1.17.2017

Introducing:

I just have to share a bit about this session from a few weeks ago!  There is lots to share about this session - including lessons I learned and ideas to share!  This sweet little girl was born to her mamma, Sarah and her daddy, Joe, on December 7, 2016.  She is bright-eyed and determined in her mamma's words and...she was determined to stay comfy very past her due date too!

This image above is by far my favorite.  This is Sarah's wedding veil.  She woke up in the middle of the night before our planned new life session and thought of the veil.  She found it and had it ready.  What a really perfect veil too, right?  It isn't just tulle - it has that wonderful lace edge that really allows our eye to fade right in to that sweet little girl's face!  

Read on for more about our adventures!

Calming Babies:

Typically I start with newborn portraits and catch fingers and toes near the end when the baby starts to need to be fed or changed and starts to stir.  But, we had a few unexpected complications.  

I always come to my clients' houses for new life shoots.  There is just so much to get used to in being a new parent - and often that means being comfortable in your own house makes you and the baby feel a whole lot more comfortable.  So, I bring along not only cameras, but lighting and background fabrics, baskets, the works!  I also bring space heaters and my do-terra essential oils and humidifier with calming oils.  Both of those things help the baby stay calm and sleepy, which makes my job simpler!  Well, as soon as I plugged in the first heater, poor Sarah and Joe's TV turned off.  I assumed that they turned it off.  They each assumed the other turned it off, but as we got everything set up, we realized that none of the lighting, heaters, or oils were working because a fuse had been blown.  Joe kept flipping it and we kept trying again, but it turned out that the fuse would maybe need to be replaced.  So, we needed to get creative!  I could use one space heater via extension cord but it just wasn't quite warm enough or calm enough for sweet baby P. to be undressed for photos.  She just wanted to be held.  So, we did her hands and feet first!  

I love that I was able to meet her early after her birth to still capture that wrinkly loose skin.  It disappears so very quickly and I really think its something to treasure.  :)  See how her hand has that lovely wrinkle in it?

December Baby:

Although I do not typically focus on props that, in my opinion, take away the emphasis on baby, I found this subtle pinecone garland to work well to give future viewers the connection of her birthday season.  It makes me think of a line from L.M. Montgomery as if from this sweet baby's perspective, "Dear old world', she murmured, 'you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.” ―  Anne of Green Gables

Our Other Adventure:

So, since this sweet little baby just couldn't get settled and sleep, I had to get creative (my favorite!).  We set up her daddy, Joe, draped in a white fabric blanket all the way up to his face and then lay the little girl in her daddy's arms.  She was happy.  Poor Joe might not have been able to breathe too well, but lovely Sarah came to his rescue, moving the blanket away in bits so he could breathe.  She ended up very cuddled and happy for these shots.  It was fun to figure out how to describe where she needed support and for Joe to fish around through the fabric until she was not only comfortable, but visible to the camera as such.  It worked!

Tenderness:

If you know me and know my work, you know that for me, its never really about a boasting or the impression that life is perfect but that life is real and has honest moments of tenderness.  When I get to photograph more than one person at a time, that gets to shine through much more.  These images are of this new little family spending time together in their gorgeous nursery - decorated in a lovely brown-toned old atlas theme that worked well for a neutral theme since Sarah and Joe didn't find out if their little one was a girl or boy until she arrived!  These are moments of each of them snuggling this little sweetness that will change their lives forever!

As Long As We Remember It:

I leave you with another one of my favorite L.M. Montgomery thoughts as we reflect on holding on to the fleeting moments of infancy and watch these sweet children grow, “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” ―The Story Girl

Here's to always remembering these sweet moments!  

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