Shanna Chess Photography

We always say as newborn photographers that the babies are the ones in control and calling all the shots.  They are the boss!  Well, Ms. Lahti Lou was no exception!  She wanted lots of snuggles and lots of food during her session :)  But in the end, we got some beautiful images of her.  Her mama loves creams and purples, so we used them a lot in her session.  Her daddy's family is also Native American, so we incorporated some beautiful moccasins and a headdress.  Enjoy!

Had such a lovely afternoon celebrating the impending arrival of Erin's second little boy :)  They aren't sharing the name yet and it is driving everyone bonkers!  But I'm lucky to be able to meet him shortly after his anticipated arrival to take his newborn photographs. Laura was the gracious hostess and had the shower in her beautiful home in Veneta.  Her back yard has the most amazing views of the mountains on the way to Florence, so it was the perfect setting for the tables to be set up.  There was amazing food, yummy desserts and fun games!  Erin was showered with amazing gifts and a good time was had by all :)  Enjoy!

And isn't she just absolutely stunning!?!  I can't believe we are almost to her 1 year session!  She was so super duper smiley for her session--I think she is getting excited for her cake smash session coming up :)  Enjoy!

Raelee is going to be One next month and is having a Very Merry First Un-Birthday Tea Party in ONE-derland :) So of course, she needed an Alice dress, made my Knotted Wear 4 Kids , and a black bow on her adorable little head, made by The Rogue Baby .  And I special ordered a custom backdrop from Butterfly Backdrops that will also be used in the photo booth at her party. Enjoy!

I can't believe it! Jacob is already one year old!  I have been photographing him since he was a little newborn only a few days old :)  He's such an adorable and sweet little guy and I always have such a fun and easy time capturing his smiling personality.  He wasn't too into his cake, but I think we still got some really cute pictures :) Enjoy!

Adorable Mr. Lane's newborn session was very last minute!  I got the email from his mama Friday morning and my family and I were going out of town for Memorial Day weekend so I had to tell her I wasn't able to do the session that weekend.  I had openings the next weekend.  As they thought about it, we started our visit to see some family and it was cut short unfortunately, so we came home a day early.  Once I knew we were coming home, I emailed Lane's mama and we set the session up for that Sunday!  Phew!  So glad I was able to spend a morning with him and his sweet parents--it was the only good thing about having to cut our visit short :) Enjoy!  Oh, and look at those lips!!!

I opened my studio at the end of March and am just now getting it to where I like it and pictures taken.  I've moved things around at least 3 times and change little things up after every shoot.  I'm getting to where I'm pretty happy with my setup and wanted to share. We didn't have a large budget for the studio and used our tax return this year to fund the construction and furnishings.  I already had almost all my current props, backdrops, blankets, lighting and equipment.  But my house was running out of space to hold it all!  And it wasn't my favorite thing to pack up my car for sessions and setup makeshift studios in clients homes.  It worked, but it wasn't easy and I was limited to the number of backdrops and props I could bring.  And with being in Oregon, chances of wet weather are pretty good 9 months out of the year, so it is not always an option to have outdoor sessions.  We felt this project would be a good investment and should get me...