If you’ve followed my blog for some time then you’ve met the Macauley Palumbo family already. They’re gems. Gorgeous, kind-hearted, super-fun gems. I was thrilled when Leiha contacted me late in her second pregnancy to book a combined maternity & family session. The goal: to capture her gorgeous belly shots along with some special moments between mama and first-born son.
As expected, we had a wild time chasing Billy through the streets of Beacon Hill, ending up at Cafe Vanille on Charles St. for a motivational treat (because toddlers mind a big ol’ camera in their face a whole lot less when they’re ice cream involved!). I’m now of the mind that every session should include cookies and ice cream, especially when there are kiddos involved! This was my favorite kind of session, because I love to shoot into the mad-cap energy of kids, and not around it. Just go with the madness, that’s my motto. These images are totally fun, spontaneous and genuine; my very favorite kind and the epitome of “my style”. To be kind of blunt, I don’t go in for the precious, heavily-styled type of sessions, with lots of twee props and staging. I certainly can appreciate the creativity around those, and there are lots of photographers out there that do an amazing job with that, but it is just not me at all. I would so much rather jog down city streets and crawl around on the ground to capture the very essence of a toddler being who they are in that moment in time, than dress that same kid up in a 1930’s paper boy outfit and make them sit still on a milk crate. Even if reality is a bit messy and doesn’t have that perfect, glossy sheen, I strongly believe the more authentic images will evoke the memories and feelings of what that time in life was like, in all its joy and craziness, 10 and 20 plus years down the line. For me, that is why I do this.
Okay, but enough about me, let’s get to these fun shots of Leiha and Billy:
These photos represent Part I of II with the Billy and his family, since I was lucky enough to return a few months later to capture the new family of four. Come back to the blog soon to meet the newest little Palumbo — will it be a boy or girl? When this session was taken, even Leiha and Jim didn’t know yet …
