Stevie

Believe it or not, this baby girl was 5 weeks old at the time of her session. She slept like a dream, and I so loved getting the chance to capture her newborn session! Her mama loved the images so much, she bought her entire gallery of 80+ images, and below I’ll share some of my favorites! Stevie’s mama also answered my after session questionnaire and I have included some of her answers in this blog! Enjoy!

What type of session did you have?

Newborn

What made you choose Growing with Gamble Photography for your photography needs?

I wanted to collaborate with a photographer that would not only take my goals into account but who would also take initiative during the session. Growing with Gamble Photography exceeded all of expectations and goals with this session.

What we’re you nervous about going into your session?

I was nervous my daughter would have a difficult time or not want to cooperate. Ashley was AMAZING with her. She even taught me a few techniques to calm my baby and get her to sleep.

How do you feel now, after your session?

Absolutely in love with everything about this experience!

What was your favorite moment from your session?

Getting to see my little girl work her magic in front of the camera. I may be biased but she was a natural.

Do you have a favorite image from your session?

It would definitely be the image of my sweet cheeks laughing. I love to see her sweet personality shine!

Would you recommend Growing with Gamble Photography to other families?

1000% yes! Ashley was amazing to work with. She let my little girl guide the session and she didn't rush her or force her into anything. We enjoyed every second of our time in the studio!

Do you have any additional notes or testimonials you would like to add about your session?

I loved that Ashley interacted with us the entire session. We had some great conversations while standing in awe of my Stevie!

There were even more pictures, but these were my faves of the bunch! I loved how much personality this sweet girl gave us :)

Brinley

I met Brinley when she was a wee newborn baby for her newborn portraits, and I just loved getting to see her again for her cakesmash! Below you can see just how amazing her session went. I loved getting to be creative and design her a beautiful seascape for her mermaid dreams!

I decided last minute that she NEEDED a mermaid tail, so I brought out my sewing machine, raided my spare fabric and made her this tail! I love how it turned out.

She is so stinking cute, and I am so happy to be able to watch her grow!

Yasu

Yall this sweet family was so precious!!! Baby Yasu made my heart literally melt! Here are some of my faves from their gallery!

Those LASHES!!! Literally had the best lashes I think ive ever photographed <3

This is my fave parent pose!!!

CHEEKS!! He was so squishy and sweet :)

Love that new parent glow!

Their favorite animal was the lion, and I was so happy I had a little lion for this sweet baby to hold!

Again, I had so much fun with this sweet baby boy!! I hope you enjoyed all the pictures <3

Fisher

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities." - Eda J. Le Shan

This precious baby boy is already beloved by his big sisters who wanted nothing more than to hold and cuddle their adorable brother. I’m not gonna lie, sometimes I get nervous when I encounter younger siblings during newborn sessions, as toddlers are notoriously opinionated. However these girls were 1 and 2, and did absolutely FABULOUS. With a little fruit snack bribery, they absolutely LOVED the chance to cheese for the camera and snuggle up for pictures, as you can see from the picture below. Scroll through all the pictures from this session if you want to see an overdose of cute!

Fisher is so stinking cute in his little overalls!

I love the froggy pose!

I always prioritize photos with mom, because often times, moms will put themselves last when it comes to picture, choosing the ones with siblings, dad or just of baby by themselves. this wonderful picture of mom and baby Fisher was not chosen, but I decided to gift it to mom because I loved it so much and felt it deserved to be loved and cherished!

Before a newborn session, I send out a questionnaire, so that when styling my props for the session, it is customized for each family. For this family, they stated they loved hunting and fishing, so naturally I bring out the deer bonnet and below you’ll see the fishing setup! I have so much fun styling newborn sessions!

The dad kiss pose is a CLASSIC. We start off with baby nestled on dad’s chest, and then I have him lift baby up to his face to give him a kiss and that is the pose that parents absolutely love and go crazy for! Its such a sweet moment of connection.

Awake eyes give the BEST expressions! I love all the sleepy poses, but something about that open eye contact just shows ALL the personality!

As you have seen, this family was simply amazing, and they were such a joy to work with! I had so much fun with them and hope to have them back into the studio soon!

Adenike

This baby boy was a whopping 4 pounds during his newborn session! He was a preemie, born at 36 weeks, weighing only 3 pounds, but he was SOOOO stinking sweet! When his mama reached out to me last minute to book, she was so worried about being too late for newborn photos since he was almost 1 month old, but I reassured her we would be still be able to capture his newness. I will admit, I was surprised when she arrived with such a teeny tiny bean, but he impressed me with how amazing he did! He had the best hair, and I was so obsessed with the little curls. Enjoy his gallery below!

How gorgeous is this mama??

Teeny tiny baby toes are always so sweet and so much fun to capture!

This pose with mom and dad’s hands had me absolutely MELTING.

LOOK HOW TEENY TINY!

When it comes to family poses, I feel like my default poses are with baby wrapped up, but occasionally I do naked poses or baby in an outfit. When baby Adenike, ‘Nike’, came into the studio and I realized he was such a teeny baby, I knew I wanted to do unwrapped family poses just to show how little he really is! I am in love with how it turned out!

Capturing detail shots makes my heart so happy. Little fingers and tiny curls change literally every day, and I love getting the opportunity to freeze that moment and highlight a sweet new baby detail!

This detail shot of baby boy’s little curl has me absolutely obsessed.

This baby literally had me swooning. Not only was he just so stinking sweet for me, but his parents were also so amazing. I loved being able to capture his newborn portraits!

Clay

Before each newborn session, I have my clients fill out a questionnaire. Using those answers, I learn things like color preference, nursery décor, favorite sports or animals, as well as babies height and weight at birth. I ask about birth size because it effects the outfits and props I pull out to plan with! This mama listed baby Clay’s birth weight as 10 lbs 5 ounces, so I knew I was getting to work with a cute chunky baby and boy did he bring the rolls! He was one of the largest babies I have had the honor to photograph, and I just wanted to give him ALL the snuggles! Below are a few of my favorite images, as well as mom’s answers to a few after session questions!

What made you choose Growing with Gamble Photography for your photography needs?

Excellent reviews and reasonable price

What we’re you nervous about going into your session?

Family pictures - the last (and only) time my husband and I have ever had professional photos done was for our wedding, so I was a bit nervous about how those would turn out, especially since I was 3 weeks postpartum and not feeling at my best!

How do you feel now, after receiving your images and products?

Amazing!!! They turned out so beautiful and we're completely worth the time and price!

What was your favorite moment from your session?

I was very impressed with how you (Ashley) were so gentle and patient with us and with Clay, so it wasn't just one moment but the whole session in general. I felt completely comfortable letting you take Clay and do what you needed to get the pictures.

Do you have a favorite image from your session?

It's so hard to choose but I think my favorite is the one of Kyle holding Clay while he's yawning - I'm getting that one printed to put on our wall along with the two other family shots we got!

Would you recommend Growing with Gamble Photography to other families?

10000000%!!!

Do you have any additional notes or testimonials you would like to add about your session?

I was extremely impressed with Ashley's professionalism and ability to make us feel at ease for the entire session. I also appreciated the consistent communication and quick turnaround. The client closet and free snacks were also a huge plus :)

I loved getting to work with baby Clay and hope to see him again in the future soon!

Benz

This is Baby Benz.

He came to see me for a newborn shoot, and I got to capture family portraits with this little guy, his big sister and his Mama and Daddy! He was so sweet to me the whole session, and I love how his gallery turned out. Below are some questions I asked Mom about her experience with me, and her answers, as well as a few of my fave images from this session!

What made you choose Growing with Gamble Photography for your photography needs?

I was locating different photographers and calling to get prices and info. I called Ashley and I immediately love her personality and how she was very thrilled to assist me. I instantly knew she would be right for my family

What we’re you nervous about going into your session?

Mostly the experience for my baby. Would he be comfortable and ready for pictures.

How do you feel now, after receiving your images and products?

I love my images. It was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to do more.

What was your favorite moment from your session?

Just watching my babies be little models and how Patient Ashley was with my son. We really loved the whole experience.

Do you have a favorite image from your session?

Our family picture is my favorite. Ashley captured so many great pics but seeing us all together was everything.

Would you recommend Growing with Gamble Photography to other families?

Of course

Do you have any additional notes or testimonials you would like to add about your session?

I Really can't express how great it was to work with Ashley. She really has a passion for photography and her patience is admirable. I really enjoyed our session and will truly use Ashley for all of our photo needs. Thank you so much!!

I loved getting to capture this family’s newborn session. They were so sweet and fun and I hope to see them again as Baby Benz grows!

Kindlin 3 months

Look at this sweet baby! He came in for his newborn portraits, and then again here for his 3 month session! He is always such a joy to work with and has SO MUCH personality. Enjoy these precious pics!

Kindlin was part of my rainbow representatives, a group of 6 babies who each represented a color of the rainbow! They have all come back to the studio for a 3 month session and I hope to have each baby back for a group session soon! Kindlin’s color was green.

I am so excited to continue watching this sweet boy grow!

My relationship with photography

Growing up, I have always been creative. I liked to make things, and draw and color, I loved the artistic side of the world, photography included! However I was told that those things were hobbies; That a career in photography was the easiest way to not succeed in life. I would pick up my camera and take pictures of my family and friends, but as I was snapping away, I would hear myself say 'Oh I'm not a professional photographer or anything'. I would pour hundreds and thousands of dollars into my photography 'hobby' while also trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I went to college on and off for 5 years, switching my major 3 times, going into debt from student loans, and still not satisfied with the direction my life was going. When my best friend announced she was expecting, I was ecstatic for her! I told her I would research and learn how to do newborn photography, so I could take pictures of her daughter for her, and so I did. I watched hours of videos, read countless articles and joined a bunch of different Facebook groups to learn how to safely pose and photograph baby Rowan. While researching, I fell in love. I saw people with dream jobs where they get to play with babies all day, and I gotta say, I thought it was the best, most fun and easiest job ever. The reality is a little different, this job is HARD, but it is the most rewarding and amazing job ever. Rowan arrived a little earlier than expected, and we did her newborn session when she was 5 weeks and 5 pounds. She cried and peed on me, and would only let me pose her while wrapped, but I was already in love. I knew then, THIS is what I wanted to do the rest of my life. With confidence, I told my friends and family and while they were doubtful, I didn't let that get me down. I just knew I could be successful. I knew it would be an uphill battle, but I loved what I was doing, so I would power through. I have improved tremendously since that first session, and though i was told all my life it was impossible, I can see success as a photographer in my future.