Baby Lucy | Pittsburgh Newborn Photographer

Your name and your spouse’s name:  Krista and Mark H.

Baby’s full name and birth date: (When was baby’s due date?) Lucy Marie born 6/29/20. (She was due on July 1.)

Baby’s Place of Birth: Magee Women’s Hospital

Describe your birth experience.

My Covid baby! I was fortunate that the hospital policy loosened just weeks before to allow my doula to support me as well as my husband! We had some other restrictions that meant changing my ideal birth plan, but in the end, I had a beautiful baby girl!

I had an elective induction that was surprisingly very long for me, 23 hours! My previous inductions were all 8-12 hours long. I saw the midwives at Magee this time and they encouraged me to take this one slow to increase my chances of a natural birth, which was my goal. We finally decided to break my water at 2:30 AM (19.5 hours into the process) to help get things moving. I was stuck at 2 cm after all that time! It went fast and furious from there! Lucy was born at 5:06 AM.

Describe life with a newborn. How has your life changed since giving birth? Is it as you expected or totally different?

Lucy is our fourth baby, but it’s funny how much you forget about having newborns! They eat so often! Lucy has been a great sleeper, so our first few weeks have gone better than expected. One of the benefits of Covid quarantine is that Mark is working from home, so I have so much more support throughout the day.

Does baby have siblings or pets? Siblings’ ages? How did they react to baby coming home?

Lucy is baby sister to Abigail 7, Davin 5, and Clare 2. Abigail and Davin were smitten with her right away. Clare, however, took a week to warm up to the idea of another human in the house and having to share Mom’s time. Now Clare is more doting than the other two; she loves to give kisses and hold her “Ooo-cy.”

When did you book your newborn session? Why did you pick Missy Timko Photography?

I think we booked it pre-Covid. I booked because I’ve been very happy with my previous sessions! My favorite thing about our sessions with Missy is how she captures everyone’s personalities! I don’t want family photos that look like the J Crew catalogue. I want to look at the pictures and say, “Yes, that’s my family in all our quirks!” My husband’s favorite part of shooting with Missy is how efficient and quick she is!

How did you prepare for your newborn session? Any tips for new moms regarding newborn photography?

One piece of advice: Try on your outfit after your milk comes in! The shirtdress I had planned to wear no longer fit in the bust and I had to “punt” the morning of the session!

As for everybody else, I picked a color scheme and outfits that suited the weather and everyone’s personalities and sent them to Missy to make sure they would photograph well together. I did have an outfit change planned for everyone, but because of Covid, we only shot outside and it was blazing hot that day. So I opted to bag the outfit change to not fight wilting and sweating children and dad. So I recommend putting everyone in your first choice outfits first just in case!

Having hair and makeup provided was a huge timesaver! I didn’t have to worry about getting it all done before Missy arrived and I could nurse the baby while the stylists were working!

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Missy Timko Photography is a boutique photography studio located in Mt. Lebanon, PA. Missy specializes in children from newborn to senior, families, and adults. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, both posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also has a gorgeous custom studio space in uptown Mt. Lebanon.  There are many session options, from full length custom sessions to quick & easy headshots, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh.  Contact Missy for availability.

 

Baby Lucas | Pittsburgh Newborn Photographer

I had the pleasure of photographing baby boy #2 for the O family in their gorgeous Squirrel Hill neighborhood. I photographed older brother Jackson a couple of years ago, and his photos are some of my favorite newborn portraits! Here is my favorite image from that session (in their previous home):

lifestyle newborn photography

And now, onto the new shoot with baby Lucas! Mom Sara filled out a questionnaire for me so you can hear all about her birth story and experience bringing her new sweetie home.

Due to COVID (and the fact that they have an AMAZING view in front of their home), we shot this session primarily outdoors in full sun with fill flash. The clouds were so beautiful on this day, so I took full advantage of the natural sky backdrop! Then we did a quick shoot indoors, where I work a KN95 mask to protect the family.

BABY’S NAME AND BIRTH DATE: Lucas Morgan O’Brien born 9/17/2020. (Due date 9/19/2020)

BABY’S PLACE OF BIRTH: Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh

DESCRIBE YOUR BIRTH EXPERIENCE.

After working all day, I starting having contractions around 6 pm. We went to the hospital and Lucas was born at 3:01 am. He came into the world on a happy note as I did not push him out but rather literally laughed him out!

family portrait two boys in park

DESCRIBE LIFE WITH A NEWBORN. HOW HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGED SINCE GIVING BIRTH?

The transition to two has been easier than I anticipated and we feel like Lucas has been part of our family forever.

DOES BABY HAVE SIBLINGS OR PETS? HOW DID THEY REACT TO BABY COMING HOME?

Lucas’ older brother Jackson is smitten with him. He gets excited to see him and asks for him every time he wakes up.  While there are moments of learning to adjust to being a big brother, he is overall doing really well with the change.

newborn baby boy with big brother on bed

WHEN DID YOU BOOK YOUR NEWBORN SESSION? WHY DID YOU PICK MISSY TIMKO PHOTOGRAPHY?

We booked over the summer I believe. Missy did a beautiful job capturing this special time in our life when Jackson was born and we wanted the same experience for Lucas’ newborn photos.

HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR NEWBORN SESSION? ANY TIPS FOR NEW MOMS REGARDING NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Plan for your outfits beforehand. As a newly postpartum mom, it is hard to predict how your body will look and what clothes will make you feel good. I made sure to have a few different sizes and styles that would coordinate with the rest of the family’s outfits so I wasn’t scrambling the morning of the shoot.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE IMAGE(S) FROM THIS SESSION? DESCRIBE THE IMAGE AND WHY YOU LOVE IT.

My favorite is probably the ones of Jackson kissing Lucas. There is one close up that just melts my heart, especially the version in black and white.

newborn baby boy black and white with brother


Missy Timko Photography is a boutique photography studio located in Mt. Lebanon, PA. Missy specializes in children from newborn to senior, families, and adults. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, both posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also has a gorgeous custom studio space in uptown Mt. Lebanon.  There are many session options, from full length custom sessions to quick & easy headshots, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh.  Contact Missy for availability.

Parker | Pittsburgh Senior Photographer

Read more about the article Parker | Pittsburgh Senior Photographer
© 2020 Missy Timko Photography. www.missytimko.com

Parker is kind, compassionate, smart, caring, funny, creative, and sincere.” -Mom

Parker’s mom called me over the summer to see about having a yearbook photo taken for her son. She told me that he was not very excited about the idea of having a portrait taken because he was in a unique time of his life and just didn’t know how to approach the portrait process. It seemed to me like they just wanted to get it over with and submit the requisite yearbook photo to the editor and be done with it.

After a phone call with his incredibly compassionate and kind mom, I discovered that there was more to the story. It felt to me like it wasn’t that Parker didn’t want to celebrate the accomplishment and excitement that comes with graduation, he maybe just didn’t know how to be himself in front of the camera. I rallied my styling team, got Parker and mom on board, and we planned a day that goes down in my 10-year history as a photographer as one of the most fulfilling and beautiful shoots I’ve ever had. Mom describes the shoot below.
trans high school student wearing pink coat in the park

DESCRIBE YOUR SENIOR IN A FEW SENTENCES.

Parker is kind, compassionate, smart, caring, funny, creative, and sincere. He is honest and true with himself and others. His courage, strength, and perseverance are inspiring. Parker’s beauty radiates from the inside out making those around him feel appreciated and cared for.

black & white portrait of transgender high school man taking a senior portrait

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE MISSY TIMKO PHOTOGRAPHY?

I wanted to have something other than the “usual” senior photo for Parker. He was going through a transitional stage in his life and I wanted his senior picture to mark the milestone as well as reflect his personality and represent him honestly and authentically. When I reached out to Missy, I immediately felt that she understood the vision I had and embraced the opportunity to help capture the moment and celebrate Parker.

trans high school student leaning against urban area wall

HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR PORTRAIT SESSION? ANY TIPS FOR OTHER SENIORS REGARDING PLANNING A PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION?

Missy connected us with her amazing wardrobe, hair, and makeup team to help Parker find just the right look for the photo shoot. Even more amazing than the physical clothing and styling that her team helped coordinate, was the way in which they all made Parker feel about himself. His confidence was shining in every shot and pose!

trans high school student senior portrait with pink jacket in park

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE IMAGE(S) FROM THIS SESSION? DESCRIBE THE IMAGE AND WHY YOU LOVE IT.

Such a hard choice! I love them all!! If I have to choose, there is one of Parker outside. He has his “Protect Trans Kids” shirt on, just removing his pink coat, and looking up towards the sky with a smile. It makes me smile every time I see it:-)


trans high school student black and white senior portrait in park

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?

Missy went above and beyond throughout our whole experience. She was both passionate and compassionate. She understood our needs and absolutely went out of her way to embrace Parker and the vision he was going for. Missy helped to make Parker look and feel amazing, bringing out his confidence more and more with each shot. She is extremely knowledgeable and well versed in suggesting just the right pose, expression, or turn of the head to complement the subject, creating a sense of comfort and ease. In addition to embracing the subject through the lens, Missy clearly has a genuine connection with her clients. She is sincere, warm, and thoughtful, all of which comes through in her work.

Thanks to my amazing team:

Wardrobe by Flourish Styling Co.

Hair & Makeup by Lisa Johnson


Missy Timko Photography is a boutique photography studio located in Mt. Lebanon, PA. Missy specializes in children from newborn to senior, families, and adults. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, both posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also has a gorgeous custom studio space in uptown Mt. Lebanon.  There are many session options, from full length custom sessions to quick & easy headshots, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh.  Contact Missy for availability.