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

March for Babies Fundraiser - Jones Beach, LI, NY

3/13/2019

Being a newborn and pet photographer, babies and pets are obviously pretty important to me. They're my livelihood! Helping babies and pets that are in need is also incredibly important to me. If you follow this blog, you probably know my friends and I do a fundraiser walk every year to raise money for the rescue dogs and cats at the Kent Animal Shelter. We decided this year we’re going to double the fun and the impact by walking in the March for Babies fundraiser on April 28th at Jones Beach in Wantagh, NY.

Donations from the walk will go to fund research for premature births and help families who have babies in the NICU. My friend Dina’s son Dominic was in the NICU for 6 weeks (read about his story here) and she said that the March of Dimes gave her and her husband so much support while they were dealing with the nightmare of having a baby sick in the NICU.

If you'd like to donate, share our fundraiser, or start your own, check out our team page here!
Thank you!

Avery’s Newborn Session

2/27/2019

Avery’s mom Lizzie is one of my oldest friends! I posted her family maternity session a while back (see those photos here!) and I was so excited when I heard Avery had arrived, so I could shoot her newborn session! Just like the maternity session, we made the newborn shoot a family affair!

Big sister Morgan had asked to dress Avery, so she showed up in a special unicorn outfit that perfectly complemented Morgan’s! We took photos with the whole family, with just her sister Morgan and brother Liam, with mom and dad and some of Avery on her own. She did really well sleeping, and even when she woke up at the end, she wasn’t crying so we were able to get some eyes open shots! Here are some of my favorite photos from our session!

Email me at [email protected] or call me at (631)256-7476 to book a session!

Dominic’s Newborn Session

1/29/2019

You might remember the baby shower I posted a few months back for one of my best friends, Dina. Dina and Mike waited a long time to meet their son Dominic. That’s why it was especially hard when he needed to spend time in the NICU after he was born. There were some scary moments, and Dominic or “Big Dom” as he’s also known, had to be in the NICU for 6 weeks before he was cleared to go home. This was an incredibly hard time for Dina and Mike. They couldn’t even hold their baby for weeks and weeks, so it was an incredible feeling when they were able to go home with their sweet boy! No more long nights in the family waiting room, no more driving back and forth to the hospital at all hours, no more seeing their little boy hooked up to machines.

Dina was worried that because he was past the age of a typical newborn session, that we wouldn’t be able to get good shots of him once he was home. Well, she worried in vain. Even though Dom was a little bit older, we were still able to get him sleepy enough for some typical newborn shots, and we even got him awake and smiling for some! He did an amazing job. Those smiles show you just how happy he is to be home being loved to pieces by his mom and dad.

When I see Dominic now, healthy and happy and thriving, it’s hard to believe he’s the same baby I saw in the NICU. At our third or fourth visit there, I was so happy to be able to hold him. It was so great to see him out of his little pod and awake and finally able to look around and stretch his legs. Needless to say, this was a very special newborn session that I was so overjoyed to photograph. Here are some of my favorite photos from Dominic’s session!

Schedule your newborn session with me by emailing [email protected]
or calling (631)256-7476.

Madison’s Newborn Session

1/7/2019

Meet Madison! This lucky little girl has tons of people around her who love her immensely. At her session, I met her parents, her three siblings, her grandparents and her big sweet doggy, who were all so excited to be there and to help out with her photos. In my experience, usually bigger siblings have very little interest in what happens at the photo session of their little brother or sister, but Madison’s brothers and sister were willing and eager to sit in a warm little room with us and watch their sweet baby sister’s photo shoot. The whole family is enamored of their new addition. It was so great to be there to help them commemorate her arrival!
Here are some of my favorite photos from Madison’s session!

Schedule a newborn session with me! Email me at [email protected] or call me at (631)256-7476!

Lily's Newborn Session

11/29/2018

Lily’s dad Brandon is one of my oldest and best friends. We met in 9th grade in the cafeteria of our high school (he will try to tell you it was 8th grade, but don’t listen to his nonsense) and we’ve been friends ever since. I was so happy for him and his wife Richelle when they told me they were having a baby!

When they brought little Lily into the studio, I was struck by the fact that she looks so much like Brandon! It’s like they shrunk his head and put it on a baby! We had a lot of fun during her session reminiscing about old times. I’ve seen Brandon at so many stages in his life, and being a husband and dad is definitely his happiest.

Here are are some of my favorite photos from Lily’s session!

Look out for more photos of Lily soon, because we just did her Christmas photos yesterday and they're too cute!

Interested in a newborn session with me? Contact me at [email protected] or at (631)256-7476!

Caroline & Nathaniel’s Newborn Session (featuring Benjamin the Dog)

9/18/2018

From the first email exchange I had with Caroline and Nathaniel’s mom, I knew she was a client I was going to connect with. She was a Harry Potter fan like me and she wanted to get her and her husband’s Airedale Terrier Benjamin Franklin (how cute is that name?!) involved in the photos. It’s not very often that I can combine my specialties of newborn and pet photography, so when I get the chance to do that, it’s very special.

Benjamin was so sweet and gentle with twins Caroline and Nathaniel. At one point, I wanted to try and get a shot of him giving them a kiss. While I was strategizing with mom and dad on how to get the shot (a little spot of peanut butter on Nathaniel’s head perhaps?), he just went ahead and did it without us even trying! I can tell he’s really going to love his baby brother and sister.

We eventually gave Benjamin the rest of the day off and went inside for some photos of just the twins. They did really well through several different outfit and blanket changes. Their mom knitted them the pea pod outfit, a beautiful Gryffindor blanket and the adorable blueberry and raspberry caps. Their grandma made them blue and pink hats to wear. I was so impressed by their craftiness. It really added a special touch to the session. Mom Sarah was so sweet, that she even gifted me the pea pod outfit when I went to drop off their products. I can’t wait to use it with my next set of twins!
Here are some more of my favorite photos of Nathaniel and Caroline!

Are you expecting two peas in a pod? Schedule your newborn session with me! Email me at [email protected] or call me at (631)256-7476.

Baby Seth’s Newborn Session No. 3

9/14/2018

Now here we come to the third and final installment of my nephew Seth’s newborn photos. I’m really sad that it’s come to an end. I honestly wish I’d done even more than 3 days of shooting photos of him, as crazy as it sounds! But I’m going to be taking photos of him until old age and arthritis takes the use of my shutter finger, so you’re never really going to stop seeing him, of course.

At 2 months old, Seth looks so different from when he came home from the hospital. It’s amazing how you don’t realize he’s changing day to day but when you look back at his newborn photos, he looks like a different baby. He’s brought so much love and joy to our family in just 2 months. I can’t wait to see him continue to change and grow. We all love him so much.

Did you miss Seth’s other newborn photos? See Part 1 here and Part 2 here!

Schedule your newborn session with me!
Email me at [email protected]
or call me at (631)256-7476.

Baby Seth's Newborn Session No. 2

8/14/2018

My nephew Seth is a month old and I’m still editing his newborn session. In my defense, I’ve never shot a newborn session that lasted 3 days before, and this kid is not exactly a paying customer! :)

My sister Lisa and my mom gave me this white wooden moon prop for Christmas a few years ago. I saved it for years because I wanted to use it first with Lisa's baby. It was so special to me to be able to finally use it with my beautiful nephew.

There was another prop I used for this session that had so much sentimental value. Our Aunt Cathy passed away last year a few months before Lisa became pregnant. Before she died, she was so helpful to Lisa when she was suffering through having miscarriages, because she had had them herself when she was trying to get pregnant. Her daughter Marissa, our amazing cousin, gave Lisa this beautiful blanket for Seth. It was made with pieces of fabric from our Aunt Cathy's clothes. I can't express how meaningful it was to take his photos on this blanket.

Seeing Seth every day reminds me how important it is to get newborn photos taken. He changes from day to day. He already feels different in my arms from the tiny little peanut my sister brought home. They’re only so small for such a short while. This time is really precious and really fleeting.
Here are the rest of the second round of Seth's newborn session!

Book your newborn session with me by emailing [email protected] or
calling (631)256-7476.

Baby Seth's Newborn Session No. 1

8/2/2018

My sister Lisa and her husband Will tried for a very long time to start a family, and it was a very difficult time. She has been very open about her struggles and I know for a fact that it's helped several women going through the same thing to hear about her journey. My nephew Seth came into our lives on July 10th. He is a tiny little miracle and I love him like crazy.

Shooting Lisa's baby's newborn session was something I dreamed about for years. I had several special outfits and props set aside that I was waiting to use on my niece or nephew some day. I was finally able to use those in Seth's newborn session. It lasted for 3 days because I couldn't stop taking photos of his adorable little face. He looks exactly like my sister Lisa.

Because there are so many photos, I've decided to break the photos up into a few different posts, not to overwhelm anyone with his cuteness :)
Here is the first round of Lil Baby's Seth newborn session!

Stay tuned for more Seth coming soon!
Have your own little miracle on the way? Book a newborn session with me by emailing me at [email protected]
or calling (631)256-7476.

Baby Seth's Fresh 48

7/12/2018

My nephew Seth has arrived! After waiting so long for this moment to come, he decided to make his appearance a few weeks earlier than we had anticipated. We're all so happy that he's here. Mom and baby are perfectly healthy and doing great! I can't wait for him to come home, so I can photograph his newborn session! But of course, I had to take about a million photos at the hospital.

If you don't know, a Fresh 48 is a photo session that takes place in the hospital within the first 2 days of a baby's life. This is to document the very special moments just after baby's arrival without actually being in the delivery room. I don't specialize in these types of sessions, but since Seth is my sister Lisa's first baby, I had to document every moment I could. Harsh hospital light is definitely a challenge, so I have a whole new respect for the talented photographers who specialize in this area!

OK, let's get to the good stuff.
Welcome Seth Anthony Horton!

7/10/18
6:12pm
6 lbs, 14 oz.
19"

Seth is the absolute picture of my sister Lisa when she was born. Everyone who sees him says he looks exactly like her. It's so wonderful to see how happy she and my brother in law Will are to welcome their son. Seth is my mom's first grandchild and my grandmother's first great-grandchild, so this is an incredibly special moment for our family. He is going to be so fiercely loved. Here are some more of my favorite photos of Seth's first 48 hours.

Stay tuned for baby Seth's newborn session!
Coming soon!