Infant Photography
Portrait Playdate with San Jose Family Portrait Photographer – Event
You are invited to join Portrait Playdate with San Jose Family Portrait | Maternity | Breastfeeding | Headshot photographer, Ewa Samples. The even is happening in Saratoga, California in a very quiet park. The park has playground structures, a creek and a meadow. Plenty of room for relaxed socializing and pictures taking. 🙂
Stop by Wildwood Park in Saratoga on Thursday, September 8th and enjoy mommy and me time in great company. During this playdate moms will have a chance to socialize. Kids will play and entertain themselves (and us). We will tire them out, so they will be definitely ready for a long and well deserved nap.
What’s most important, we will CREATE WONDERFUL MEMORIES for all the participants to cherish forever.
In very relaxed and laid back atmosphere moms won’t even realize they are having a professional session done.
Portrait Playdate with Ewa Samples Photography is a perfect way to socialize, relax, make new friends, and maybe business connections while having a professional portraits done.
To join the playdate, please RSVP to the Facebook event, so I know how many people are coming. While you there, sign up for Ewa Samples Events to be notified about upcoming playdates and other fun events. To get the feel about the portrait playdate watch a sneak-peek from our last event.
if you’d like to chat about your session, feel free to email me: ewasamples(at)gmail.com also, to stay on top of all kinds of specials as well as photography tips subscribe to my newsletter :
Original birth announcement and how to rock a family session injured
If you are thinking about ways how to stand out from the crowd, well, this family has a great idea how to do it. They came up with a very original concept for their son’s birth announcement cards – and the idea is very simple. They waited one whole year to do them!!! I think that with the life getting so crazy and hectic after new baby arrival (especially if you already have 2 boys you need to take care of), this is such a stress free and genius plan.
Also, one of them came to the session with an injured arm. Can you spot that frown? It’s going to be hard to do that. With a huge support and encouragement from the rest of the family he rocked the session like a superhero! Seriously!
Now it’s your turn. Did you do anything original for your baby arrival. Share with me and I might write another blog post highlighting all the original concepts for other families to use 🙂
If you’d like to chat about your session with me, please email to ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of mini-sessions, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa, your Family Photographer
Lets connect on Facebook
Nursing uncovered {Lifestyle Family Photographer, San Jose, CA}
3 years ago it was Brynja Sigurdardottir and her breastfeeding army moms. Now it is Ivette Ivens and her photos of nursing uncovered mothers. I can only say, I admire both of them for their vision. All the hatred they received for their projects had been a main reasons why I didn’t push any of my clients to participate in my own personal project of photographing breastfeeding mothers. I was not prepared for words of criticism that Brynja and Ivette has received. I think it’s time to stop being afraid and simply do it!
Back in 2012 I wrote a post for an online community, World Moms Blog: “Poland via USA: Breastfeeding in public?” expressing my thoughts about nursing in public being such a controversial, yet natural, state of human existence. Being honest with you I feel more comfortable taking pictures then writing, therefore instead of writing about this issue I will simply join the group of photographers who do support the cause of breastfeeding in public (covered or not).
Sneak peek from 3 sessions I had today.
And to all moms out there. Please enjoy those moments while you can! Capture them! Definitely!!!
If you’d like to chat about your session with me, please email to ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of mini-sessions, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa, your Family Photographer
Lets connect on Facebook
Mother’s Day Mini-Session {Family Photographer, San Jose, CA}
With this post I am starting a series of post from very recent Mother’s Day Campaign. With these mini-sessions we were raising money for CleanBirth.org and I’m very happy with the final outcome. We did an awesome work and I am very grateful for all the mammas who decided to join me!
Also, it is very likely that with this campaign we have started an annual money-raising event – “Save your memories and save lives“. This year we had two photographers participating. Next year we are hoping to have more!
So lets start with this wonderful session.
This mama is beautiful in and out, and she is a book author and entrepreneur. I’ve had a pleasure to photograph her and her family for a 3rd time.
If you’d like to schedule session with me, please email to ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of mini-sessions, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa, your Family Photographer
How to do a cake smash session {Cake Smash Photographer, San Jose, CA}
This post is for professional photographers as well as for parents who consider hiring/doing 1st b-day cake smash for their little one. In a few simple steps I will tell you how to do a cake smash session, and succeed with it.
Cake smash is not about posing, it’s not about the right outfit, or the perfect location. It is about fun and mess, and celebration of your little one turning ONE! It is one-of-a-kind session, and I highly recommend doing it with your kids.
I won’t lie to you.
Cake smash sessions are not the most complex and hard to do. They are super fun, and they can be done in a comfort of your own home. No matter if you’re hiring a professional or doing it yourself, theses few simple tricks will help you to get the best out of this session.
If you’re prepared the right way, they are not even that messy. If you’re hiring a photographer, it is good if he/she can come to your home, so you’re close to the bathtub after the session is done.
1. The best time to do the cake smash session.
DEFINITELY MORNING, right before breakfast.
It is good to feed you lil one a very small meal before the session. The more hungry the baby is the more likely he/she is to dig into the cake! Also sleepy and cranky babies equal disaster, no matter what activity we are trying to do with them. Our little ones go through stages of up and downs during the day. It is the best thing to pick the right time. If your baby is most likely to be happy after his afternoon nap then do the session at that time.
2. The cake.
CAKE IS IMPORTANT, but don’t let it to take away from the whole experience. Don’t forget that it’s your little one who is in the focus not the cake.
If the cake is too sweet, it’s guaranteed the baby will not want to eat it. Most store-bought cakes are too sweet for such small kids to enjoy it.
Also the frosting should be soft so the baby is encouraged to dig deeper. The softer the better.
3. Decorations
Cake smash session can be done anywhere. Studio, your home, your back yard, public park. I like simple decorations that you can get at any party supplies store or etsy. Color coordinated set up is recommended. You can use you wall as a background, and get a plexiglass sheet from a store for the floor, or vinyl flooring from Home Depot. If you already have a hard wood floor then non of these are necessary.
4. Team work
No matter if you’re hiring a professional or doing it yourself, cake smash is a team work. One is taking pictures while all the participants try to encourage the baby to eat the cake or encourage him to smile.
Often the baby will burst into tears or simply will want to leave the scene without even trying the cake. Do not give up. Try to encourage him/her to have a bite. Cut it for him/her if necessary. Engage into a game of digging in. In the past I had a baby who didn’t want to touch the cake, but was ok with digging in with a fork. Get creative with it.
You must know that situation is new to your baby, and he/she needs some help to understand it.
5. Don’t hesitate to use tricks
Remember, during cake smash session your baby is put into a totally new situation. Not only he/she is presented with a overpowering flavor of sugar, sugar, sugar, he/she also is not sure if all of the sudden he is allow to get so dirty and messy and just go for it. Let encourage the baby to eat the cake by sneaking a favorite food into the cake, for example, small pieces of banana 🙂
6. Bathtub
Cake smash without sweet bathtub photos is not a complete session. Don’t forget to finish your session with some water and bubble bath 🙂 Make it playful and relaxing, your baby worked hard for this.
If you’d like to schedule a session with me, please email to ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of mini-sessions, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa, your Family Photographer
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First Friday in Los Altos {Kids and Family Photographer, San Jose, CA}
This month I had an awesome opportunity to co-host a wonderful event at The Girls @ Los Altos during First Friday in Los Altos. A monthly event for downtown businesses. We had so much fun, starting from pumping the balloons with a manual pump, which broke sometimes in the middle of making the wall. Luckily we had some customers ready to help us. The old fashioned way of blowing balloons is the more reliable, it looks like. 😉
The kids looked stunning! For the photo booth they all tried outfits provided by the store and carefully picked by the store owner, Cecilia. I was very glad I got to work in such a great environment. It was fun and also crazy. I met wonderful girls and I also met little S. and her family (first and second picture below). Their were in front of my camera not so long ago. It feels like it was yesterday, but I was not. hahaha.
What’s most important it looked like the kids were having pretty much a lot of fun: running, jumping, dancing and throwing the balloons! And this is what matters the most! Right!
If you’d like to schedule a session with me, please email to ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of mini-sessions, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa, your Family Photographer
5 reasons why you should join Mother’s Day Mini Session with Ewa Samples Photography, Bay Area Family Photographer (Reason no.1)
Reason no. 1 why you should join my Mother’s Day Mini Session:
We will be helping in saving lives through CleanBirth.org! Simple! 40% of my entire profit is going to this organization!!!
ONE MOTHER’S DAY MINI SESSION HERE is up to 15 LIVES SAVED in LAOS!
Being honest with you I think we shouldn’t need any reasons to want to help people. I know that sometimes we do not have the resources, or the time, or the energy, or we simply don’t know how to do it. I felt that way for a long time. I knew I wanted to help and to be involved with organizations that help other people. I finally found a way to do it and at the same time include more people in it, not only myself.
If you feel the same way I felt, this Mother’s Day Mini Session is the way to go. You don’t have to do anything else, just show up and look stunning! I will even be able to help you with a professional make up artist waiting for you at the location of the mini session.
Why do I want to do it, you might ask.
Well, I am a Family Photographer, wife, dog owner, coffee and green smoothie addict, but most of all I AM A MOTHER. If you’d like, head over to my post published at World Moms Blog “I could have been anything, but I am a mother first“, to read more personal words about my feelings when it comes to being a mother.
I am also a lucky mother, because thanks to modern medicine, knowledge and technology, I was able to give birth to two wonderful, beautiful and very unique girls. If I didn’t have that I probably wouldn’t even be here today. There are people out in this world who don’t have the knowledge, proper training or access to modern medicine to support them or other women through pregnancy, during and after childbirth. There are women out there who are not as lucky as I was. Being a part of such a community as World Moms Blog, from where I know Kristyn (founder of CleanBirth.org), has shown me that as much as we differ from each other, we mothers are here with a mission: to provide our children with a better future, with happiness, with understanding of this world, no matter the religion, political views, culture or country we live in, we are here for our children and their protection. I was lucky to have my children. Some women are not as lucky. I want to help to change that! And this is why I decided to contribute to such a great cause as CleanBirth.
See what people are Twitting about this Mother’s Day Mini Session:
#SiliconValley area gorgeous family #photos help save #MNCH lives w/ @EwaSamples & @CleanBirth http://t.co/dfzQANXmZ0 pic.twitter.com/GONeeVoMfr
— Documama.org (@elizabethatalay) April 13, 2015
@EwaSamples photography. Perfect #MothersDay gift in #BayArea. http://t.co/d3X5j6sU8g pic.twitter.com/H2Jp0DSaEM
— CleanBirth.org (@CleanBirth) April 13, 2015
Feel free to help to spread the word by simply copying and pasting those messages into your tweets, Facebook profiles, Instagram accounts, and more! Also, If this one reason didn’t convince you to sign up, then stay tuned for reason no. 2, 3, 4 and 5, or simply contact me to chat more about it, and to get more detailed offer! And I’m telling you, it’s a one of a kind offer!
If you’d like to schedule a session with me, please email to ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of mini-sessions, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa, your Family Photographer
The Runner and Sleeping Beauty {Family Photography, San Jose, CA}
Sometimes we all get sick. Right? Sometimes we all get poked in the eye by our own child, and we lose vision (or most of it) in this one particular eye, on a day that we have to use this eye for work… It happens to all of us. Right?
Luckily with the right camera settings, and the magic of auto-focus, and a tiny help from the one working eye, everything is possible!
There was no time to re-schedule our session, so we went with the flow, knowing that if this time don’t work, then we will have another hour full of playing and bubbles blowing in a few days. Who wouldn’t want that? Right? 😉
By doing so, I did not expect that the one of the family members will make me work for my money. Seriously. “The Runner” should be her second name. She did not want to stop, and she had so much fun doing it. What a great thing to be able to capture such joy and happiness, btw. And everything while her little sister was getting a good sleep. She woke up just on time for me to see her beautiful eyes and say “it was very nice to meet you, sweetie pie”, and on time to snap a last photo of her mama peacefully nursing her. Just perfect!
I think, even despite the obstacle we have created some beautiful images that day!
If you’d like to schedule a session with me, please call (408) 882 7438 or email at ewasamples(at)gmail.com
Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter and in return get on an exclusive list of discounts, and model calls.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ewa
Pinkalicious {Newborn and Family Photographer, San Jose, CA}
5 months ago I met this family to photograph just born Little Sister. She was perfect in her sleepiness and calmness, and I loved every single minute I spent with the family. Beside me talking pictures we also talked about topics like “tabula rasa”…
While our second session was less intellectually interesting it was filled with kisses, hugs, smiles, and PINK! We had to work around mid-day sun light and dad’s injured back. For the mid-day, full of beautiful shady spots Elizabeth Gamble Garden never fails. For the injured back, we limited my regular, throwing in the air fun, but we still did some swinging…
I can’t wait for our next session. Then, we will definitely do some more running around and throwing in the air! I promise that!
And can’t wait to add another sisters hugging picture to this collage!
Dreamy Family Session {Concord, CA}
What a great family I had the pleasure to work with. Not only they loved my ideas for the session, and they were super prepared for it, but they are also the fellows Poles 🙂 When we met, they were on their last week of vacationing in the U.S. It is always great to work with such a naturally happy and cooperative folks, but being able to speak in your native language while doing so, it’s the icing on the cake.
In addition, this session brought back memories from times when my older daughter was that small. She was exact the same way, always happy and content, and not much attention was needed to make and keep her that way.
Oh, those good old days, but also cheers to the ones ahead 😉
Super Cute Fall Mini-Session {Family Photography, San Jose, CA}
If I had to describe this session in one word it would be: “perfect”.
Oh no, wait, it would be perfect if there was at least one dog involved.
I think a dog would be a perfect addition to Olga’s Family. Don’t you think!?
Happy As Hugo {Infant Photography, San Jose, CA}
Hugo is 7 months old and his mom told me I just got lucky to meet him on one of his good days, but I think he just loves to be photographed!
In addition he is one lucky guy. His mom who went through a surgery after having a breast inflammation is still breastfeeding him.
No wonder Hugo is so happy. He is well taken care of. What else to want from life? Right 🙂
Ah… and we actually captured his first confrontation with grass… and while not very sure about it at first, after a few minutes he went to his daily routine, push-ups 😉
