Shannon Holden Photography

Finn has arrived! Blog readers met his big sister, Rowan, last Fall. Finn was so nice and sleepy for our session. He didn’t mind a bit as we interrupted his nap for each new pose. And in excellent timing, he woke up at the end of our session for a few more images with those bright eyes open. Perfect! I think he’s going to have that same gorgeous red hair like his big sister. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job? Finn’s portrait session was my first day back “on the job” after a short break following the holiday chaos. Admittedly, I was feeling a bit burned out after the craziness of the holiday portrait season. Many of us photographers feel that way. But the minute I started packing my camera bag to head out to meet Finn, that surge of energy and excitement came back to me, and I had a blast at his session. Simply having a camera in my hand … that’s all it takes to reawaken my inner photographer.

Ryan, Sarah, Rowan, and Finn … may God shower you with love, laughter, and blessings in your lives together. Thank you for the chance to share a little of all three with you.

Much love,
Shannon

As I mentioned in my recent post here, we have a new baby cousin in our family! Precious Hudson Robert arrived just after Thanksgiving. My cousin’s family lives in the Washington, DC area, and their favorite photographer recently moved out of state. During our Thanksgiving visit, as Heather and I browsed some local photographer’s websites, we decided on the spur of the moment that I would just fly back to DC after Hudson was born! How thrilled I was to be his first photographer! Unfortunately, my ticket was booked for the weekend that the DC area with hit with a massive amount of snow, and sadly that same day, my husband’s grandmother passed away. Heather and I agreed that it would really be best if I postponed my trip rather than get snowed in, especially at a time when my family here needed me.

Thus, Hudson was already several weeks old by the time I got to DC just after Christmas, so he really wanted no part of the sleepy, curly, newbie baby shots. Nonetheless, we had 36 hours for this session, and in that time, we finally talked him into a snooze or two! I couldn’t resist a few more images of Riley and Jake while I was there. These two just grow more stunning every year. And they are so in love with their new baby brother. What an honor and a blessing it was for me to get to spend this weekend with them. I only wish we lived closer, so it wouldn’t have to be months in between our visits!

Welcome to our family, sweet Hudson!!

Much love,
Shannon

Meet Megan! This darling baby girl joins a family with three big brothers, so you can imagine the excitement when her parents found out they had a girl on the way! We had a little trouble getting Megan’s newborn portraits scheduled, so she was just a bit older than the age of 10-14 days I usually recommend, but that’s ok! At 4 weeks old, Megan was so curious and alert, which was such a treat for me! We managed to coax her to sleep for just a few minutes, but she was reluctant to miss out on anything exciting while she snoozed. I understand, sweet girl. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the party either.

I just love those big blue eyes and those beautiful, soft cheeks. So sweet! (Boy, do I have baby fever lately! Thank goodness my job lets me spend time with so many tiny babies. I always pause for a quick snuggle during our sessions.) I’ll be curious to see how much pink fills up the B household now that they have a girl! With three big brothers, she might just find more interest in Transformers and Star Wars as she grows up. Nah … I think she’ll be a pretty princess through and through!

My children have another new cousin! We are thrilled to welcome Emma Grace to our family, born just a few weeks ago to my husband’s brother and his wife. We spent a weekend with them recently at their home in Tifton, Georgia to meet Emma. She is so beautiful! I love her head full of dark hair, and those her long graceful fingers. Poor Keith and Stacy didn’t get too much sleep those first few weeks. I remember those days so well!

My sister-in-law, Stacy Holden, is also a professional photographer. (And may I say, I am so excited to have another photographer in the family! Now someone else can help feed my mother-in-law’s addiction to portraits of her grandkids!!) But as I know all too well, it is rare that we, the photographer moms, get to be IN a photograph with our children, not to mention our newborn babies. So it was my honor and pleasure to create a few portraits for Keith and Stacy and their daughter, Claire, as they welcome Emma into their lives. I only wish we had included their chihuahua, “Teacup” in the portrait!

Thank you, Keith, Stacy, Claire, and Emma! Love you guys! See you soon!