MEET CARLY
Carly is a mother of 4 and family photographer committed to serving clients with heartfelt, frame-worthy imagery of the early years. She serves the Orlando, FL area.
About the Session:
This session was part of my 2026 motherhood event, and is a mother that I’ve been able to document throughout her motherhood journey. It is always so special seeing moms grow in motherhood in confidence, and Michelle was truly glowing here while loving on her 2 young boys.
I used a strobe with 7′ white parabolic umbrella, shot backwards for the soft, even 45 degree light throughout the session – this allows me to focus on my client and their children rather than worrying about changing light in a faster paced session. I tend to edit with Refined Co. presets for a film look, emulating my favorite film stocks including the discontinued Fuji 400H and a stock that I still shoot regularly, Portra 400 (though not for petite session events as they’re too fast paced). This session was edited with Refined III.
Florals: Fern and Curl Designs
Mom’s Dress: Worth Collective
Boys wardrobe: H&M
Painted backdrop + set styling: Carly Matthews Photography
Gear used:
Canon R6 + 50mm 1.2
A Piece of Advice from Carly:
I like to front load clients with a TON of preparation before their session, including tips on how to manage little ones, what to wear, how to prep their partner, etc., but when it comes to session day, I my #1 goal is making sure they are comfortable and feel seen and valued in front of my camera. I think preparation is the place to offer a lot of guidelines and tips, but don’t overwhelm the person in front of you with reminders or adjustments – just let them be and trust that the groundwork in the relationship you’ve built with them will photography much better than any last minute tip you could give that may just add stress and uneasiness – being photographed is vulnerable, and the feeling matters just as much as the technical adjustments at the end of the day (if not more!).
Find More Here:
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