessed little boy Aiden is to have such amazing parents who very obviously adore him.  I can't stress it enough ~ I love this wonderful job of mine!

Just before the end of the session, Grandma took her turn holding her first grandchild...  in the rocking chair that her grandfather built to rock her father to sleep as a baby...  who rocked her to sleep in it, and she eventually rocked her daughter (Aiden's Mama) in this chair as well.  So, this little fella is the fourth generation of babies to be lulled to sleep in this very special rocker.  Now... how amazing and sentimental is that?!  And of course, it worked like a charm.  After some warm milk and a sway or two, he was out...  sound asleep in his Grandma's arms.

Nicole and Jeff, congratulations on your beautiful baby boy, and thank you for sharing your morning with me.  I can't wait to show you the rest of your gallery ~ you're going to just love the rest!

connection

I love photographing families.  I love watching them laugh and smile and tease.  I love discovering the resemblances ~ even if I don't fully notice them during the shoot, I'll certainly discover them while processing their images.  :)  This particular family was a treat to spend the morning with.  Although it was blazing hot and unbelievably humid (this was the very last day of July in Florida, keep in mind), this family was so patient and wonderful through the entire shoot. They've had to be even more patient with me as I soldier on through my crazy technical difficulty and blogging/posting issues.  So here is their "sneak peek", just a few days before their gallery goes live anyways.  ;)

Aren't they a gorgeous family?!  And listen to this ~ when I asked mom and daughter to squish up really tightly so I could capture them together, this sweet teenager said "Oh that's okay with me, I love this woman!!"  That melted my heart right there on the spot.  How many teenage daughters would honestly say that about their Mother these days?!  I love to see moms and daughters so close.

Ahem, I won't confess why they're laughing.  :)  But it's an honest laugh, that's for sure!!  Exactly what I was after.  And ya know what?  This image makes me smile every time I look at it!!  I'm having trouble moving on to editing the next image because I keep clicking on this one.  LOL!  I love when that happens.

Martin Family, I had a wonderful time with you guys ~ thanks so very much for braving the heat and humidity for your outdoor session.  Your gallery will be up in just a few days!  Can't wait to show you what else we got.   ;)

beckham

What a sweet little love he was.  And I truly mean little.  This guy was just 5 lbs 8 oz when he was born!  So tiny and sweet.  And SUCH a good sleeper at 7 days old.  We got some great variety in their session... some images on the beanbag, sleeping in a basket or two, a few in his Mama and Daddy's arms, and even with his big fur brother, Haven.  It was a perfect session!  I can't wait to design their album.

He was 3 weeks early, and still covered with lanugo hair.  Are you melting yet??  :)

Cannot resist teeny-tiny baby toes!  It was all I could do NOT to kiss them at the session.  LOL!

Makes me so happy to see this much love for these tiny miracles.  And isn't Mom just beautiful?  This is exactly one week after giving birth, too.  Amazing.

Loved, absolutely loved, this moment with Daddy.  Those tiny dark eyes, that dramatic light, and the little creases under Beckham's eyes (trait of a fresh newborn!) that will all-too-soon fill out with baby-chub.

Last but not least (and this could be my most FAVORITE image from the morning)... is this not the sweetest doggie face you've ever seen??  Love that.

Thank you, Ryan and Lacy, for sharing your morning with me.  I can't wait to watch your sweet boy grow this year!

featured on the Creative Mama blog today!

Angie Warren, of The Creative Mama fame, contacted me a few weeks ago, and I was beyond surprised that she asked me to be a part of her blog series, "For the Love of Photography".  In the span of two weeks, Angie is sharing something for everyone at any level:  from the mom with a camera to a professional photographer.  Some AMAZING photographers have already contributed to this series...  Leah Zawadski, Marta Locklear, and many more, with even more to come the rest of this week (i.e. the fabulous Tara Whitney and the Shutter Sisters team!).  So suffice to say I was honored to be included alongside these wonderful and incredibly talented women!  (And still a little shocked, LOL!) You can read my article and see some of my images HERE.  Leave Angie some blog love (ahem, a comment!) on that post, and you're automatically entered to win a fantastic camera bag from Acme Made!  ;)

Thanks again, Angie, for having me.  And thank you all so much for all the comments and compliments so far -- I greatly appreciate every single one!  xoxo

happy.

This shot makes me smile from ear to ear.  Oh to be that full of life and laughter, that the sun shines only for you.  :)  Enjoy~

the most beautiful light. really.

I was ecstatic when I met this sweet family at their home for this session.  The sun was just getting ready to set over the lake behind their home.  And we took full advantage, let me tell you!!  

The sun wasn't the only amazing thing this evening, however....  I have never seen a brother-sister duo be so willing to give out bear-hugs to one another.  How many moms and dads would cut off their right arm to just SEE their kids be so sweet to each other, much less have the photographic evidence?!  :)

More of that delicious sunlight....

I can't even TELL you how much I adore my job.  :)

Now for the boys....

So many families of girls I've photographed recently!  This shoot was 100% boy, however.  Trains (both Thomas and the authentic variety), soccer in the backyard, crazy animal sounds, lots of snuggling with Mama and Daddy, and laughs by the barrel-full.  See for yourself... I think they were pretending to be tigers here.  ;)  LOVE that Mom and Dad joined in, how fun is that?!

Such handsome faces.....  

Hailing Thomas...  ;)

Thanks so much, guys, for an awesome playdate.  I had a blast with you, and all of your boyish-ness!

Caroline and Kate...

This family was super sweet, so very good to me for this shoot.  And I love their girls' names!  (Caroline and Kate were the top two middle names we'd chosen for our own daughter!  You might remember, Parker purposefully called his little sister "Ava Caroline" instead of "Lila Kate" for the first two weeks of her life.  LOL!) 

I just wanted to put them in my pocket and take them home with me.  (Much to Parker's dismay, I'm sure... "Ewww, more girly stuff!"  LOL!)

Aren't they absolutely beautiful??  I loved Baby Kate's sweet expressions.... 

And I LOVED this outtake!!  Caroline was just too cute.  While proofing this session, I giggled every time I would scroll past this shot.  So I just HAD to include it in their gallery!  (I wonder if Mom and Dad see this same face from time to time?)  ;)

And who could resist a sleepy girl with a tiny thumb in her mouth?  Oh, be still my heart....

Huge thanks to this family.... I had a blast with y'all, and I hope you enjoy your gallery!  :)