Sawyer...12 Days New {Austin Newborn Photographer}

This little man was after my own heart.  I mean seriously... he was so good for our studio newborn session.  He started out wide awake, but once we were finished with sibling shots and got him comfy and cozy (and as his mom says, I became the "Baby Whisperer," ) he slept like a champ.

This session was a big one for me.  You see, I had been in contact with this family before little Sawyer was born.  When I checked back with them, she politely told me that they had decided to go with a cheaper photographer.  (Which by the way is totally fine... my price point is not for everyone, but it is what is required to make my business and studio run, to offer the quality images and exceptional products I do, to help support my family and full time work in it, etc.)

So when she contacted me a few days after Sawyer was born, I was a little surprised.  She emailed me asking if I had any last minute spots left, as the other session they scheduled did not go well.  Thankfully I had a spot to fit them in, and I am SO glad that we did.

At the session when I was shooting images of Sawyer in different setups, I remember his mama sitting on the couch with a big smile on her face and she said, "THIS is what I had hoped for... THIS is what I wanted to get out of a session."  And that right then and there just made my day.

Click here to read this Mama's testimonial / experience with Miles of Smiles Photography and why she decided to book a session with us.  (It is also below images in this post.)

From his mama: 

"My family and I moved to Austin from Chicago in July of 2014.  At the time, I was 4 months pregnant and had a 1 year old.  Along with finding new doctors, learning the area and just settling in, I needed to prep for our new arrival in December.  One important mission was finding a photographer that could capture all the precious moments of our baby’s first days.

  

I googled local photographers and looked on the Circle C Facebook page for recommendations.   I kept coming across Miles of Smiles Photography.  In this process, I had reached out to Sarah to open up dialogue and get more details about her services.  In the meantime, I found someone else that was willing to take pictures of our baby, needed the work, and was less expensive.  Well, let’s just say, you get what you pay for.  The moment the photographer left our home, I was in tears and immediately reached out to Sarah to see if she had any openings that week.  Luckily she did! 

We met with Sarah a few days later and I immediately knew we had found the perfect photographer.  Her studio was suited for newborn and family photography.  She had age appropriate toys and the temp inside was excellent for achieving the perfect pictures of our new baby.  I like to dub Sarah, "The Baby Whisperer."  She was able to position our son anyway she wanted and was able to soothe him to sleep within minutes.  We had also brought our 18 month son along to get a few sibling shots and she was so energetic and engaging with him. She really made us feel comfortable every step of the way. 

I am looking forward to working with Sarah for years to come and would recommend her to anyone."

Love Letters: The F Family

I received the sweetest email from the F Family in my inbox last night.  (See info. below image.)  Talk about making a photographer smile!

From the F Family:

"We first heard about Miles of Smiles Photography from the advertisement in our neighborhood newsletter.  We decided to contact Sarah for our newborn photo session because of her emphasis in newborn photography.  Sarah was very pleasant to work with, from the very first phone call discussing the session through the delivery of our photos. 

Initially, we were only going to do the newborn session, but as we were looking at her website in greater detail in preparation for the session we decided we had to have Sarah capture moments throughout our daughter's first year through her Baby's First Year Plan.  

Her photography is stunning!  We had such a great experience during our session.  We were amazed at Sarah's talent and patience!  She is very detail oriented, which made our pictures that much more special. We were very pleased with how the pictures turned out and with the products we purchased.  We can't wait for our next photo session!"  ~ The F Family

I loved our newborn session with the F family and tiny little Aubree, and can't wait to photograph her twice more this year.  She is one of my Baby's First Year Plan members.  It is so fun to get to capture such sweet times during a baby's first year as she grows!

Click here for the blog post about her newborn session.  

Love Letters: The B Family (Part II)

From The B Family... Click here for Part I.  And click here for a Cake Smash SPECIAL we're running where you get a free Birthday Sign Board!

"When our daughter was born, we lived right around the corner from Sarah.  We were looking for a photographer that was close, affordable, and that took beautiful images.  In short, we wanted it all.  We were thrilled with the images from our daughters newborn session.  We left with treasured memories from a fun photo shoot and gorgeous images that our entire family has treasured- from great-grandmothers to grandparents, to our personal collection of family memories. 

While we were doing our newborn photo shoot, I saw pictures of Sarah's birthday cake smash photos and knew immediately that I wanted to have Sarah do our daughter's 1 year pictures as a cake smash.  The pictures on her blog steal my heart and beg to become artwork in your home.  I couldn't wait for our session!

Then, 6 months later, we moved to Dallas from Austin for my husband's job.  I was sad that we weren't going to be able to use Sarah for pictures, as I had been so looking forward to the cake smash.  I decided that I would be able to find a photographer closer to home that I would love just as much.

But I couldn't.  Don't get me wrong- there are tons of fabulous photographers in Dallas. But there is just something about Sarah's photography- it is truly her own artistic signature.  Each of Sarah's images is a work of art.  Every time we have friends or family over, they want to know the name of our photographer.  Not only does Sarah take a pretty picture, but she manages to capture the nuances, the personality, the tiny details of a child that only a parent would know.  Every picture from our cake smash session shows a different side of our little girl that I see daily, but that perhaps only lasts a brief moment.  

You know that moment when you think, "If only I had my camera to capture that little look"?  Well, Sarah gets it.  She captures the fleeting, brief moments that you wish you could hold in your heart forever. 

So that's why when our daughter turned one, we made the four hour drive to Austin to have Sarah do her cake smash session- so we could hold those precious images in our hearts, minds and hands forever.  Sarah's photography is worth the drive." 

Love Letters: From the B Family {Austin Family Photographer}

"Sarah took such care with our family.  She spent so much time capturing the perfect pictures of our newborn daughter and was so patient with our 3 year old son.  She gave me a ton of info to prepare for our session and she came to our home so prepared for our lifestyle newborn session.  

The ordering session was a new experience for me, as I have never had this offered from another photographer.  In the past I would order the digital options and then print a few photos, but never ended up ordering anything special for our home.  

Sarah spent 2 hours with me (and was so patient with me as I had to bring my newborn with me and nurse her during our ordering session) at our ordering session selecting so many wonderful prints, canvases and more for our home.  Now I can finally enjoy the beautiful photos she took of our family.  

Sarah was so easy to work with.  She told us exactly what to do, and just helped us have fun with it.  Sarah has a great personality and makes the session easy and fun!"


Click here for the blog post from this beautiful family's lifestyle newborn session.

Love Letters: The B Family

Another email from a client that absolutely melted my little photographer heart.  Talk about making my day when I opened this email up...

From The B Family: Sweet Paige's Newborn Session (click here)

"When our baby was born, we had just moved to the Austin area and I was very sad that I did not know any photographers in the area that had both the style of picture that I wanted at the right price point. I was thrilled when I happened upon Sarah who definitely had both! Sarah's photos are visually stunning- the type of picture I always wish I could take. She captures the beauty of the individual and also the essence of their heart with fresh, beautifully colored images that are true works of art.

Sarah replied to my inquiry promptly by phone and we scheduled our session.

The session was so much fun. Every stress I felt while getting ready melted away when we walked in the door. Her home studio space was warm and inviting. When we arrived, she had soft music playing, a space heater for baby (it was winter), and was snacks and water for mama, which I did not think to bring and definitely needed! 

In addition, Sarah did an outstanding job working with our tiny, colicky model. You would never guess how fussy she was looking at the pictures! She even ran her vacuum for us, when we told her that helped calm baby.

Sarah's photographs of our newborn are this mama's dream come true. They are absolutely gorgeous and have become artwork in our home, as well as the homes of our relatives. Some of our friends have commented that they are the best baby pictures they have ever seen!

I wholeheartedly recommend Miles of Smiles Photography. Sarah treats you like family, makes you look good, and gives you beautiful memories to last a lifetime." ~The B Family 

Love Letters: The B Family

Getting emails like this from my clients is one of the most amazing parts of my job.  I am so blessed to get to serve others with photography.   This family was a dream to work with.  Big Brother was so excited for his little sister to be born.  And Little Sis was the perfect baby... she slept almost the whole time.  I love watching families grow and being able to document that through my camera, and then create custom artwork for my clients' homes made from those sweet memories.  Best job ever. 

From The B Family: 

"We are so grateful that we happened to connect with Sarah Jordan at Miles of Smiles Photography!

I decided just a few weeks before the end of my second pregnancy that I wanted to do some maternity shots and after filling out over a dozen online request forms for local photographers, Sarah was the only one who took the time to call me back personally rather than bombard me with generic advertising emails. Her pricing was presented upfront and was very competitive to the other independent photographers I researched.

Over the phone, Sarah took the time to go over my specific requests for a shoot and was able to accommodate my (extremely inflexible!) schedule to find a time that would work for my family. We also booked a newborn session which gave us a pricing incentive and took the pressure off to already have it set up before I even gave birth!

Our family maternity shoot was great...my 4 year old son still talks about "that funny lady who took our picture" and any parent knows what a talent it is to get a genuine, looking-at-the-camera smile from a 4 year old! Even my husband was cooperative as Sarah skillfully moved from shot to shot without a bunch of wasted time in between thinking about what should come next. We were able to meet and go over my proofs before I delivered and I had a CD of images from which I was able to print and frame pictures that were on the nursery wall before my daughter was born!

The newborn session was also great...Sarah is clearly experienced at working with these little ones and provided a great 'checklist' to help us prepare. I think the best compliment I can give her is that literally every person who viewed our proofs (in an online gallery!) commented, "what a great photographer."

Overall, we enjoyed the sessions and feel we got a fantastic product for our money. Certainly you can get cheaper photographs at the mall but you get what you pay for. Any photographer who can make me look good at 36 weeks pregnant and even more impressively at 10 days post-partum is an artist! Creating beautiful family pictures of a 4 year old, a newborn, and 2 sleep deprived parents is obviously no easy feat. We look forward to working with Sarah many times in the future as our family grows."

~The B Family (click here for blog post from this session)