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Welcome to the Erin Bell Photography studio blog- where you can find all of our studio news and updates.  Check back daily as we frequently post complimentary offers, promotions, and session sneak peeks. We are proud to have the busiest studio blog in Connecticut and thank our faithful readers for keeping up with our studio happenings.  

Erin Bell Photography is Connecticut's premier baby, children's, and family studio in Connecticut. We specialize in on-location sessions throughout all of Connecticut, Southern Massachusetts, and select counties in New York and New Jersey. Our work is modern, relaxed, and innovative, without ever sacrificing timelessness. We are pleased to serve the Tri-State region and look forward to many years as your family photographer.

If you're a new client, please also visit our main website at www.erinbellphotography.com 

First Steps! // Connecticut Children’s Photographer

Hope everyone is doing well! Just wanted to update to say we’re almost booked for July- few dates remaining.

Of course, I have to share as well :)

I fell in love today with Ellis and got to watch her very first steps… on film! How crazy is that? These pictures of her walking for the first time as priceless. Her Daddys were thrilled to catch it on film.

Here’s a huge sneak peek of one of my Austin families to tide everyone over :)


these images belong on a gerber ad…



first steps!


Ellis at her new home.



Ellis and Papa…

Ellis and Daddy…




and walking outside for the first time! Yay Ellis!


And one final one I love

Too Cute // Fairfield CT Children’s Photographer

Sharing another Austin Family! I love being able to meet families on both ends of the country- its wonderful. Here’s an awesome young family who was up for anything. I won’t even begin to comment on Mom… she is beyond gorgeous and I’m absolutely jealous that someone can still look that good in 104 degree heat!

Hope everyone in CT is having a great week. Slideshows from last weekend go out today- our server is back up and running :) Working on getting them all online today. Thank you everyone for a great week in CT.

On a side note, I will be back in CT again the weekend of the 11th and the weekend of the 25th. We have a few remaining spots for each weekend, but contact our studio soon to reserve a date as they do go quickly.








Beach Family // Milford CT Children’s Photographer

I have been looking forward to this session all month. I got to spend time with one of my absolute favorite families this past weekend. What an incredible family. They are some of the nicest most thoughtful people I’ve ever met- always asking me if they can help me or make the shoot easier for me. The love between these four is so evident and the girls are some of the happiest little ones I’ve seen. It was a complete pleasure to photograph this very special family.

G Family- You know how much I love the four of you and I hope for many years of portraits with your girls in the future. Thank you so much for your up-for-anything attitude. It makes my job so much fun.

Here is just some. Will make a second blog post later in the week.









Family of Four // Connecticut Family Photographer

Trying to catch up on sneak peeks from this last week! This was such a fun family who was really relaxed and understanding of how nuts it can be to photograph kids sometimes. Mom was brilliant too- she was ready with bubbles. This is a great way to tame 2 years olds for photoshoots. Haven’t even started proofing some of the bubble pictures yet, but judging by my quick look through- they’re gorgeous. The kids were perfect ages and couldn’t be cuter.

R Family- I’m so glad we lucked out with the weather! Thank you for braving the CT heat and humidity with me- it was so wonderful meeting the four of you! I know you are going to love your slideshow. Here’s just a few I started editing for now :)





And baby makes 6! // Woodbury CT Children’s Photographer

I had the pleasure of getting to photograph some of my favorite clients again today- and their new addition! Welcome to the world Little J! You are absolutely beautiful and you are joining an amazing family. I’m so looking forward to watching you grow.

P Family- I’m so glad we made it work :) I cannot tell you how happy these images make me. Looking at the four kids together I almost got teary-eyed. It’s just a beautiful moment and I can’t wait for them to look back as adults on these images.

Just two for now. I’m a bit smitten as you can tell- I hope you all are as well.


June 21, 2009 - 6:51 am SIMPLY DASHY PHOTOGRAPHY - Just love the window shot of the kids! I found you because you had recently posted some pictures on THE PHOTO FORUM on 6/18/09. Thanks for encouraging and inspiring all photographers. Keep up the great work! BTW, I also like the quote you've added in the end of your post regarding dreaming big.

8 Days In This World // Southbury CT Children’s Photographer

Some newborns are just gorgeous… Baby ‘G’ is one of them. She was an absolute doll to photograph and slept so well!

‘G’ Family, it was so awesome finally getting to see you today, and it was wonderful getting to know you. I love newborn sessions because it’s fun for me to chat- if you couldn’t tell I love to chat! It really helps me get to know your family and capture who you really are. I look forward to getting to watch the very loved and adored Miss G grow into the beautiful little girl she’ll be.



love just the little lips in focus…



and finally… is this not the most beautiful traditional newborn portrait? the eye contact for 8 days old is incredible…

6 Months & Oh So Sweet // Granby CT Children’s Photographer

It is late and I have a day full of shoots tomorrow, so I don’t want to write too much, but absolutely loved this young family! It was really fun to watch them all together. Dad bought the session for his wife for her birthday- I love when Dad’s do that. It’s such a sweet and thoughtful idea. Little ‘O’ gave me the best intense expressions today. I loved his eye contact and long lashes.

‘E’ Family- I’m so glad we got to work with each other! I’m thankful for the great weather and cannot wait to see you guys again in the future! Here’s a few favorites for now!





Elizabeth Park // Litchfield CT Children’s Photographer

Yesterday was just one of those sessions that went right. The weather was perfect, the flowers were in bloom, the kids were in great moods and didn’t want the session to stop- it was hard to take a bad picture yesterday! It was a great start to being back in Connecticut for the end of June.

‘J’- your kids were so great :) I liked their genuine spirits and how fun they were- I think we captured a lot of wonderful pictures. I got so many awesome pictures of the kids together- but I figured I’d save those for the slideshow to keep some surprises. I’m so glad to have met your family and look forward to getting to photograph the kids as they grow. For now, here’s a big sneak peek to tide you over until the slideshow next Thursday!







Austin Shoot // West Hartford Children’s Photographer

Thought I would share a session from Austin! :) And almost a full session to give you an idea of what a full session is like. This session was for a photographer’s family. They always have the best clothes and the best ideas.

On a side note, I will be home Wednesday and back to CT sessions for awhile. See everyone then!

Jen, it was amazing working with you guys! I love ‘I’ to death and love his enthusiasm in the pictures- and yours too! All three of you were were so easy and natural to photograph and I really love the artistic variety we got- each portrait feels very special and different. I hope that you love these for many years to come. Looking forward to getting to do your pictures again in the future! :)




























June 15, 2009 - 12:49 pm Jennifer - Erin, my word! You have so beautifully captured our family and some of the sweetest faces Isaac makes! The black and whites of the two of us bring tears to my eyes, and the ones of Isaac and Steve are a real treasure - perfect timing with Father's Day coming along! I am THRILLED beyond belief to have family pictures, too! You are a true professional; we felt so comfortable every step of the way! Thank you, thank you!

June 21, 2009 - 5:54 pm leigh - These are absolutely stunning, which lens did you use for these, the bokeh is just amazing.

Studio Update

I’ve gotten so many cute emails from blog readers asking where I’ve been lately- and I know- 6 days without blogging is a long time these days for our studio! Wanted to update with a quick explanation, plus a few images of my new place. I will do a more official revealing later next week with bigger pictures of my new place- it’s very modern and very me- I love it! Thanks everyone, and I hope I will be back in the blogging swing of things next week. Doing my best! :)


18 Months and Couldn’t Be Cuter // Connecticut Children’s Photography

I had a couple sessions today and wanted to blog the second one of the two with darling Little ‘D’. Little ‘D’ is one of my favorite little guys ever- his happiness and smile is so infectious- and his little flirtatious grin is so irresistible. I’ve yet to meet a toddler with more personality- and I wanted to capture that personality exactly as it is. ‘D’’s dad is away until July with the military, so I wanted to get some great shots of Mom and D together for Dad. I think these will be the perfect fathers day gift.

‘M’- I am so glad to have met you and ‘D’, and your family! You are all wonderful, real people and I am looking forward to getting to know all of you even more- and staying in touch between our sessions. I’m so glad we crossed paths- I think it’s really a hidden blessing! I hope you love these :)

Without further ado…

peek a boo…

i see you!

June 2009 Availability

As of this week, we are booked until Mid-June. Thank you so much to the wonderful return clients and new clients that have allowed us to be so busy in 2009. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your loyalty. It is a torn feeling to announce that we only have 5 remaining dates for June. As mentioned earlier, I will only be working in Connecticut the final two weeks of every month due to a second studio in Austin, TX. The last weekend of June is completely booked now and most of the second to last week is as well. I did try to leave one Saturday open though for new clients since Saturdays are usually the most desirable days.

It is bittersweet to announce such limited availability, but I wanted to get the dates up here as soon as possible so that blog readers can get booked first. After these days, we do not have availability until the end of July.

I look forward to meeting everyone in June!


‘The Look’ of the Month: June

I cannot tell you how many times I get the question about what to wear. I can’t complain though, I love when people ask me that. It means that my clients value the way a family portrait comes together and the way the environment works with the clothing, and it shows how much thought my clients put into the session. Often times I have clients email me their outfit ideas and I give feedback back to them. This is great for getting the perfect portraits.

The truth is, while I have many very stylish clients, my average client feels a bit clueless about fashion at times. Even myself- I can dress my clients- no problem- but when it comes to my own outfits I’m definitely not a fashionista. Fashionistas or not, I know you guys want to look the best you can in your portraits and so I’ve decided to start doing a monthly post that features an outfit that I think will photograph well and coordinate everyone without getting too matchy-matchy.

Here’s a few general fashion tips for sessions:

1. Choose about 3 colors and try to make sure that the colors are spread throughout everyone’s outfits.
2. Embrace white. While some photographers struggle to photograph white due how easy it is to overexpose white, I personally love when my clients wear white. It’s classic, neutral, and converts beautifully to black & white.
3. There is no reason to fear prints, but generally I suggest one print per family. If one person in the family gets a print, everyone else should go with solids. The outfit below is a great example of this.
4. Texture. Texture photographs beautifully.
5. Layering. Layer dress shirts under t-shirts, vests over shirts, and skirts over leggings. Layering makes stylish, fun portraits.

And now for our very first The Look of the Month! Mom and Dad’s clothes are from Gap- with the exception of Dad’s shorts which are Banana Republic (which I love, although I’m sure most of you would have to bribe and beg to get your husbands into hip shorts like those!) The little one’s dress is from Janie and Jack, and the little boys clothes are from Gap. I love the Gap brand because it all coordinates so well together and holds its shape well after wash. For putting this outfit together, I started with a print on the little girl and worked from there- using the colors in her dress to dress everyone else. Hope this is inspiration for my June sessions coming up!

The Backyardigans //Fairfield County Child Photographer

Here’s some true ‘real life’ pictures from my time with Sarah and her family! After the mini-photoshoot outside, we settled inside to watch some Backyardigans.



sitting with mom…



New Big Brother! // Connecticut Children’s Photographer

I got together with a good friend of mine today to take some pictures of her new little one- but of course I couldn’t resist her 18 month old. I love photographing toddlers, no matter how difficult they might be, so I couldn’t help but get some beautiful pictures of Little ‘L’. It was a very impromptu shoot- the weather was dark and cold for May, it was almost 7:30 at night, but I’m so glad we did it!

Sarah and I met many many years ago through both being part of the same music fandom. We met on the road and have gone one many wonderful trips together since then. Although we don’t each other too much these days- Sarah and her family will always be close to my heart and I am so happy to watch her beautiful boys grow. It’s amazing how you meet the many people in your life and what brings people together.

Sarah, I got a bunch of great portraits of ‘L’, a handful of ‘C’, and some great moody black and whites from inside that I will post on the blog separately tomorrow. I absolutely love the realness of these images- but definitely want to do an official family shoot when ‘C’ is older. Let’s set up a date for October for a Christmas portrait shoot. Remind me in August we need to pick out a date so I can get you in before I get too booked up with sessions- I definitely want to capture the boys out in the foliage by you guys.

I hope you love these! I got more of ‘C’, but I am still editing those.




little vintage of ‘L’ shoveling…



sarah, does he not look like everett here!?

and we can’t leave out one of ‘c’ for tonight!

Congrats Sarah and David! Love you guys! :)

classic summer days // connecticut beach photographer

Couldn’t resist a few more from this session… absolutely love these images in black and white- such a classic summer time feel!

Before this summer, I always considered myself a children’s photographer- but rarely a family photographer. I’ve truly become a family photographer this summer- and although families are the most difficult to document in many ways- they are the most rewarding.

What I love about these images is the realness, the honesty, the quirky expressions, the frozen captures of time. I love the lighthearted feel of them.

I hope you enjoy this share! There’s nothing more summer than popsicles in the grass.


ladies in red // burlington ct children’s photographer

Sometimes I’m in disbelief of how beautiful all of my families are. I consistently have beautiful, stylish, photogenic families without fail. My family today was no exception! The girls were stunning and I loved the haircut on little ‘S’. Not to mention, this Mom did a wonderful job putting the outfits together. She took the time to email me choices and I let her know what I thought would be best, and I am so happy with the choice that we made. Gorgeous!

We were all a bit iffy about the beach I chose to do the shoot at at first, but as promised to the ‘L’ family, I would make the pictures just as stunning! And it was an experience- that was for sure! Definitely a memorable experience. Thank you so much ‘L’ family for putting up with my crazy on-location ideas! :)

‘W’ Family, it was wonderful, wonderful meeting you four today! You will absolutely love your slideshow. I feel your family’s love really shines through in your images.






all of my clients by now know I love intense stares as much as I love smiles…

bea

little red // Wallingford CT Baby Photographer

Out of the near one hundred newborns I’ve ever photographed, this was one of the most beautiful little girls I’ve ever seen. And certainly the strongest redhead- what a head of hair! This mother daughter duo was absolutely wonderful. This Mom and I talked each other’s ears off which I think was a great break for both of us- I hardly felt like I was working! And little ‘K’ slept the entire time. One of my best sleepers ever- and it shows in the images how relaxed she was.

‘C’- you were as warm and kind in person as I knew you would be from our planning on the phone. I truly, truly enjoyed our time together this afternoon- so relaxing and wonderful! I look forward to many future sessions with you and your family and watching little ‘K’ grow!

It was hard just editing a few tonight- but I had to stop myself to catch up on other things. Here was just a handful of the wonderful images from today!


how stunning is this color on her?

can you believe this smile!? a true nature baby!

quilt made by grandma!

and a little vintage to top it all off.

Studio Update

We’ve had a crazy week here at the studio as I try to fit so many sessions in before I head back to Austin, TX.

For clients and readers who don’t know yet, starting June 1st, I will be splitting my time between Austin and Connecticut. I will be the co-owner of a second business in Austin with fellow photographer Ryan Kurkowski- my previous studio manager who I know many of you have met or worked on orders with in the past. I will be in Connecticut the final two weeks of every month and I will be in Austin the first two weeks. We will be taking 10-12 shoots per month in Connecticut- only 4 of those shoots available for newborn sessions due to how extensive newborn sessions are on our end and how tricky scheduling can be. Please note that that is why our schedule is very limited for the next two months already but we are trying to fit in as many returning clients and new clients as possible. We will be updating the blog this week with our updated availability.

I won’t be back in Connecticut until June 16th so these final two weeks have been a bit nuts! Thank you so much for your patience. Although I’ve gotten back to a lot of your emails- please note that tomorrow and Saturday are will be catch up dates for me as I will finally be back in my office to work on administration tasks, as well as getting all of the wonderful slideshows from this past week up. Again, thank you for understanding.

Also, as far as May availability goes- I actually have next Saturday afternoon available (the 30th) and Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. If you would like a session before June 16th, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. Thank you!

At Harkness Again // Clinton CT Children’s Photographer

If you can’t tell, we’ve had a crazy week at the studio- and 4 shoots remaining this week to round it out. Here is the third of our three sessions on Wednesday.

This family was just one of those families that have genes people would kill for. You can’t go wrong when you’re photographing kids with creamy, tan skin & sunkissed blonde hair. ‘C’ is 8 years old and absolutely stunning- one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever had in front of my camera before. ‘A’ had the cutest husky voice (little boys with husky voices are a weakness of mine), so much energy and enthusiasm, and was surprisingly patient for my camera! ‘J’- I hope you love this sneak peek. They were such a pleasure to photograph and it was truly such a fun laidback shoot- very you guys! I feel like the Camp Rock soundtrack in the car really inspired my creativity especially… haha! I cannot wait to show you the rest. Here are just a few that caught my eye.



I had to include these because they just feel like an American Eagle or Abercrombie ad don’t they?! Love the hazy feel.