Category: Families - LONG ISLAND NEWBORN AND PET PHOTOGRAPHER - LAURA PEA PHOTOGRAPHY

Caroline & Nathaniel's Second Birthday (feat. Benjamin Franklin the Dog)

8/26/2020

One of my favorite things about photographing babies is seeing them come back every year and watching them grow like weeds. I photographed Nathaniel and Caroline for the first time when they were teeny tiny week old newborns, then again for their 1st birthdays! Now they're 2 years old, running around with their big brother Benjamin Franklin the Airedale Terrier, who has been there every step of the way!

This time their parents joined in on the fun too and we got some super adorable family shots. Even though this year was a little different because we had to keep our distance, it was still so much fun for me to hang out with this awesome family! We decided to do the session in their backyard this year so we could all spread out and the twins and Benjamin could run around to their hearts' content! We started out doing some family photos, then the twins posed on their very cute little lounge set and in front of their playhouse. They also enjoyed some time on their tire swing pushing each other and giggling.

Near the end of the session, mom Sarah asked each of the twins to give Benjamin Franklin a kiss and of course they obliged. It reminded me of the sweet moment when they were tiny newborns and we were contemplating putting peanut butter on Nathaniel's head to get Benjamin to kiss him, but then he went ahead and did it all on his own. He has been the best dog brother right from the beginning!

Here are some more of my favorite photos from Caroline & Nathaniel's 2nd birthday session!

Want to book a socially distanced session with me? Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476.

Tucker James the Shepherd and Family

4/27/2020

When Tucker's mom Caitlin emailed me a few days after the new year, I was instantly sad to read what she had to say. She was getting in touch to get photos taken of her, her husband Joe and her dogs, which normally makes me very happy, but the reason she wanted photos was because their biggest pup, Tucker James was sick. I get these kinds of sessions a few times a year, and they're always very bittersweet. I'm so happy that the family is going to get great photos of their beloved pet, but it's also very difficult to know that our session will likely be the first and last time I meet a very special animal.

It was so great to meet Tucker and his family. He's a big beautiful dark shepherd. He has two smaller dog brothers. Keegan is a black and white terrier mix, and Tucker is a Maltipoo. Yes, you heard that right. Tucker has a brother named Tucker. I waited about 15 minutes into our session, when I finally said "Ok, so what's the deal with you guys having two dogs named Tucker?". Caitlin and Joe both laughed and told me how they both used to live down in North Carolina where they were neighbors. The two neighbors met one day and got to talking and they found out they both had a dog named Tucker. From there, they fell in love, got married, moved to Long Island, and voila...two Tuckers. That's why they distinguish them as Tucker James and little Tucker.

All three pups were incredibly sweet and photogenic, as were their parents! They braved a super icy cold day to meet for our session at Blydenburgh County Park and they did such a great job looking at the camera for me. It also helped that we had some well-timed passersby to walk right past me to get all three of them staring in the same direction without me having to make my incredibly stupid noises for their attention!

I'm sad to say that Tucker is no longer with us, but I'm so glad that I got to meet such a sweet and wonderful boy, and I hope these photos make his family smile whenever they miss him. I know how devastating it can be to lose a pet. The whole reason I began doing pet photography was because I lost my cat Duchess and my dog Basil within a few months of one another. I'm glad that I can provide at least some small comfort to my clients when they go through a loss like this. Hug your pets close!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our very special session.

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, I'm not taking sessions at the moment. Due to the pandemic, I'm not allowed to shoot sessions for clients right now. I miss my clients and their babies and furbabies so much! I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to shooting sessions, but I will update you here the minute I'm able to take clients again! That being said, I do have gift cards available. If you want to pay ahead of time for a session with me, feel free to purchase a gift card! You can purchase in any amount starting at $15.

I also want to give a shoutout to Tucker's mom Caitlin who is a nurse. Thank you to her and all our healthcare workers who are on the front lines of this pandemic, saving lives and risking their safety to do so. We appreciate what you do so much!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Dominick’s In-Home Newborn Session

1/9/2020

I could tell Dominick's mom Christine was so so excited to meet her baby boy when she got in touch with me last summer. Because she wanted their two dogs, Jax and Paisley, to be involved with the shoot, we decided to do an in-home session so the dogs would feel nice and comfortable on their home turf. Dominick was born at the end of October, so we scheduled our session for early November so that he'd be all sleepy and flexible for his photos.

On the day of our session, I let Jax and Paisley get used to me while I set up my equipment. This step is pretty important with dogs because they need a few minutes to smell me and make sure I'm not a threat to their parents before they settle down. Once they decided I was not a murderer, they flopped on the couch and I was able to take a few photos of them on their own while their human family got ready for their close up. This is another important step with dogs, because I can make sure my lights aren't bothering them. Most dogs don't mind them, but I've come across one or two that are scared of them. This also makes sure I can deliver some solo photos of each pup. Since I'm a pet photographer, I want to make sure that everyone has a great individual portrait of their dog, so I like to provide those, even if the main objective of the shoot is to get a group shot of the family.

The dogs were so good for their family photo, they just chilled on the couch with their parents and new brother and they were happy to look my way occasionally. After some family photos on the couch, mom Christine and dad Anthony wanted me to head into their basement for a few photos in front of their amazing vintage jukebox. Anthony is a huge fan of vintage stuff, especially the '50s, so that was an important shot for him. After that, we headed into Dominick's Mickey Mouse themed nursery for a few more family shots and individuals of the man of the hour. He did such an amazing job! He wasn't super sleepy for a good part of the session, but he had no trouble looking my way and he barely cried! Such an easygoing little guy!

Dominick's parents are serious about Christmas. It was early November during our session, but they were already fully decked for Christmas. Anthony collects amazing vintage Christmas lawn decorations and they were stationed outside the house like a small army, it was so impressive! It even got them featured in the newspaper! That's why we had to make sure to do some fun holiday shots. They had an adorable Santa outfit they wanted to use, and I supplied a reindeer one that looked perfect on Dominick. His parents also wanted to take a few shots of Dominick along with photos of some beloved family members who are no longer with us, like Anthony's grandma and Christine's mom. I thought that was such a touching tribute and I was honored to help capture those special photos for them.

After we were all done in the nursery, the dogs were begging to be let in because they were feeling left out of the fun. I made sure to get in position before they came in, so I could sneak a cute photo of them sniffing at the crib to check on their baby brother. I love how that one turned out.

Here are some of my favorite photos from this very fun session!

Want your baby and fur baby to have a photo together? Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or call (631)256-7476 to schedule a session!

Sarah, Ethan and Jessica 2019

12/20/2019

This may come as a shock, but I do occasionally photograph things other than kids and pets! Every once in a while, it's nice for me to flex other creative muscles and try different types of sessions. I know Sarah, Ethan and Jessica's mom Corinn because she's my dog Gracey's trainer (check her out here). She likes to get a family photo every year, so when she found out I was a photographer, we became each other's clients! This year, the dogs photobombed a little, but I hope next year they properly join us in our shoot! I took a little shot of them as they were watching us do our thing. They're too cute.

It's so much different photographing teenagers than little kids. I don't have to do any of my signature silly sounds or tell any corny jokes at all. As a result, this shoot was over before I knew it! The kids were eager to get to their friends and their video games, so they gave me their beautiful smiles and then went on their merry way! Here are some of my favorite shots from our session!

Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me at (631)256-7476 to book a session!

The Petrellis Family Session and Twin Christmas Session

12/17/2019

Meet the Petrellis! Just kidding, they're my friends and they've been all over the blog for years haha. We had a lot of photos to get to this holiday season, so when planning our photo session, mom Diana and I decided we'd do two days in a row to make sure we got everything we needed. The first day we met in Stony Brook for a family session with dad Michael. The next day, Diana and her mom Janet (it's always good to bring a helper!) came with the boys into the studio to get some Christmas photos of just the twins. It's the best of both worlds!

The boys had a lot of fun playing with the props in the studio, and I made sure to save the best for last. Earlier this year, our friend Dina was cleaning house and getting rid of some stuff and she offered me an adorable little red metal fire truck for the studio. I knew this would look great in Christmas photos, and I knew Vincent and Louis would love it. They have a real fascination with anything automotive, like their dad. Remember when we took some of their newborn photos on dad's car and even...in his tires? The day before at our family session, Vincent and Louis made sure to point out every car that went by! Because I knew it would be a big draw and that it would probably distract them if it was in the room the whole time, I stowed the fire truck outside the studio until right at the end of the session. The boys loved taking turns riding on it and it was really adorable!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our double session!

Book your session with me! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me (631)256-7476.

The Camerons' and Ryans' Double Family Session

12/11/2019

The Camerons and Ryans are some of my oldest clients! My mom Lorraine, a veritable Laura Pea Photography business card dispenser, connected me with both of them, and it turns out there are a lot of connections between the families too! My mom's best friend since the first grade is Emily. Her daughter Erin and son-in-law Tom are my clients. The other client is Robyn. She knows my mom because her husband Patrick worked for my mom at the library years ago! It turns out Erin and Robyn are friends and their daughters go to dance classes together, so all the kids are friends too! Erin's mom Emily was also Robyn's first grade teacher! Like I always say about Long Island: it's a big island, but a small world.

Since they always come to me for Christmas photos, this year they suggested that we do the sessions together! This was my first time doing a simultaneous two family session and I wasn't sure what to expect. What I forgot is that since I've been photographing both families since the kids were in diapers, they're all essentially pros by now. They gave me beautiful smiles and there was no need for silly jokes to get them to have fun. They were effortlessly adorable and they had a blast being able to hang out with their friends while we took photos!

Here are my favorite photos from the session!

Book your session with me! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me at (631)256-7476.

Photos from the Middle Country Public Library Pet Portrait Program

11/15/2019

This was my fourth year doing a pet portrait program at the Middle Country Public Library. Every year we’ve put on this program it’s gotten bigger and bigger. This year I photographed 50 pets in 2 hours and had so much fun. We decided to go back to a fall theme, like we did the first year. It was so good to see so many families who’ve come to the program year after year, and to meet a lot of new families too. Some of the dogs that came in were tiny puppies the last time I saw them!

I love being surrounded by animals so these programs are always a really good time. After patrons were done being photographed by me, they went over to the green screen area to get a snapshot done by the library with a digital background of their choice. Due to a battery issue, there was a bit of a line there so I got even more time to hang out with the pups when I was all caught up taking portraits!

Here are the photos from that day!

To stay up to date on all the events I’ll be participating in, join my email list here! You can also follow along on my Instagram: @laurapeaphotography

Dominic’s First Birthday Session at Fink’s Country Farm

10/8/2019

Dominic is the son of one of my best friends, Dina and her husband Mike. Dom gave everyone a big scare when he was born and his parents couldn’t bring him home until he was 6 weeks old. That meant his newborn photos were really special for me, because I was so happy we could finally see him out of the NICU.

Now, he’s happy and healthy and today he turned 1. To see the long way he’s come is amazing! To celebrate his October birthday, his parents planned him a fall themed bash at Fink’s Country Farm in Wading River. We met there a few weeks before the party to take some fun first birthday photos!

Dominic is so fun to photograph because he’s got so many amazing facial expressions. He does this hilarious surprised face when something really strikes him and it’s the funniest thing! I loved celebrating him at his first birthday party this weekend. Happy First Birthday, Big Dom!
Here are some of my favorite photos from his session!

One more thing, just so you know, in all the photos where Dominic is sitting up high on top of things, I edited out his parents holding onto him. I'd never put a 1 year old 4 feet off the ground on top of a metal cow. I say this because I never want an amateur or beginning photographer to see something here and attempt it, not knowing the image was edited. Always put your subject's safety first, no matter what! This has been a public service announcement by Laura Pea Photography : )

Book a session with me! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me at (631)256-7476.

Wilhelmina and Patrick's Engagement Session

10/4/2019

Wilhelmina is an old friend of mine from college. I hadn't seen her in a long time, so I was so excited when she asked me to photograph her engagement session, because it meant we could catch up! It also meant I could meet her three adorable pups that I always admire on Instagram, and her awesome fiance Patrick. Patrick is from Ireland, so Wilhelmina had told me about the issues they were having with getting married here. They even had to push the date back a few times, but thankfully everything got settled and they could focus on planning the wedding of their dreams!

Wilhelmina knew she wanted to get her dogs involved, because they're so so important to them. We started off at their house and did some photos with the pups cuddling on the couches inside!

After that, we moved outside in their backyard to take some photos individually with each dog, giving them all a special little moment with mom and dad. First was Phoenix, a Husky/Shiba Inu/probably some other stuff mix haha! He's so sweet and full of energy and his coat is just gorgeous. He did a great job posing with his parents! Then we brought out Schatzi, a sweet little mush of a pitbull, who was happy to sit and sniff the grass while we did plenty of poses. Then, last but not least, we took shots of Kya, who is Schatzi's sister, and I know I'm overusing this word, but she's also incredibly sweet. They all are! I I wanted to just lay on the floor and snuggle with all three of them, but you know, I had a job to do. I'm a professional :D

After that we headed inside to take a few shots inside Wilhelmina's awesome library that I admire so much. Seriously, she should arrange people's bookcases for a living. She has a gift!

Then, finally, we bid adieu to the dogs to take a few special photos of just the bride and groom to be on the beach where their wedding ceremony was planned. It was an absolutely beautiful way to end off our session!

Wilhelmina and Patrick got married on September 22nd and I was so happy to be there to celebrate this wonderful couple! They had a beautiful intimate reception at Cowfish in Hampton Bays. Congratulations to them both and I hope they have an amazing life together!

If your engagement session won't be complete without your pack of pups, book it with me by emailing me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or calling (631)256-7476!

Nina’s Family Maternity Session

9/16/2019

One of the best things about my library programs are the families I meet. I immediately hit it off with mom Nina when I met her and her son Owen at my first Islip Public Library pet portrait program. We connected on Instagram and I then shot her daughter Juliette’s 1st birthday photos and some adorable Valentine’s Day photos to surprise her husband Donald. I was so excited for them when I found out Nina was expecting again!

Nina told me her babies tend to come early, so we planned a session a little earlier than normal. Boy, was that a good idea. A few days after our session, she was put on bed rest. We got that in just in the nick of time! Nina was right about her babies too. At the time of this writing, little baby Evelyn has already joined us and she’s doing well!

Since Nina knew she wanted to take it easy for her maternity session, we decided to do it at my home studio. When they arrived, the light was still very nice out, so we ended up walking around my yard in a few different spots before heading inside. Juliette and Owen had a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed the spread of cookies I’d put out for the family to enjoy!

I’m so excited for this new party of five and I can’t wait to meet sweet little Evelyn! Here are some of my favorite photos from Nina’s maternity family session!

Originally, Nina was going to come back into the studio for her viewing appointment to see all her photos and we were going to take a few more photos of Juliette in her 2nd birthday outfit. But by that time, Nina was on bed rest, so I went over to their house and we took a few shots of Juliette in a little ball pit they fashioned out of a kiddy pool. Juliette enjoyed that and a little time in her swing. Their dog Bolt even made a quick appearance!

I’m so excited for this sweet family and for Juliette and Owen to get a new baby sister. I can’t wait to meet little Evelyn!

Schedule your maternity session with me by emailing me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or calling me at (631)256-7476.