Philadelphia Family, Child, Newborn, and Senior Photographer Ryan Estes

Welcome to the blog of Ryan Estes Photography. I live and work in the greater Philadelphia area providing families, kids, babies and seniors with cutting-edge photography. Here you'll find the latest images, news, and bits of this and that. Come back often -- there's a lot happening, both in my life and in the lives of my clients.

Often I'll post pictures I've taken for fun... whether they're shots of my daughter, trips we've taken, or simply interesting/fun/bizarre/crazy/cool stuff from everyday life. Why? Because photography is intensely personal... in your search for the right photographer, you should connect as well with the person as you do with the images. This is who I am... I hope you enjoy.

ocean city family portraits | the cole family

Monday, September 26, 2011 Posted in Families

These are a few of my favorite things:

Shiny new lenses
Hugs from my kids and dinner with my wife
The music of The Tallest Man on Earth
Twizzlers
When wedding clients call me a few years later and say “Hey, we’ve had a baby! And we want you to come take our pictures again!”

Carrie and Dana were married in 2009 at Cairnwood Estate. It was a fun wedding to shoot, not least of all because C&D are very cool people and a lot of fun to be around. When I heard from Dana earlier this year, he wanted to give Carrie a surprise portrait session for her birthday, which was coming up in a few weeks.

This turned out to be more challenging than we thought… Carrie had also contacted me asking about a possible portrait session. Because I was working with Dana to keep it a surprise, I had to stonewall Carrie. ”I’m crazy busy this weekend, Carrie, I’ll send you info as soon as I get a minute next week!” I don’t like lying, but I’ll do it for a good cause. :)

We managed to keep the secret, and Carrie was thrilled when Dana revealed his gift to her. They wanted to shoot at the end of the summer, so a few weeks ago I met them in Ocean City to take pictures of the two of them with their young daughter. It makes me happy to show some of my favorites from the shoot here now!

We started on Asbury Avenue.

Then we headed up to the boardwalk to catch the sunset.

family portraits on the boardwalk in ocean city

boardwalk family pictures with the cole family in ocean city

Check out dem eyes!

new jersey family pictures on the boardwalk with baby 'e'

laughing on the boardwalk in ocean city, nj

kid portraits in the arcade at ocean city, nj

Probably my favorite. I love how many landmarks you can see in this picture. And that their daughter’s feet are sticking right up in the air.

ocean city family portraits on the boardwalk with the cole family

running toward the ocean in these beach family portraits

beach family pictures in ocean city with the cole family

This is so true. Little details, like the fact that Dana is carrying E’s shoes inside of his own, just ring so true.
looking for seashells in ocean city

ocean city child portraits in new jersey with baby 'e'

eating a lollipop on the boardwalk in ocean city, nj

Thanks for a great day, Carrie & Dana & E!

malvern family portraits | the miller family

Saturday, September 24, 2011 Posted in Families

A few months ago I received an email from Stephanie, an artist in the Philly area who wanted to do a family session/art project on an old couch she’d re-upholstered. Of course I was on board, and so in August we all gathered for the shoot.

Holy awesome family, Batman.

Despite the heat and humidity that was just a wee bit intense, you can get some sense of the energy and affection they all have for each other. I had a great time getting to know them, and felt like part of the family for an hour or so.

Here are just a few of my favorites.

kid portraits in malvern main line family pictures of the miller family more family pictures on a couch just outside of philadelphia

Grandparents with all their grandkids!

grandparents with grandkids in these family portraits in malvern

The kids hanging out with their uncle.

piling on the couch kids on a couch in malvern pa candids from this malvern family portrait session

The project begins.

decorating the couch with hand tracings in these main line family portraits outside of philadelphia

the whole crew on the couch run toward the photographer in these main line family portraits

Love this shot of the four siblings.

siblings on the couch in these malvern family portraits the final work of art

inspired : 9.25.11 &

[...] not love these photos [...]

jessica’s senior portraits in philadelphia

Friday, September 23, 2011 Posted in Seniors

I just posted a bunch of my favorite images from Jessica’s senior portrait session over on my seniors website… this was a fantastic shoot chock full of life and color. Check ‘em out!

her first phillies game

Thursday, September 22, 2011 Posted in Family

When I was young my dad took me to my first Phillies game at Veterans Stadium. I don’t remember all that much about it. I probably had some reading material stowed in my bag, just in case I got bored. I remember the awe I felt at being in the presence of one of my heroes: the Phillie Phanatic. I got to see Mike Schmidt, my favorite player, reach over the fence to catch a foul ball instead of letting that kid catch it. (I no longer think it was selfish of him.) Dad bought me a program and a miniature baseball bat, which I probably still have somewhere.

Most of all I remember how it felt to walk for the first time into the park, see the lights, and more people than I had ever been around, all cheering.

The Phillies lost to the Mets that night. And last night they lost to the Nationals.

The Vet is long gone, but Citizens Bank Park is a heck of a place to see a ballgame. And this time I was the dad, and my daughter was experiencing not just her first Phillies game, but probably her first baseball game of any kind. She didn’t have much idea of what was going on, but she did know the crowd was cheering, and she got really into it. She learned how to chant “Let’s go Phillies!” which from what I’m told by people watching the game at home, got her some airtime on TV. And she loved seeing the “green monster” dance around on top of the dugouts.

It was magical.

first phillies game

chester county newborn portraits | the “h” twins

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 Posted in Newborn

You might think that photographing twins would be twice as difficult as doing a newborn shoot for just one baby. That’s what I thought, too… but I was wrong. Matt & Sarah asked me to take pictures of their beautiful new girls, and it’s amazing how different two babies’ personality can be, despite looking exactly alike.

It was also powerful to see how they calmed each other down. If one or the other was agitated, as soon as we laid them down next to each other, they both settled down and — usually — dozed right off.

Enjoy these pictures, Matt & Sarah… it was great to meet your girls!

I put this first one in just because it makes me laugh.

Chester County newborn portraits of two twin girls

chester county maternity portraits | lisa

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 Posted in Maternity

A few years ago Lisa and her then-fiance Ben got in touch with me to see if I would be able to shoot their wedding. I was already booked for their date, but a few years later was happy to hear from her again, as the two of them are expecting their first baby! We got together in Phoenixville for her maternity session.

I like to treat my maternity shoots as couples’ sessions, with an emphasis on the belly and the new life growing within. I often look back at my own life right before Kelly and I had our first child, and it’s wonderful to be able to remember the excitement and anticipation of meeting this new member of the family. My hope is that years from now, these pictures will remind Lisa and Ben of the joy they’re feeling right now.

Lisa and Ben's Chester County maternity portrait session Pennsylvania maternity portrait session with Lisa and Ben Lisa and Ben, by Chester County maternity photographer Ryan Estes Phoenixville maternity session of Lisa Chester County pregnancy portraits of Lisa and Ben Phoenixville pregnancy portraits of Lisa Belly shot in this Chester County maternity portrait session

philadelphia newborn portraits | baby “c”

Friday, September 9, 2011 Posted in Newborn

A little over a year ago I shot Katie & Greg’s wedding at the Crystal Tea Room. What a fantastic day that was… I was hoping for a chance to work with K&G again, so I was really glad when they called me this summer to take pictures of their new daughter. She’d only been home from the hospital for a couple of days, and was a gem to photograph.

baby portraits of "c" in broomall just outside philadelphia

« Older posts Newer posts »

ProPhoto Photography Template by NetRivet Sites