Celebrating Everett | Infant Loss Awareness | Seattle Maternity Photogapher

These photos are incredibly special to me because these people are so beloved by me. What started as a book club friendship turned quickly to a deeper bond. I was invited to photograph the birth of their first child. All the wonder and excitement of bringing a new life into the world - Michelle and Benjamin felt it keenly.

Then there was a diagnosis. Trisomy 13. There were questions and prayers, tears and decisions to be made. Looming over it all - the complete inability to ever really know what would happen. Truly these are the experiences that stretch the limits of human existence.

How can you feel so broken yet so held all at once?

I watched from the outside as these two parents navigated waters that none of us wish to face. They swam the oceans of heartache and peace. Swirling, rolling, suspended - like their baby inside.

Their story is not mine to tell. I will say that I have been changed by the life of Everett.

We met in the studio to document just how loved their little boy was before he ever arrived on earth. The safety of the womb and the hands that stroked that growing belly with reverence and care. Truly Everett knew love every moment of his life.

Thank you, Michelle and Benjamin - for allowing me the honor to capture the love and joy Everett brought to your life. We will celebrate him always.

Meeting Baby Brother: Fresh 48 Session at Swedish First Hill Hospital | Seattle Birth Photographer

I don’t remember meeting my little brother. He’s just been there in my memory as far back as it goes. But the story in my family is that I was thrilled to greet him at the hospital and then announced as it was time to leave as a family, “Baby no go home. Baby stay here!” Apparently, my 18 month old self knew that as adorable as this infant was, it wouldn’t be a great idea to bring him home and mess up the good thing I had going.

Many families opt for a Fresh48 Session specifically to capture that precious first meeting of siblings. I always try to temper expectations. It’s a lot for a toddler to take in and is completely normal for them to not show a lot of interest in the baby at first. They need time to warm up and adjust. Some siblings, though, are READY to hold that baby. And these moments are so powerful! These photos offer a peek into the moment their bond first began - a bond they will share throughout their lives. I’m so fortunate to document these priceless memories for my clients.

Get a load of those adorable peely feet. Newborn toes get me every time!

I love documenting what life FEELS like for a family at the various stages of their life together. And soothing a little one while slightly bigger one crawls all over you with snacks - there’s not much that’s more “mother of 2 kids” than that.

If you’d like to schedule a Fresh48 session for your upcoming birth, send me a message and let’s make it happen!

Tessa Turns 1 | Seattle Family Photographer

There is so much to say about this session. So many thoughts about my best friend’s youngest turning a year old. Katie and I have been mothers together since the early days when we were hauling strollers up subway stairs and sitting in exhausted silence while the babies did NOTHING on the floor and we wondered if we’d ever be mentally alive again. And now we are older, softer, living on a different coast and marveling at how time can crawl and be a thief all at once.

When my friend told me that she wanted to book a session to capture this particular moment in time, my heart leapt. THIS. This is motherhood frozen. Kissing the fingers, squeezing the thighs and really breathing them in. Teaching them to clap and point and know what it is to be loved.

This is the relief of realizing that newborn exhaustion does not last forever, and the crushing heartache of understanding that actually, nothing does.

Here’s hoping that every mother has at least one other mother she can call and sob to. Someone she can text late at night with just the words - “I CANNOT!”

A friend who loves your children and totally agrees with you that they are monsters. Pass down the clothing, pass the french fries. Make another pass around the lake and around the sun. Together we mark the milestones and swear under our breath.

We sit in exhausted silence and watch the babies grow.

Happy Birthday, Tessa. And happy transition to you, Katie.

Goyal Family | Seattle Family Photographer

I’ve known Ena since we were freshmen in high school.

Shout out to all the cool kids on Speech and Debate Team!

I first photographed her sweet family when their oldest was just a bump in the tummy. And now look at them - two spunky girls and a houseful of laughter. I have a weakness for those cheesy grins and a refusal to look at the camera. Little kids keep me on my toes and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My friend, your family is so beautiful. Thank you for inviting me to document this moment in time.

Canalichio Family | Seattle Maternity Photographer

It’s such a pleasure to photograph families on the precipice of welcoming a new child. There’s joy and excitement, and frankly, naiveté on the part of the older sibling to be. An oldest child myself, my heart goes out to all the young ones about to be displaced as the center of their parents’ world.

Just kidding, friends. It’s true, adding another child does rock the family dynamics — but in all the best ways. Siblings are a gift to one another. A built in friend and confidant, a reliable sidekick for all the misadventures of childhood. No one challenges you and prompts your own growth quite like a brother or sister. I can’t wait to catch up with this delightful family again after baby is born and see what looks different, and what is still the same when three become four.

Fast Fact: Maternity sessions work best when you are around 32 weeks pregnant. If you’d like to schedule a session, send me a message and let’s chat about what you’d like to capture about the weeks of waiting for baby.

Haywood Family | Seattle Family Photographer

It's such a joy to work with this family! From that first coffee shop meet up for a birth consultation, we've just enjoyed our time together. Always talking and laughing - being with Russell and LeAnna feels less like work and more like catching up with old friends. I've been photographing little Evangeline since the day she was born, and seeing her at this six month milestone was a sweet highlight to my summer. Simply put - I adore this family and I'm so grateful they hire me to photograph meaningful moments in their lives.

That first photo! When you're OVER your parents being mushy all the time. Ha!

Brimhall Family | Seattle Family Photographer

Calling all Seattle families! Bring your chubby babies, bring your blankets and meet me on the beach. Even if the sun refuses to peek out, we'll have a grand time. Those rolls, those eyes - have you ever seen a cuter baby?!

Making the Case for Summer Sessions | Seattle Family Photographer

Summer is magical. As a family photographer in Seattle it's simply heaven. The sun is out everyday, the golden light of evening wraps around subjects and the miles of coastline make a perfect backdrop for capturing family memories.

Family photos normally pop up on people's radars in the fall - gotta get those holiday cards out! But I'm always making the case for the summertime portrait session. To me, summer epitomizes what it felt like to be a child. Carefree, fun-loving, staying outside until the sun goes down. This is the energy I capture in summer sessions - and I can't get enough.

It's dry, it's warm, there's time for dinner before your session. It's the perfect reason to keep the kids up a little late and make memories in front of my camera. I only have two summer family sessions left in 2018. Book yours today!

Looking Back -- Seattle Family Photographer

Being nominated as one of Seattle's Favorite Family Photographers has got me reflecting back on the almost 4 years I've spent in Seattle and what a pleasure it has been to meet each one of these families. I am so grateful that people invite me into some of their most joyful and vulnerable times in life.  It's my absolute pleasure to make art that means something to people. Thank you thank you! For hiring me, for nominating me, and for being an integral part of my business.

To vote for Hardie Photography as Seattle's Best Family Photographer visit the Parent Map Golden Teddy Awards and find my business under the shopping + services category. It's easy, spam free, and you can be entered to win a number of prizes. But most of all, you'd be doing a huge solid to this small business owner. Thanks everyone!

The first post is the hardest...

A new website, a new blog - two months into a new year. It's a lot of change. I've been away from any real blogging for a few years now. It started to feel like too much work to live my life AND present it in some beautifully packaged form. I edited my words and my photos mercilessly until they just wouldn't come anymore.

It was also a huge burden to keep my business blogging so divorced from my personal thoughts and the events of my own life. As though these things could ever be neatly separated. Being a birth photographer, a woman, a mother, a creative - it's all intimately connected.

So now I return to blogging with a promise to myself: That it doesn't have to be perfect. That it doesn't have to match some ridiculous notion of what "professional" looks or sounds like. I'm declaring this space to be about connection over perfection.

I give myself permission to show up imperfectly.

I give myself permission to play.

I give myself permission to explore creativity for the pure joy of it.

I give myself permission to make mistakes.

I give myself permission to claim this small corner of the internet as my very own. A place to connect with my people - to talk to my people.

Are you my people? If so - Welcome! I'll be showing up here the best that I know how and I invite you to do the same if you'd like. So tell me, friend, what are you giving yourself permission to do in 2018?

*Photo by Courtney Holmes Photography