2019 came to a close and 2020 began, and it seemed that every other Massachusetts family and newborn photographer had their sh** together with a beautiful end-of-year post or slideshow. January came and went, and I was just trying to keep my head above water. I had met dozens and dozens of amazing families in 2019, with no gorgeous compilation of images to show for it. Eventually, it wasn’t even on my to-do list anymore. I had just thrown my hands up and said, “eh, not this year.” Then, after a string of multiple good days with NO PUKING (yay!), I decided to go for it. Who cares that it’s, I don’t know, 6 weeks late?!
As I was painstakingly choosing just one image from each family and newborn session for a slideshow, another idea struck me. What if I also selected some “client superlatives” for a fun and different variation on your standard end-of-year post?! I’ve never actually seen it done before (though I’m sure it has been). So here ya have it, folks- my 2019 client superlatives and a slideshow set to music featuring every session from last year!
Best Baby Hair
I encountered some DAMN GOOD baby hair in 2019, but baby Beatrice really takes the cake here. She not only had tons of it, but it stuck straight up which made it undeniably uh.mazing. <3
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Best Laugh
2019 was full of laughs (really, it was such a fun year!), but this mama’s laugh made my photographer heart sing. She was still in a lot of discomfort at our newborn session while recovering from her second c-section, but despite the pain and lack of sleep, she managed to laugh a lot. And they weren’t just any laughs; they were authentic, honest-to-goodness laughs, the kind that every lifestyle photographer lives for. She reminded me that there’s always joy in the chaos, and I can’t help but smile when I look at these images of her.
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Sweetest Siblings
Okay, let’s be real. The majority of the time, sibling photos are…challenging. I try to embrace the mayhem because so often sibling outtakes end up being my absolute favorites. That said, I can’t deny that when I occasionally encounter a calm crew, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I’ve captured the “money” shot for parents. SO, I’m giving the “sweetest siblings” title to this party of 5! Four big sisters completely smitten with their baby brother <3. Can you handle it?!?
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Most Adventurous
This one was one of the easier categories to determine a “winner” for because this family has done not one, but two snowy sessions with me IN THE SAME YEAR. One was their maternity session last February, and then we did a family session in December. In my mind, if you’re willing to journey into the snow with a toddler and a baby for photos, you’re adventurous AF (and awesome).
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Most Epic Nursery
I’ve spent an embarrassingly long time thinking about this category. So many of my clients NAILED their nurseries (to the point where I always had a huge complex about my own interior design skills when leaving sessions, ha). It was REALLY REALLY hard to pick just one, but if someone held a gun to my head and told me I had to (realistic scenario, I know), I’d have to go with baby Zachary’s. I mean…that accent wall!
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Greatest Granny
I didn’t photograph a ton of grandparents in 2019, but even if I had, this lady would have been the recipient of the Greatest Granny title without question. She was sweet and sassy (oh-so-sassy) and even though she was in her 90s, she trudged through those tick-infested fields like a BOSS. I loved her, and I kind of wanted to be her best friend.
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Super Troopers
Thinking about a beach session in 2020? Take note! Never again will I head to Wingaersheek Beach (or any beach in Massachusetts) on a weekend in the summer. I had done it for years prior with no real issues, but for whatever reason, there were NINE BILLION PEOPLE there on this particular night. And that wasn’t even the main issue. The real problem was that it was high tide, which meant that all 85,000 beachgoers were crammed into a smaller section of beach. This also meant that in order to get away from the crowds, my clients and I had to walk through some pretty deep water. We tried to time our move accordingly to avoid crashing waves, but got pretty unlucky and I ended up soaked. At one point I was wading in water up to my waist. It was…less than desirable? My clients also got soaked (I had 3 back-to-back families that night), but they were SUCH TROOPERS. They never complained, they even seemed to laugh, and we *somehow* managed to get a few portfolio-worthy images. SO to these three families, thank you for rolling with the punches on what was probably the most challenging photography excursion I’ve experienced yet!
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Sweetest Father/Newborn Moment(s)
I absolutely, positively could not pick just one. I’m calling this category a tie. Swooon.
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And now for the end-of-year slideshow featuring every session from last year! Enjoy!
