RI Baby Photography | Melissa LaCouture | Rhode Island Portrait & Family Photographer

2011 Rewind :: Babies – RI Baby Photography

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Melissa Lacouture

I have two children. The plan has always been to have two and only two, one boy and one girl. Luckily the plan worked, but sometimes I have moments when I am going to miss not having another baby. This is where all your babies come in! I just love being around your babies! During a portrait shoot you are probably a little annoyed that the little bugger has been smiling at everything all morning and now that the camera is in front of them they decided to be “so serious”. Meanwhile I’m so happy just hear them make funny noises or watch them marvel at a piece of grass or maybe a rock. Being around your babies helps me get past those feelings about missing out on having another one. It takes the edge off, so to speak.

So thank you, Babies of 2011, for giving me my baby fix and just for being so darn cute! Tomorrow it’s that dirty word that starts with a T – Toddlers AKA 2 year olds!!

2011 Rewind :: Newborns – RI Newborn Photography

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Melissa Lacouture

I have to say looking at all the family portraits that I posted yesterday made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today’s post is no different. After the family comes together the newborn baby makes it that much stronger. I’ve had the absolute pleasure of documenting the new edition for some families. I love all the stages and ages for different reasons. What I love about doing a newborn shoot is that one moment when for just a split second they look right into my camera lens. Those are always “the one” picture from the portrait session. I also love just being around them. They are only new for a short, short period of time. I love watching them stretch and yawn, but above all I love listening to them breathe. Being new to air and all they sound like they have been smoking for the past 20 years. Maybe not so cute for an adult, but when an 8 pound cutie pie is doing it it’s adorable.

So in this rewind we are checking out some of the highlights from my newborn shoots of 2011. Tomorrow… Lot of babies.

2011 Rewind :: Family Portraits – RI Family Portrait Photography

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Melissa Lacouture

Although I’ve been doing wedding photography for coming up on 9 years this portrait “branch” of my business only started in October 2010. I will give you some background… In September of 2009 I sent out an email to my closest friends and family explaining that I wanted to do a family portrait day. I told them I would be in Roger Williams park for a certain amount of time and that they could pick a time to come for… say 20 minutes or so to get a nice portrait of the family. Did I mention that I was offering to do this for free? Photos are so important to me so I wanted to make sure that the people closest to me had some nice ones of their loved ones. Only one person did it (thanks, Marisa!). Then in September of last year I thought “I’m going to try to do a family portrait day again, but this time I will post it on Facebook and actually charge money.” My husband said when I came up with the idea he thought “It’s going to be so sad if no one does it again”. My family portrait day turned into three days, I booked 20 people, and 99% of those people have been repeat customers or referred future clients to me. I would say my business started there.

In the past year I’ve met so many great people and made new friends. I never would have dreamed year ago that I’d have a web site, a studio, and so many wonderful clients. 2012 is going to be a really exciting year for me. I can’t wait to start on the plans that I have. Before all that happens I thought we should take a stroll down memory lane and leave 2011 with a bang! Here are some of my favorite family portraits that I’ve taken over the past year, definitely not all of them but a nice mix. Enjoy the family love! Next up will be newborns…

Holiday Mini Shoots at the studio 2011

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Melissa Lacouture

What fun I had this holiday season taking pictures of all these cute kids! I posted some pictures on my Facebook page. Now I have some going up here, but I still haven’t covered everyone! I think I did pictures for almost all of my past clients and met so many new families on top of that. It was a pleasure and an honor to take your babies’ photos. As a Mommy of two I know how fast they change and sometimes you just want to freeze them at a certain age. Years from now I hope the pictures I took will bring you back to this particular time in their life. I’ve been getting a lot of holiday cards from clients that used my photo on their card. I have to say it makes me feel good!

So here are some of the many holiday pics taken over the past month or so. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!!

Tristan and Addison’s Portrait Shoot in Pawtucket – RI Family Photography

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Melissa Lacouture

Sometimes after I do a portrait I get a little jealous. I see these great pictures of someone else’s family and I wish it was my family in them! You might also get a little jealous if you continue to look at this blog post. My studio is in an old mill building which means the outside is just as cool as the inside. When I saw Tristan’s sweater I knew Mom and Dad would be down for something a little cooler so we ventured out. Not cooler in temperature because it was like 60 degrees out. I mean cooler in attitude. We really lucked out with the weather, wardrobe choice and a really fun backdrop. Everything came together perfectly.

I’m crazy for this picture…

And this one…

When Mom first emailed me she told me that her husband was in Afghanistan! We couldn’t set a date until she knew exactly when he was coming home. This is a really sweet family and I’m so happy that everyone is safe here at home and able to spend the holidays together. I hope these pictures make the homecoming just that much sweeter.