I’m not sure where to start with this blog post – there’s just so much to say about this little family! Photographing Ella Rae is extra special for a lot of reasons, but at the heart of it is love – is my late father (who I called “dad”, my grandfather Norm Walker). The new dad in these photos, Kory Himmer, played football for my dad in his last years of coaching at Holderness School; he and his family grew close to my dad over the years he was there and even I – despite living and teaching and photographing hours away – had met and knew Kory and his family. In 2016 we reconnected when Kory and his wife Kristina asked me to photograph their wedding at the Stage Neck Inn (which I still need to blog, it was so beautiful!). We got together in April 2016 so I could meet Kristina and we did a little engagement session, which you can see HERE. Let me just say that these two are head over heels for each other! Their wedding day was amazing in every way, and secretly I hoped that when they decided to start a family that I would get to document that too! I am so thankful to Kristina who is just a lovely women all-around, and is so easy going and kind. I am also thankful to Kory’s mother, a talented hobbyist photographer, who has been incredibly supportive and kind through all of this as well!

Their newborn session took place at their new home in Swampscott, MA (the same town where my dad also graduated from high school and was a lifeguard all while dating mom!). The light in their new home is an absolute dream for a natural light photographer like myself – every room was even better than the last! We started in the side TV room where Kristina was nursing baby Ella and we chatted about her birth story and how the first two weeks of being a new parent was going for both of them. Honestly, this very conversation – and watching the two of them interact and re-tell their story is one of my favorite parts of the session; getting to know there two as an engaged couple and watching them move through such monumental stages in life at their wedding and then into parenthood is so heartwarming and fulfilling – this is what life is all about! This is the best stuff on earth! Thank you for inviting me into your home at this special (tired, hard, yet magical) time! XO