Powder Blue Photography

Newborn Baby Nolan | Sports Nursery

Sweet Christmas baby Nolan was born just before the holiday! He is a peaceful little guy and slept the entire time I was shooting. I was very fond of his classic Janie & Jack outfit–sometimes newborn clothes can look very large on newborns but this one fit just right, and I thought the texture looked perfect for photos.

Have you ever tried to photograph LED Christmas lights? I had the hardest time getting them to show up! Apparently they blink on and off at a frequency that we can’t see with our eyes but that is faster than my camera’s shutter speed. Many of my shots looked like the lights were off; I was so baffled but figured it out later. Anyway, with a little extra patience and some brainstorming on camera settings, I got some great shots by the Christmas tree anyway!

Nolan’s nursery has a colorful sports theme and we also took a baseball photo for dad.

This family’s light-filled Southside loft was beautiful for photos–very tall ceilings and beautiful window light. Even in the brightest of homes though I am usually using Canon 600 EX-RT Speedlites or Westcott Flex LEDs for fill–I don’t mind using a higher ISO if I have to, but I do like the sharpness that comes with adding light to a lifestyle newborn session.

Lily Senior Portraits at Crossfit Mt. Lebanon | MLHS Class of 2016

When Lily contacted me to do a senior portrait inside of Crossfit Mt. Lebanon, my first thought was, “Yes!” But then I actually saw the inside and that quickly turned to “Wow!” The gym itself is gigantic, not at all the cozy spot it looks like from the street.

Lily and her whole family hit the gym at Mt. Lebanon Crossfit, and she wanted to incorporate that into her shoot. In planning, Lily taught me a little about Crossfit, and then I planned the lighting and atmosphere in an effort to show the commitment and strength that belong to a Crossfitter.

I was thrilled to see that the gym at Mt. Lebanon Crossfit is so spacious and has beautiful skylights and dark walls. Lily showed me around the gym and performed the standard tasks involved in a Crossfit workout while we took her senior photos.

Once we captured Lily’s strength and passion for fitness, we hit up a local park for some beautiful sunset portraits. She brought along her best friend, and though he is a high-energy dog, he ran right over and posed for photos, it was adorable!

It was pouring rain just hours before this shoot, and it turned into a gorgeous day with bright pink sunset skies–no color enhancement happening at all on those pink images below.

Thanks Lily for shooting your senior portraits with me–you are a wonderful and intelligent young lady with a hysterical and fun family who loves you to pieces! I wish you the best with your future!

Newborn Baby Lena Mae | Modern Rustic Black & White Nursery

Please welcome newborn Lena Mae, born in Fall 2015 in Mt Lebanon. This beautiful baby girl arrived about a week before Thanksgiving, and Mom still hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends. Mom might have been exhausted, but Baby Lena had lots of loving arms to be thankful for. And who could resist holding this sweet baby in between bites of turkey and gravy?

I really can’t wait for you to see baby Lena Mae’s nursery, one of the loveliest and most delightful combinations of creative visual elements I have ever seen. (And I have seen some of the most amazing nurseries in all of Pittsburgh!)

The first thing I noticed about the nursery was the color scheme. While it had a distinctively sweet baby girl vibe, it also had an undeniable rustic & earthy quality. The nursery was filled within homemade, hand made and personalized items, reflective of this family’s strong appreciation of the warmth that handmade and hand-selected items can add to any room.

Mom made the hanging yarn pom-poms and painted the antlers obtained in dad’s hunting expeditions. If you look closely, you can see a cute little hobby horse next to the crib; this little guy belonged to Dad when he was young. This horsey was cleaned up in anticipation of Lena Mae’s arrival.

I was particularly blown away by the overall color scheme of this nursery. Would you think to decorate a newborn girl’s nursery with a black and white arrow trim? Or put gold curtains with pink sheets? Or place a turquoise lamp in the middle of all that black, pink, gold and beige? I wouldn’t either, but look at this beautiful result! I admit it, Pinterest has definitely helped me come up with new decorating ideas, but I will never have the creative decorating eye that this mom has. It is truly amazing how this eclectic room all comes together for little Lena Mae.

What would you call this decorating style? Rustic-elegant-artistic-baby girl-homespun-artistic? Please tell me in the comments below!

After a busy week, this new family is ready for some down time together.

Check out images from mom’s maternity session here:

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Are you looking for a maternity, newborn, family, or baby photographer in Pittsburgh? Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and in-studio portraits of newborn babies and maternity we well as family portraits in and around the Pittsburgh South Hills, McMurray, Peters Township, Canonsburg, Bridgeville, Upper St. Clair, and Mt. Lebanon areas. Please contact Missy to schedule a maternity appointment and a tentative date for your newborn session. Maternity sessions take place around 33-36 weeks, and newborn sessions take place in the first few weeks of life. Family sessions take place anytime!

Pittsburgh Senior Photographer | Tasha M. Senior Portraits | Mt. Lebanon, PA

My senior portrait involved a piece of scalloped velvet that was clamped on around my shoulders, and a single unretouched studio portrait–location shooting was not on anybody’s radar back in 1995. Check out my totally 90s senior portrait here.

Thank goodness that has changed (unlike my haircut, which is quite similar), as evidenced by these location shots of the gorgeous Tasha M below. My job in these shots was to capture Tasha’s essence– she’s a beautiful, easygoing, fun, kind and natural young woman–and also capture her confidence and elegant maturity.

Senior portraits are a time to showcase talents and personality! Tasha is passionate about dance, and with very little direction from me, she confidently danced and leapt around the field, creating a series of rhythmic and lyrical shapes for me to photograph, mingled with the light and colors of the summer setting. I always encourage seniors to schedule their session for summer (beautiful sunsets and summer clothes seem to be popular with this age group), so March-April of Junior is the ideal time to book.

While this white dress on Tasha’s beautiful skin was amazing, she also wanted to experiment with having her wear a vivid print. You guessed it–also amazing.

I’ve written on this blog how nice it is to fold family and cultural traditions into family portraits, and this group shot of the women in Tasha’s life is a beautiful example of that. Originally from Africa and world travelers all, Mom, Grandma and older sister–her greatest role models and mentors–graciously agreed to pose for a group photo. (They came along as her cheerleaders, but were not expecting to be photographed that day!)

I wish Tasha the best as she goes on to college with the goal of studying to become an MD.

Here is a video showing more shots of Tasha:

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Missy Timko is the photographer behind Powder Blue Photography, a boutique photography studio located in Pittsburgh, PA. She specializes in newborns, maternity, families, seniors, and head shots. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, both posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also runs a studio in the West End Village in Pittsburgh. There are many session options, from full length custom sessions to quick updates of just the kids, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh. Contact Missy for availability.

Pittsburgh Family Photographer | Josie 9 month family session | Mellon Park Pittsburgh

OK, I confess, I adore the name Josie. My favorite niece is named Josie (to be joined any day by a baby sister, name TBD). All Josies are adorable and special, so let’s just agree on that!

Little Josie N. was so cute! She smiled the entire time, and seemed to love being photographed. As an “almost-ready-to-walk” 9-month-old, we grown-ups had to hustle just to keep her out of the leaves and rocks. (She wanted to eat them!), but this kind of fun and upbeat session is a joy for everybody.

And here’s something else I wanted to point out: Look at Josie’s adorable Chinese children’s outfit, which reflects Mom’s heritage. I always love it when families make choices for clothing and locations that showcase their values as a family, their heritage, and traditions that are deeply meaningful to them.

See this chair? Josie was actually pushing it around! (I predict an early walker.) She loved going around and around the chair, babbling the whole time, and making happy little baby sounds. Josie is not only agile and active, but also clearly one smart little girl!

The day of the shoot was a beautiful Fall day, October 5, and Mom and Dad chose to have the photo session near the walled garden in beautiful Mellon Park, the Shadyside home to the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Phipps Garden Center. (Little known fact: After dark, visitors can see the night sky twinkling from the lawn. Even in the daytime, identifying stones are hidden in the grass, bearing the star’s name and a unique inscription. Click here to see the Mellon Park Star Map.)

Many thanks to Mom and Dad–Chanel and Eric–and most of all to Baby Josie for a very fun and beautiful morning in Mellon Park, and for the opportunity to add new photos to Josie’s Baby Plan portfolio.

Josie is on the Powder Blue Photography Baby Plan, so I was able to take pictures of her as a newborn. So beautiful!

Here are some additional shots from Josie’s photo shoot:

Oh–and one last thing–here’s my cute little niece, Josie, photographed in my studio last year. 🙂

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Missy Timko is the photographer behind Powder Blue Photography, a boutique photography studio located in Pittsburgh, PA. She specializes in newborns, maternity, families, seniors, and headshots. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, both posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also runs a studio in the West End Village in Pittsburgh. There are many session options, from full length custom sessions to quick updates of just the kids, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh. Contact Missy for availability.