Happy Birthday Baby | Dallas First Birthday Baby Photographer

“Gotta hold on easy as I let you go
Going to tell you how much I love you
Though you think you already know
I remember I thought you looked like an angel
Wrapped in pink, so soft and warm
You've had me wrapped around your finger
Since the day you were born

You're beautiful baby, from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know
The road that will lead you home again
Go on, take on this old world but to me
You know you'll always be my little girl.”

~Tim McGraw

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Baby’s first year flies by so amazingly quickly, and it’s unbelievable how little ones evolve from sweet and squishy sleepy babes to interactive tiny people with huge personalities. As a Dallas Baby Photographer, I love capturing your littles loves all throughout their first year. Whether you’re looking to schedule baby’s first photo session as a newborn, a series of several sessions for baby’s first year or a cake smash birthday session, I love capturing every stage and would be honored to be your Dallas baby photographer.

Scroll through to see a sampling of favorite’s from Mikaela’s first birthday session and for more information below.

All of the clothing pictured above was borrowed from the Rachel Friedman Photography studio wardrobe, for baby, mom and grandma. All RFP clients are invited to take advantage of the studio wardrobe, which includes dozens of dresses for moms, outfits for littles up to size 6T and shirts and sweaters for dads.

For birthday sessions, families are always welcome to bring a cake along for the session if you’d like to incorporate a smash cake as part of the session. Cake smashes are a wonderful way to finish up baby’s first birthday photo session.

If you’d like more information about a luxury custom Dallas baby photography session, let’s be in touch. I’d love to share more information about the experience, from wardrobe to hair and makeup referrals for you to planning your session either at my Plano residential studio, outdoors or in your home. Together, we will create beautiful artwork that we’ll design together after your session - everything from heirloom albums to gorgeous framed archival-grade fine art prints, canvases and more.

Rachel is a premier maternity, newborn, baby, child and family photographer serving families in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, including but not limited to North Dallas, Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Lake Highlands, Addison, Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Carrollton, Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake, Little Elm, Lewisville, The Colony, Allen, McKinney, Prosper, Aubrey and beyond.

Why location matters...and doesn't! | Best Plano Family Photographer

If you’re looking for one of the best Plano family photographers, hi! I can’t wait to meet you. I’m Rachel, the artist and photographer behind the lens at Rachel Friedman Photographer. Please scroll down to see if my style and vision for what makes an amazing Plano family photography session matches what you are looking for. And please, don’t be shy! I’d love to connect with you if you have questions or want more information about capturing your family’s story. Please contact me here, via email at rachelfriedman1@gmail.com or call me at 440-821-5999.

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Today I’m here talking about location. When it comes to planning your session, as a mom there are three things you need to figure out before your session. You need: a photographer, outfits for your family and a location. Stay tuned for another post all about wardrobe, but today is all about location.

We’ve all heard it before. Location, location, location. Coming to Plano, Texas after years operating my business across the country, I knew that location scouting would be key, as I wanted to find the perfect place to bring my clients for gorgeous light-drenched photos where their adorable faces and personalities would shine.

There are two things I was watching out for that would put a location on my “no” list. First, HUGE crowds. When you’re trying to interact authentically with your kids to draw natural smiles and interactions, having 1000 distractions of other families with kids, photographers with all sorts of prop setups and loud noise, it’s nearly impossible. One trip to Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in peak season showed me that while lovely, it isn’t my number 1 choice for Plano family photos.

The second red flag for me is when the parking lot or the photo location itself is too close to a playground. Try telling a two year old you’re going to do anything but climb and play when you can see a playground in their line of sight - not gonna happen.

So then what makes a good location? I love a field that is off the beaten path, with non-manicured grass and trees that filter the sun as it sets to the west. There are people who chase ponds and bridges and cows and bails of hay and all sorts of other things, but a beautiful empty field is where it’s at. And you know why? Because when I’m looking at your family portrait, I want to see YOU. I want to see your gorgeous faces, your sweet and silly expressions, the way you engage with each other and the way light wraps around you to tell the story of your family’s love. So while there are popular destinations with all sorts of architectural and landscape features that may make the location “popular”, like the Dallas Arboretum, Adriatica in McKinney or the Las Colinas Canals, 9 times out of 10, I’d pick a gorgeous empty field like the one pictured below. This field with its yellow grass, lush green trees and insanely perfect light lets families from Plano and across the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex truly shine. Scroll down to see what I mean.

As we inch toward the holiday season, it’s not too late to schedule a family photography session with me in Plano and the surrounding areas. From access to the studio wardrobe, relieving all of the “what to wear stress” to customizing your session to be sure we capture everything you’ll envision, whether in my Plano studio, the field or in the comfort of your home, together we can create something beautiful together.

Please click here for details about the process, and if you’d like to be in touch, contact me here via the website or you can reach me at either rachelfriedman1@gmail.com or 440-821-5999.

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In case you missed it, I’m offering Holiday Mini Sessions for a Cause again this year, with 100% of session fees benefitting Dallas Tornado Relief via the American Red Cross. They’ll be on November 9 and 17, and will be $125 for your 10 minute session and one digital image. For more details, please visit this post!

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Rachel Friedman Photography specializes in family photography in Plano and also specializes in maternity, newborn, and baby, and family photography in the Dallas area, including but not limited to Plano, Frisco, Richardson, Carrollton, Addison, McKinney, Allen and beyond.

RFP Gives Back | Dallas Tornado Relief Holiday Mini Sessions

Hi mamas. Are you feeling as overwhelmed as I am about the destruction so many of our friends and neighbors are facing in the wake of the tornados that struck northwest Dallas, Richardson and the greater DFW metroplex?

In keeping with the Rachel Friedman Photography tradition of holiday mini sessions with a charitable twist (past beneficiaries have included CURE: Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, the Small Bones Foundation, Dancing While Cancering: The Maddie Kramer Foundation and more), this year I am proud to announce that I’ll be hosting another year of Holiday Mini Sessions for a Cause.

Here’s the scoop: On November 9 and 17, I will be offering mini sessions for families in my Plano studio. The session retainer is $125 + tax, and the entire $125 retainer will be donated to the American Red Cross and the City of Dallas Emergency Assistance Fund. Sessions will include 10 minutes of time spent together in studio and one digital image from a gallery of at least 10 images, with the option to purchase additional images. This is the perfect opportunity to give back to a critical cause in our community while getting an updated family photo for your annual holiday card.

Whether you want to bring your kids in holiday themed pajamas, the whole family all dressed up or anything in between, we can create something beautiful together, all while raising funds for tornado relief. Because of the quick “mini” session nature of the event, clients will not be able to access the RFP studio wardrobe, but I’ll be sending all participating families detailed wardrobe guides with access to my online styling site that helps you quickly and easily figure out what to wear. The light and airy white studio is the perfect canvas for your family to shine. Immediate families only please.

To register, please follow the steps below, selecting your date (either November 9 from 3-6 or November 17 from 9:30-12), inputting your contact information and then paying online (payment directs you to pay via credit card through PayPal - you do not need a PayPal account to pay, you can check out as a guest). Your registration will not reserve your time slot until you follow all of the steps and click submit.

Thank you in advance to all of the wonderful families that will join me in the 3rd annual Holiday Mini Sessions for a Cause. If you have any questions or are having trouble registering online, please contact me directly at rachelfriedman1@gmail.com or at 440-821-5999.

The reason we take these photos | Dallas Family Photographer

If you’re looking for a Dallas family photographer, hello! I’m so happy you found me here on this corner of the internet. I’m Rachel, the artist and photographer and the namesake of Rachel Friedman Photographer. Please read on and learn about my work and my why. Family photography is so important, and I’d love to connect with you to hear about YOUR story. If you have questions or want more information about capturing your family’s portraits, please contact me here, via email at rachelfriedman1@gmail.com or call me at 440-821-5999.

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Why? Why do we take these photos, getting all dressed up and going to a location suggested by your photographer and go through these motions? Of course, there’s the immediate and obvious answer. You might be a Dallas mom looking to get a beautiful photo to share for your annual holiday card. Or perhaps you’re looking at your kids and seeing that they just WON’T STOP GROWING. They’re getting big fast, and you want to document the phase they’re in. I get that. I do the same.

But I want to share one family’s story that fully encapsulates why this matters. Please let me introduce you to Kelly and Miguel Cervantes. They had one adorable son, Jackson, and then a few years later, Kelly gave birth to a baby girl, Adelaide. By the time Adelaide was six months old, they realized she wasn’t meeting her physical milestones, and at 7 months old, right around the time her dad was auditioning to win the role playing Alexander Hamilton in the Hamilton musical in Chicago, Adelaide had her first set of seizures.

Adelaide, age 2, with father Miguel Cervantes, who plays Hamilton in the Chicago production.

Adelaide was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms, a severe form of epilepsy. And in the same whirlwind, their family moved from New Jersey to the midwest, as dad was taking on a new role as Hamilton. I met their family for Adelaide’s second birthday photos. At that time, she was just losing her ability to smile but was still a bit alert and able to engage with her parents and big brother with her eyes for their family session.

Their photos launched a fundraising campaign for CURE: Citizens United Against Epilepsy, but more important, these photos documented what they wouldn’t know at the time to be the middle of Adelaide’s life. At the time, mom and dad could have never guessed how long their daughter would be able to continue to fight a collection of health issues, some diagnosed like Infantile Spasms and some mysterious.

Adelaide passed away last Saturday, just a few days before her fourth birthday. She was a resilient little girl with a fierce spirit, and her story has moved so many as her parents have shared their story and used their celebrity status to raise awareness and funds for research in Epilepsy.

But while these photographs were created with a fundraising project in mind, I guarantee that in the end, regardless of how many people were reached in campaigns (and how many received the family’s favorite image in an annual holiday card), they’ll be treasured most by mom, dad and big brother, who could never have imagined just how soon they’d lose their little girl.

Photographs matter because they are part of your legacy. While no one expects something this tragic, there are stories everyday of parents and children facing unexpected tragedies and critical diagnoses. We don’t know what the future holds, and one day, whether we die young or live to 100, we want our children and grandchildren and GREAT grandchildren to be able to carry on our stories. Photo sessions can create that one gorgeous shot for a card, but they can also capture connections, feel the love, laughter and tears we share together as a family. That love matters. Photos matter.

In 2017, Rachel Friedman Photography was proud to raise over $1500 for CURE: Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, as one of the beneficiaries of our annual holiday studio fundraising event. If you’d like to donate in Adelaide’s memory, please visit https://www.cureepilepsy.org/adelaide.

Welcome to the world | Frisco Newborn Photographers

If you are searching for Frisco baby photographers, you’ve come to the right place. Rachel Friedman Photography is just south of Frisco in West Plano serving moms from Frisco and all through the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex with posed studio and lifestyle in-home newborn sessions. Read on for more info about this gorgeous recent newborn session or contact me here for more information.

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Welcoming baby Gray to the studio was just a dream. His mama reached out to me after he was already born and was hoping it wasn’t “too late” to book a newborn session.

As the popularity of posed newborn photography has grown, there are tons of photographers out there who look at babies as clay they want to mold into these perfect poses taught to them by expert photographers who are masters of poses with names like “froggy”, “taco” and “huck finn”. They feel that if baby isn’t young enough, deeply asleep enough or flexible enough that they can’t possibly pose for a newborn photography session. I know this because I’ve learned from several of these experts, and I’ve spent years executing these perfect poses. And they are beautiful, don’t get me wrong.

But after a while, what I learned is that mom and dad aren’t looking at the photos inspecting whether the baby’s fingers are laying flat under their cheek or if baby’s bum up pose is curled enough. Mom and dad will look at the photos searching for that cute face baby made at this phase when they were about to yawn or the way baby always liked to sleep with one arm over his head.

Not only that, but as a mom of three babies who started as newborns, I know a few things to be true:

1) Birth and the early postpartum phase rarely go as planned. So while I love to schedule sessions in baby’s first two weeks - mostly because by week three, baby has already grown and changed A LOT! - sometimes baby arrives early and needs NCU time (or arrives on time or late and needs NICU time), or mom has complications with delivery and recovery and needs time to get a handle on her own health. All of these things are MUCH more important that a 14-day window for newborn photos.

2) Adjusting to life with a new baby at home with older siblings is no small feat. I know this from personal experience. When we brought our third baby home from the hospital, my middle child who was 22 months old at the time decided to jump right out of his crib two nights later. The next two weeks were insane, dealing with an overtired toddler who wouldn’t nap or sleep and a newborn (and a 4 year old acting out because everyone else was getting all the attention). It was rough. In the midst of those insane first two weeks, we dragged our sleep deprived family of 5 to our posed newborn photographer that I had hired, and while we managed to make it work, I wish I would have been able to give myself some GRACE. I’m sure we could have captured something equally beautiful a couple weeks later once I had my “mom of 3 sea legs”.

3) Not everyone is a planner. While I encourage mamas to schedule their session in their second or early third trimester to ensure a place reserved on my calendar, many moms don’t realize that they should be planning these sorts of things in advance. While I can’t always guarantee last minute availability, I always do my best to make time in my schedule for last minute newborn sessions because I love new babies. LOVE.

Babies are perfect subjects at any number of days, weeks or months. There is no wrong time for your baby's first photo session. This sweet guy who came to my studio was one day shy of his one month birthday, and he couldn't be any cuter!

My style of posed newborn photography is flexible and baby-led. If baby is sleepy, we aim for some sweet sleepy poses. If baby is awake, we photograph baby awake. If baby is fussing, we pause to care for baby, recognizing that even these moments of soothing baby can be beautifully captured as well. If baby wants his hands by his face or stretched over his head, we roll with it, because that’s who he is. We led baby lead the way with gentle guidance from me, a seasoned photographer who lays him in beautifully minimal set ups and in gorgeous light so that baby’s details can shine.

If you’d like more information about a luxury custom newborn photography session, let’s be in touch. I’d love to share more information about the experience, from our extensive studio wardrobe that all clients are welcome to utilize, to our amazing network of hair and makeup artists to the ease of coming to the studio (or having me come to you), knowing that I have everything you need to create beautiful artwork that we’ll design together after your session - everything from heirloom albums to gorgeous framed archival-grade fine art prints, canvases and more.

Rachel is a premier maternity, newborn, baby, child and family photographer serving families in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, including but not limited to North Dallas, Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Lake Highlands, Addison, Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Carrollton, Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake, Little Elm, Lewisville, The Colony, Allen, McKinney, Prosper, Aubrey and beyond.

Freezing a moment in time | Plano Texas Newborn Photographer

If you found me while seeking a Newborn Photographer in Plano, Texas, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m Rachel, of Rachel Friedman Photography - one of the best newborn photographers in Plano, just off Windhaven and the tollway. You can find details about my newborn and family sessions here or contact me directly here! Or if you want to hear more about gorgeous Madelyn’s newborn session, please continue to read on below.

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It’s only fitting that one of my last sessions in my old studio in the midwest was with a mom who was one of the first people I met when I moved to Chicago over a decade prior when we were both MILES from motherhood. What I could have never guessed when she booked the session was that we’d spend our session discussing our impending departures. Their family was about to move to Indy and we were just days from having our official offer to move to the Dallas Fort Worth area.

These photos - they mark Miss Madi’s second week of life but also her first and only month living in the town where she was born. They capture the transition of a couple whose sole focus was each other, and now they are both gaga over their gorgeous girl. Their life was a whirlwind of job changes, moving boxes and the sleep deprivation that comes with the first weeks of parenthood, and I was blessed with the honor of freezing this moment in time for them. Capturing all of Madilyn’s tiny newness, from her amazing head of dark hair to her angel kiss birthmark over her eye. All of that can be outgrown and can change, but this moment in time can be frozen in photographs that can last a lifetime.

When I chat with my clients before their sessions, I always ask about baby’s nursery decor. Of course, if you’ve seen much of my work, you know that it’s a lot of white with a splash of black and white, but on the occasion that I can tie in a pop of color, I’m happy to, especially when mom has a vision. This mom has had a lifelong love of the color purple, so we tied in some purple tulips that would compliment baby’s nursery perfectly.

For more information on booking a photo session that will be beautifully unique to your new addition, either in my Plano newborn photography studio or in the comfort of home for a lifestyle newborn photography session, please contact me. You can reach me via this link or reach out directly, either via email at rachelfriedman1@gmail.com or at 440-821-5999. I can’t wait to get to know you and hear more about your vision for your newborn portrait session.

Rachel is a recent transplant to Plano, bringing with her not only a husband with a new job in the DFW metroplex, three crazy kids and a labradoodle, but over 4 years of expertise in the photography world. Once a highly sought after newborn and family photographer in the midwest, Rachel now photographs maternity, newborns, babies, children and families both in her Plano studio and throughout the Dallas Fort Worth area, both outdoors and in her clients homes. Areas she serves include but are not limited to Addison, Allen, Carrollton, Colleyville, Coppell, Dallas, Denton, Euless, Fairview, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Grapevine, Hurst, Irving, Keller, Lewisville, McKinney, Plano, Richardson, Rockwall, Southlake and beyond.

It's finally fall! | Family Photographer near Dallas

If you are looking for a family photographer in Dallas, please contact me here for more information about booking a family photo session.

It’s been a long time coming but fall has arrived, and I think we can all take a collective sigh of joy to see the drop in temperatures and relish in the pumpkin spice goodness of the season.

Working with this family was wonderful and hilarious in every way. Liz and I met before the session to pick out wardrobe from our extensive studio wardrobe closet, and with her daughter’s dress and mama’s skirt as the favorites, we filled in the rest of the pieces for her son and figured out what her husband would wear to round out their wardrobe. Meeting them to iron this out with mama in advance meant that preparing for the session was essentially set, removing a layer of stress for them before the session.

With two wonderful kids overflowing with personality, it was so awesome getting to bring them out to the field to snuggle and play. Our time together was a wonderful mix of the business of capturing the “important shots” - the photos of everyone looking - family and sibling images - for grandparent gifts and holiday cards, and the more playful images that make a mama’s heart sing. Photos of siblings goofing around together, hugging, tickles, games, details and all of the tangible love you feel for one another. Madison was channeling her inner model, and Landon was so content to be the leader in all of the games we played.

Here are a few of my favorite images from our session together:

I would love to begin planning your luxury family session, from wardrobe to hair and make up to the perfect location in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, outdoors or in my Plano residential studio. If you are you interested in a custom portrait session with Rachel Friedman Photography and would like more information, please click here for details about this experience.

Dates for outdoor fall family sessions are filling fast. If you would like to reserve your date on my calendar, please CONTACT ME or email me directly at rachelfriedman1@gmail.com. 

Rachel Friedman Photography specializes in family photography in Dallas and also specializes in maternity, newborn, and baby, and family photography in the Dallas area, including but not limited to Plano, Frisco, Richardson, Carrollton, Addison, McKinney, Allen and beyond.