Happy Hannah = Happy Photographs

Get to know me and why I photograph pets and families in NYC's Upper East Side (and beyond) and in my hometown in Northwest Arkansas.

Me and my husband, photograph by Kyle Ostrander Photography

Kyle Ostrander Photography

Do you remember the icebreaker game in high school and college where you had to use a word that started with the same letter as your first name to describe yourself? The game was a memory game to meet and know each other’s names — everyone after you in the circle had to remember your adjective and name IN ORDER! I am highly competitive for silly games so this was my favorite, I always wanted to be towards the end to prove I could do it.

So TLDR: Hi, I am Happy Hannah!

If “happy” got taken before it got to me, I was Hopeful Hannah. Those two words are great to get an understanding of me, but here are a few more (while not playing the game, I am not THAT good):

• Silly

• Focused

• Loving

• Playful

• Joyous

• Introverted

• Quiet

• Listener

• Celebratory

• Quirky

• Nerdy

• Understanding

• Committed

• Positive

• Hopeful

• HAPPY

Happy Hannah in a photo

Happy Hannah in a photo

Happy Hannah in a photo

Happy Hannah in a photo

Happy Hannah in a photo

Happy Hannah in a photo

See, quirky, silly, happy, celebratory of life (I donate my hair every 5 years or so). Cell phone pics except black & white photograph by my husband on 35mm film.

Why do I share this with you?

For you to please know me as Happy Hannah. I live my life by these words and run my business the same way! My camera and I are here to capture your most joyous moments with your loved ones to create artwork to celebrate forever.

I will ask you to be silly with me during our sessions. I love smiling photos way more than serious ones. Dogs jumping, children laughing, adults twirling — pure happiness captured in a stationary image.

"Pure happiness captured in a stationary image"

What does this mean? I want to document your happiness.

Here are a few ideas:

• Your dog as a ball of energy, as a calmer teenager, and as an old scruffy gray-haired pup.

• Your cat as a playful kitten that you can hold in one hand, a chill middle-aged kitty, and the dignified sleepy old ball of fur.

• You and your partner a year into dating, your engagement (YAY!), first home together, first pet, your blended families, and so on.

• Maternity couple photographs (if you chose to have children).

• Your child/children every few months in their first 2 years to capture their happiness as it grows.

• Your child/children’s kindergarten graduation, missing teeth, braces, middle school dances, high school sports or academia, graduations, best friends, and more

• With your parents, your grandparents, your favorite cousin(s), your best friend(s), your teachers/professors, your hairdresser, your pharmacist, your dog walker, anyone and everyone you love and want to celebrate with!

Okay, maybe a little too excited, but I want to capture those relationships and happiness.

Baby Hannah was happy too

My kindergarten graduation

My and my kitty, Luna

Baby Hannah was happy too (I grew up in the restaurant business, literally, that is me standing on the bar with my mom holding me up), kindergarten graduation on film is too pure, and me with my kitty, Luna, at her first Christmas season.

Which of these happy moments in your life have been professionally photographed?

• Engagement!
• High School sports
• With my grandparents
• Braces (embrace the awkward!)

See All Options

You can vote for more than one answer.

Email me and talk happiness:

hello@hannahgoldenphotographs.com

What happiness can we capture together? Please comment below on your favorite idea from this article.

Newborn Session — Luke

Newborns are in charge of the photography session, not me as the photographer and not the parents either. Newborn sessions going at the pace of each baby and whatever their needs are.

Luke here was born a few weeks early to first time parents and he is already the prince of the castle. He has a strong set of lungs on him and his eyes get more vividly blue each time I have seen him!

Luke did NOT like the scary camera being put into his face for photographs and really wanted to take a nap in mom's arms.

Mom had a few outfits to try for the session but our favorites ended up being the birthday suit photographs.

The first photograph on the left I printed for Luke's parents 20 inches in height, protectively covered, and framed. It is hanging in Luke's nursery over his changing table.

The triptych on the left was similarly sized, printed with custom matting and framed. This series is hanging in the family's living room.

Both artworks feature Luke at the youngest and smallest he will ever be and will be celebrated as an heirloom piece for the family throughout his life. As Luke grows up and becomes aware of the photographs, he will consciously (and most importantly subconsciously) feel loved and know he was loved from the beginning. This is so valuable for a child and I am so honored to have created this artwork for Luke and his family.

Please see a gallery below of a few more photographs of Luke at just 2 weeks old!

These photographs of newborn Luke were taken in his nursery, for both ease for his parents and comfort of Luke. I highly recommend at-home photographs for newborns to make it easiest for my clients.

Do you have photographs and artwork of you as a newborn or young child? Is it large and hanging in your or your family's home? If so, tell me how it made you feel growing up in the comments please!

Why Design AND Photography

Hi, I am Hannah, and my day job is a Graphic Designer, and my evenings and weekends are gearing up to be Photography focused.

I work in Fashion on a Learning & Development team, creating designs meant for training employees in stores, so my designs have to be the organized packaging of important content. I use company campaign imagery to make training more engaging — our brains are much more interested in visuals than words and process these visuals at a more rapid rate.

I studied both Graphic Design and Photography in college at SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design). I learned that both disciplines are about telling a story through two-dimensional platforms (in the most common forms). They go hand-in-hand, because a photograph never just lives on its own, whether it is digital, printed, framed, or even moving (video/motion graphics). A photograph lives within a context that is designed, and hopefully designed so well that the photo can do the work that words take much longer to convey.

AND makes our society function — you and me, me and the subject, me and the city, dog and cat, purple and gold, happiness and smiles, (I could go on forever here, insert your own and let me know your favorite "and" in the comments), and of course, design and photography. Nothing exists alone in our world and if it did, it would be very lonely indeed.

So yes, I am a Graphic Designer by day, AND, a photographer most of the other time. I have been capturing mostly for myself over the past few years, and it is now time to venture out to the rest of you to be my "and" in front of my lens.

I love photographing pretty much anything, but here are a few of my favorites that I would love to capture for you:

• Newborn photographs

• Children portraits

• Family photographs

• Pet portraits

• Engagements

• Elopements

• Bridal portraits

• Pregnancy announcements

• High School senior portraits

• Empowerment photographs

• AND more!

Reach out via email to me at hello@hannahgoldenphotographs.com, we can chat about you and how I can capture what brings you joy, what you are celebrating, what you are planning, what brings you your "and" in life.

See a few examples of my personal and professional photographs below to get you brainstorming your "and" today.

Thanks for reading and chat soon!