Today I did something I rarely do. I actually logged into my Facebook account from my computer and the strangest thing happened. Typically I check Facebook from my phone, which is set only to display most recent updates. But on the computer, my Facebook homepage displays a “top news” feed which today featured image after image of babies and pregnant bellies. That may not seem strange to you, but if you were in my shoes you’d probably have a small panic attack. It was as if my mother and mother in law hacked into Facebook and rigged it to send me a message. You know, that “I’m not getting any younger and neither are you” message. Needless to say, I closed that window as fast as possible and navigated my way to Pinterest (yes, more social networking).  But I should have known, immediately I was bombarded with images of cute baby clothes and nursery inspirations. So I figured, no time like the present to sift through all the marketing emails pilled up in my mailbox. The first email I opened, was this month’s newsletter from Professional Photographer Magazine. Safe? Almost. The first article was about Etsy stores photographers must visit one of which was Baby P Designs. At this point, I just gave up and started to enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much that I found a few Etsy store gems that would be perfect for new and expecting parents to check out! Enjoy!

The Stork Sling by Baby P Designs is so perfect for newborn photos!

I know lots of little diva babies who would be perfect for something like this custom headband from My Sweet Bee’s shop!

I made sure I found something for the boys too.  How cute is this little guy in this Chunky Newsboy Cap from Mary Yarns?!

Don’t forget about the new packages for all of you new parents!

I don’t know what happened. I could swear I was just in college yesterday. I could stay up all day and all night. I could eat what ever I wanted without ever stepping into a gym. I could handle more than one adult beverage…

Things seem so vastly different now. Instead of a bar you’ll find me at Whole Foods with a cart full of organic fare, coconut water instead of wine and more than likely wearing tennis shoes in an effort to convince myself to work out. You know what else is different? MY FRIENDS ARE HAVING BABIES. Yes. Children. Tiny little bundles of responsibility. And you know what that means? Theres no turning back. Okay, okay, I’m overreacting. I actually love children and to be honest, I don’t really want to go back to my former lifestyle. College is in the past for a reason. I’m looking forward to a baby bump myself in a few years, but for now I just want to photograph them. So for all the expecting families who have a little bun getting ready for their big debut, I have a deal just for you!

Visit my Website

Contact Stephanie

email: Stephanie@celebrationportraits.com

phone: 310.210.9560

Since I began this photography journey, I have been curious about photographing all types of things, people and places. In my opinion, to be a great photographer you must be able to photograph anything. And do it well. I believe it can take a lifetime to actually gain the experience to be considered a great photographer. But what a way to spend a lifetime! Sign me up!

Along with photographing new subjects, sometimes you get so lucky to stumble on something you didn’t even know you’d love.  For me it was this preggo session.  I love kids and babies, but for some reason I never thought I’d be so in love with maternity portraits. I mean LOVE.

Yvette and Eddie are about to welcome their baby girl Elyse in to the world and I had the pleasure of documenting this very special time in their lives. I am so fortunate to have friends that trust me and were willing to let me take creative control over their session. I couldn’t have asked for a better day, a better location or a better couple to photograph. Congratulations to the new family!

Did I mention this family bleeds purple and gold? Did I need to?

Check out the Living Portrait movie of Eddie and Yvette’s session in the previous post.

Living Portrait: Maternity Session from Stephanie Miller on Vimeo.

Last week you saw part one of the sister session with two generations of cousins. Well here is the other half of the modeling team. Enjoy!

I started off the year with a gorgeous lifestyle portrait shoot with a set of twin sisters and now I bringing you some more gorgeous sisters. I don’t know how I ended up with 3 sets of sisters back to back, but I’m not complaining! I’m having a blast shooting all the different generations. And maybe at the same time making up for the years I didn’t spend with my own sister who lives 3,000 miles away. I’m still envious of all the sisters who were able to share clothes over the years. Take a look at Part 1 of the sister session… the younger models…

Passing the baton to the next set of sisters coming up on the blog…. Tough set of shoes to fill! Check back for Part 2!

I’ve been preparing for this post for a while now. Just after Thanksgiving it hit me, its been almost a year. Almost a year since I picked up my first DSLR. Almost a year since I decided to take a leap of faith. Almost a year since I’ve been living my dreams. When I started on this journey it seemed like there was infinite space ahead of me, almost like a black hole. I wasn’t sure what was going to amount from this experiment. I didn’t really know if I could be “good enough” to keep up with the billions of other photographers in LA. I didn’t know if I could survive in a business by myself. But as December comes to a close, I can’t deny that I’ve come a long way. In my opinion success is measured by happiness, which means I’m doing pretty darn good! I am beyond excited for 2011. Cheers to the new year!

Here’s a stroll down memory lane…

Chiara’s 3rd Birthday. My very first shoot. I was excited, and nervous, and completely exhausted by the end. I have never seen so many children running around in circles. And these were children from the school I where I was teaching at the time. Definitely felt like being thrown in the lion’s den.

Monique. I told Monique I wanted to practice shooting techniques. I didn’t let her put on makeup, we ended up shooting for 2 hours, then I put the images on my blog. She wasn’t happy, but can you blame me!? Some people just don’t know how naturally beautiful they are.

Jeff’s 40th Birthday. Julie discovered I was a photographer at Chiara’s party and enlisted me for her husband’s surprise party on the spot. The details of this party were absolutely fabulous and I’m still planning to do my own version of the shindig for my hubby in a couple of years.

The Photog Shootout. My first crack at weddings in the most appropriate setting- a workshop. I loved this experience and got some great images from it as well!

Laura & Billy’s wedding. Many of you remember the creativeLive Jasmine Star webcast I attended in Seattle. This was a surreal experience which really helped to launch my career. This image was so special to me, because of the 7 photographers shooting this wedding, I was the only one with this image.

Cerina is an aspiring entertainer. She’s a magnet to the lights, camera and action. We decided to do portrait style head shots to highlight her true personality, youth and beauty.

Yvette wanted portraits to commemorate her last year in her 20′s. She and her husband were planning to start a family around this time and Yvette actually found out she was pregnant a week after we took these photos! I still get chills!

Madden’s christening was the beginning of my sweet tooth. My sweet tooth for photographing baby cheeks, and lips, and fingers and toes…

Sonny and Maggie’s wedding was my first wedding I booked for myself and shot by myself. It turned out great, but I will never try to be Superwoman again.

Tracy and Cameron are my photo BFFs. But that only happened after we had a fun and fabulous engagement session at our alma mater CSUN. I’m so grateful to know wonderful people.

Mia Natalia was just 3 weeks old when we did her newborn session. Just after this shot Mia was introduced to the pacifier for the first time and we had a calm quiet baby. But I’m so glad I got this shot first!

Karly’s 6 month photos were definitely of the experimental nature, but she was very patient throughout the entire process. I love how pure this image feels.

Aneesah’s portrait session was a party! For real. There was music, drinks, fabulous shoes and accessories all over the place. It was like a small glimpse into my future studio space.

The Hill’s Family session was a last minute, just before Thanksgiving dinner race to find good light. It was difficult, but we got a few keepers.

Nina and AJ’s wedding. I was the second shooter for this wedding, but I stylized a few shots for my own portfolio. I like using chairs and sofas as props, but by far this is my favorite sofa ever!

The last event of the year was the Shootsac holiday party. I might try to make it a tradition to shoot a holiday party at the end of every year.

Thank you for joining me on this journey and I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous 2011!

Karly’s mom and I went to the same high school, and even the same college, but we haven’t seen each other in years. Clearly things are a little lot different than the last time we hung out. Christina and Manny are proud parents of the happiest 6 month old baby I have ever met. Karly, the Strawberry Princess, is celebrating 6 months in this world and has just reached a new milestone… she’s sitting up on her own! (Kinda) Karly is a girl after my own heart, with her love for music. She’s a singer not a screamer. I want one just like her. Say hello to my new best friend…

I normally stay far away from sepia, but this photo reminded me of a vintage shot and I had to do it.

Just perfect. Such a happy family!!

Karly’s Halloween costume!

love.

Now say hello to the little model…

Mia is just 3 weeks old and I almost melted the moment I saw her. I love kids and this tiny little person instantly stole my heart. Sharing time with a 3 week old is simply amazing. The world seems like a completely different place. Every movement she made felt like a tiny miracle. Princess Mia was a little fussy during our session, so mom broke out the pacifier for the first time and even that was amazing to watch. Let me just say, she was quite content with the pacifier… and not so much when we tried to get a shot without it.

Example A: (my favorite shot of the day)