Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester MA Senior Portraits / Westwood High Senior

Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts provided the perfect backdrop for this senior portrait session featuring a high school senior from Westwood High School, class of 2023. With the sun casting a warm, glowy light and the sound of waves crashing in the background, the setting was nothing short of magical. Hannah was able to relax and have fun during the session, which allowed for natural, candid (and only a little bit cheesy) shots that truly captured her unique personality and spirit.

The session also took advantage of a nearby grassy field filled with early spring blossoms and soft green grass, which added a beautiful pop of color and texture to the photos.

Scroll on through to see some of my favorite images from Hannah’s session and be sure to leave a comment below, telling me whether you’re Team Flowers & Field or Team Beach Waves!

Rockport High School Senior Portrait Session / Andraya

I am in the thick of senior portrait season over here, and I’m really loving it! Most of my seniors through mid-September have kept their sessions on the beach or the nearby coast, which works perfectly because beaches on Cape Ann have cleared out once the summer ends so we have plenty of space to get creative.

Surprisingly, portrait sessions during COVID-19 haven’t been terribly different. The biggest difference is that I’m wearing a mask the entire time. But other than that, I am sure to use my long lens so we can socially distance. It feels totally safe being out in the open air.

Today I’m so happy to share Andraya’s senior portrait session. I have loved reviewing all of her images again because you can just feel her joy! We split her portrait session between the rocks on the backshore of Gloucester and Good Harbor beach. Scroll through to see some of my favorites from her session and be sure to leave her some love in the comment section below!

xo

Cassie

Beach and Rocky Coast Maternity Session in Gloucester, MA

Kathryn and Brian are clients that have taken me with them to document each new milestone in their family’s history, and it all began with this maternity session! We worked together to choose the perfect setting along the rocky coastal seaside for some dramatic and stunning images. When the sun dipped lower in the sky, we switched locations to catch the pastel hues of a sunset on the beach. In some of the images you can even spy the full moon making an appearance over the ocean. It’s not every session that gets such incredible purple and pink hues, but we definitely scored for their maternity session!

Scroll below to see some of my favorites from Kathryn and Brian’s maternity portrait session. Don’t forget to leave them some love in the comment section!

xo

Cassie

Senior Portrait Session on Northshore MA / Olivia

I’ve talked on the blog before about bringing close friends and family to your senior portrait session to join in a few shots. But there are other ways to personalize your senior portrait session as well, like including items that reflect your hobbies and interests. This used to be something cheesy that people did in the 80s, but I promise, it can be done well! During Olivia’s senior pictures, she chose to wear her pointe shoes for several images to reflect her passion for ballet.

Here are some other ideas for including items to reflect your personality:

Sports:

• Hockey skates, softball jersey, running shoes

Hobbies:

• Music lover-headphones, Animal lover- bring your pet, avid reader- favorite book, Photographer- camera, Fashion lover- bring your best outfits!

Personality:

• Homebody- cozy sweatshirt and leggings, Extrovert- best friend

And there are so many more possibilities! I’ve included some of my very favorite images from Olivia’s senior session. Scroll through and tell me how you will personalize your senior session in the comment section below!

Planning Your Session to Include Two Locations / Jaymee's Classic Senior Session

Well here we are stuck in the middle of winter, with NO SNOW, which is the absolute worst kind of winter. I don’t know about you, but I’m torn between doing a snow dance to get the snow flying around here and just wishing for spring. One thing for sure, it has me dreaming of getting back outside for portrait sessions!

Jaymee’s senior portrait session is an oldie but a goodie. I can’t believe I haven’t shared it before you, because dang look at those eyes! For her session, we were able to combine a classic wide open field with dreamy sunlit grass AND the beach to rock the purple-hued sunset in the waves. It’s the best of both worlds!

We have such a wealth of gorgeous locations on the northshore of Massachusetts, and I work hard to coordinate with each of my clients to select the perfect location(s) to match your vision.

By the time our session was over, Jaymee was a becoming her true self in front of the camera. Just scroll and see!

Enjoy! xo

Beach Maternity Session | Esther and family

When I was first starting out in the Gloucester/Rockport MA area as a photographer, I began to look around at other local photographers to see if I could start to make connections. Almost immediately, I came across Esther's website (because she's fabulous and super talented !) and a blog post on her site about the importance of showing a collaborative spirit with competitors. When I reached out to her, she was super supportive and friendly so it didn't take long for us to become friends.

I think our friendship really cemented itself, though, when we discovered that we were both pregnant with due dates only days apart from each other! It's always comforting to be able to commiserate with someone who is going through the same experience as you at the same time. (Ultimately, I delivered about a month earlier as I have twins who needed to be induced.)

Anyway, it was pretty much a no-brainer that we exchanged our maternity pictures.  Take a scroll through Esther and Dan's maternity session on the coast at Bass Rocks in Gloucester and at Good Harbor Beach. Be sure to check out that super-moon at the end!

Becka | Class of 2017 Beachy Senior Session

It seems appropriate to blog Becka's senior portrait session as she is days away from graduation!  This lady is the real deal-- senior at Manchester Essex High School by day, lifeguard by summer, fashionista every.damn.day. And she'll be heading to UD in the fall. 

We obviously had an amazing time during her portrait session last summer as we skipped along the rocks of the back shore in Gloucester and chased the light at the beach at Good Harbor.  It doesn't get any better.

I hope you enjoy Becka's beachy senior portrait session, and if you do, leave her some love in the comment section below.  

Julliana & Rubmael | Floral & Lace Beach Maternity Session

Julliana and her husband Rubmael met me on the beach on Cape Ann, MA back in the summer as they were expecting their first little baby boy.  We spent the dusk together capturing Julliana's stunning baby bump & glow, as well as the sweetness of the two of them together.  The light  hit just perfectly over the dunes to bathe Julliana in that warm summer haze and light up her hair in a way that only sunset hour can do.

Check out some of my favorites from this romantic beach maternity session and leave Julliana and Rubmael some love in the comment section!

Since this maternity session, we've met again for a stunning anniversary portrait session--which I can't wait to blog about!  Check back in with me again to see for yourself

Small Business Professional Headshots | Nicole Starr

Last summer Nicole (of Nicole Starr Photography) and I collaborated on a business headshot swap where we photographed each other for our websites and social media presence. As fellow photog buddies, we both knew the importance of having a solid photograph of ourselves to put our "best foot forward" in our businesses.  

We began our shoot on location at a grassy field in Gloucester, MA where the light was dreamy and the humidity was soaring.  On the northshore of Massachusetts we have so many beautiful locations, and within minutes we moved onto our next location at Good Harbor Beach.

Nicole planned her outfits to reflect her brand, which is whimsical and bright. I think her blush pink tulle skirt accomplishes just that!  Her photographs reflect the playfulness and beauty of her brand.

How many of you want to see the photographs that Nicole took of me during our headshot swap?? Leave me a note in the comment section below!

xo

Good Harbor Beach Family Portrait Session | The Rileys

I love the idea of having family traditions, and taking yearly family portraits is a perfect way to incorporate traditions into your family. Especially when your kids are still little, it's just so fun to track their growth from year to year. And your children will thank you later for getting in front of the camera yourself to help build these special memories. 

In this darling family beach portrait session, I'm taking you all the way back to 2014! (Gasp!) If you could see these little munchkins now, they already look so different and grown up!

Enjoy these family pictures taken at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, MA.  If you love the memories these guys have made, be sure to tell them in the comment section below!

Elisha's Inspirational "Just Because I Can" Session | Boudoir

When Elisha  contacted me to get her portraits done, she explained that she'd been working her butt off at the gym to prepare for her friend's wedding and wanted to capture this time in her life. Because she can. And, honestly, I don't see a better reason than that. They'll always be a reason to put off having your pictures taken (like that extra ten pounds).  But life gets busy, and before you know it you're left years later with a regret that you wished you'd just done it. 

Elisha will look back on these pictures years from now, with her kids and grandkids, and they will say "Whoa, Grandma, you're hot!"  

Our session was split between a studio session and on location at Good Harbor Beach and Bass Rocks.  Our studio session was what I would called "boudoir", but I saved some of the steamier ones for the imagination! 

Enjoy Elisha's "just because" session and don't forget to leave her some love in the comment section below!

Waiting on Bear | Golden Hour Beach Maternity Portraits Gloucester, MA

It's hard to believe that the little guy we were waiting on during this maternity session is already a year old now. Even though we chose a day in late April for Sarah's maternity portraits, we were met with a stunningly windy (chilly!) day on the beach, so much so that we threw around the idea of postponing. But baby Bear wasn't going to wait, and Momma and Dad didn't have many free days left before his arrival. So Sarah totally "mama-beared" the whole session and made it look like a warm day in August! 

I love Sarah's classic maternity style! Her blush pink dress was so dreamy in the setting light at Good Harbor.    And I pretty much squealed when I saw the flower crown that she brought with her!  

Enjoy Sarah and Joe's maternity session and leave them some love down below by clicking the heart icon!

xo

Sydney & the Sea | Northeast Metro Tech Senior Pictures

One of my loves early on into my photography journey was photographing my loved ones and seeing their joy in being captured behind the camera. When my cousin Sydney entered her senior year at Northeast Metro Tech (Wakefield, MA), it was a no-brainer that I absolutely wanted to capture this exciting time in her life. Not to mention that she's entirely gorgeous and stylish and made my job incredibly easy!

For this session, we spent some time in a cove on the Rockport/Gloucester line, then we made it to the beach by sunset.  It was definitely one of those sessions where it was nearly impossible for me to narrow down the choices.  

After you look through Sydney's stunning senior pictures, be sure to hit that "heart" at the bottom and show some love! 

xo

Nautical Beach Tee-Pee Children's Portrait | Pretty Penny

Those blond curls! Those chubby cheeks! Those big blue eyes!

Penny's nautical beach portraits are the last in the series of last summer's model call mini-sessions.  As the oldest kiddo of the bunch, Penny got the coveted sunset spot, and the light during her session was dreamy.  Although she started off shy, before long we had more "keepers" than we knew what to do with. 

It's hard to believe it was only a few short years ago that I photographed Penny for her newborn pictures and now she is a darling little girl.  I'm looking forward to capturing Penny as she grows!

What do you think about Penny's seaside session? Click that little heart below to "love" it, if it makes your heart melt too!

Twinning Seaside on Cape Ann, MA | Vinnie & Nora

I've heard it said that twin parents are like the special-ops of parenting. Now that I have twins of my own, I know that to be true. Back when I photographed Vinnie and Nora on the beach in Gloucester, though, I never would have imagined that I'd have my own precious set of twin girls.  

That's what makes re-visiting this nautical portrait session so special--I get to look back on these two kiddos and see the special bond that they share, one that my own will start to develop in a few short months.  

Have fun checking out Vinnie and Nora's special beach session.  If you're like me, you'll get a kick out of what a ham Nora is in front of the camera, and how serious Vinnie seems to be taking the whole thing.

Please leave them some love in the comment section below! xoxo

Beach Baby Mini-sessions | Meaghan & Friends

One of the many things I love about photographing babies and children is that within a few short years (or even months!) those photographs show how quickly our little ones grow.  Now that I have twin girls of my own, I realize how important it is to capture each stage as it comes, because your child's growth sneaks up on you--and they will never again be as little as they are today.  

When I look back on Meaghan's beach portrait session, I'm struck by how much she's grown in the past year--and how special it is that we captured these moments of her life.  Bonus points for also getting her big brother in on the action!  

Now let's play a game--count how many rolls are on Meg's chubby little arms! 

If you love Meggy's portraits at Good Harbor as much as I do, don't forget to leave me some love in the comment section below!

Rockport, MA Nautical Engagement Session | Jacob and Lindsay

Jacob and Lindsay's engagement session from the beginning of the summer was easily one of my favorite portrait sessions to date.  I knew it was going to be magic the second Lindsay and I met up to chat about her session to go over her ideas, and she pulled out her Pinterest board and DIY nautical props.  Honestly. Magic!  

We stayed in Rockport for the majority of our session, even spending some time in the exact spot Lindsay's parents got engaged many years back.  Later we hit the beach for a little picnic under the Ultra Mega Moon. (Isn't that the scientific name for it?)