Missy Timko Photography Blog

Tag: pittsburgh lifestyle photographer

Newborn Baby Nolan | Sports Nursery

Sweet Christmas baby Nolan was born just before the holiday! He is a peaceful little guy and slept the entire time I was shooting. I was very fond of his classic Janie & Jack outfit–sometimes newborn clothes can look very large on newborns but this one fit just right, and I thought the texture looked perfect for photos.

Have you ever tried to photograph LED Christmas lights? I had the hardest time getting them to show up! Apparently they blink on and off at a frequency that we can’t see with our eyes but that is faster than my camera’s shutter speed. Many of my shots looked like the lights were off; I was so baffled but figured it out later. Anyway, with a little extra patience and some brainstorming on camera settings, I got some great shots by the Christmas tree anyway!

Nolan’s nursery has a colorful sports theme and we also took a baseball photo for dad.

This family’s light-filled Southside loft was beautiful for photos–very tall ceilings and beautiful window light. Even in the brightest of homes though I am usually using Canon 600 EX-RT Speedlites or Westcott Flex LEDs for fill–I don’t mind using a higher ISO if I have to, but I do like the sharpness that comes with adding light to a lifestyle newborn session.

More from this session here:

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Missy Timko is the photographer behind Powder Blue Photography, a boutique photography studio located in Pittsburgh, PA. She specializes in newborns, maternity, families, seniors, and headshots. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, a mix of slightly posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also runs a studio in the West End Village in Pittsburgh. There are many session options, from full-length custom sessions to shorter Baby & Child or maternity sessions, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh. Contact Missy for rates and availability.

January 11, 2016
Newborn Baby Lena Mae | Modern Rustic Black & White Nursery

Please welcome newborn Lena Mae, born in Fall 2015 in Mt Lebanon. This beautiful baby girl arrived about a week before Thanksgiving, and Mom still hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends. Mom might have been exhausted, but Baby Lena had lots of loving arms to be thankful for. And who could resist holding this sweet baby in between bites of turkey and gravy?

I really can’t wait for you to see baby Lena Mae’s nursery, one of the loveliest and most delightful combinations of creative visual elements I have ever seen. (And I have seen some of the most amazing nurseries in all of Pittsburgh!)

The first thing I noticed about the nursery was the color scheme. While it had a distinctively sweet baby girl vibe, it also had an undeniable rustic & earthy quality. The nursery was filled within homemade, hand made and personalized items, reflective of this family’s strong appreciation of the warmth that handmade and hand-selected items can add to any room.

Mom made the hanging yarn pom-poms and painted the antlers obtained in dad’s hunting expeditions. If you look closely, you can see a cute little hobby horse next to the crib; this little guy belonged to Dad when he was young. This horsey was cleaned up in anticipation of Lena Mae’s arrival.

I was particularly blown away by the overall color scheme of this nursery. Would you think to decorate a newborn girl’s nursery with a black and white arrow trim? Or put gold curtains with pink sheets? Or place a turquoise lamp in the middle of all that black, pink, gold and beige? I wouldn’t either, but look at this beautiful result! I admit it, Pinterest has definitely helped me come up with new decorating ideas, but I will never have the creative decorating eye that this mom has. It is truly amazing how this eclectic room all comes together for little Lena Mae.

What would you call this decorating style? Rustic-elegant-artistic-baby girl-homespun-artistic? Please tell me in the comments below!

After a busy week, this new family is ready for some down time together.

Check out images from mom’s maternity session here:

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Are you looking for a maternity, newborn, family, or baby photographer in Pittsburgh? Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and in-studio portraits of newborn babies and maternity we well as family portraits in and around the Pittsburgh South Hills, McMurray, Peters Township, Canonsburg, Bridgeville, Upper St. Clair, and Mt. Lebanon areas. Please contact Missy to schedule a maternity appointment and a tentative date for your newborn session. Maternity sessions take place around 33-36 weeks, and newborn sessions take place in the first few weeks of life. Family sessions take place anytime!

December 17, 2015
Pittsburgh Family Photographer | My Alaskan Friends | Point State Park

As many of you know, I grew up in Southern California. I got my bachelor’s degree in Northern California, then went to New York City for my master’s degree. After that, I moved to Portland, Oregon (where I met my husband) and now I’m in Pittsburgh. Whew, that’s a lot of moving around! Almost everybody asks me, “Why would you move from California to Pittsburgh?” Well, the truth is, we love it here. It’s a wonderful place to raise my two children, my husband is happy here (he grew up here), and I have had a pretty fun time growing a business here!

Speaking of moving far away, I was thrilled to recently have been contacted by Rachel and Brandon, whose beautiful family I photographed when they were a family of three in Pittsburgh. Now they’ve moved to Alaska. (Huh? Were they looking for a state with even less sunshine then Pittsburgh has?) I was so happy that, even though they only had one weekend visiting family in Pittsburgh, they wanted me to take updated family photographs. Baby #1 is now Big Brother Sully, and that cute little guy–that’s Baby Hudson.

So it’s not unusual for families to move a few times as they find their footing. I still have family and friends on the West Coast. And here’s the good part…having started my business in Portland, Oregon, I still go to Portland once or twice a year to take updated family photographs for my earliest clients there. Win-win-win! Contact me for details about my next Portland sessions.

You might recognize this location as Point State Park, one of my favorite sites in Pittsburgh for family sessions. It has gorgeous views of the city as well as woodsy climbing spots for small and medium-sized little ones. Plus the morning light is perfect. Little faces absolutely light up, making my job easier! (Tip: Morning is usually best for small children anyway, in terms of their little circadian rhythms.)

But my very favorite aspect of this session? The familiar fountain and iconic bridges allows the family take a little bit of Pittsburgh back to Alaska with them.

Thank you so much, Rachel and Brandon. So great to see you, Sully and Hudson! Next time, maybe we will use the Northern Lights as a background.

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Missy Timko is the Pittsburgh family photographer behind Powder Blue Photography, a boutique photography studio located in Pittsburgh, PA. She specializes in newborns, maternity, families, seniors, and headshots. Missy’s style is simple, natural, and clean, both posed and lifestyle photography with beautiful natural backdrops, and Missy also runs a studio in the West End Village in Pittsburgh. There are many session options, from full length custom sessions to quick updates of just the kids, inside the studio or outside in a beautiful natural or urban location in Pittsburgh. Contact Missy for availability.

October 9, 2015