“My heart is like a singing bird.” -Christina Rossetti
You guys remember Roxanna and Brad’s maternity session? The one where it looked like we were all fine, but it was actually REALLY cold [Indiana springs; never know what you’ll get!]
ANYWAY, they’re back with a plus one! Meet Ruby!
How adorable is she?!? And pretty much brand spankin new. She was 3 and a half days old when we photographed her first photo session and she ROCKED it.
So here’s the deal with newborns and newborn photoshoots: you’re are pretty much just on their schedule. Sure, we can do some tricks here and there, warm everything up, swaddle tightly and shush the baby, but if they’re like, “Nope”, you gotta roll with it and adapt. But holy cow, Ruby was SO into her photoshoot [apparently when you’re up all night partying/nursing/checking out your new digs, you’re fine perfectly sleeping through your photos and acting all adorable].
Also debuting on the blog is Ricky! This bird is super cool guys. And I love that the pictures with him and Ruby sort of make him look huge [ha!]
Roxanna and Brad [now known as: “Mom” and “Dad”], were both born in July, and the birthstone of July is Ruby. Also, Rubies are the most mentioned precious stone in scripture [I had no idea! Also, the jewelry Roxanna is wearing are ruby’s. How perfect!]. Her middle name is Marie, Hebrew for “wished for child”. So her name means our “precious wished for child“.
**Also, side note; when we were confirming their address, Roxanna [who has a small thing for birds] made sure I knew I needed to come into the house through the garage because they have nests in the wreath on their front door, so it’s out of commission for the next couple of months while the tiny birds hatch, grow, and leave the nest. How sweet is that?!? And how perfectly timed for their new ones arrival too! It all just seems so fitting for there to be so much baby love happening in their home.
I’m so glad you guys found me! I love that I got to take photos of your first family portraits together, and Ruby’s very first photo session. You guys are awesome!
Cheers!
~Maike
“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” -Desmond Tutu
So three littles under 3 is a little bit crazy [ha! All the momma’s with this situation are probably like, “preach!”] But guys, there is also so much beauty in the chaos. And Aishah and Sarosh are so perfectly embracing this time in their lives with their three small humans.
Introductions! The newest member of the family is Zoha, and the reason I was invited out to photograph this beautiful family, She was two weeks and one day old when we hung out, and was AMAZING. She might actually handle all the chaos even better than her parents. She was SOOO sweet! When I got there, she was hanging out in her carseat, and I maybe thought she could be a doll and not a real baby [I can’t even remember when Z was that small! I need to go look at his newborn pictures to fully remember his tiny-ness].
Next up is brother Humza [middle child] and sister Nyla [the oldest].
Favorite things about this shoot: the meanings behind everyones names that Sarosh schooled me on [Humza means tiger, but specifically the tiger when he’s pouncing on his prey], how sweet Nyla was to baby sister, that we got to involve grandma/grandpa [Dada, and Dadi <-did I get that right guys?], as well as Aishah’s sister and her baby, and that no one lost their cool when the toddlers were loosing theirs :).
Aishah, you’re rocking the momma gig. I’m so glad you found me to photograph you and your family! Hope adapting to a family of 5 continues to bring you more beautiful moments!
Cheers!
~Maike
Max, Stacey and Strawberries! [Almost] One Year Old Photography Session, Indianapolis Indiana
“Sometimes you’ve just got to grab an apple – or grapes, or strawberries. Something that’s healthy but maybe a little bit more adventurous, if you can see fruit as adventurous.” -LL Cool J
You might recognize this good looking duo from their family photography session a few weeks back. After that session, Stacey e-mailed me hoping we could do another session capturing Max doing all the things he started to love right after their initial session.
I came back to their house and we played with blocks, laughed in the curtains, and just did some awesome photos of exploring and playing. Stacey and I talked about how all of these moments go by so fast, but how they are all so beautiful. It’s one of my goals this next year to bring out my big camera more often with Zander, and just take some of the everyday photos of him doing his thing, and maybe set up some timer shots of both of us doing life things together as well.
When Stacey and I started e-mailing about this shoot, we also started dreaming up a couple fun things, which is why there are both balloons galore, and the amazing strawberry shots! For those of you not on the sugar train with a cake smash, this is an EXCELLENT alternative… or really just an excellent idea in general for any age [I have plans with Z for a watermelon shoot later this summer… stay tuned].
So guys, moral of the story, YES I totally want to photograph you, and double YES if you want to brainstorm a cool different shoot. I’m so glad we did Max and his favorite food on this awesome white background. I love like, ALL of them [there’s even one where he’s squeezing a somewhat mangled strawberry that sort of resembles a heart – ha! It’s great.]
Enjoy friends!
~Maike
“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” – William Shakespeare
Meet Natalie!
Cancer is a particularly horrific part of this life. Cancer in a tiny little human is even more heart breaking.
BUT, don’t let Natalie’s lack of hair fool you. This kiddo is so full of energy and smiles and laughs. Our shoot [shoutout to The Magic Hour Foundation for matching us up!], was SOOOO much fun! And special thanks to the Indianapolis Zoo for letting us tromp around and take these images in their gardens and with their animals.
We obviously found beautiful flowers in the gardens [pictured above], we ran around in the open green grass, then we went to watch the dolphin show from the underwater area, did a carousel ride, got face to face with a very brave flamingo, and ended trying to convince the birds to come visit our peanut butter stick full of bird seed [it didn’t really work].
In my insta-stories I posted a sneak peek and mentioned that we all have a little magic to offer the world. It’s so fulfilling to me to be a part of The Magic Hour Foundation’s photographer list. I encourage you all to find ways to use your magic to make the world a better, more kind, more loving place.
Natalie, I loved hanging out with you and your parents at the zoo! Can’t wait until we get to hang out again!
Cheers!
~Maike
Jordan and Stephen! Indianapolis Wedding Photography
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12
Wedding season is officially underway at M.Rinaye Photography for 2018! Jordan and Stephen were featured on the blog last fall for their sweet engagement session, and I sometimes forget how much we learn about each other at those sessions [guys, even if you don’t hire me for your wedding, whoever you do hire, DO AN ENGAGEMENT SESSION WITH THAT PHOTOGRAPHER!] When I got to the hotel, Jordan was talking about the hotel being under construction and she was nervous about it looking nice in photos. She said Stephen told her, “Don’t worry, Maike can work with anything” … [which is super flattering, I’m so glad you guys were confident we would rock it!]…. then later, after their first look Stephen was like, “There’s this amazing window upstairs. We saw it and thought, this is totally a Maike-window”… and it TOTALLY was [see the image above, so DREAMY!] So guys, I learn a lot about you during our engagement session, but you also learn about me, which is pretty great.
This was Ashley and my first time shooting at Sanctuary on Penn [I’ve really only been back in Indy for three years now, so I’m slowly getting to shoot at all these cool places]. It was such an awesome venue! The wood floors, and the awesome stained glass windows were great, but everyone that works there was like, 100% awesome. They were kind, were quick to help if you needed something, and just generally very cool.
Obviously this couple is delightful, and their wedding completely matched their awesome-ness. My favorite parts: Jordan and Stephen [duh], the awesome bridal party [everyone braved the cold weather for beautiful photos and thanked God it wasn’t a torrential spring downpour that day], that it was Jordan’s mom and dad’s anniversary [how sweet!], their awesome wedding bands [Stephen made her engagement ring and his wedding band, SO COOL], the accordion playing grandma and violin playing aunt, and the POLKA! [advice: if you want smiling fun pictures of your guests at your reception, play some polka dancing music and have everyone polka with you, because that makes everyone smile in ways I’ve never seen on the dance floor before].
You guys are beautiful human beings and I have loved being part of your wedding. I can’t wait to share all these beautiful photographs with you!
Cheers!
~Maike
Hair : Eye Do Makeup [Morgan Bediako]
Make Up : Eye Do Makeup [Morgan Bediako]
Florist : Graceful Hands Floral Design
Ceremony/Reception Venue : The Sanctaury on Penn
Cake : Rene’s Bakery (cutting cake) and Costco (sheet cake)
Catering : The Sanctaury on Penn
Dress : Veiled by ChaCha
Shoes : Badgley Mischka [Amazon!]
Bridesmaids Dresses : Azazie
MUSIC:
bride & groom first dance : Forever Like That, by Ben Rector
father & daughter dance : My Little Girl, by Tim McGraw
mother & son dance : Find Your Wings, by Mark Harris
BRIDE & GROOM Q&A:
Most memorable moment?
J: My most memorable moment was probably our first look— it was such a nice opportunity to spend some time with each other before the whirlwind of activity that was soon to follow!
S: My most memorable moment was when Jordan and I were tying the three cords together for our unity ceremony. As we were tying the cords, we were able to sing along with each other to the song we chose— it was beautiful.
Advice for future brides/grooms?
J: Don’t make wedding planning a big deal! Enjoy the time you get to spend with your future spouse and really keep the meaning of the wedding in focus, don’t get bogged down by every little detail. Also, let people help you— many people would love to help if you let them!
S: Take a few moments during your wedding for just you and your new spouse; those ended up being some of my favorite memories.
Funniest memory?
J: We had incorporated a family tradition that was in the history of both sides of our families— polka dancing! Our bridal party led the charge in leading people in the polka, and it was very entertaining watching all of our guests attempt it. They actually all did a great job!
S: Something about eating cake on the dance floor and dancing at the same time made me chuckle. You have limited time so you have to maximize the time you get!
If you could do it all over would you change anything?
J: I don’t think so! Our vision for the day came together nicely and we had a blast! I wish we could have spent more time with people, but I don’t really know what we could have changed to make that happen.
S: I also would have liked to spend some more time with our guests.
Honeymoon?
We traveled to Northern California for our honeymoon and had a wonderful time. That area is so rich with national and state parks, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and weather while staying in the Redwoods!
“We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.” -Henry Ward Beecher
So those of you in the mommy crowd know having a group of women to talk with [re: all things babies, husbands, lament about how full life is and how you don’t have time to get much done, ask for advice, compare and contrast parenting styles, etc], is PRICELESS. If you’re fb friends with me, you know how much I loved mommy and baby yoga [dad’s were welcome too, but it is primarily mommy’s]; Stacey is one of those friends I connected with in class.
We were able to photograph a session with her sweet boy Max, husband Peter and grandma and grandpa [who are moving to Indy area soon! hooray!]
Their session was AWESOME. Here in Indiana we’ve had snow off and on for like… ever. So we didn’t end up going outside, but what we got inside in their home was just delightful.
Stacey, I’m so glad we’re mommy friends! Loved photographing your family!
Cheers!
~Maike
“As Daddy said, life is 95 percent anticipation.” Gloria Swanson
So we scheduled this session for what was sure to be a beautiful Saturday morning in March… maybe a little brisk, but probably a few green trees and we’d most likely be able to find some blooming flowers.
But then, it snowed like, 10 inches in Indianapolis. So we rescheduled. And while the Saturday after our original date called for some rain, we successfully avoided it with our early morning photography session. These two [technically three ;)], were such troopers! ‘Cause guys, even though it wasn’t raining, it was COLD.
I try not to complain about the weather, but I will say, I am ready for change.
But let’s talk about Roxanna and that beautiful baby bump!
I only barely know Roxanna and Brad, but guys, there are certain things that are tell-tale signs couples are comfortable with each other, and are so ready to be amazing parents. These two, they’re going to rock parenthood. After we tromped through mud, Brad noticed some stuck on Roxanna’s shoes and wiped it off with his hand [anyone with a baby knows what this is good practice for], and the way he was making Roxanna laugh, it was great.
I’m so excited for these two! And so proud of these beautiful images.
Cheers!
~Maike
