I am a mother to two rambunctious and perfectly adorable little boys. They are both my inspiration and my sanity. Every day they teach me a little more about life and love and how to have fun. Their daddy is my love and super fan who is always pushing me to be my best and to follow my dreams.

I adore what I do and I hope it shows in every newborn, maternity, child and family photo. I specialize in newborn studio portraits, natural light location photography, and colorful custom fine art portraiture.

My goal is for you and your family to enjoy every moment of the experience from your session to the finished art on your wall. I am completely dedicated to giving you the best experience and to earning your trust. I am trained and experienced in providing the utmost safety and care of your precious newborn. My gift to you is timeless photographs of your family to treasure for years to come.

Mindy

Booking your session:
Sessions are booked online. Payments are due in full to secure your spot on the calendar.  Sessions tend to book up fast especially in the busy seasons so it's always recommended that you book as early as possible. If you have to reschedule your session, please give at least 48 hours notice.  The session credit may be transferred to another date, but is non-refundable if cancelled completely.

Ordering:
Save yourself the hassle of ordering your prints and products yourself by ordering it directly online in just a few clicks. You will have 14 days to view your images online, in that allotted time, you may order professional products.  This service is optional since the hi res digitals are included in your session.  The studio can not guarantee the quality of prints printed at non-professional labs that use uncalibrated printers and non-archival inks.

Referral Program:
When you tell your friends about Sugarlove Studio, it’s the BEST compliment you can give. After your session, a few sneak peeks (with your consent) are posted to Facebook. Tagging yourself and ‘liking’ your portraits increases visibility. To show my appreciation, for every referral that books and completes a session will earn you a $20 gift certificate to be used on products or sessions.

Custom photography is an experience tailored to suit you, your style, your personality and your needs. Sugarlove provides clients with artfully crafted, hi resolution, digital image collections with a print release.  All sessions include a pre-session consultation, via phone or email, a custom stylized session, and professionally enhanced images.

Newborn Sessions
My favorite time to photograph newborns is in their first 6-12 days of life. Beautiful images can be made at any age, but it is during this time that the most artful poses may be achieved. At this age, babies are still almost as pliable as they were in the womb. They usually sleep very heavily, and it’s also before the onset of any possible baby acne or colic. All of these factors make calming, posing and editing easier. Beyond about 2 weeks of age, any poses that require the baby to be in a deep sleep may become more difficult.

I typically spend about 2-3 hours creating your newborn session. I am very detail-oriented and spend a great deal of time getting perfect hand/feet placement, facial expressions, waiting for smiles, etc. This time block also allows time for feeding/nursing, changing, and calming/nursing baby back to sleep in between set-up changes. My goal is 3-5 set-ups per session with just baby, plus pictures with Mommy, Daddy and any siblings.

Before you leave to come to your session, give your baby a full feeding. Baby needs to have a full tummy to get into the deep sleep that we'll need for most of the poses. Also, please dress your baby in something that does not have to be pulled over baby's head to remove, like a sleeper that snaps up the front. It's also ideal if you can keep baby awake some extra time either before or after this feeding. It's hard to keep a newborn awake sometimes, but if you can accomplish this, baby will sleep more readily during their session. Even keeping baby awake an extra 30 minutes or an hour makes a big difference.

Scheduling your newborn session - once you pre-book your session by checking out via the website, your date is locked into the calendar.  This allows me not to overbook during your due week.  This is a fluid date.  Once you have the baby, contact the studio to schedule your actual shoot date. Newborns are scheduled on weekdays at 10am when babies are most sleepy and the light is best.

Portrait Sessions (Baby, Child, Family, Maternity or Boudoir)
My sessions are relaxed and casual and can be done in-studio or on-location. With young children, I work from the beginning of the session on developing a rapport with them to draw out their personality, and this results in portraits with many different expressions – not just smiles.

Sessions other than newborn sessions can last anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If children are involved, their age typically determines this. If you have particular “poses” or groupings in mind, or you have things you’d like to make sure I capture, we can talk about these during your planning consultation, and I will make every effort to get them.

Children are UNPREDICTABLE... so, it is my job to be ready for anything! A lot of times parents get frustrated because sessions don’t seem to be going perfect... but the wonderful thing is that those small moments in between all the tantrums & chaos that are beautiful. People often ask me how I even managed to get one great photograph of their wild child! The answer is simple... I shoot like crazy and it’s my job to capture it all! So... the only job I give you as the parents is to relax & enjoy it! I will do all the hard work! I will give a lot of direction during the session so you will know exactly what to do. Children match your energy, so if you are having fun & showing them how much you love them they will show you the same in return. Sounds simple, right? Well, once in a while there are children that for whatever reason, do not want to be photographed, so... one thing that I will ask is to be able to photograph your child or children away from the parents so they will just focus on me and my lame jokes. It usually works! They don’t know me & usually children are on their best behavior for others! This is very important in making your session run smoothly.

Newborn Sessions
Newborns are photographed au naturale (aka in the buff). I will supply a selection of knitted hats, headbands, tiebacks, bowties, wraps, faux furs, blankets and backdrops. I also have a nice collection of baskets, buckets and other containers. If you have something special or handmade, please have it ready. I’d love to incorporate pieces of your life into your shoot.

Dads: I suggest that you wear a tight fitting v-neck/crew t-shirt with a good, snug pair of jeans.

Moms: Please bring a fitted top. Keep the color neutral and design simple. Be sure that you have a new manicure or no nail polish as your hands will make their way into the images. Also, rest assured, I aim to photograph using flattering angles and light to bring out the natural beauty in your family.

Sister(s): Please bring along a snug fitting tank/classic dress in a neutral color. I ask that girls hair be natural and free of bows, headbands, etc. No nail polish please.

Brother(s): A snug pair of jeans and shirtless are preferred, please take a few moments to chat with your guy about this so he feels prepared for the session - though if he prefers not, a tight-fitting neutral t-shirt is fine.

Baby/Child Portrait Sessions
I recommend wearing something more bold and colorful with a lot of texture to show off personality. This is an opportunity for your child to shine! For children, I usually recommend bare feet for indoors and boots or shoes that compliment their outfit for outside. I recommend clothing that has texture, such as: knitting, embroidery, dark faded denim, buttons and ruffles. This type of clothing tends to photograph well and adds a lot of visual interest. Just pick colors that compliment each other, like bright or deep colors (jewel tones like mustard yellow, deep purple, turquoise, dark pink, etc) and try to stay away from all white. I recommend investing in your child’s clothing for this session since it does make a huge difference in the final product. Search out local or online boutiques, they have a one-of-a-kind style.

Family Portrait Sessions
Choose a style you like and a few colors you like as well. I recommend having parents dress fashionable, yet simple and focus more of the funky, unique style on the kids. Dark jeans that have grit to them is always a great choice for the parents or especially the husband. If you are going to wear a print, stay away from small prints, there is not a lot of visual interest (think bold!). Continue to think about texture and color. You may think certain colors don’t go together, but again think out of the box and have fun! (see prepping guide for more details)

Maternity Sessions
I love to use simple clothing like wraps or fabric on Maternity shoots, a bandeau top (from H&M or Forever 21) and a skirt is a must it your comfortable showing your belly. A Maxi dress is also a staple, but your also welcome to incorporate your own clothing style like a flowing dress or jeans/leggins and a tank. Don’t forget to accessorize with jewelry, fun hats and even your ultrasound/ baby shoes!  I also have several Maternity gowns, just ask if you'd like to wear one.

Shopping Guide

Local Shops & Boutiques
• Gap
• H&M
• Forever 21
• Nordstrom
• J. Crew

Online Shopping
• Anthropologie
• Matilda Jane
• Oilily
• Unique Vintge
• Free People
• The Measure

Tip
Go to my Pinterest page; pinterest.com/sugarlovestudio. I have created ‘inspiration’ & ‘what to wear’ boards to help you plan your session. You can even start your own board just for your session! Start pinning clothing that inspires you & find out what stores they can be purchased from. This is a great start to a fun, yet daunting task!