Stacey Rae Photography

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Stacey Rae Photography Family Photographer based in Holly Springs North Carolina. Indoor and outdoor portraits.

The cake smash fun doesn’t have to end with the cake!Family portraits are the sweetest little add-on to your cake smash ...
10/15/2026

The cake smash fun doesn’t have to end with the cake!

Family portraits are the sweetest little add-on to your cake smash session. And honestly? Some of my favorite moments happen right at the end, when baby is all caked out and Mom and Dad scoop them up for a little playtime.

The tickles, the cuddles, the silly faces, the big belly laughs. Those are the moments when the most genuine smiles come out, and the ones that remind us just how little they really are.

Because while we’re celebrating their first birthday, we’re also capturing the beautiful little family they’ve grown into.

And those are memories worth keeping forever.

Mallard Duck: 🦆 Before the cake, there were those sweet little details.The curious expressions. The tiny fingers. The ...
10/07/2026

Mallard Duck: 🦆 Before the cake, there were those sweet little details.

The curious expressions. The tiny fingers. The perfectly messy hair. Those quiet moments where they’re still so little, before the frosting-covered cheeks and bathtub giggles take over.

I love getting to photograph the whole story of a first birthday, not just the cake smash. The clean portraits, the personality, the chaos, and then the sweetest little reset in the tub.

A whole year captured, just as they are right now.

Before the paint was everywhere…Before the clothes were covered.Before little hands, feet and faces became part of the a...
10/01/2026

Before the paint was everywhere…

Before the clothes were covered.

Before little hands, feet and faces became part of the artwork…

There was this.

The beginning of a brand-new birthday adventure.

I’ve been photographing this sweet girl since her first birthday, when we celebrated with a cake smash. Five years later, I still get to be part of documenting these little milestones, and I don’t take that for granted.

Because five only happens once.

And childhood moves ridiculously fast.

One minute you’re carefully planning the perfect little birthday session, and the next you’re watching your kids cover themselves in paint and realizing that those might be the photos you treasure the most.

Maybe that’s the lesson in all of this.

We spend so much of life trying to keep things clean, organized and under control. But childhood isn’t supposed to be perfectly tidy.

Sometimes the best memories are the ones where you say, “Sure, go for it.”

The ones where you get down on the ground.

The ones where you laugh when things don’t go according to plan.

The ones where you get a little messy, too.

And this year, we did exactly that.

Somewhere between the beginning and the complete chaos was this sweet spot.The paint was starting to make its way onto l...
09/30/2026

Somewhere between the beginning and the complete chaos was this sweet spot.

The paint was starting to make its way onto little hands, faces, clothes and everything around us, but there was still a little bit of order left.

Although, not for long.

And honestly, I think there’s something really beautiful about that part of childhood.

The part where they’re still figuring things out. Where they’re experimenting. Where they’re learning what happens when you mix colors, get paint on your hands, and maybe decide that your parents needs a little paint on them too.

This family didn’t spend the session worrying about keeping everything perfect.

They played.

They laughed.

They created.

They let their little girl be five.

And after photographing her every year since her first birthday, that’s one of my favorite things about watching her grow. The sessions change, the ideas change, she changes… but the goal stays the same.

Create memories that feel like her childhood.

And sometimes, the best way to remember it is to let it get a little messy.

Five years of celebrating this sweet girl.I’ve had the absolute joy of photographing her every year since her very first...
09/29/2026

Five years of celebrating this sweet girl.

I’ve had the absolute joy of photographing her every year since her very first birthday, when we celebrated with a cake smash. And somehow, every year, we’ve had to come up with a new way to celebrate this little chapter of her life.

This year?

We decided to get messy.

And I mean really messy.

There’s something about watching kids create without worrying about keeping their clothes clean, their hands paint-free, or everything perfectly under control. They get to just be kids. They laugh harder. They play longer. They make memories that probably wouldn’t happen if we were too busy trying to keep everything tidy.

Life is messy anyway.

Parenthood is messy. Childhood is messy. The best memories usually have a little bit of chaos mixed in.

So sometimes, you just have to put the clean clothes aside, let them make a mess, and get right in there with them.

This family completely embraced it, and I think that’s what made this session so special.

Happy 5th birthday to one of my favorite little girls to photograph. Here’s to five years of memories, and to many more messy ones ahead.

Almost every senior arrives a little hesitant. A little nervous. Wondering if they’ll know what to do in front of the ca...
09/27/2026

Almost every senior arrives a little hesitant. A little nervous. Wondering if they’ll know what to do in front of the camera.

And then somewhere along the way, they relax, have fun, and start to realize just how good this can be.

My favorite part is hearing them say at the end, “That was actually so much fun!”

Senior sessions don’t have to feel awkward. They can feel like you. And that’s exactly what I want them to be.

09/23/2026

There’s a weird pressure that comes with being a photographer on social media.

Post every day.
Stay consistent.
Feed the algorithm.
Show up on stories.
Share your work.
Share your life.
Make reels.
Make it educational.
Make it personal.
And somehow… still run an actual photography business.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking, “I haven’t posted in a few days. People are going to forget I exist.”

And honestly? That’s exhausting.

Because somewhere along the way, I started feeling like I had to constantly market myself to prove that I’m still here, still working, still worth booking.

But the funny thing is… while I’m worrying about keeping up with an algorithm, I’m actually out here photographing real families. Seniors. Babies. Milestones. Memories that matter far more than whether a Reel got 800 views or 8,000.

Social media is a tool for my business. It isn’t my business.

So if you’ve noticed I’m not posting every single day, that’s why.

I’m learning to be okay with being a photographer who is actually busy photographing people instead of constantly photographing my own life for the internet.

And maybe that’s a better kind of consistency anyway.

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Holly Springs, NC
27540

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