Posted by: Kate McElwee Photography | December 13th, 2010
Family sessions are quickly becoming my new favorite thing – especially now that winter has come and taking photos inside has become a necessity. There’s just something about photos in your home that is so special to me … every little piece of background is familiar … the photos become part of the space you live in … it’s very organic, I suppose, and I find it so rewarding when families open up and allow me to explore their homes with them.
Daniel and Ebele are a remarkable couple; talented, passionate and fiercely in love with their baby girl, Olanna. I spent an hour or so on Saturday morning taking some family photos and getting to know them. I started with some photos of Ebele with her daughter:
When I spotted this next photo as I was downloading the images, I shrieked with delight. Sure, it’s probably never going to make it to the mantel, but is this not hilarious and wonderful?
Daniel joined us. I love how easy they are with each other. I barely directed any of the photos, as there just wasn’t any need …
Daniel is, amongst other things, a poet. He reads to Olanna up in his study on the third floor, and I love this series that we captured. She loves books already!
I adore how Daniel holds his baby:
A few photos of Olanna on mom and dad’s bed – she is so expressive, and she was captivated by the sound of my shutter!
And a couple of final photos from back downstairs in the family room:
Huge thanks to Ebele and Daniel for welcoming me into their hope and giving me such trust. I loved working with you all and can’t wait to get started on your book!
Tags: at home, Baby, baby photographs, boston family photographer, Families, fmaily session, Little Ones, roslindale, three months
Posted by: Kate McElwee Photography | November 19th, 2010
The next two posts have a theme going on. It’s something along the lines of having a friend who photographs is not always a good thing as you end up waiting about three times as long as anyone else to see your teasers. 
I spent a week in Seattle back in mid October, and although I tried to keep the photography to a minimum, I couldn’t resist a quick pre-dinner mini-session with Lanaya and Zach (former wedding clients who’ve become some of my best friends in Seattle) and their sweet baby boy, Elijah.
We spent 25 minutes or so in the UW arboretum, making strange noises, giggling and wrestling with Eli. He’s the perfect age for photos – super curious, but not yet camera-shy.
Eli wanted to touch everything … including my camera, and some dirty moss …
I fell in love with his huge eyes, and his 101 awesome little expressions …
… and most especially that final expression. Loves! Then it was off to the Madrona Pub for a couple of pints of Manny’s and some tasty fries.
Tags: baby photography, boston family photographer, Families, Little Ones, park, Portraits, seattle
Posted by: Kate McElwee Photography | September 9th, 2010
Last week, I headed west to the little town of Hopkington for a wonderful family session with an incredible family. I met Ida and Eric, and their beautiful daughters Bronwyn and Linnea, at Sara Anne and Brendan’s wedding over two years ago, back in Seattle. They’d come out to the west coast for the wedding, and were very happy to hear that I’d since moved to Boston. I had a really tough time narrowing down a few “teasers” from their session, so it’s going to be a long post.
I wanted to capture the spirit of this loving family, both as individuals and as they naturally interact. It made for a challenging but incredibly rewarding session. We started off with some fun hula hooping:
All four play instruments – I thought it would be fun to bring the music outside …
I love the look of concentration on Bronwyn’s face as she plays her cello, and on Linnea’s as she plays the ukulele. We then grabbed some group photos (with and without their awesome doggies), and some couples photos of Eric and Ida:
The hammock was a great spot for some relaxed portraits …
Time for some individual portraits:
Eric is a professional musician and works many weddings. Let me know if you’re looking for a guitarist – he’s a wonderful player and a great guy to have around on your big day.
We ended the session with the girls playing on the monkey bars and horsey swing, and Ida with her lovely garden. I can’t thank you all enough for making it such a fun, relaxed session. I hope you enjoy your teasers as much as I enjoyed working with you all!
Tags: boston family photographer, doggies, Families, family session, hopkington, Kids, Little Ones, Portraits
Posted by: Kate McElwee Photography | June 28th, 2010
One of things I love the most about my job is watching relationships turn into marriages turn into families. I first met Sara Anne and Brendan in November of 2007 at Tully’s coffee shop in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. I was pretty new to weddings at the time, but we had an amazing meeting and they trusted me to photograph their rehearsal dinner and wedding the following summer. Their wedding was one of my favorites ever - not only was it filled with amazing people, it was at one of the most beautiful locations in Seattle, Golden Gardens. I still have a few of their wedding photos on my website, two years later.
When I moved to Boston in the fall, I was delighted to find out that they had also moved to Boston - albeit only for a short year while Brendan got his Master’s degree. And when I found out they were expecting their first baby this April I was ecstatic! In early March, we took some maternity photos, and last week I finally got to meet their brand new baby, little Jasper. Here are some teaser photos from our session on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge. Jasper is a delight of a baby boy … just look at the smiles he greeted me with:
We started with some photos of the whole family. I love how these guys interact with each other:
I love me some tasty baby feet and hands!
Then some photos of Jasper with his mommy, then his daddy:
Such cute smiles:
My favorite shots of the day: baby details!
And our final shots of the day - I love how Sara Anne snuggles with her baby boy:
Thank you, guys, for a wonderful afternoon, and safe travels to you this week. See you in Seattle next year!
Tags: Baby Photos, boston family photographer, Cambridge family session, Families, family session, Little Ones
Posted by: Kate McElwee Photography | May 12th, 2010
It’s been a busy couple of weeks here … can you tell? Well, my first of two weekday sessions last week was back at Larz Anderson Park with this gorgeous family. Aimen, Anees and Eesa are originally from Texas, but have been living in JP for the last few years. I love hanging out with fellow JP residents, and these guys were a joy to photograph. We started off at the edge of Larz Anderson just as the rain began to fall (it was one of those strange days with every type of weather apart from the type that you want, sunshine).
Eesa, just three and a half years old, was not a huge fan of group shots but his expressions were magical.
We spent some time wandering around the various nooks and crannies of the park, hunting for good light. I love the little series of Eesa picking a dandelion (he was chatting away to me at the same time, too cute!)
After a little while we headed back to Anees and Aimen’s apartment for a quick change of clothes. Eesa’s current obsession is trains (he loves to watch You Tube train videos on the iPhone). He’s also quite fond of this red toy car.
Our next photo stop was the aquarium. It was not the best day for pretty light but we all loved the clouds that appeared almost like magic over the harbor.
The rain started coming down again (heavily, this time) so we sought shelter under the pretty pergolas. I love the colors here …
On the way home we made a very speedy stop at Green St T station. Remember how I told you that Eesa likes trains? Well, he really really does. I have never witnessed a face light up quite so brightly before at the arrival of a train. Perfect!
Thank you all for a lovely afternoon, for taking a chance with the rain, and for the delicious coffee at the end. I loved meeting you!
Tags: aquarium, boston, boston family photographer, Brookline, brookline family session, Families, larz anderson park, Little Ones
