Martina Newport Photography

Martina Newport Photography Childhood & Family Photography
Serving amazing families in
Bloomington/ Normal & Central Illinois

Happy National S’mores Day 🔥🍫If you’ve ever made a s’more with your kids, you know—it’s not really about the marshmallow...
08/10/2026

Happy National S’mores Day 🔥🍫

If you’ve ever made a s’more with your kids, you know—it’s not really about the marshmallow.

It’s about the laughter floating in the night air, the time spent together, the memories shared… and the way a crackling fire brings everyone just a little closer.

Campfire Sessions were born from that feeling.

This cozy tradition has become one of the most-loved experiences I offer—and what better day to open bookings than the day we celebrate the simple joy of s’mores?
And this year, I’m making National S’mores Day a little sweeter.

I’m opening just FOUR Campfire Sessions at a special National S’mores Day price of $325 — $50 off the regular session price.

These sessions are available throughout August, September, and October, and a lot of my families choose their Campfire Session specifically because they make the sweetest, coziest Christmas card photos. 🎄🔥

This special price is available today, August 10th, only.

Once those four sessions are booked, the offer is gone. The Campfire Sessions will still be available afterward at their regular price—but these four families will be the only ones who get this little National S’mores Day treat.

Because memories this good deserve to be made… and remembered.

I’ll see you by the fire. 🔥

I want to talk to the moms for a minute.The ones who have been keeping track of everything all summer. Who packed the su...
08/09/2026

I want to talk to the moms for a minute.

The ones who have been keeping track of everything all summer. Who packed the sunscreen and remembered the water bottles and drove to the pool and said yes to one more popsicle even when they were ready to go inside.

The ones who are now pivoting to back-to-school mode — buying supplies and labeling things and trying to shift everyone's sleep schedule back while also quietly processing the fact that their baby is starting kindergarten, or their last child is starting high school, or their middle one has suddenly become a completely different person than the one who finished third grade in June.

I see you doing all of this. I know it doesn't always feel like enough. I know the list is never quite finished and the feelings are complicated and some mornings you drop them off and sit in the parking lot for a minute before you can drive away.

Here's what I want you to know:
The fact that you feel this much means you're paying attention. The bittersweet is just love with nowhere to put itself. The pride and the grief showing up at the same time means you're witnessing something real — your child becoming who they're going to be, right in front of you, one first day at a time.

You didn't miss it. You were there.
That's the whole thing.

Happy first week, mama. You've earned it. 🫶🏻

Back to school is exciting. It can also be a lot.Here's everything you need in one place — the local resources, the supp...
08/09/2026

Back to school is exciting. It can also be a lot.

Here's everything you need in one place — the local resources, the supply lists, and a way to give back to our community while you're at it.

📚 Find Your Supply List Both District 87 and Unit 5 have their school supply lists available through TeacherLists — searchable by school and grade level so you get exactly what your child's teacher needs.

District 87: app.teacherlists.com/districts/1000205387-bloomington-school-district-87

Unit 5: app.teacherlists.com/districts/1000209722-mclean-county-unit-district-no.-5

🏫 District Websites For calendars, registration, bus routes, and everything else:

District 87: district87.org
Unit 5: unit5.org

🎒 Back 2 School Alliance Here's something worth knowing: 1 in 3 kids in Bloomington-Normal schools qualifies for free or reduced lunch. The Back 2 School Alliance has been showing up for these families since 1999 — putting backpacks and supplies into the hands of children who need them most, so every child walks through the door on day one ready to learn.

If you're in a position to help — through a donation, volunteering, or hosting a supply drive — visit back2schoolalliance.org. And if your family could use support this year, they're there for you too.

This community takes care of its kids. That's one of the things I love most about living here.

📅 First Day Dates
District 87 (K-12): August 19, 2026 (half day)
Unit 5: August 20, 2026 (first full day)

We're almost there, Bloomington-Normal. 🫶🏻

Something a little special is coming. 🎒Every year around this time I set up one of my favorite things — an old school de...
08/08/2026

Something a little special is coming. 🎒

Every year around this time I set up one of my favorite things — an old school desk in front of a one room schoolhouse. It's charming, it's nostalgic, and it photographs beautifully.

And every year, the images that come from it become some of my favorites of the whole year.

If you've been thinking about back to school pictures — something a little more intentional than the front door photo, something that actually captures who your child is right now at this exact age — this might be exactly what you're looking for.
I'm offering a limited number of back to school mini sessions this year. Small. Intimate. Completely focused on your child and this particular season of their childhood.

If you're interested or want to know more, reach out and let's talk about your little one. 🫶🏻

Friday Family Adventure Guide: Back to School Prep Without the StressDistrict 87 starts August 19th. Unit 5 starts Augus...
08/08/2026

Friday Family Adventure Guide: Back to School Prep Without the Stress

District 87 starts August 19th. Unit 5 starts August 20th. Here's how to get there without losing your mind.

Find your supply list Both districts have their supply lists available through TeacherLists — the easiest way to find exactly what your child's teacher needs:

* District 87: app.teacherlists.com/districts/1000205387-bloomington-school-district-87

* Unit 5: app.teacherlists.com/districts/1000209722-mclean-county-unit-district-no.-5

Do one thing at a time Not everything in one weekend. One day: backpack and supplies. Another day: clothes. Another day: shoes. Spreading it out keeps it from feeling like a project and gives your kids time to get excited about each piece instead of overwhelmed by all of it.

Let them choose something One thing — the folder, the pencil case, the first day outfit. The ownership matters more than the item. Kids who had a say in something feel more ready for what's coming.

Visit the school before the first day If you can — walk past it, drive by it, let them see it on a quiet afternoon before the chaos of the first day. Familiarity reduces anxiety more than almost anything else.

Make the night before gentle Favorite dinner. Early bath. A good book. Nothing new, nothing stimulating. The goal is calm, not distraction.

Build in a first week tradition Something small they can count on every morning that first week — a special breakfast, a note in the lunchbox, a particular song in the car. Anchors matter more than ever during transitions.

Take the photo At the door, in the yard, wherever feels right. Every year. Same spot if you can manage it. The comparison across years is one of those things that will stop you in your tracks someday.

You've got this. So do they. 🫶🏻

There's a last first day of school coming up for some of your kids this year.They probably won't say much about it. They...
08/06/2026

There's a last first day of school coming up for some of your kids this year.

They probably won't say much about it. They might roll their eyes at the photos or pretend they don't care about the milestone. They've been doing first days of school for thirteen years now and they know how it goes.

But here's what I know from photographing seniors: they feel it.

The weight of the last year. The doors that are opening. The ones that are quietly closing. The understanding — growing in them whether they acknowledge it or not — that this particular chapter is almost finished and what comes next is entirely unknown.

That's a lot to carry into a Tuesday morning.

So if you have a senior this year — take the photo. Even if they resist. Even if the eye roll is significant. Because someday, not as far away as it seems right now, they'll want to see who they were on the morning of their last first day.

And you'll want to remember exactly how they looked.
Standing on the edge of everything. Still a little bit yours. 🫶🏻

Every first day of school is a small act of courage. Don't forget to tell them you noticed. 🫶🏻
08/05/2026

Every first day of school is a small act of courage. Don't forget to tell them you noticed. 🫶🏻

There's a particular kind of brave that belongs only to kindergarteners.They walk through those doors carrying a backpac...
08/05/2026

There's a particular kind of brave that belongs only to kindergarteners.

They walk through those doors carrying a backpack that's almost as big as they are, into a room full of strangers, in a building they've only visited once or twice. They find a hook with their name on it and hang up their things and sit down in a world that is entirely new.

And they do it anyway.

I think about what that actually takes. The trust required. The courage of it. To be five years old and walk into the unknown and believe — because the grown-ups in their life have told them so — that it's going to be okay.

To the kindergarteners starting this week: you are braver than you know. And the world you're walking into is lucky to have you.

To their parents standing at the door watching them go: it's okay to cry in the car. Nobody makes it to September without crying in the car at least once.

This beginning matters. You both showed up for it.
That's everything. 🫶🏻

In Germany, the first day of school is a big deal.Not just "here's your backpack, have a good day" big. I mean a genuine...
08/04/2026

In Germany, the first day of school is a big deal.

Not just "here's your backpack, have a good day" big. I mean a genuine ceremony — grandparents travel, cousins come, neighbors stop by. The whole family gathers. There are photos and hugs and tears and something called a Schultüte.

A Schultüte is a large cone — sometimes as tall as the child carrying it — made of cardboard, decorated with color and pattern, and filled with sweets and toys and small treasures. Every child receives one on their very first day of school. Not every year. Just the first one. The one that matters most.

It's a gift that says: this is a beginning. This moment matters. You are stepping into something significant and we want you to know — we see it.

I can still remember mine.

I think about the Schultüte a lot this time of year. Not because every family needs a cone full of candy — though honestly, who would say no — but because of what it represents. The idea that a child's beginning deserves ceremony. That stepping into something new and a little bit scary is worth marking. Worth celebrating. Worth showing up for.

Your child is stepping into something new in just couple of weeks.
They see it. Even if they don't say so.

Make sure they know you see it too. 🫶🏻

School starts in Bloomington-Normal in just a few weeks.Maybe you're ready. Maybe you're not. Maybe you're somewhere in ...
08/03/2026

School starts in Bloomington-Normal in just a few weeks.

Maybe you're ready. Maybe you're not. Maybe you're somewhere in between — relieved for the routine and quietly grieving the end of something that moved too fast.

That's allowed. Both things at once.

This week on the blog I'm writing about the back-to-school moments worth capturing — not the posed shot at the front door (though that's lovely too), but the real ones. The nervous hands. The morning light. The particular way your child looks the night before something new begins.

Because these transitions matter. And they deserve to be marked. 🫶🏻
https://martinanewportphotography.com/2026/08/01/back-to-school-photos-in-bloomington-normal-moments-worth-remembering/

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