Shanna Chess Photography

Happy first birthday, Olive! It was so fun to have this little sweetheart and her family back in my Eugene, Oregon photo studio again. I have been photographing this group ever since big sister Violet was a newborn. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know them and helping them capture the big milestones in their family’s life! This time we were celebrating their youngest daughter’s first birthday with a cake smash photography session. It was extra fun to have Jacoby and Violet with us too! For some reason, although I do a lot of cake smash sessions, it’s almost always just baby and parents who come to the studio. Maybe because they want the focus to be on the birthday boy or girl—but I think it’s a great idea to get family photos at the same time. After all, if you’ve got one kiddo being photographed already, what better time to get some adorable sibling photos, right? We even took a little time out to get individual portraits of all three kiddos plus some family shots. Olive was the...

Is this year flying by for anybody else? I cannot believe we’re halfway through September already—and that Gianna’s one year cake smash photography session was three and a half months ago. Crazy! Here are the photos from her milestone photo session—you’re going to love them! Adriana and Oscar brought in cutie Gianna for a one year baby photoshoot plus cake smash. It’s a great combination! This type of session is really popular for that one-year milestone, as it allows us to get some classic portraits along with photos that are more birthday party themed. (Adding a cake smash setup to your little one’s baby and child milestone session is only an additional $50, so it’s a super affordable way to have the best of both worlds. You can check out more about session options here . ) Gianna was absolutely adorable and such a happy kiddo! She smiled almost the entire session, so I know I wasn’t the only one having a great time! (I loved the double top knot thing she had going with her hair—...

 I can’t believe how long our beautiful fall weather has lasted! I am loving the sunshine and the crisp, cool mornings and evenings. Usually Oregon autumns get soggy too quickly to really be able to enjoy the crunching leaves and pretty colors—but we have gotten super lucky this year! Of course, regardless of what the weather is doing, I am lucky enough to have a ray of sunshine in my Eugene, Oregon photography studio whenever I’m working. These little ones are so much fun and always a highlight! About a month ago I had Adeline and her parents (Lili and Jordan) in the studio for Adeline’s one-year baby photography session. We had a blast together! Adeline was super smiley and happy the entire session, which was great. Sometimes kiddos this age have developed a little bit of stranger danger and it can take them a while to warm up to me. But Adeline had no problem working the camera! She had the most adorable little head tilt and liked sticking her tongue out. So cute! Those eye...

My last session of January was a one-year baby photography session, complete with cake smash! So much fun. Mom Kenddi reached out to me after hearing about my work from a friend of hers that I had done photography for. I appreciate it so much when my clients refer their friends and family to me—it’s the best way that my business as a Eugene, Oregon photographer grows, plus it’s great to meet new families and learn about their connections to other clients. So thanks so much to all of you for those referrals—and feel free to keep them coming!

I can’t believe my niece is five years old! Seems like yesterday I was doing her newborn pictures. How does time go by so fast? I’ve done a baby and child photography milestone session with her every year near her birthday and it is always so much fun! She is the cutest thing ever, and just gets more adorable each year if that’s possible.

Tawni brought in adorable Logan for a shark-themed cake smash at the end of last year. I haven’t seen them since I did Logan’snewborn pictures , so it was wonderful to have them in my Eugene, Oregon photography studio again. Logan’s gotten so big! He was a preemie, but did a great job putting on weight and getting big and strong right from the start. Loved seeing him a year out and getting to know his fun personality.

I finally got my adorable nephew Harrison back in the studio for his one-year baby photography session! The last time he was in the studio was for his newborn pictures. Of course, I’ve been able to see him a few times in between too: we’ve done his milestone sessions on my visits up to Washington where Harrison lives with his dad and my sister. But it was super fun to be able to do some studio setups for my favorite little guy!

I have been photographing this adorable family at least once a year ever since Annalise was born. They are some of my favorite clients! I love seeing Annalise and Thea grow up as I record the milestone of each passing year in my work as a Eugene, Oregon photographer . Parents Annabelle and Josh booked this annual session to celebrate their girls’ birthdays a while ago, but the time flew by! When I saw them, I couldn’t believe how big the girls had gotten! Hard to believe that Annalise is four already and Thea is two. It was great to get together with them again for another wonderful session!

What a fun adventure to have Lennon in my studio again—this time for his one-year cake smash photography session. This little guy is baby number three in his family. I photographed him and his older siblings Harrison and Holland as newborns, and I also photographed them at their one-year mark. Photographing three babies in the same family was a milestone for me as a Eugene, Oregon photographer , and I love seeing this family so regularly. All three of the kiddos have their own unique personality and are so different from each other, but all such cuties! They definitely keep me on my toes!

Elyse brought in little Julia for her one-year cake smash photography session. I was the Eugene, Oregon photographe r for this sweetheart when she was a newborn, and have also done her big sister’s pictures, so although only part of the family was able to make it this time, it was wonderful to have Julia and her mom back for some milestone shots. This was a mini session, so we just did the one setup and spent about twenty minutes together in the studio. We got some great photos of this cutie!

Merida came to the studio with her parents Ashley and Erik for a one-year birthday cake smash. I photographed this little one as a newborn so it was wonderful to have her back for another baby photography session.

Brandi brought in adorable Macie last month for a four-year-old milestone mini session. I’ve been the Eugene, Oregon photographer for this family ever since Macie was born, and have photographed this little girl and her brother on multiple occasions, as well as doing maternity sessions for mom when she was expecting each of them. It was great to have Macie in the studio again for some special birthday photos!

Anna, Rebecca, and Grandma came to see me in the studio a couple of weeks before Mother’s Day. They wanted to do some cake smash photography for Anna’s birthday, and also some milestone pictures and three-generation shots. Anna is one year old and as cute as they come! It was a pleasure to spend some time with this little one and her mother and grandmother. Enjoy the photos!

Oh my goodness, would you look at this cutie? I have loved photographing this little man every few months over the past year. He is adorable and always so smiley and happy. He brings the sunshine with him wherever he goes! Mom (Brittanie), Dad (Colby), and Grandma brought Knox to my Eugene, Oregon photography studio last month for his one-year cake smash photography session, and we had so much fun!

It was so great to have Josh, Dana, and Austin back in the studio for Austin’s one year baby photography session! Josh was our realtor when my husband and I were looking for a house, and I’ve been photographing his family since Austin was born. They are such great people, and I loved seeing all of them again. I couldn’t believe how much their little guy had grown since I saw him last.

It’s already been a year since I had this sweetheart in my Eugene, Oregon photography studio as a newborn. She has gotten so big and is such a cutie! I think she looks a lot like her dad. As she’s been growing up physically, her personality has grown right along with her! She was a total ham for me during this photo shoot, just like her big brother has always been. (I did his newborn, six-month, and one-year photos, and he has always been such a fun, happy little guy. He still is!)  

Kellyn and Quinn came to visit me in the studio again—this time for their one-year photos! I can’t believe it has already been a whole year of photographing these cuties. As a Eugene, Oregon photographer , it has been such a pleasure to document their growing up, from the time when they were still just a bump in their mama’s belly to now! I was a little bit sad thinking this might be my last chance to photograph them, but luckily for me Mom wanted to schedule an outdoor 18-month baby photography session, so I will get to see them this summer too.

I can’t believe my sweet niece Harbor is four years old already! Time is going way too fast. Having photographed her since she was a newborn I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that she isn’t a baby anymore—or even a toddler! She is getting to be such a big girl and is absolutely gorgeous. I loved celebrating her fourth birthday with a photo session at my studio just a few days before Christmas. 

It was wonderful to see Mia, Brent, and their daughter Zalia again last month! I have gotten to know this family a little bit over the last year or so through my work as a Eugene, Oregon photographer , doing a maternity session for Mia when she was pregnant, and Zalia’s newborn photos when she arrived. Be sure to check out the photos from Mia’s session and Zalia’s session if you missed them! 

Mom Kristen and big sister Brytnee brought Liam in to the studio in September for his one year cake smash photography session. I did this little guy’s six month baby pictures back in April and he’s already grown and changed so much since then. He was still just as cute and smiley as I remember him though! I remember that he did great at our last session and didn’t stop smiling from beginning to end. I was happy that he had the same great experience this time around! A lot of times babies and toddlers can be a bit uncertain in the studio, and I have to pull out my bag of baby photographer tricks to coax a smile out of them, but Liam was so happy the whole time. Just like last time, he smiled almost nonstop, was incredibly easygoing, and made it easy to get amazing pictures!