Leah O'Connell

Charlottesville family photographer

families, Featured sessions, newborns

Featured: At-home maternity and newborn sessions with the Hamby family

maternitysessioncharlottesville
I'm Leah!

I’m obsessed with stories of family, creativity, and simple joys.  A nostalgia nerd, educator, wife, and mom of 3, I believe life’s most fun when you’re dreaming big and having kitchen dance parties. 

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Highlighted family and newborn photography sessions

This family has been with me since I first got to Charlottesville and they were expecting their first baby. A lot has changed since then, including my photography style and a second baby!

When we met for their first journey plan, they were in transition while they built their dream home. Now that they’re in it, we kept this maternity session cozy by celebrating a simple weekend morning of breakfast and backyard time, playing and reading books together. At this point, the nursery was still relatively empty, so we wrapped up by taking a moment in there to embrace the season of waiting and life before 3 became 4 (+ dog 🙂 ).

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The coolest thing about this newborn session is that the whole thing took place in one room – the nursery.

Since we shot in the rest of the house in their maternity session, simple for this one meant keeping things contained. It was a beautiful space with one large window and light walls, so all it took was some creative angles and patience to create a full gallery of family shots, individuals, and breakdowns with each parent and sibling in our one hour session together.

I love sharing this session because a lot of times, people think they have to have their whole homes totally put together in order to shoot there, but this is proof that you can do so much with just one well lit-room and an open mind!

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Hi, I'm Leah.
Family photographer, writer, educator.

I’m  one of the first to meet your newborn baby, the one who won't judge your clothes baskets and unmade beds, and the one who can capture the way your husband looks at you with a twinkle in his eye after 12 years of marriage. I believe in honoring people and telling stories.

I believe art has the power to light up the world in dark places, starting at home.