Yawns, hiccups, and newborn perfection

I love photographing newborns. I love their tiny toes, their still wrinkled skin, their little yawns and hiccups and everything about them. How in *love* with the baby the new parents are, how everything they do is magical and new and fresh and perfect. There is a well known quote, oft used on new baby cards, that says: "Babies are such a nice way to start people." I couldn't agree more...
Here is a sneak peek of a few of a beautiful new little girl, who was just 15 days old when I photographed her on thursday. Congratulations T & L! :)
~Mary

Quick note about availability....

I currently have only a few openings available between now and November. If you are looking for a session in that time frame, please call as soon as possible. If I have reserved your session and you have paid your deposit, you are fine, so don't worry!
I will once again be closed for sessions the month of December, to finish delivering cards and holiday gifts/prints, and to enjoy the holidays with my family. If you are planning on having photos done for holiday cards, please plan now to call and book one of my remaining sessions. I hate to disappoint people! :)
~Mary

Sneak peek from tuesday...

I'm just about to work on proofing my sessions from this week and wanted to put up a sneak peek from one of my sessions on tuesday. Couple of really beautiful kids, 18yrs & 10 yrs old, which was a fun change of pace from the toddlers & babies.
Anyway, here is a quick sneak peek of them, just in case mom is looking:
~Mary

What a great saturday at my house...

I haven't posted here all week, because I was so busy last week getting ready for a big party we had yesterday. It was J's birthday party (4 already, wow!) and my husband & I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. We had 67 people at our house and lucked out with one of the most beautiful August days I can remember in a long time. Thanks so much to all our friends and family that came. We feel so lucky to have so many people we love who came to celebrate with us. It was truly a wonderful day.... The only thing that could have made it better would have been if my Mom was still alive to be with us. Its hard to believe this is the third birthday of J's that she was not here for. I still miss her so much it is hard to describe. I know she was smiling down on us from heaven though, probably wishing she could have been here to hug "her little ones".




Here is M. jumping in the jumper, I love how it looks like he is levitating, and the look on the kids face as as he goes way above the top! :)
I only snapped a few photos, because I was so busy talking with everyone, and jumping in the moonwalk jumper (kudos to all the other grown ups who joined us, and I bet you are a little sore today too! LOL)
Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful day!
~Mary

My favorite cheeks ever....

This little guy had the most beautiful eyes, and by far the best cheeks I've ever seen. :) I am such a fan of photos of children when their faces are in repose, and looking thoughtful. I know so many parents (and grandparents!) think that they want photos where the child is really smiling big, and I'm okay with getting *some* like that, but the photos where you can really see who they are, are usually the more serious photos. Take a look through my galleries, and see if you don't agree. :)
Mary Hanson Galleries
Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment!
~Mary

Morning at Minnehaha Falls

I spent the morning yesterday with the kids at Minnehaha Falls. We had lots of fun "exploring", and finding cool rocks and throwing them into the creek. I'm always amazed that in the heart of Minneapolis, you can feel so away from it all, so surrounded by wilderness, but still hear the bells from the Hiawatha Light Rail as you climb up the stairs. Just another reason to love Minneapolis...
Some photos...

Then, L. spent the afternoon painting with our wonderful neighbor Susan (who was very brave to put L. and paint together like this, lol)


Here is her new froggy friend, who unfortunately got a bit of glitter and paint before he got away. ;)

I've had so much fun this week "off" with the kids. Hope you are all enjoying your summer, your families, and your children.

~Mary

A very sweet brother & sister

Couple recent photos...


These two were such fun to photograph, a brother and sister that really seemed to like each other. And they both had the most beautiful eyes... :O)

Enjoying my own kids this week!

A wonderful week off.... I took this whole upcoming week off, with no sessions during the week, after a very busy summer so far. I plan to relax, take lots of photos of my own kids for a change, and get caught up on a lot of office work and emails. I've gotten so many emails and session inquiries after being featured as part of a story on KARE-11's 10 pm news "I've Been Wondering" with reporter John Croman. If you missed it, here is the link: Make sure you click on the red "video" link to see the newsclip!
click here for link to KARE-11

Apparently, lots of people watch KARE-11!! :o) Thanks again to John Croman for including me in his story. If anyone is still waiting for a return email or phone call, I'll be getting back to you this week. August and September are nearly booked, with a few spots left.

So, here are some snaps, showing how we spent our morning, doing chalk drawings, and playing with our neighbors dog. Have a wonderful week!
~Mary

A rare Sunday session today...

I don't often work on Sundays, but today I had the pleasure of photographing four really nice DFL'ers for an upcoming newsletter. From left to right, Jim Davnie MN State Rep for 62A, Jean Wagenius, MN State Rep for 62B, Patricia Torres Ray, DFL endorsed candidate for State Senator in district 62, and Keith Ellison, DFL endorsed candidate for Congress in CD5.

The Debut of Mary Hanson Photography Blog!

Welcome to my new Blog! I'll be trying to update this every few days, and this will replace my newsletters as a way of staying in touch with clients and friends. For those who have just stumbled across me, I'm a photographer in Minneapolis, MN who specializes in natural light, on-location photography of babies, toddlers, children and families. I'll introduce you to three of my favorite little subjects, my kids! First off, this is my oldest son J., who is 8 1/2:
This is my daughter L., who is 6 1/2:



And last, but never least, my youngest son J., who is almost 4!

These were all taken last month at the beautiful lake home we rent from some friends in Outing, MN. Here is the sunset view up at the lake.... wish we were still there!




I'll be posting some photos from recent sessions each week and I welcome comments from readers! Thanks for visiting, and check back soon!
~Mary
www.maryhansonphotography.com