Mary Beth Miller Photography

This beautiful mom contacted me when she was pregnant with her little boy and planned for an in-home newborn & family photo session when he was going to be a few weeks old.

Then… as it tends to do… life happened. Our session was rescheduled a few times due to sickness, work, travel and well, just the busy-ness of life and before she knew it, her newborn was 7 months old.

But you know what, that’s ok! Life happens! I’m flexible and happy to pivot as needed and I absolutely love photographing older babies!

And if for one reason or another you never got around to scheduling a newborn session and your baby is 3, 6 or 36 months old, it’s never too late to schedule the session!

“creating memories”
“capturing fleeting moments”
“stopping/freezing time”

There are “experts” and photographers out there that think words and phrases like these, that are often used in the photography world, are considered cliche, overused and cringe. 

Well, I am ok with being cliche and cringe because this is what I do. I take the pictures to freeze time because these moments in childhood and life are fleeting and I want to help parents savor it forever.

What I wouldn’t do to go back to do it all over again… and to hire more photographers to capture those moments of my husband and I in the midst of parenting and loving on our little ones. 🥺😭

In the cold seasons I often mention that it’s the perfect time of year for in-home family photo sessions. Well guess what, summer is also the perfect time when it’s so very hot and humid!

Rather than getting all hot and sweaty outside for photos, let’s hang out comfortably in the a/c and document your family together inside your home!

And if you want, we can still go outside and hang out on the porch or in the yard!

I love working with first time parents just as much as I love sessions with multiple little ones! And in either case, I may be known for sharing some of my favorite baby soothing tips during the session…

These are the very kind words this Dad left for me on my google reviews! Thank you!

“We had an absolutely wonderful experience with her! She was very thorough and flexible with the booking. As new parents we are very tired overwhelmed and honestly it was the easiest thing we did all week. She was great with our dog, was very open to our input and requests, and was fantastic with our newborn.”

It’s always so hard for me to pick just a few of my favorite images to share! (Hence why I share so many here on IG and in my blog posts!) But you know what I love? I love to see which images my clients choose when they pick their favorites for their collection or to create prints for their walls when they spend their print credit in their online gallery store!

This sweet little baby has probably grown and changed so much from our session early last month. It’s crazy how much they can change in such a few weeks!

I’m here for the tender moments but I’m also 💯 here for the real life moments like when baby gets fussy and your little ones act like kids (as they should!) I want to document all the moments of your family when you invite me into your home ❤️

Every single precious little baby that I photograph is unique and so is every family that I work with. And because I photograph families in their home, this makes every newborn session I photograph one of a kind! I never want my sessions to look the same! I want your session to be authentic to your baby and your family!

“Mary Beth is a true professional and has a true talent. Normally I would say my children are afraid of the camera, but she managed to make even our shyest kid comfortably come out of his shell. She captured precious moments of our crazy family that we’ll cherish forever. Thank you Mary Beth!“ -R

🥹😊🥰 These kind words mean the world to me. I Loved working with this family!

Fun last peek from this session! Can’t wait to share the gallery with their mama 🥰

At first glance these images may all look to be the same. Some photographers might think it’s silly to include all of them in a gallery…but I don’t. I see the unique expression and body movements of this little boy in each image. 🥰

I tend to pick images through “mom goggles” and I would want to see an assortment expressions my kid makes!

I absolutely loved hanging out with this family at their home! Their session is on my blog! Check the link in my profile…

A few more peeks from this session! 😍
And I still have some room on my schedule for summer newborns and family photo sessions! Reach out if you want to get on my schedule!

Just look at this adorable lil guy from my at-home family session today! 😍 He’s built just like my boys were at that age! I love that his Mom chose this outfit to show off those legs because he’s her third baby and she knows soon enough, he won’t look like this anymore!

As usual, I’ve been slacking at sharing photos of all the babies and families I’ve had the honor of photographing recently!

You must scroll through and see all the photos of this sweet baby boy and his furry bff! I want to share ALL of the photos from this session! Stay tuned for more…

I don’t go into a newborn session with a list of shots I want to get but after doing this for many years, I tend to have some favorites that I almost always get and these are a few of them. I like to get a perspective similar to what Mom sees when holding her baby! 😍

The sweetest little face and an adorable head full of hair on this six week old 😍

Did you know the majority of the babies I photograph are well over 2 weeks old?! And that a lot of my clients contact me to book their session after their baby was born?

They do and this is more than ok! I honestly prefer and think it’s best for baby to be a little older and it’s ok if you didn’t contact me before baby was here! Either way, I’m happy to get you on my schedule!

My sessions don’t always include babies! Sometimes I get to photograph an adorable doggo and her people at home! 😍

Reach out if you want a session with your fur baby! I wish I had done a session like this when our dog (Teddy) was getting old!

Happy Weekend! Look! It's a rare photo of me! 😁 If you don't follow my Instagram stories, than you don't know I was just in Tucson (and Sedona) visiting my brother! I'm home now and playing catch-up on business and life and I returned all my messages/emails!

And although there's a few inches of snow outside my window (I'm trying to not let that make me annoyed with winter) I'm excited to book some Spring photo sessions! But I'm also excited for the in-home sessions I have scheduled! (In-home sessions are awesome because it doesn't matter what the weather is like outside!)

So if you're considering Spring photos (inside or outside) do not wait too long to get on my schedule!

PS, thanks to my niece for this photo and thanks to my other family members that took photos of me for proof of my existence in Arizona😉

There are several great reasons why a family should consider having their photos taken at their home by a professional photographer. In this post, I’m going to list my top seven reasons why I think you should opt to stay home for your next family photo session!

https://marybethmillerphotography.com/7-reasons-stay-home-family-photo-session-upper-saint-clair-photographer/

I’m not the type to make resolutions, but for 2024 I decided to set one main goal for my business. And I decided rather than keeping it all to myself, I’m shouting it out to the world! Well, to anyone who actually reads this!

I like to believe that once you put it out there, the universe starts conspiring to help you out.

So what is that goal? Read my post!

https://marybethmillerphotography.com/goal-2024-photograph-more-in-home-family-photo-sessions/

One of the main things I want expecting parents to know when they book me for a newborn (or family) photo session is that I’m flexible.

If the day before your session you realize our scheduled time will not be best, then let me know and we will adjust it!

If you are completely sleep-deprived and exhausted or decide you just want to do it when baby is a little older, then let me know and we will postpone to a later date!

(If you follow my work then you know I am 100% ok with photographing babies at 2 weeks or 2+ months old!)

I’m happy to adjust the day or times without penalizing you in any way! I have three kids and I totally understand that life happens, or if your baby decided to go on a sleep strike the days leading up to our session.

I choose to not be a high-volume photographer, aka, I usually try to never book more than one session in a day. I also never set tight time constraints for your session.

So I mean it when I say I am flexible. I will do my best to pivot to a day and time that is better for you.

My husband and I often say, “it’s garbage day again”, referring to how fast the weeks fly by… we say it with humor yet sadness about how quickly time can pass.

We feel like we say it’s “garbage day” every other day when in reality, we only say it once a week to remind ourselves or our kids to put out the trash bins for pickup. Each time, we say it in disbelief that a week has already passed.

You might be thinking, what does that have to do with photos of a beautiful little baby and his parents?! Well, we’re parents of teenagers. We’re painfully aware of how very fast time can slip by.

Yes, the days can be pretty long and trying but gosh-darn-it, why must the weeks/months/years slip by so fast? Weren’t we just a youthful couple tag-teaming for diaper changes and bouncing a fussy baby to sleep?

And somehow, 8 weeks have passed since I photographed this precious little one! 💜 I can imagine how much he has grown and changed in that time!

Coincidentally, I talked about the same thing two years ago (see my previous post)

Did you know that if you choose to do an in-home lifestyle newborn session it’s not necessary to book your session within the first two weeks?

Here’s a visual to one of the reasons why I love to photograph older babies!

Most babies fill out a bit after a few weeks. Although some babies are born with rolls! Did you have a roly-poly babe? My boys definitely were full of rolls at a few months old.

Here’s a couple more reasons why it’s ok to wait until your baby is a little older to schedule your newborn photo session.

➡️ They might smile at Mom and Dad (and at me and my camera!)

➡️They are awake more often so we get to see their bright and beautiful eyes and they make eye contact. I really prefer to photograph a baby when they are awake!

➡️Most importantly, Mom gets a little more time to rest, recover and adjust to life with a new baby.

In the last few days, I’ve had 3 moms (who recently had a baby) reach out to schedule a newborn session. A couple of them were worried that it was “too late” to schedule a session and were sorry they didn’t book before baby was born.

Guess what? It’s never too late! And guess what else? It’s ok if your baby is 3 weeks or 3+ months old! I actually prefer if baby is a little older and if I have room on my schedule I’m more than happy to do a session!

The sweet little baby was 7 weeks old when I photographed him and his mama contacted me when he was a month old!

So I promise, you didn’t miss your chance and it’s never too late! ❤️