About Red Thread Sessions

Red Thread Sessions was started in 2011 by two custom photographers in Texas and Maryland, both whom added to their families through adoption. Feeling the need in their communities to celebrate the beauty of adoption through photography, Red Thread Sessions was born. Soon after, many other photographers throughout the U.S. felt moved to donate their time as well. Red Thread sessions not only captures family portraits of new families, it also capture the precious, happy, confusing, exciting, exhausting, traumatic, life-changing time that is so often brief and fleeting in the life of an adoptive family.

Why “Red Thread” Sessions?

The Ancient Chinese Proverb is a commonly-used saying within the adoption community. It symbolizes the bond that all adoptive children have with their adoptive parents, even before they meet. An invisible “red thread” connects them to the people they are destined to meet. Although this Proverb truly relates to all people, it has a particularly strong connection to adoptive families and seemed like the perfect name for this organization.

Our Team

Nicole Renee is a custom newborn photographer and owner of Nicole Renee Newborns.  She specializes in newborn photography in Baltimore County, Maryland, and surrounding areas. Her style may be described as creative, fun and modern.  She is a natural light, studio and on-location photographer and has been professionally photographing newborns, children and families since early 2009. She lives in Baltimore with her husband of 8 years and her 3 children – 2 biological and 1 precious baby girl adopted from the China Special Needs Program. She has a lot of “loves,” but her favorites are Jesus, her family, curly newborns, photography, blogging, coffee, adoption and all things organic. When she isn’t behind her lens, you can find her homeschooling her children, blogging for No Hands But Ours, or advocating for orphan care and adoption.  After going through the adoption process, Nicole knows and understands intimately the importance of capturing the emotions of adoption. She is truly ecstatic to share professional portraiture with other adoptive families through Red Thread Sessions and feels blessed to be involved with such a special organization.

Nicole Bradley is a custom natural light photographer in North Houston, Texas. Nicole offers maternity, newborn and child sessions as well as specializing in birth photography. Nicole is a member of PPA, IAPBP and is proud to have her newborn and birth photography appear on the cover of a book and a full page spread of Midwifery Today magazine. Nicole is a homeschooling Mom of four children and a high-maintenance wife to one very patient husband! When she’s not toting a camera, Nicole keeps busy with web design, advocating for ethical adoption reform, sewing,crafting and drinking way too much Starbucks. After three biological sons, Nicole and family ventured to Vietnam in fall 2006 to adopt their daughter – a truly life-changing experience for the entire family! The photography from those early days is one of her most meaningful possessions and now, five years later, her daughter cherishes those photos dearly as well. Just as she is passionate about capturing the raw emotion in birth, Nicole is excited to be part of the Red Thread Sessions team who will join together professional photographers and member of the adoption triad to capture the beautiful and raw emotions in adoption.

Jenna Stoll is a contemporary family photographer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Her passion for photography goes back well over a decade and she is excited that her long time hobby eventually turned into Songbird Photography.  In her personal life, Jenna is best described as a blue jean loving, toddler chasing mom. She and her husband are proud to be called “mommy and daddy” by their two beautiful and rambunctious four year old girls.  Her daughters both joined their family through the amazing journey of adoption; the first from Vietnam in 2008 and the second from China, in 2010. Having spent the better part of 4 years paper chasing, she knows all too well the ups and downs of the process…and how exciting it is to finally hold your new child. She loves connecting with adoptive families and sharing in their joys, which is why she is so excited to be a part of Red Thread Sessions.

Amy Leigh’s natural light photography addiction began professionally in 2008 with Captured Simplicty-photos by Amy Leigh. Since then, Amy Leigh has fallen more in love with capturing children and families than ever before producing fun, spirit filled images for her clients. Amy Leigh is a country girl, with hippy-like, granola tendencies, who has found her way to the big city where she lives with her husband and two furry, four legged friends in Houston, Texas. Faith, family, friends, food, fashion and fabrics consume Amy Leigh’s time when she’s not clicking away her shutter. An adoptee herself, Amy Leigh knows first hand how beautiful adoption can be for a family. She’s thrilled beyond words and can’t wait to document adoptive families during such a momentous time.