Meet Emma I One Month Photos I Nashville, TN

Pamper yourself, Emma! Your aunt Molly is visiting and there are about to be loads and loads of photo opportunities!

Visiting at your one month mark made for a few challenging attempts to capture the "newborn" images your mom and grandma were lusting after. Once we got into the groove and adjusted our expectations (newborns are much easier to capture sleeping) we did just fine.  You are AMAZING and I am elated I got to spend a week with you at the beginning of your life. 

I always knew you’d be a great mom someday, Hannah. Celebrating the incredible mom you are to Emma and the wonderful aunt you are to Lillian this Mother's Day. 

"All you need is Love"... "You are my Sunshine"... "Emma" and "Made in Nashville, TN".  Such a beautiful space for Emma Louise Lovejoy to grow. Love how all the details came together in Emma's nursery.

We can't get too far into this blog post without a photo for Jake... Enter the soccer ball and blanket made by Laura, Jake's mom.

What did the fox say? She probably could not stop talking about the super cute hat, tale, and booties you are wearing in the photos below made by our mom, Carolyn. Oh my goodness you are ADORABLE!!!!

Love, love, love the photo below. Emma reminds me of Hannah as a baby on the bed.


One more hat made by my mom for Emma- pretty in pink! I can't wait to see you again, Emma! And Lillian is counting down the days to meet you! 

Simmer Wedding I Lover's Key I Bonita Springs, FL

If you have been following my blog over the last few months, you have seen my excitement over the union of these two. On April 12th, we drank drink champagne... danced on the beach... and celebrated the marriage of Athena and Scott Simmer at Lovers Key in Bonita Springs, FL.

I spent time with the bride and groom as they got ready at Lover's Key Resort, then attended their ceremony as a guest, and later captured the couple's bridal portraits with Matt before the reception. What a beautiful day! Athena was glowing, Scott was dashing, and their family and friends were rich in sentiments expressing happiness for the newlyweds. A friend of Athena for nearly 20 years of my life, I like many of her friends was ecstatic that she finally met her soul mate. Someone she connected to in every way and on every level, someone who brings her happiness and truly compliments her. Her sister, Alexa, summed it up in her toast to Athena saying "You carry the heart of everyone who knows you... You now have a man to carry yours". We all adore Scott and can't wait to see what the future holds for these two. For now I leave you with the sweet intimacy and giddiness of love on Athena and Scott's wedding day and a few surprises at the end...



And highlights from the night before...

A solo photo with the bride...

Getting Simmered...

We celebrated my closest friend's upcoming wedding this past weekend in Delray Beach with a girls night out on the town and an extravagant brunch at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Champagne, buffet, and polo players... what better way to kick off Athena's count down to Mrs. Simmer! Enjoy the highlights from our FABULOUS weekend! 

Fort Myers Maternity Photographer I The Chabin's are expecting!

The Chabin's are expecting! Amanda is looking gorgeous & radiant as she awaits the arrival of her son later this April. We met up at Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs for the couple's maternity photos. I took them on a little adventure (#callsecurity) as we made our way (#wrongway) to the sunset that evening. Here's a look at Amanda's baby bump (#sneakpeek)...


Hot Air Balloon One Year Session I Molly & Matt Photo

I must say I've been wanting to try to create a hot air balloon prop for a session for quite some time. It seemed simple enough and I already purchased an extra large red balloon on clearance at JC Penny around Christmas time.  I collected the rest of my supplies at JoAnn Fabrics which included a basket for the anchor piece, a small basket for the upper section to hold the balloon, 4 wooden dowels, and green chevron fabric. 

The star of my session was one year old Garrett. Adorable as can be! The creation was not baby proof and I will need to do some maintenance if I plan on using it again. It did hold up long enough to capture these cute shots. Maybe I'll do newborn next time!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Love,

Molly

Meet Caleb I Southwest Florida Lifestyle Newborn Photographer I Fort Myers, FL

Spent this past weekend photographing a wonderful couple, Chris and Gina Fisher, that welcomed their first baby, Caleb John, on February 5th at 7:45 pm. Coming in at 9 lbs, 10 oz and 20 inches long, Caleb was a JOY to photograph and as CUTE as can be. The Fisher's have a gorgeous home with amazing taste! Caleb's nursery was way cool! We had some FUN with props including a giant spoon that matched Gina's kitchen decor. Can't wait to share these images!! Enjoy a peek at our time together:

Check out Chris and Gina's maternity session by a dear friend, Zee Anna Photography, here. 

FORT MYERS FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | Parker/Gilbert Family

I was lucky enough to photograph my dear friends, Jessica and Jeremy, on their recent trip to Fort Myers to visit Jessica's mom and dad for Christmas. My camera captured Wright fitting into his role as a big brother and I was delighted to meet Ronan for the first time.  Jessica's parents made me feel right at home, reminding me that our friendship has lasted the span of 15 + years. It's an annual tradition for us to meet up for the holidays and an occasional other celebration like weddings, babies, or running a marathon!!!  I will forever remember Jessica cheering me on at mile 23 in Tampa during the Gasparilla Marathon in 2009. Miles later, cities apart (The Gilberts lived in Chicago and now Washington D.C.), it's like time has frozen and we reconnect like we're still walking the halls of FMHS.

Why I loved this session... I photographed Jessica as a mom, wife, and daughter. I also captured the beauty of Jessica's mom, Ronnie with her husband and family. I know this meant so much to the family.

Love the Parker/Gilberts! 

Expecting Emma I Fort Myers Maternity Photography I Marietta, GA

I traveled to Atlanta for my sister’s baby shower last weekend and had the opportunity to take maternity photos of her cute belly at just 28 weeks! We had harsh conditions, a temperature of just 27 degrees!!! Very cold for a Floridian!  Luckily we stumbled upon a fun antique store to warm up. We shopped and we laughed as I captured Hannah’s beauty and mother-to-be radiance among the treasures and trinkets in Marietta, GA.  She had her shower with friends and family that afternoon and we took a few more photos after the party as the sun set and the temperature began to drop again.  A special thank you to Emily, Hannah’s sister-in-law, for chasing the sun and finding the perfect spot for the shoot!

We can't wait to meet Hannah and Jake's baby in April (#expectingemma). So excited for you guys!


Athena + Scott {engagement} I Lover's Key I Fort Myers Beach, FL

Rather than the usual blog post I write for sessions, I thought it would be fun to feature a write up from a client about their experience.  This is not just any client... this blog post is written by my talented best friend, Athena Ponushis, who happens to be a writer (Florida Weekly) and will be getting married in April (so excited)! We got together last fall for her engagement photos on Lover's Key with her fiance, Scott. I asked Athena to share a few details about her actual engagement and she sent these kind words:

"Scott proposed on May 17 amidst the lavender gardens of South Africa wine country. On his knee, he looked up at me and said, "Good times, bad times, I will love you forever. Will you marry me?" A thousand times yes.
He had the timer on the camera set up to snap the picture. I love the moment, but feel it was not the most flattering pic. Our engagement shoot with Molly remedied that. Felt like I was in an Anthropologie photo shoot. Vintage rug, old record player, wanted the pictures to feel like our life -- dancing off into the sunset. 
One of my closest friends from high school, Molly is a master talent. When I look at her pictures, I want to live there. When I looked at her photos from our engagement, I realized I do. Experienced a huge shift. She makes you feel beautiful and your life exquisite. She puts your love and life in focus. She puts you at ease. "
-Athena Ponushis

The wedding invites are sent, the bridal festivities are set, and we are just a few months away from Scott and Athena's big day. I am so happy I was able to capture these moments for them and plan on also doing bridal portraits at their wedding. I am ecstatic these two are madly in love, here's a peek at the fun we had:

 


Hello Tristin I Fort Myers Newborn Photographer I Fort Myers, FL

Drum roll please... Tristin Thomson Silvashy is here !! All BOY at 10lbs, 9oz, and 22 inches. The Silvashy family welcomed him into the world on December 22nd, 2013. We met up just before the Florida State Seminoles won the National Championship and I captured a few adorable shots of Tristin and Sam in their FSU shirts.  Tristin's dad is a rugby player and also happens to be a personal trainer so we photographed him with Ron's ball and weight. Here's a peek... Congratulations Rhiannon and Ron!

And a few favs from just before Tristin's arrival in November...

hello stella I Fort Myers Newborn Photographer I Fort Myers, FL

"Meet Stella Ann Spanberger...8 lbs, 4 oz and 19 inches of pure perfection", a description I borrowed from her parents, Jake and Beth. Stella arrived on New Years Eve and we just had the pleasure of meeting her this past weekend for a newborn session. Beth is still in awe and can't believe she is the mom of this beautiful little girl. Well, we can believe it! Here's a peek at a few of our favorites. We are so happy for this little family! Oscar and Bailey are making their little sis feel right at home...

Year in Review-Twenty Thirteen

Looking back on this year, we have so much to be proud of and thankful for...

We upgraded lenses/camera equipment in the last part of 2012 and have throughly enjoyed the investment in our business this past year. We see the rewards session after session!!

The numbers... We had the delight of working with 31 Families, 25+ Children, 7 Newborns, 3 High School Seniors, 9 Expecting Moms, 6 Couples, and a few headshots mixed in along the way. 

We continued to take classes through Kelby Training and Creative Live and would love to travel in 2014 to a photography related education conference.

Our photography took us on two vacations in 2013 to capture weddings in Mexico in January and to New Jersey/New York in October. Both working full-time at our other jobs, we managed to fit in 5 weddings this year. I say "fit in" because the real work really begins after the wedding. Countless hours of post processing while juggling our other portrait sessions, full-time jobs, and family. Matt and I have decided to cut out weddings in 2014 and focus on portrait photography. 

Social media... Molly has created a Pinterest profile for the business and has populated boards for traveling to SWFL (many of our clients are from outside of the area), Meet Molly and Matt, as well as inspiration for clothing and posing. We continue to blog our photos as much as possible to highlight the story of each session and drive our fans back to our website (SEO). We have also been active on Google+ and Instagram in 2013. We also did a Project 52 posting one photo a week to our Facebook page with the theme of "This is Our Life". 

In early 2013, Molly set out to contact several of her community friends to market Molly and Matt Photo, LLC and grow our client base. The referrals continue to come in and we can not thank our clients enough for sharing our passion for photography. 

We joined PPA (Professional Photographers of America) and were highlighted on several photography blogs for weekly challenges, including our recent portait of the LeSage family that won second place through Rock the Shot! 

Work/Life balance seemed a little better in 2013 but if you ask Matt he may have another answer. During the holiday busy months, we scheduled family time this year and it really kept things manageable. It was hard turning so many clients away but it meant so much more to be with our little one. 

Goals for 2014 include working on branding and continuing to offer a creative, fun, and modern approach to photography in Southwest Florida.

Happy New Year from Molly and Matt Photo!