Shanna Chess Photography

Olivia and David brought their adorable new daughter, Vivian, in to my photography studio in Eugene, Oregon for a newborn mini session. She is such a cute baby and her mom and dad are so proud of her! I can’t blame them a bit: she is a beauty and just so precious. 

It was so much fun to see Knox again last month for his six month mini baby photography session! I’ve been the Eugene, Oregon photographer for this family for a little while now, and I have so enjoyed getting to know them! I did Knox’s newborn photos when he first arrived, as well as his mom’s maternity pictures when she was pregnant with him, and they are just a fantastic family to work with.

I had the pleasure of meeting Brooke last month to do a milk bath for her maternity photography session. She is such a beautiful lady and the pictures turned out wonderfully! If you’ve followed previous posts you probably know that, while most of my sessions are held in my photography studio in Eugene, Oregon , or in one of the many beautiful outdoor locations in the area, I have to break with tradition a bit for milk baths and welcome clients into my bathroom at home so we can use the tub! It actually makes for kind of a fun change sometimes, and I love doing milk bath photography because it always turns out so pretty. 

Kelli and Joe brought in Cameron and Makenzi with big brother Jackson for a baby photography session last month to document the twins turning one year old. I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten! It seems like just a couple of weeks ago I had them in the studio for their newborn pictures, so seeing them again was a reminder of just how much time has flown by! 

I’ve been photographing this wonderful family for a while now, ever since Brandi and Zach were expecting their oldest daughter, Macie. I also did Macie’s newborn pictures, and this summer I was able to do another maternity session for Brandi in anticipation of a little boy arriving. I’ve been looking forward to seeing him in my studio ever since and last month I was finally able to meet little Triton and do his newborn photography session! He is such a sweetheart, and just as healthy and handsome as anybody could wish for. I’m so excited for you to meet him!

Susan, Ryan, and their son Josiah met me at Hendricks Park last month for a family photography session to document Josiah turning a year old. They are relatively new to this area, having moved here recently from the East coast, and I’m so glad I got to be their Eugene, Oregon photographer ! They loved the idea of a lush, park-like setting for their photos, so Hendricks Park was a perfect choice. It was too late in the summer for us to catch many blooms (this particular park is renowned for its rhododendrons, which reach their peak in late spring and early summer), but the trees were beautiful, the grass was green, and a few of the leaves were just beginning to fall to earth, giving just a hint of the beautiful autumn season to come. 

Oh, my goodness, this was such a fun session! Ashanti and Sheree brought sweet Koda and Mateus in for a twin newborn photography session last month, and what a delight they were! I can’t get over the cuteness of these two little boys, and I’m so excited to share their pictures with you!

It has been so great photographing for Ashley and Andy over the past year and a bit. I first met them when I did Ashley’s maternity photographs shortly before they welcomed their little guy to the world, and since their sweet son Aiden arrived I’ve been able to see this family every few months: for Aiden’s newborn session, mini milestone photography sessions at three, six, and nine months, and now, a whole entire year! He is such a big boy now and a real cutie—enjoy the photos!

I was so excited to do this family photography session for Tamarra! She is the matriarch of this beautiful family and I’ve met her several times when I was doing photo sessions for her daughters and their babies, but this was the first time Tamarra herself was actually in the photographs. She is a beautiful lady and always a pleasure to be around, so I was delighted when she asked me to do the honors for this session. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Tamarra’s son, Nick, but I have been privileged to know her daughters for a while now. It was wonderful to have the whole family together in such a beautiful setting!

Di and Xinlu brought their adorable son Vincent to my photography studio in Eugene, Oregon early last month to capture the milestone of one hundred days! Such a neat idea. Apparently in some Asian cultures a hundred days is a special milestone in a baby’s life, and many families carry on this tradition today. The roots of this celebration are somewhat sobering: before modern healthcare practices, a lot of infants died shortly after birth, so the hundredth day is historically a time to celebrate the survival of a child through that first, most difficult period of his or her life. Thankfully, in this day and age, it is the rule rather than the exception that a baby will reach this milestone, but I think it’s wonderful to carry on such a joyful tradition of celebrating life and health!

I had such a fun weekend in Westport, Washington at the beginning of last month! My younger sister, Lea, (there are four of us sisters and she is number three in line) is pregnant with a baby boy—my first nephew. I’m so excited! Little Harrison Jerome (love that name) is due early this month, so I’m getting antsy for his arrival! My husband and daughters and I drove up to Washington so I could co-host a baby shower for Lea with our youngest sister. The baby shower went great and it was such a lot of fun to be with family and friends, to help get things ready for the new little guy, and to celebrate a new life!