Quinn Newborn Session! Indianapolis, Indiana
“The moment I see my daughter’s face, I am instantly happier, my stress just disappears, and I forget everything else.” – S. Sreesanth
8 day old Quinn joined me in the studio for her session a couple weeks ago! Oh, and her parents Paige and Micah were there too [not every day I get to hang out with another Micah ya’all!]
And guys, I think I’ve said it before, and if you come into the studio with a newborn, I’ll say it again: newborn sessions are ALL about them. And I know that’s obvious [duh, that’s why you’re paying me to take photos of you anyway!], but what I mean is, they call the shots. If they’re hungry, we take a break and get that baby some milk! [And if you want, I’ll totally photograph you nursing or giving her a bottle]. If they go through 8 diapers while we’re hanging out, no big deal! If they’re crabby and not feeling it, we rock, we snuggle, we turn up the heat and we wait it out.
Okay, so all that to say though, I didn’t really have to pull out many tricks with Quinn. I think she cried for maybe a few seconds at one point during an outfit change, and after her first little nap where we got beautiful sleepy baby photos of her, she kind of kept one eye open the rest of the session [ha!] but she was so charming and cuddly and sweet.
Paige, I know I kept calling you Quinn [oops], but I’m so glad you found me, and that we were able to create these beautiful images of your sweet family of three! Momming is hard work, but you seem to be embracing all the nuances of it so far! Micah, high fives for being an awesome dad [guys, rumor has it, he’s purchased baseball themed headbands for his daughter already!] Rad that we have the same name :).
Cheers!
~Maike
“Out of difficulties grow miracles.” – Jean De La Bruyere
If you know me, you probably know I’m a middle child [shout out to all the other middle children of the world!!!] My sister and brother have appeared on the blog here and there [like the last time these guys were on the blog, was for a family session a few years back; I also featured my brothers wedding (which was more like an elopement really), a few years before back as well].
This feature though, is all about that sweet bump of my sisters! She’s growing a baby due in the middle of August, and we all are so excited and happy for her! They don’t know if it’s a baby girl or a baby boy yet [eeekkk!! Yay for surprises!!!], but Joshua is hoping for a baby brother [if this happens, it will continue the trend of my parents only being grandparents to boys ;)].
I’m so glad we were able to squeeze so many fun things into our trip out to New Mexico a couple weeks ago [yay for cousin weddings, and being able to host a baby shower for my sister while all the family was in town!]
Rika and Rusty, I’m so excited for that little baby coming soon. Joshua, I know that baby will be loved either way, but I’m hoping against you and have my fingers crossed for a baby girl.
Love you all!
~Maike
PS: Are you in New Mexico and love my work? I love shooting in other cities, so shoot me an e-mail if you want me to get in touch next time I’m in town and have some availability!
Elise Newborn Session! Columbia, Missouri
“Therefore, (God’s) promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all.” – Romans4:16
These guys were on the blog not too long ago with their family maternity session [so swoon-worthy, you probably want to check it out HERE], and I’m so excited to have them back on the blog!!! Bonni is one of my super good friends [from Drury University and our college days], because guys, it’s not just ANYONE that I’ll drive through hours of stormy rain to photograph your 9 day old baby [luckily my drive home had zero rain storm to drive with (thank you Jesus!)].
BUT GUYS! LOOK at how adorable this sweet squishy beautiful child is! I took big sister Alayna’s newborn photos too [a few years ago, HERE [my photography has grown a bit since that shoot, but oh how I love looking back at it]. She was probably one of my first actual newborn’s to photograph [did her session when she was brand spankin new (like, less than 48 hours old I think)].
And guys, it’s fun to do compare and contrasts with big sisters newborn look. There are so many similarities when you put images right next to each other, but then again, there are also SO many differences. I love that DNA mixture means shared and non-shared traits. So cool.
Bonni and Jake, you have once again create a beautiful new human being. I loved being with your family and seeing how gracefully you have become a family of four. Alayna, you are so precious with your baby sister. I love how obsessed you are with her, and how you want to be near her and touching her/smothering her. You are already such a good big sister, and I can’t wait to see how you two grow up together.
And Elise! Child you are so loved. I’m so glad you’re here and we can dote on you and ooh and awe at your preciousness. You’ve been born into a fantastically loving family.
Love you all!
~Maike
“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” – Rabindranath Tagore
Welcome Christina and Dan to the blog!!! Our first session [because Indy’s spring has seemed to grace us through mid June this year], was rained out. Our next session was one of those days that seems cool, but then you hang out long enough and realize there’s a TON of humidity in the air, which is 100% going to make you sweat sweat sweat.
But, as Dan pointed out, it was just a practice run in the sweat department for their wedding day coming up in July.
You’ll notice a little theme in their session: SoBro!!!! Southern Broad Ripple, for those not in the loop ;). We met up initially at Dan’s duplex, and then wandered from there, hitting up prime places that played a role in their romance, which was so super lovely.
If you’re thinking of a special spot for your photography session, I can totally incorporate places with sentimental meaning [love that], but also, you don’t have to. I’m always on the lookout for new places to shoot with cool walls, neat lighting situations, etc.
The second half of their session was at Christina’s condo, specifically the courtyard area. I didn’t really know what to expect, but GUYS. I loved shooting there. It was like a secret little garden with beautiful old buildings, and some flowers, and lovely lamp posts. So beautiful.
So yay for Christina and Dan! So excited to photograph your wedding next month! I’m sure these next few pre-wedding weeks will fly bye!
Cheers!
~Maike
Piper Newborn Session! Zionsville, Indiana
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” – Maya Angelou
Last fall I decided to sign up for the Motherhood together biweekly hangout meeting at my church [Common Ground Christian Church], and one of the guest speakers was a couple talking about marriage. We chatted about all sorts of things, but then one thing was about going on dates with your spouse post-baby. Ronald and I had hired someone to come watch Z a few times, and some lovely childless friends had also stayed with him a few times, but nothing regular. So we’re talking about this during the small group table discussion time, and Emily was talking about how it’s hard, and expensive and how they don’t have grandmas/grandpas in town, and I was like, “WAIT!!! Us either! Let’s swap!” [the speaker had given us the idea, but then I was like, “with who?”]
Our boys are literally days apart in age, and so starting last fall, every month, we find days to swap sitting so we can go on dates with our husbands. And it’s beautiful. It’s something I look forward to. Sure, we might have gone couch shopping on one date-excursion, and Emily and Cole went to a hardware store to look at cabinet pulls on one of theirs. But one night a month we can get away together and do whatever. Glorious.
So yes, this is my friend! And now this sweet family is a family of 4!
Ollie, for no nap, and being 2 years old, you were a rockstar. Piper, everyone is so excited that you are here. Welcome to the world little one! Gram, you were so super helpful! Thanks for snagging Ollie for tv time, and helping with high fives when he was getting tired of photos.
Cole and Emily, I’m so blessed by your friendship. Thank you for inviting me into your home and creating these first memories of your family of 4.
Love you guys!
~Maike
*That afghan under the basket, made by Emily’s momma… Pipers grandma… out of Cole’s momma’s [Pipers other grandma] alpaca’s wool. How amazing, right? So much talent.
“To escape and sit quietly on the beach – that’s my idea of paradise.” – Emilia Wickstead
Heyyo!!! So when I was hmm, “being interviewed” ;) for the official photography job at their wedding, Jake and Mauna asked me if I’d be up for a trip to Grand Mere State Park for their engagement session. And guys, Lake Michigan is one of my favorite places to go, so OF COURSE I was like, “YES PLEASE!” Got it on the books, and decided to make a family weekend of it by renting a little airbnb and taking Z to the beach a few times, and hiking, and hanging out.
So yay Jake and Mauna for wanting your engagement session at Grand Mere!
The week before we were solidifying times to meet, and they reminded me that there was a good 20-30 minute hike to get to the beach [which is good, because I definitely had forgotten that part]. But it was SO worth it.
In case anyone is wondering, yes, solid YES I will drive back up to Lake Michigan to take your engagement photos, or family photos, or well, whatever else you come up with to photograph at this gorgeous place.
And Mauna and Jake! This was the first time we hung out in real life [we FaceTimed for our first meeting], and they are both so lovely to be with. It is so clear that Jake makes Mauna laugh ALL THE TIME, and that they just simply adore each other and make a super rad team.
I’m also grateful that Jake has a good sense of direction, since at some point we got lost from each other. Guys, it was a little scary; I like being outdoors, but I am NOT the girl that’s going to survive 2 weeks, lost in the woods… but luckily they found me, and we all made it back to the cars before night fall. Ha!
Mauna and Jake, I’m so excited to photograph you next year for your wedding! This engaged year is going to go by so fast, but also probably feel so slow. I loved hanging out with you on Lake Michigan!
Cheers!
~Maike
“Whenever a toddler sees a pile of blocks, he wants to tear it down.” – J. J. Abrams
MAYBE you saw the above sneak peek on facebook, and my little quip about how I flew to London to photograph this little dudes’ first birthday. I was only sort of telling the truth.
The full truth, is back a couple years ago we traveled to Germany and saw my family and did the tourist bit, etc, and Ronald was all, “Next time we leave the country, I want to go somewhere where I can understand the language.” Then, on our way back to the US, we were chatting and dreaming, and he was like, “England”. Then mentioned something about how so many of his books are based in London, and he just wants to go drink beer, in a pub, in London.
Shortly after that, our friends Amelie and Michael moved to London… and since R turned 40 this past February there seemed like no better opportunity to fly over there, stay with our awesome friends [who also had great advice for what to do/see/etc], and DO London! And pretty randomly, we ended up being there over Alexanders 1st birthday! So obviously we had to do a portrait session while I was there.
This little guy is cute, sweet, and full of adorable laughs. He was a trooper when we went out to Greenwich for the day, and stayed out late for dinner. He was also delightful to play with after our London shenanigans at the end of the day.
HOWEVER, lets talk a minute about the cake, and how absolutely UNINTERESTED he was in the cake. I’m not an expert at cake smashes, but I’ve taken a few in my day, and this kiddo, could seriously not have cared less about the cake. Ha! We put it down, I took my position to get the first shot of him diving into it, then we put him down a few feet away, AND HE CRAWLED RIGHT PAST IT!….. TWICE! Ha! Eventually we encouraged a little play, but he mostly wanted to throw the 1 year old candle stick, and when he got icing on his hand, he rubbed it off on his pants. And then, we showed him the inside of the cake [it was a beautiful rainbow cake], he crawled through it a bit, and pretty much got everyone else smudged with icing.
Kids man.
But, while he wasn’t super into the cake, we did get amazing photos and a perfect story to tell him in the future, when I imagine he will be much more interested in cake.
So here ya go! Alexanders first birthday photoshoot in London, England!
Amelie and Michael, you guys are lovely humans. I’m so glad we’re friends and that you let us crash your pad for the week. You guys were great hosts!
Everyone interested in a cake smash, just a heads up, this could happen to you, and it will make a great story.
Cheers!
~Maike
*It’s always nice to get that one photo of them crawling to the next destination, because let’s be real, so much of their day is getting from one interesting thing to the next via the crawl.
*the birthday balloons are also another story. And it shows just how different, even at 1 year old, kiddos are! Z was super into the balloons, pulled them down, tried to eat them, stared up at them a lot. Alexander was into them, but also a little fearful of them. Ha! By day 7, he’d decided they were all right and he wanted to play with them more.
