Blog Posts - 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!

Stella the Cat

3/11/2019

Stella’s mom Veronica wanted some photos of her, but was worried that Stella wouldn’t cooperate for her session, since she’s very shy. I told her not to worry, we were going to get great shots. For cat sessions, I always offer the option to go to the client’s home, because cats can get very nervous when traveling to a new place and that doesn’t make for good photos! When I got to her house, I had Stella’s mom bring her in to observe me a little bit.

I set up a few things, then I just sat on the floor for a little while, and let Stella get used to me. I threw her a couple of treats now and then, and once she was comfortable enough to come up to me, I knew it was time to test out my lights. The flash of my lights can bother some animals or make them blink too much, but only rarely. Stella didn’t seem bothered by them, so I was able to start shooting! My lights are very portable so I was able to twist them around to follow Stella’s movements. Treats, jingly toys and a ribbon on a stick were all very helpful in getting Stella to look my way so I could photograph her beautiful eyes! Here are some of my favorite photos from her session!

Schedule a portrait session for your cat! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or call (631)256-7476.

Talesia’s Maternity Session

3/5/2019

When I received a voicemail from dad-to-be Don inquiring about maternity photos, I was a little surprised. I almost never get to speak to dads until I meet them at the session. Unsurprisingly, moms are usually the ones who call to book me for these type of sessions (actually all types of sessions haha). I could tell Don was really excited to be a dad and he wanted to take care of everything for mom-to-be Talesia, so she could focus on looking spectacular for the photos and growing their beautiful baby girl.

I met Talesia when they arrived at the studio for their session. She was getting very close to the big day, so much so that she even had a Braxton Hicks contraction during the shoot! I was thinking for a minute there that the session was going to take an unexpected turn! But it came and went and even after that, she was eager to do lots of poses and she did them all perfectly. Talesia is wearing one of the dresses I keep in my client closet for expecting moms to choose from during their maternity session. It looked gorgeous on her!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the session!

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

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

Photos from Valentine’s Day Sessions!

2/15/2019

It’s been a little bit of a crazy time over here at Laura Pea Photography! I try to dedicate a blog post to most sessions I do, but this V-Day season got away from me. If you follow along on my Instagram (@laurapeaphotography), you’ll have seen all these photos but I decided to do a roundup post of the sessions I did for Valentine’s Day this year for those that follow my blog!

First up is my nephew Seth! This is his first Valentine’s Day and I was so excited to get him in the studio to use some of the props I’ve been accumulating over the years! He’s so used to the click of my camera and the flash of my lights, so he did an amazing job!

Next is Juliette and Owen! I photographed them at two of the pet portrait programs I did at the Islip Public Library and then I was honored to photograph Juliette’s 1st birthday photos! They came back for her 18 month photos to surprise their dad whose birthday is the day before Valentine’s Day. They had so much fun playing around with the props I have in the studio! I love how these came out! Jules has such a brilliant smile and Owen is such a great older brother, who was so happy to pose with his little sister.

Next are my little girl Gracey’s photos! I always take photos of her when I’m figuring out my setups for sessions. She’s always happy to model for me, especially because she knows there are freeze-dried beef liver treats in it for her!

Finally is my cousin Peyton’s Valentine’s Day photos! Peyton’s mom Lori is the reason why I have this very cute little play kitchen. She saw it for sale online and told me about it. I agreed it would be a very cute addition to the studio and picked it up. Peyton was very happy to play with it in exchange for a few beautiful smiles toward the camera!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day!

Book a session with me by emailing laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or calling (631)256-7476!

Photos from Barkfield Road Valentine’s Day Mini Sessions

2/12/2019

At our holiday pet portrait mini session event at Barkfield Road in November, I was telling owner Carol about a red play kitchen I had gotten as a prop for the studio and she suggested we try a mini session event with it for Valentine’s Day. It made total sense since Barkfield Road is such a great place to buy baked doggy goodies! We called our event “Baking Up Some Love”!

I brought some kitchen themed props like a chef’s hat and apron and a toy cupcake tray. We filled every appointment of the day and got great shots of the pups and a nice donation for the Dotty Fund! Carol and I always have a very fun time during these events and I love meeting so many dogs and their owners. Her employees Vicky and Nicolette are so helpful! Go visit Barkfield Road if you’re in the area. They have such a great selection of products for pets and I know every time I go there, I’m getting something high quality and safe for my Gracey.
I hope to keep doing more events like this!
Here are some of my favorite photos from the day!

If you were there for the event, you can pick up your products now at Barkfield Road!

To stay up to date on events I’ll be participating in, sign up for my email list here.

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 laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or calling (631)256-7476.

[Free Printable] Winter Photo Checklist

1/23/2019

At the end of every year, I always make a photo book with all my favorite photos from each month. One thing I always notice is that I barely ever have any photos from January, February and March. Because it’s after the excitement of Christmas and it’s a blah, chilly few months until Spring begins, this time of year can be easily ignored.

But since I’m always an advocate for people documenting their lives, I decided to create a checklist of everyday moments that make for great photographs during the winter months. Use this checklist to help you celebrate the small moments that make up your family’s story. Your photo albums can’t JUST be beach photos, right?

Click here to download the checklist!

You’ll receive an email with the link to my freebies page, where you can download the checklist and all my other freebies. If you’re already a mailing list subscriber, I sent out a newsletter with the checklist this morning, so check your inbox! There will always be a link to the freebies page at the bottom of every email.

Happy Shooting!

Rather not take these photos yourself? Schedule a winter photo session with me! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me at (631)256-7476.

Barkfield Road Valentine's Day Mini Session Event!

1/21/2019

For the past two years, I've done a holiday mini session event in November at Barkfield Road in East Northport to benefit the Dotty Fund. They help provides financial assistance to pet owners to take care of their animals during difficult times so that they can stay with their owners, instead of ending up in shelters. Well, this time, we're extending the fun to Valentine's Day!! This one will be a little bit quicker than the regular holiday ones, from 10am-2pm and with 15 minute sessions for each participant. I'll have lots of Valentine's props and backdrops to choose from. We're calling this event "Baking Up Some Love!" because I've got a really cute red play kitchen, apron and chef's hat for the dogs to pose with. Why not purchase a beautiful Valentine's dog cookie or cake from Carol to use as a prop (and for your pup to enjoy after we get an amazing shot of them!) Here's all the info!

Call (631)651-9292 to reserve your spot!

Harley, Reese, Christie & Johnny Utah

1/16/2019

When I first met dog dad Ralph on the day of our session, he prepared me for “four crazy dogs”. He wanted photos of his pack as a present for his wife, but he wasn"t sure that we’d be able to get some decent photos of them together. He let me and the dogs roam around the yard and have some fun together, and before long they were sitting together beautifully (with the help of a bag of treats)! When he saw the photos afterward, he was so happy that we ended up getting so many great group shots of the dogs.

When he told me about his pack of pups over the phone, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart because they’re all Australian Shepherds. I didn't have to worry about that though, because when I met them I realized they’re each so unique looking and have such distinct personalities, that they were all unforgettable.
Let me introduce them to you!

This is Harley. He’s definitely the spitfire of the group. He always wanted to be dead center in the front of the photo, like the star he is.

This is Christie. She’s a little shy and didn’t want to be the center of attention, so we had to keep pulling her forward to make sure she didn’t get lost in the photo. She’s incredibly sweet and gentle.

Reese is Christie’s sister. She was a little shy at first but really warmed up and showed her personality once she got to know me. She’s got beautiful blue eyes.

Last but not least is Johnny Utah. I love his light coat. He was very energetic and loved to take photos with his favorite toy “Purple Guy”.

Here are some of my favorite shots from our session!

We did some of the dogs together, some in groups and then some individual shots. Ralph even called his neighbor over to bring her dog Layla. Layla and Harley were born around the same time so they’ve been playing together since they were puppies. All Ralph had to say was “Layla” and Harley started to prance around and get excited for his friend. When her mom brought Layla over, they started playing together just like they were still puppies.

This turned out to be one of my favorite sessions of 2018. A lot of times pet owners are anxious that their pet won't sit, won't do well, will be too hyper during the session, that it makes the pet even more nervous. Ralph was totally at ease, he let the dogs have fun and he trusted me to do my thing and get great photos. He and his wife loved the way they came out and bought my biggest album, which came out so beautifully that I'm going to order a sample of it to keep in my studio. I also got to spend some time with 5 of the sweetest and cutest dogs ever, and that never hurts. If you're getting photos taken of your pet, remember to relax and have fun with it. Your dog will sense you're at ease and they'll be at ease too, and it'll make for fun and beautiful photos like these!

Do you have a pack of “crazy dogs” you’d love to get portraits of?
Contact me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or (631)256-7476.