a beautiful announcement ~ the maternity club

I am so excited to let you in on this fabulous little secret...  listen up, all my beautiful expecting mommies in the Tampa Bay area ~ you've just found your Haven!

I am proud to announce The Maternity Club, Tampa Bay's premier maternity day spa and wellness club.  A place where a mom-to-be can relax, rejuvenate, learn and connect with other mommies.  Full details to come a bit later, however I can tell you this:  Stacey Woods Photography will be offering custom on-location maternity photo sessions with your enrollment in The Maternity Club!

The Club will also allow you to experience a 3D/4D ultrasound of your beautiful baby in the privacy of a beautiful and luxurious setting, while indulging in spa services, prenatal massage and yoga, baby shower planning ~ among SO MANY OTHER LUXURIOUS OFFERINGS.

The Maternity Club will be anchored at the beautiful Indaba Spa (the same Spa that is graciously hosting my Holiday Mini Sessions this Saturday!).  The Spa is a new addition to the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, FL.  Indaba is such a beautiful retreat ~ I immediately felt at peace upon entering the grounds and walking through their amazing space.  Indaba boasts a meditation labyrinth, beautiful aethetician suites with private lanais, couples treatment rooms with gorgeous views, and a full luxury spa and salon.  The spa offers a sauna and heated indoor spa pool, as well as a fitness center and nature walk.

The Maternity Club is now taking appointments for ultrasounds.  Please contact Mara, The Maternity Club's Ultrasound Specialist at 727.565.4590 to make your appointments and learn more about this amazing experience!

More details about The Maternity Club's Grand Opening to come soon!  I'm thrilled to be a part of this new venture ~ I hope to meet many of you and to help make your pregnancy as wonderful, relaxing and as memorable as it was meant to be.

xo, Stacey

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!

the beauty of business

Tonight I'm heading out to spend a relaxing evening with some lovely fellow business owners in the Tampa Bay area, chatting about our businesses over a champagne cocktail and a fantastic pedicure.  How is this possible, you ask?  (And how can YOU get a simultaneous cocktail and pedicure too??  :) )  Simple.  Call my sweet friend Jill Somers at Somers Salon and Spa.  Tonight she's hosting The Beauty of Business ~ A Networking Event ~ Women Empowering Women, from 5pm to 8pm at her gorgeous salon on McMullen Booth Road in Clearwater (near Publix and Gold's Gym).  Other local businesses involved are Accents by Paula (interior design), Sally Lindberg & Associates (accounting and financial planning), Pilates by Zen, Skye Metaphysical, and the amazing Yoga Village (where I took prenatal yoga classes with both my babies ~ Linda and her team are so wonderful)!  And yes, Stacey Woods Photography will have a display and some information (and goodies) as well!

Somers Salon and Spa will also be offering Express Salon and Spa Services (blow dry style, massage, eye rejuvenation, manicure, pedicure, even the trendy ear candling)  at 25% OFF regular Express prices, just for Party Guests!  So make sure you call ahead and schedule your reservation!  I know a great many of MY clients are also loyal clients of Somers Salon already (since I typically run into two or three of them every time I'm having my roots touched up, LOL!), and can attest to the amazing service they consistently receive from Jill and her staff.  If you've never treated yourself to a visit to Somers, then you must make it a point to come out tonight!!

Click here for more information ~ and give the girls a call at 727.726.8181 to schedule your Express Services.  Then enjoy that glass of champagne and mingle with us!  :)

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.   ;)

off and running

Ya know, when I signed up for this photographer gig, no one told me I had to also assume the role of IT Tech as well.  ;)  I've just spent the last week-and-a-half performing diagnostics, trouble-shooting and repairing my poor overworked Mac, so that I can get the images off my hard drive and onto my blog!  Oh my Photoshop ~ it pains me!  I guess it's a small price to pay for being able to do what I love every day ~ photographing the most amazing families in Tampa Bay.  I get to meet and cuddle with the sweetest babies, laugh with the funniest kids, and hang out with the most adoring parents in the entire world.  And then when our playtime is over, I get to give them a piece of art that encapsulates how much FUN their family has just being together... how beautiful and fresh their babies are at one week old... how perfect their first-grader's smile is even with that missing front tooth... how utterly precious their children's lives are at that very moment.  I get to give them a piece of their history to pass down through the generations.  Honestly, how lucky am I?! Thankfully, I'm full-force again as of this evening.  Whew!  Just in time to post a sneak-peek for a very patient Mama and Daddy....

Nicholas was just shy of his first birthday at our photo session.  And let me tell you ~ that boy was MOBILE!  Not only was he walking (and very well, I might add) on his own... but he was also RUNNING.  Barefoot.  Down the streets (well, okay, the sidewalks) of downtown Clearwater Beach.  He was so much fun to play peekaboo with, and I had a wonderful time with his parents, who came ready to play!

I love that he "missed" his eyes during peekaboo.  :)  Hey, cheeks are close enough!

Sweet mercy... could you not just eat him up??  Those squishy rosy cheeks, those gorgeous warm brown eyes, the soft wispy hair?

And, in what is quickly becoming a Stacey Woods Photography "beach session tradition" ~ we stopped for ice cream cones!  (Oh how I wish I could juggle a cone and two cameras at the same time.)   ;)

I told ya... that boy's a runner!  :)

Thank you so much, P. family, for a gorgeous evening by the Gulf of Mexico.  Your session was a dream, and I can't wait to see you again soon!  And Happy Birthday, Nicholas!!  :)

senior photos, done stacey woods style.

I don't often get requests for senior shoots, although I actually am finding that I love them!  I guess my specialties are newborns and toddlers, but there's something refreshing about the occasional teenager.... they can actually take direction!  LOL!  A nice fun break for me.  Especially when that teenager is gorgeous and amazingly sweet, and happens to be related to you.  ;)  My brother- and sister-in-law visited us last week from North Carolina, and this is their daughter, Kyndall.  My niece.  It is so hard for me to believe that she is almost seventeen.  She was so little when I started dating Chris (11 years ago).  I'm so very proud of her and the woman she's becoming. Here are a few images (okay, lots ~ heck, it's family!) from our session together.

Loved her boots!

We found the perfect little spot in the trees, surrounded by Spanish moss.

Her Mama's favorite.  :)

And I fell in love with this rustic pier...  much different than the concrete pier I've used before.  I will DEFINITELY be going back with clients!   Who's in??  :)

Thank you, sweet Kyndall Lauren, for tromping all over Pinellas County with me!  I can't wait to finish your gallery, and in the meantime I hope you love your sneak peek.  I love you to pieces.  And thank you for sharing your Uncle Chris with me 11 years ago.  :)

xoxo, Stacey

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!

Daddy's girl

On my last trip home to Kentucky, I photographed my baby sister and her little family.  We kept these images under wraps for Chad for Father's Day, so I think it's safe to share them now.  :)  (I actually gave you a little sneak peek here!)  Now, finally, here are a few of my favorites from my afternoon in the country with Trish, Chad, and little Macy.  :)

"Little Sweet Pea" is her Daddy's nickname for her.  So I grabbed this book off my son's shelf before I boarded the plane.  ;)  Perfect.  And nothing like a little game of peek-a-boo behind the bed curtains, right?  She's had this little stuffed boxer puppy since she was born, so of course we incorporated him into the session.  Love how she kept putting him behind the curtain and then pulling him out again.  I swear, her giggle was cracking ME up!

Loved her onesie!

With my sister, her pretty Mommy.  :)

Miss you, sweet girl!  Be good to your Mommy today.  ;)  xoxo

~Aunt Stace

*If you're looking for a giggle (or three, or four) make sure you visit Trish's blog.  She's got a great sense of humor and the most hilarious way of dealing with the challenges that parenthood brings.  And the cutest little "Kentucky-isms" and phrases you've ever heard.  LOL!  Go leave her some blog love.  :)

the love shoot

I've had the pleasure of knowing Alicia for well over six years now.  She and Joe are getting married in the Florida Keys this month, so we got together last week for a little engagement shoot before they leave!  Since she and Joe are getting married on the water, we thought it only fitting to shoot on the beach this day.  Here are a few of my favorites from their session!

A little lensbaby fun...

I've always wanted to try that infamous "ring shot" but darnit, I never get the chance.  LOL!  So there's my version!  They were leaning up against the railing at Sloppy Joe's, which is where, I found out until the end of the session, they met and he later proposed!  (A different location, but still.  How coincidental that we'd run up on a Sloppy Joe's during our romp at the beach!)

And y'all know me... I'm addicted to warm, hazy images full of sunflare, sunburst and haze.  So even on this very cloudy evening, we all three waited for the sun to drop just barely under a gigantic cloud, before it sank behind another cloud to disappear for the night.  We had about two minutes, max, to get them in place and get our shot!  And ahhh, it was worth it.  :)

Alicia and Joe, I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek, and can't wait to see you when you get back!!  :)

summer in the city

They were THE sweetest couple.  And so much fun to work with.  Lacy and Ryan met me in downtown Tampa for their maternity portrait session.  Even in the sweltering morning heat and humidity, they were such troopers!  And amazingly sweet to each other.  I can't even begin to imagine how darling their baby boy is going to be.  Very blessed, that's for sure!  Take a look at some of my favorite images from their day!

Doesn't she have the most perfect, round little tummy?  And since they were up for anything, we took full advantage of the city!  From the streets themselves.....

to the Tampa theatre...

and the crumbling brick walls of downtown....

Love her heart!  Remember, I know all too well what it's like to be VERY pregnant in June, in Florida, where the humidity is even more of a nuisance to us expectant Mamas.  So a huge THANK YOU to Lacy, for being so easy to photograph that day!  You were amazing!  I can't wait to reveal your entire image gallery, so in the meantime I hope you and Ryan love your sneak peek!

On a more personal note, I've just said goodbye to the last visiting family member (until next month, that is!).  I'm disappointed... we love company!  And we miss them all terribly already.  (Chris's Mom, my parents, and my middle sister have been in town for the past two-three weeks.)  I've actually had quite a few sessions, even with having company here, so I've got lots of blogging to catch up on this week!  Not to mention Lila Kate's FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!  I am just itching to share those with y'all.

More tomorrow!!