R family beach session - Wildwood family portraits
I'm struggling with the end of summer, it was such a good summer and I'm so sad to see it go. But, this last beach session of the season has me looking for ward to fall and updating family photos.
It was a pretty gray day, and had been raining on and off and the sky was still pretty ominous, but the stars aligned and we somehow made out with a gorgeous golden hour session on the beach in North Wildwood... before it started storming again, someone was definitely looking out for us.
Summer is a pretty busy season for this family; with every member celebrating their birthday within 6 weeks, and mom and dad's anniversary as well. This year was an especially momentous occasion with the oldest starting her senior year of high school; even though she's still her mama's baby. It's always such an honor to be able to capture such amazing moments for families.
Aviva's first birthday - Moorestown family portraits
First birthday's are such a huge milestone, not just for your sweet babe but the whole family. That's why I was thrilled when Alison contacted me looking for a first birthday family session. I love cake smashes and adore fun first birthday outfits and pinterest inspired first birthday parties; but I think it's really important to celebrate first birthdays as a family. That's what they are; first anniversaries, the first anniversary of your family in it's current iteration.
We kind of kept Aviva up past her bedtime to catch the best light, but she was an amazing trooper. She was nothing but big smiles and the happiest blue eyes the whole time. It was so sweet to capture the love Alison and Ken have for their baby girl, they were such a treat to work with. It's so amazing to get to capture such an amazing chapter in a family's story. Happy birthday sweet girl!!
Cinnaminson photographer - Prom 2017
I loved capturing these gorgeous pre-prom portraits for Ava. It was also a great chance for her parents to sneak in a few pictures with her before she was off for the night with her friends. While I don't think prom portraits can replace the quintessential prom photos; you know the sort, large groups of coupled teenagers standing in the front lawn, there were plenty of them, and I love them as well. But, it's nice to have a true portrait to remember such a special night.
Caelum's 2!! - Cinnaminson children's photographer
Happy birthday, Caelum!! This is one of my favorite little families, they're always so amazing to work with. Caelum's mama and I planned to get together the Saturday before Mother's Day and I was so excited that I'd be able to deliver sweet Mommy and Me shots with her boy for the occasion, added bonus to a May birthday! Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and we had a mild northeaster the day we had planned for. Thankfully we were able to reschedule pretty quickly and the weather was perfect!
It was totally worth the wait; I couldn't be happier with the results of this rain delay. This sweet boy was just so much fun and really helped make this shoot special.
January favorites
This year, as a personal project, I've taken on a project 52. What that means is each week I work with a single goal or assignment in photography. If you follow me on Instagram (@jessicapivaphotography) you'll see each weeks assignment. To help me in this process I've been trying to shoot daily. Some days it's really fun and other days it can be hard to find the time to fit in a personal project. And, that's why I've been trying to shoot for myself every day but wasn't ready to commit to a project 365... because life.
In spite of "life" (work, two kids, a dog who gave me a health scare this week) I've been keeping up with shooting. I've really enjoyed this project because the weekly prompts have really been pushing me out of my comfort zone and it's been a lot of fun. I'm so excited to finally share my favorites from January.
Week 1: "hello, this is me" a self portrait, which is so far outside of my comfort zone. I would much rather be behind the camera. This was a really hard week for me.
Week 2: "goals" during this week getting my Valentines Day photos done was my goal. I guess I tend to focus on short term goals and that's something I plan on addressing. I want to start getting some long term goals on paper. Being busy and being a mom makes it really hard to focus on ourselves and that's not fair to us or our families. I guess my revised goal for this year is to be more outspoken about my goals.
Week 3: "guilty pleasure" Um... this is pretty self explanatory. I'm pretty sure that I'm addicted to truffles. I buy the big bag and keep them on our bar. I usually a few after bedtime as a night cap. The girls always ask for "one of mommy's chocolates", my dependence is pretty widely known.
Week 4: "selfless selfie" This is pretty much my life. All of my things always live at the coffee bar because that's where I spend a lot of my time. Almost everything in my house has been delivered by Amazon, and I would be lost without my planner because a phone calendar just doesn't cut it for me. I think a piece of me will always miss my "agenda" from high school. Oh, and that toy mouse, found him in my pocket.
Week 5: "the light we hate" this photo was lit only by a blue LED kitty lamp. But, she was so stinking cute, I couldn't resist. Also, her dad was out of town and I had to share with him that one time she went to bed.
A couple of others from January that I just love:
