Rachel Halsey Photography ~ Photo Blog

Yay! I finally get to share another shoot of the most precious little family – the Tolleys!
This time around I am SO happy to finally formally introduce brand new miss Lydia Katherine!

Lydia decided that her birthday would be on April 23rd (which I personally think was a fabulous decision on her part… I’m sure Rach agrees!) and she had a head full of beautiful dark hair and the most perfect little nose… seriously! Look at that cute little thing!

Matt and Rachel, it is such an honor to be able to photograph so many different seasons of your life.
I remember photographing Anna when she was barely walking… and now to see her as a big sister seriously could bring tears to my eyes.
Your family is so precious and I am so thankful for all of you.

Anna, you are an amazing big sister!
Your auntie Abbie pointed out to me that you and Lydia have exactly the same difference in age that she and I have.
That fact makes me SO happy because as most people know, Abbie is one of my best friends in the entire world ;]
She is my cheerleader, my secret keeper, and the person I want to talk to when I’ve had a bad day.
I have no doubt in my mind that you and Lydia will be the very best of friends.
Seeing how much you love your little sister is amazing to me… You will be such a wonderful example for her for so many things!

Congratulations to the Tolley family and I wish all the best for you as you embark on the adventure of being a family of four.
I know that you will do such an amazing job and make a lot of people envious (like really, how is a family this good looking?) ;]

Lots of love to each of you!

One of my favorite families is back! Matt, Rachel, Anna, and introducing…. Lydia!
Well, technically Lydia will be gracing us with her undoubtedly adorable presence next month… But I am super excited and can’t wait to meet the newest baby Tolley :]

Rachel and I had been planning this maternity shoot for forever but kept having to reschedule because it would NOT stop snowing! I seriously think it was 3 or 4 times (if not more!) that we scheduled and rescheduled. Oh boy.
That’s New England for you… Is everyone else as ready for summer as I am? ;]
Needless to say, we finally made it happen. And it was wonderful.

We met up in downtown Dover and walked around a bit… It was sunny and a little chilly but we all had a great time.
Rachel is one of those people that just pulls pregnancy off beautifully. She is so adorable and always looks so cute. I know she’s probably the most ready to meet Lydia…. but Rach, I promise – you look AMAZING.

Anna, as always – was a delight and a half. This kid cracks me up. She is so full of personality and has the sweetest manners I’ve ever seen. I’m sure she is going to be such an amazing big sister.

Oh, and we knew it was our lucky day when we made it to Harvey’s right at closing time and they sold us some Petit Fours anyway ;]

Tolley family, thank you again for allowing me to capture your precious family. I can’t wait until Miss Lydia is here and we can take some updated family shots… Maybe it will be warmer then, too ;]

xoxo!

I don’t dedicate nearly enough blog posts to the photoshoots that take place for the clients closest to my heart – my family. More specifically, my sweet sister and her husband and their itty bitty sunshine girl, Clara Grace.
Abbie and I have always been closer than close… but her having a daughter has made me realize even more so how lucky I am to have her in my life. She is such an amazing mom – Clara Grace is seriously the luckiest little girl on the planet. But Abbie and Nick lucked out quite a bit too – because Clara Grace is definitely the cutest and most hilarious baby in all the land. She has such a sweet personality… I can’t believe how much she’s changing and growing every single day…. And that nose crinkle she does when she’s extra happy – ah! My heart!
Your little family makes me SO happy and I am just so honored that you’re not only MY family – but I get to photograph you too! It’s really just the best kind of deal.

I also need to publicly thank Abbie – she is my second shooter at 99% of my shoots and seriously – I couldn’t do it without her. She is the peanut butter to my jelly and life is so much easier on me because of her. Taking family photos for her when I can somehow seems like THE VERY LEAST I could ever do to repay her for all the love and support she gives me on a daily basis. But – she knows she has a lifetime of free photoshoots to use up, so I will continue letting her think that this somehow makes us “even” ;] Love you Abbie – thank you so much for being such a huge part of my photography business. Maybe it’s about time to start talking about “Tolsey Photography” – ha!

~

This past fall, we decided to offer something a little bit different for those who had contacted me about wanting a shorter photo session for the purpose of Christmas card photo options. Introducing…. the fall mini session! We dedicated an afternoon at Prescott Park in Portsmouth to these fun little shoots… Just 20 minutes each, we promised each family a CD with 15-20 different image options for whatever they’d like – Christmas cards, photo gifts, etc.
The mini sessions were such a huge hit, I’ve decided to try to start offering them each season. I’m not sure we’ll do a winter one (although if I had enough interest, I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to it!) but I am thinking we will most definitely do a spring, summer, and another fall day.

If you would like to be included in our next set of mini sessions, please email me (at) rachelhalsey@gmail.com and I will put you on the list!

And now ~

~The Aube Family

~The Boston Family

~The Carpenter Family

~The Dorais Family

~The Kilbourn Family

~The Roy Family

~ The Audino Family

~ The Norbert Family

This is my second time photographing the lovely Cotter family, and I must say, these kids just somehow keep getting cuter and cuter.
Will and Charlie have the best little boy smiles and the most amazing eyes you’ll ever see. They are so full of energy and excitement and wonder and amazement. As we walked around and looked for places to shoot, I loved watching these brothers as they turned our entire time together in to a lovely adventure.

And then there’s Sara and Dan. Sara is one of those people with one of those smiles. You know the type, right? She always looks beautiful and joyful and the happiness on her face always makes me smile. She is such an amazing mother. You can tell by watching her with her boys for five minutes. She and Dan are doing such a great job as parents… and the two of them together are just so sweet. There is obvious love in this family, and I felt so honored documenting it.

This family is so typical in so many ways…. beautiful kids that are growing so fast you almost can’t see it…. and then you catch a glimpse. A glimpse of the summer days to come and another year down. These days just fly by and are gone so fast. I love mom’s like Sara who make sure to make time for the important act of documenting her life as it is right now. This second. Whole and beautiful and barely resting long enough for her to take it all in.

No worries. That’s what I’m here for:

Shawn and Maranda contacted me about doing family photos of them + their four little ones. After emailing back and forth with Maranda about our session, I absolutely couldn’t wait. Little did I know, these four little ones would be even more precious than I ever could have imagined.
Arilyn is so obviously the big sister – and such a great one. She was such a huge help in getting baby Alexa to smile… and her quiet but oh-so-sweet personality simply shines through in every photo I took of her. She is such a beauty, too… so naturally photogenic and so calming to be around. Her personality actually reminded me a little of my own favorite big sister (cough cough, that’s you Abbie!).
And then there’s Addison. Addie found a special place in my heart… I saw so much of myself as a little girl in her personality. She is so outgoing and such a little sweetheart… by the end of our session, she kept referring to me as “her new friend” and we held hands the whole way back to the car. Melt my heart… this little girl is something special.

Owen is such a little boy amongst these little beauties. Just looking at his sweet little face makes me smile so big. Look at those eyes! I especially loved watching Shawn with Owen as the relationship they already have as father/son is obviously so special.

And then of course there’s Alexa! Aw, I love those baby cheeks and those big baby blue eyes. What a sweetie.
Seriously, this whole family was almost too good to be true. These children are beautiful and happy and such a pleasure to be around. And of course their parents are beautiful and happy and so very loving. It’s hard to be around this family and not smile the whole time. Trust me!
Shawn and Maranda, thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to photograph your family. I loved watching how much you all love each other. Photographing families like yours makes me so excited about having a family of my own one day.

I am already looking forward to our next session and seeing how different everyone looks (especially little Alexa!) as your little ones continue to grow and change.
You are the kind of family that I secretly (or not-so-secretly) hope I get to photograph year after year after year ;]

Lots of love from my home to yours!

Michele and her family are the most precious family you will ever meet.
If you don’t follow Michele’s blog already, you are truly missing out.
She is funny, adorable, sweet, charming, and about everything in between.
She also happens to be an incredible artist.
Do yourself a favor and order some of her amazing blocks…. I know I need to order a few sets (what an amazing gift, huh?!) :]

Now enjoy the cuteness:

Well – she did at the beginning of June ;]

Dear Madison,

How is it possible that you get cuter every single day?! You are the prettiest, most precious little girl in all the land. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you aren’t a beautiful work of art :]

I love you with all my heart. I don’t know if you’ll remember this birthday but if you do – I hope it was the most fabulous day for you and that each birthday just gets better and better.

Thanks for making me feel so loved with your shouts of my name to come play with you, the hugs and kisses hello and goodbye, the cute faces (even when you won’t look at the camera), and especially your sweet and feisty spirit. You remind me of your Daddy sometimes and I think that’s amazing. I love being your Auntie, my little sweetie poo <3

Love you always and no matter what,

Auntie Rae Rae

Madison Joy. Two years old as of June 2nd…. sniffle sniffle… They grow up so fast!

I love you, Maddie. Always and forever and to the moon and back.

Love,

Auntie Ray Ray

Lots more to come!