Working with new families can be so much harder than it looks.  The parents are usually very tired and mom sometimes is very emotional and not always feeling like herself.  But after so many years of working with newborn babies and families (I honestly can’t remember how many years it’s been), you learn how to keep everyone happy and feeling calm and to enjoy the moment.

My number one goal at a newborn photography session is to make this a special experience and not to only create beautiful portraits.  When the experience is pleasant, parents will look back on how they felt in those very moments.  This has taken years of practice with many “learning experiences” along the way.  But I can confidently say I have enough experience to mostly figure out these complicated little newborn babies.

The complexity of newborn family photography was what drove me to focus solely on lifestyle inspired sessions.  I used to pose and bring cool wraps and props but the more I shot, the more I realized those photos caused a lot of stress to the family and baby.  And many of my clients were most excited about the lifestyle photos anyways.  So I then decided to offer baby led lifestyle sessions.  What you can expect at your newborn session is fairly simple.  I give you a small list of directions (which you can follow or not, its not a deal breaker), offer guidance on outfits, and show up and we work through the rest together.  We will work around what the babies mood and work through our shots very slowly and calmly.

For River’s newborn session, he was a bit older; I believe he was 3-4 weeks.  Marie contacted me when he was about a week old wondering if she should do newborn photos or not.  We chatted for a bit and after giving it some thought, she decided its best to go for it.  River was a little more alert and wanted to be held quite a bit.  But it made for some absolutely adorable moments with each parent.

After the session was over, Marie told me she could not believe she questioned herself on having newborn photos.  When we did her reveal, River was already 8 weeks and looked like an entirely different baby.  The parents quickly decided they need to do 6 month and one year photos to complete the collection.  They also included an album that will showcase each session in to one.  This way their son would have a keepsake for when he gets much older.

I can not wait to work with this family again soon! It’s such an amazing experience to watch a family grow from 2 to 3.  Contact me for more information regarding in home newborn photography sessions.

A few wonderful words from my clients!