Mariana before turning her passion into a profession started photographing my family about 6 years ago. She has captured some of my most treasured pictures of my family. Mariana is creative and has an eye for beauty! She finds it in the mundane everyday life and creates magical images out of ordinary moments. Whether you're in your kitchen, bedroom, an open field, or a flower shop (just some of the places where we have taken pictures) I'm always amazed with the results. Mariana has this way about her that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed! My kids love her too, they think she came over to play with them which gets their full cooperation. We are always having fun and laughing when we are together which translates into beautiful family pictures! 

Hayley

How to turn any in-home family photo session into a fun experience:

1️⃣List your favorite in-home family activities and pick one! 

🎨 painting 
🧁baking 
💅 painting your kids nails and spa pretending
🧸 tea party with the stuffed animals

2️⃣You name it! The goal over here is having you connecting and engaging with your family in a uplifting and fun way! If you’re doing something you and your kids love, the joy will naturally come to all of your photos! 

3️⃣Let the kids play and have the couple facing each other & connecting in the middle of the fun!

 My husband owns a design business and we moved into our 1960s mid-century house knowing it would be an ongoing project. We have been renovating it one room at a time and the thought of needing to get my bedroom or the baby's nursery (that is currently in my partially redone closet) stressed me out! 

On my third pregnancy, just two weeks before having my third daughter, Mariana reached out to see if I wanted to do maternity pictures with her again. She captured my second pregnancy and newborn photos and I love them, but this time around I just wasn't feeling it. I physically was at the uncomfortable stage in pregnancy, have a family to take care of, teach kindergarten, and on top of that my house is under construction. I'm just too tired I thought and I didn't think I had it in me to get it all together. 

Hi, I'm Mari!

 I'm so happy we crossed each other's paths! If you're here I'm sure you're looking for an authentic and natural maternity photo session. I love everything about celebrating this beautiful transformational stage life is bringing you! I can't wait to document your story and the beginning of your baby's story!  

Kind

Words

What's so nice about using Mariana is that she provides different services to help with this feeling of "I can't get it all done". She set up a Zoom meeting where I showed her the only place in my house that was fully redone and not under construction and she was able to work with our situation. 

She said, "Great, let's do a fun family session in your kitchen and you can bake cookies or something fun and interactive for the whole family". She also came back for newborn photos and since we don't have great natural light in our bedroom she created this space in our living room with white curtains and one of our mattresses and some pillows to make the perfect little backdrop. She is flexible and able to capture beautiful images even if the backdrop might not be "ideal". 

Being a mom herself, Mariana understands that you may be uncomfortable during maternity pictures or that taking newborn pictures six days after having a baby can be difficult and the house may be messy! She is able to think about the situation you are in and offer services to help ease any stress. Clothing selections, makeup artist, baby swaddles and a variety of hair bows are just a few things she provided during our session.

She set up a call where we discussed outfit options and helped me figure out the color scheme. Weeks before giving birth, I had a limited selection of clothing that still fit and she was able to look at what I had and get a vision for what she thought would pop in photos. Although I would never have chosen red as the color palette, I trusted her and I love how the pictures turned out!! 

This season of life with young kids is busy and messy and not "picture perfect" and having a photographer that can work with your unique situation and make you and your children feel comfortable and relaxed is so very important. 

Mariana does this with ease! She stopped to watch my 5 and 7 year old do handstands, throw their paper airplanes, look at their artwork, and play fetch with our puppy. The girls asked when Mariana could come back to play with them, haha! She encourages playfulness and family fun and in doing this she gets the best family pictures!!

"I'm so happy I decided to take these pictures, it's one thing I never regret and am always so thankful to have!" - Hayley

I'm so happy I decided to take these pictures, it's one thing I never regret and am always so thankful to have! - Hayley

Read the full story from Hayley below and how she didn't want to do a maternity session at first, but she's beyond happy she did! 

Before diving into this cute blog post, let me share something everyone was asking me about! 
This DREAM kitchen was all designed by the man on these pictures! Bryce does some incredible design work and if you're considering some home rennovation in Houston, TX, you should definetly check him out HERE!

For more incredible home design projects check his gallery: https://smolendc.com/portfolio/

We had SO much fun shooting this session! Here's how...
We pick an activity everyone loves. Baking delicious cupcakes!! The girls got really excited and we even made a flour party in the end, and of course, we got some yummy cupcakes & some genuine and ADORABLE images! :)

How to turn any in-home family session into a fun time with your family