Viva La Vida // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

Vida, now 3-years old, is one of the cutest little girls that I’ve ever seen in real life. From her sparkling blue eyes to her gorgeous mop of curls, she is like a living doll. (And, she certainly photographs like one, as well!) Vida loves all things girly like playing dress-up and glitter, and has the most adorable affinity for Lady Gaga. We seriously got the best smiles out of her for her close-up portraits by just yelling “LADY GAGA!” over and over together. When we met, Vida was just beginning her foray into modeling, so we scheduled her a Comp Card Session to get her set up for success. In the brief time between our session and now, this little one has been BUSY BUSY BUSY. She’s already been featured in multiple magazines, including with my images in Madison Magazine’s July issue. I’m so excited to follow along with her journey and continue to photograph her as she grows up. One last little anecdote before I wrap this one up: When I arrived at Vida’s house to deliver her printed comp cards and stunning acrylic block, she proudly answered the door wearing these gorgeous bejeweled kitten-heeled shoes. They were a purchase for Halloween, but Miss Vida needed to fabulously strut around in these, her first pair of heeled shoes, immediately, just because. And, that’s just how fabulous and hilarious and sparkly Vida is every day.

Three words to describe the session: Bold, Fun, Colorful

(All of my portrait clients choose three words from a list of how they'd like to describe their finished images. You can click on any of the three words at the bottom of this post by the little tag icon to see past sessions that chose the same word. You can also see how different combinations of words leads to the creation of different images.)

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This is what Vida’s finished comp cards looked like. Definitely bold, colorful, and fun like her personality!

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Here is Vida’s feature in Madison Magazine’s July issue!

**SNAPS FOR VIDA!**

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Just received my copy of Madison Magazine’s July issue featuring my images of little Miss Vida! 💖💛 . Blogging this session (and a few more) soon! I’m behind again. 🙈 . . . . . . #childrenphoto #childphotographer #childportraits #kidsburgh #pghcreative #pittsburghphotographer #makeportraits #kidsfashion #kidsbabylove #stylishkids #babiekinsmag #lapetitemag #sandcastle_mag #412project #412 #instagoodmyphoto #thatsdarling #steelcity #pghkids #pittsburghkids #igkiddies #poshkidsmag #discoverportrait #letthembelittle #steelcitygrammers #pittsburgh #pgh #posepgh

A post shared by Luxury Children's Portraiture (@posepgh) on Aug 21, 2019 at 4:52am PDT

Winning Smiles // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

Have you ever met someone in the course of your life that seemed to just immediately... "get you?" I absolutely had that serendipitous sensation the moment that I first met Dr. Erin Issac.

Dr. Erin is a pediatric dentist with a gorgeous office in Shadyside called Winning Smiles Pediatric Dental Care. After connecting on Instagram, we had a coffee date where we spent the whole time chatting about our philosophies and approaches to working with children, which turned out to be incredibly similar: focus on creating a positive space and a luxurious, personalized experience for children in a situation they might not normally see in that light, and it will lead to much better results and much happier kiddos. Dr. Erin approaches dentistry for little ones in a manner that makes me wish that she could have been my dentist growing up. She has an incredible waiting room complete with a two-story playroom designed to look like a ship, abundant toys for amusement, complimentary WiFi, and a tea/coffee beverage station for the "big kids." Treatment is done in private rooms that have television screens mounted to the ceiling, so your littles can watch their favorite movies or cartoons while Dr. Erin is doing her thing. The only thing that the space is in need of is some beautiful wall art, and since I love a good blank canvas, I knew that this is where I could help out!

A few months ago, we got together at the studio, and I photographed our first set of kiddos with adorable, "winning smiles," as well as a new head shot for Dr. Erin. We'll be getting together to do another round of these in the coming months, and once everything is completed, these are going to be printed as large, sleek, modern acrylic prints and hung in the waiting room and exam area. (I'll be sure to share some photos of the space once everything is finished and hung!) In the wintertime, I'm going to be revamping the POSE PGH print and product line, and I'm most excited to include more acrylic prints and options. The acrylic block portraits I currently have available have been so popular, so I know that you're just going to LOVE the gorgeous acrylic wall art that I've been having samples created of behind the scenes.

A HUUUUGE "thank you" to the kiddos who modeled for us and their amazing mamas: Bella + Sylvia, Charlie + Whitney, and Davina + Colson!

Here is the first round of images that we created. I'm looking so forward to the rest!

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Check out Dr. Erin + Winning Smiles on social media!

Facebook
Instagram

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Good Vibrations // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

Sooo much to celebrate this month! This summer has been fabulous! Two of my little POSErs are absolutely killin' it, and I am one proud, proud photographer.

Tori is one of my favorite kiddos to work with, and she inspires me like no other. Images from her most recent Comp Card Session were just featured in two magazines: Fashion Kids Magazine (July Top 50 Most Beautiful) and Child, Tween, and Teen Magazine! Even more exciting: we landed the back cover of the latter! Goals, goals, goals - front cover, we're comin' for you!

**SNAPS FOR TORI**

As if that didn't make this past month awesome enough, I heard more good news! Miss Gabby entered our model call for The Picket Fence S/S 2018 Lookbook, and I was SO happy that we chose her. She did a phenomenal job, I loved photographing her, and I can't wait to do it again. Submitting the images that we shot together for the lookbook, Gabby was just signed to MMG!!! Slay, baby girl, slay! 

**SNAPS FOR GABBY**

2, 4, 6, 8, Who Do We Appreciate? // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

I have been a fan of Rachel Arnold Sager's fun and colorful design and illustration work for years. We were both members of a women's entrepreneurial networking group, and I knew that if we ever joined forces, we could make something really joyful together. That opportunity presented itself when Rachel launched her children's art + clothing line, 2468 Kids. I fell in love with the designs and the overall mission statement. Check this out:

"2468 Kids is a line of goods and apparel featuring subject matter often reserved for boys — think space rockets, dinosaurs, and robots — reimagined in a way that can be appreciated by all kids! 2468 Kids believes that celebrating the interests that children develop as they grow can help them feel supported as they get older. Kids love what they love: let's encourage that!"

SO. PERFECT.

One of my main focuses with POSE PGH is building children's self-confidence and celebrating what it is that makes them unique + special, so what Rachel is doing with 2468 Kids is very near and dear to my heart.

Last fall, we collaborated on branding imagery for the t-shirt line. We had an absolute blast that day, and I really cherish the images that we created. It was so fun for me to see the finished images, complete with Rachel's adorable illustrations, and now that the campaign has launched, I'm excited to be able to share them with you.

Hugest of "thank you"s to our mini-models (and their mamas!):
Braiden, Jaxen, Hadley, Landri, Lucy, and Audra
And of course, a big ol' "thank you" to Lisa for being the most stellar assistant I could hope for (as usual!).

PSSSST... If you join the POSE PGH VIP Facebook group, there's a promo code in there for 15% off of your purchase at 2468 Kids.

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I'm Dreaming of a White Picket : The Picket Fence Holiday 2017 Lookbook // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

The past few months have FLOWN BY, and in the process I fell behind on blogging. (Oops!) I hope that all of you had a wonderful autumn and Thanksgiving with your loved ones!!! I'm looking very forward to catching up and sharing everything that I've been working on with you!

As always, it was an honor to collaborate with The Picket Fence on their seasonal lookbook! We switched things up a bit this time around and focused on the upcoming season with a holiday lookbook, full of sparkles and candy canes and adorably tiny ensembles that are perfect for special occasions. Huge hugs and gratitude to everyone that collaborated on this with us, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes!

If you want to shop any of these looks for your own littles, head over to The Picket Fence's website and search for "LOOKBOOK."

And now, appropriate props given to:

Our precious models: Victoria Podheiser, Lorenzo Garrett, Olivia Keane, and Patti Szabo
Our fabulous makeup artist: Susan Staley

Little + Big Things with Meera + Arjun // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

One of my favorite parts about what I do is really getting to know the families and the kiddos that I work with. I think that it's essential in creating custom portraiture that's expressive of someone's true self (even if that someone is only two years old). Each little one's personality is so different, and when given the opportunity to shine through in their images, you can really create some magic.

This was my second time having the privilege of working with this family. The first time, we photographed a modeling Comp Card/mini-portfolio for 6-year old Arjun (more on that later in this blog!). This time, though, it was his 2-year old little sister Meera's turn. And turn, and turn, and turn she did! Meera just could not stop her tiny, happy feet during her session. You can see her adorably dizzying dance on the second slide of the Instagram post below.

A post shared by Children's Portrait Studio (@posepgh) on Jul 18, 2017 at 8:57am PDT

For Meera's session, we decided to keep things pretty consistent with the session we had recently photographed for her brother - same background color and lighting. This gave their family the opportunity to display all of the images together in their home. We also had Arjun join near the end so that we could photograph some lovely portraits of them together. While Meera is an all-around joy of a kiddo to be around, my favorite thing about her was the mischievous, little twinkle that she got in her eye before she was ready to really ramp up the spinning and dancing, again. So happy that I managed to capture a few images with that sparkle!

Meera also just had a birthday a few days ago, and is now the big THREE.
Everyone be sure to wish her the happiest of years ahead!

Three words to describe the session: Artistic, Fun, Natural

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Now that I've talked about some adorable, little things, I'm SO excited to share the great, big things that have been happening, as well! Arjun has had some excellent opportunities since our session together and I'm super excited for this fella. In the same month, he was featured in Fashion Kids' Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful Issue AND chosen by Child Model Magazine as their FACE of the Day. Holy cow, Arjun! This merits many, many snaps.

**SNAPS FOR ARJUN!**

It's all about FACE! Winner receives $500 and invitation to shoot for our magazine, for feature in an upcoming issue! Enter your photo at childmodelmagazine.com​ FACE of the Day Arjun Arya Photography | Lexi Shapiro . . . #childmodelmagazine #childmodel #kidmodel #modelstatus #faceoftheday #photocontest #winner

A post shared by Child Model Magazine (@childmodelmagofficial) on Jul 19, 2017 at 1:12pm PDT

Tori is Published AGAIN! // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

Quick, little blog today to celebrate - my image of Tori was published in Fashion Kids Magazine June 100 Most Beautiful Models edition. If this kiddo keeps on keepin' on like this, I'm going to run out of space in my blog to talk about all of her successes.

**SNAPS FOR TORI**

Thank you so much @fashionkids.magazine for featuring my image of Tori in your June 100 Most Beautiful Models edition! And, congrats to Miss Tori for her SECOND time making it into this lovely magazine! 😘

A post shared by Children's Portrait Studio (@posepgh) on Jul 3, 2017 at 2:32pm PDT

2017 Ambassador Preview: Sydney + Claire // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

I knew long before meeting 10-year old Sydney and 3-year old Claire that we were in for a lot of fun together. These girls exude so much life and joy from every image taken of them, and I couldn't WAIT to get them in front of my own camera.

With a seven-year age gap between the sisters, I wanted to ensure that their Editorial session was not only enjoyable for all involved, but also that the concept suited both of them equally. After learning that the girls bond over their love of pretending to be kitty-cats together and that it's a favorite game in their household, I knew that would be a purrrrfect motif!

Shortly before the girls' session, I received a call from a reporter, Anya Sostek, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She was interested in the unique way in which I photograph children and celebrate what makes them special, and she wanted to come observe a session at the studio. I said "yes," of course, and I chose this session because I just knew that she would have a good time with these two effervescent littles.

The article was featured in print in yesterday's Sunday Magazine.
You can read it online HERE.

Here's a sneak peek of Sydney + Claire's kitty-themed ambassador session!

Three words to describe the session: Fun, Innovative, Sophisticated

Picket Perfect : The Picket Fence F/W 2016 Lookbook // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

The weather is cooling down and the leaves are changing and falling, which can mean only one thing: it's Picket Fence lookbook time!

We had another excellent team for this one, and we could never make these happen without all of our colleagues, beautiful children, and their mamas. We are so grateful for everyone's time and efforts, and hope that you all love this lookbook as much as we do!

If you want to shop any of these looks for your own littles, you can search "LOOKBOOK" on The Picket Fence's website. (Oh man, do I wish that Catimini made that balloon dress in my size!) 

And now, appropriate props given to:

Our beautiful models: Salma Nixon, Teagan McFarlane, and Patti Szabo
My wonderful assistant: Brandywyne Dugan
Our amazingly talented hair and makeup artist: Tiffani L. Parks Beauty

FriYAY! : Tori is Published // Pittsburgh Children's Photographer

From the moment that I met Tori, I knew that she was a very special little girl. Not only was she a beautiful child, but she had the brains and vivacious personality to match. We made the most of our session together, using it as an opportunity to both capture Tori's unique spirit in the images for her and her family to cherish for years to come and to enhance her blossoming modeling portfolio by adding some fun, editorial imagery to it.

I was SO excited to hear that within a few months of our session, Tori's mama had submitted some of the images to Fashion Kids Magazine and Tori had been selected for their September 50 Most Beautiful Kids Issue! Now, Tori can add to her mini-resume that she's been published in an international magazine, and I am one incredibly proud photographer and fan.

** SNAPS FOR TORI! **

I am looking so forward to watching this kiddo continue to grow and shine, and to helping your kiddos do the same!
(Your littles don't have to be models by any means to come have a session with me, but they will certainly leave feeling like one!)

A video posted by POSE PGH (@posepgh) on Oct 12, 2016 at 7:58am PDT