Party of Five: Newborn Studio Session with Two Adoring Siblings

Baby Lillianna has joined the party! I had the absolute privilege of welcoming Lillianna, her big sister Annabella and big brother Antonio (and their parents, of course!) to my Saratoga Springs studio recently for her newborn portraits. Lillianna’s newborn portraits are a beautiful combination of special family portraits, incredibly sweet sibling moments, and special family heirlooms. It was perfect! 

I started Lillianna’s session with her family’s new portraits first. Her brother and sister were so sweet - they just wanted to keep snuggling up with her! In fact, Antonio was not about putting his new sister down! When I asked him if he wanted to get up so Mommy could have a turn holding Lillianna, he said he wasn’t done and wanted to keep holding her. So he did! It was so special and it’s clear he’s fascinated by his newest little sister. Don’t worry - we did eventually get a portrait of mama with her new baby girl too! 

Bethany, Lillianna’s mom, mentioned that she’d been working on a handmade blanket and asked if we could incorporate it into Lillianna’s portraits. I was thrilled to use this sweet pink and white blanket as part of her setups, and it inspired the rest of her session too! We leaned into the soft pinks, sage green, and white accents for her setups and everyone’s outfits. It created a soft and feminine vibe for this precious little girl! 

Welcome to the world, Lillianna! I’m so happy to have met you and captured these first portraits for you in the studio. You have the sweetest family and I know you are so very loved!!

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Newborn portrait session with big sister

I absolutely adore Lauren and Tim. They’re our neighbors, and I’ve had the joy of photographing their maternity sessions for both daughters - and now the newborn sessions, too! It’s been so special to not only document their first portraits for each of the girls, but it’s also been a meaningful walk beside them as our children grow up together. Welcome to the world, Macey Jayne! I’m so happy I got to welcome you to the studio and the neighborhood. 

Macey’s big sister, Anna, was so excited to snuggle up with her new baby, and I was thoroughly impressed with how well she did during the session. At 22 months, she posed herself better than most toddlers that I work with, and it was all so natural and smooth for her. I am completely in love with the sibling portraits we created of these two sisters! They’re always some of my favorite moments in newborn sessions like this. But, they don’t always happen organically - it takes work and focus so the new big sisters and brothers feel special. Having a new baby can change the family dynamic - and this is a great chance to involve them in the process! 

A newborn session with a toddler isn’t always easy, but I try to make big siblings feel like a big part of the session!  I show them the toys in the studio, I let them pick out the snack they’re going to enjoy after they finish, show them my camera and the little toys that I use to help me take their pictures – monkey on my camera lens, a Cookie Monster puppet, squeaky toys. I give them options: “Do you want to start with just you and baby, or should we have everybody all together first?” This helps them feel in control, and they love having some say in what’s going to happen. I like to give them special jobs, and often they’ll take one of my wooden cameras and use it to take pictures of their parents when we’re going some photos of mom or dad with the baby. Even though these portraits are for the baby, we want your toddlers (or older siblings) feel like a big part of the process! 

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Newborn portraits at 5 weeks old for a NICU warrior

Brooks Michael, I am so happy I had the chance to meet you and photograph your sweet newborn portraits in my Saratoga Springs studio! This darling little guy was born 7 weeks early and turned out to be a true fighter. He was out of the NICU within a matter of weeks! He was actually the second of two newborns who came to my studio who arrived 7 weeks early in the spring - and both were delivered on the SAME DAY in Albany! How wild, right?!  

Anyway… Back to Brooks! We waited for Brooks to settle in at home and made sure he was strong and healthy before his newborn session at the studio. Because of that, Brooks was 5 weeks old at the time of his session. As a newborn photographer, I care less about how many days or weeks old a baby is when they come into my studio. Instead, it’s more important that they (and their families) are ready for their session, particularly when they’ve had a NICU stay, like Brooks did! There’s never any rush to get them into my studio within that traditional 2-3 week window post birth. I am a photographer that loves older newborn sessions, and we have so many tricks to still get those sweet sleepy poses (plus plenty of awake interaction sometimes, too!) with those older babies. I’d rather everyone involved feel healthy, strong, and comfortable with our time together. 

Brooks was a champion, and we captured so many adorable poses of this sweet boy. His family photos are my favorite, and I love the dress mom chose to wear. We leaned into a simple palette of light blue and white for his studio portraits. I even got to pull out one of my favorite baskets for him to snuggle in!! Brooks was absolutely perfect. I’m so happy I had the chance to work with him. 

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Putting Your Trust in a Photographer to Capture Baby’s First Portraits

I had the absolute honor of welcoming Maizie Elizabeth to my studio for her first portraits ever during her newborn session in Saratoga Springs. I adored working with Maizie and her parents. It was such a compliment to me as an artist and such a show of trust when mom said to me, “I love everything in your portfolio! You can pick the colors and the headbands and the setups! I trust you!” Of course I was a little nervous, and I told her to please let me know if I pulled something that she wasn’t a fan of, but in the end the family was thrilled with the session and they were over the moon with their daughter’s portraits. I can’t express how happy all of this process made me! 

Maizie was one of the most smiley newborns that I have had in the studio in a long time, and this sweet girl gave us multiple smiles during family and individual portraits, too. She was super sleepy and I loved watching those smiles form on her face throughout the different setups I planned. Some of my favorites have to be with the tulips - I absolutely love flowers in my newborn setups!! 

I just want to express my thanks again to Ashley and her husband for trusting me to plan a session they would love. Every time a family books me for a newborn session still feels like such an honor. These are once-in-a-lifetime memories and I get to capture them for you! It’s so important to me that families feel comfortable with the entire process of a newborn session, as I want it to be special and stress-free! Building that trust takes time and as we plan your newborn portraits, I’m going to be with you every step of the way. We have phone calls and planning emails to work out details and I pride myself on sharing exactly what to expect with your newborn portraits - from before you ever step foot in the studio to the moment your heirloom artwork is delivered. All of this helps parents feel 100% comfortable during their portrait experience. I never take for granted what a special moment this is and I truly hope that all of my clients feel supported through the whole process! When they do, magic like Maizie’s session is possible.

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Three things I’m loving in the studio this spring!

Every year, my Saratoga Springs photography studio undergoes a huge cleaning and prep for the next season of babies! In addition to this major clean out, I find myself going through all of my wraps, headbands, and outfits for my client closet. It’s a chance to refresh what’s available to each of my families. Not only does it ensure beautiful options for each of them, but it allows me to really evaluate why everything is in my studio. This spring, I can already tell I’m reaching for and using certain props and options for my newborn sessions. Here’s three things I’m loving in the studio this spring: 

Dainty pearl headbands and tiebacks! 

I just added a few new headbands and tiebacks to our ever-growing collection of baby headbands, and every single family has chosen to use at least 1 or 2 of the pearl options in their sessions! I think they’re simply perfect. Timeless and a sweet little accent for your darling baby! 

All of the spring flowers! 

I look forward to tulip season every year, and they are always one of my favorite flowers to incorporate into newborn portraits. Plus, I loved putting some fluffy flowers on our rattan stroller for a new look, too! I will never say no to more flowers in newborn setups! They’re just perfect to showcase the season - without taking away from your baby! 

Soft colors!

If you know me, you know that I can’t get enough of whites, creams, beige, and blush pink when it comes to outfits or setups for babies, milestones, and cake smashes. There was a time when my entire wardrobe consisted of these three colors, and I jokingly said to my best friend that my closet looked like Neapolitan ice cream. Since then I’ve done my color analysis with Amy Latta at House of Color Saratoga Springs (she’s participating in our upcoming client appreciation event in April!) and my closet is less Neapolitan and more colorful with my best Summer colors. But for studio portraits, especially baby girl newborns? Give me alllllll the Neapolitan ice cream colors, please! 

If you can’t tell, I definitely love spring time here at the studio. It’s a beautiful time for portraits - and I can’t get enough of the soft colors and overflowing florals. What’s your favorite prop or outfit for the spring?

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Newborn portrait sessions with handmade pearl headbands

Welcome to the world Baby Vivienne! I’m so happy that I had a chance to bring this beautiful family back to my Saratoga Springs studio. 5 years ago, I captured  big sister Madeleine’s newborn portraits. Now she’s a big sister! It was very special to see how much she’s grown and to watch her bubbly personality shine through as she showed off her new baby sister.

This newborn session feels very springlike to me! We captured a few portraits inspired by Madeleine’s portraits a few years back - including the overhead circle bowl shot. It was special to recreate beautiful memories for this family. I’ve also added a bunch of new headbands including some with pearl details to the studio, which Vivienne’s mother chose for her daughter’s session. I love them so much and I’m so thrilled to see them being used. 

Many of my newborn clients fall in love with the soft colors and my natural style of newborn posing. I always choose to use minimal props to keep the focus on the baby. Pure and sweet, minimal is my focus - so I can capture the connection between family members. These sibling portraits of the girls are some of my all-time favorites, and the colors in the family’s outfits were perfect for the studio. Everything about Vivienne’s session just fit perfectly with my style and I’m so thrilled to be sharing it with you today! 

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Cozy studio newborn portrait session for Winter Lily | Saratoga Springs newborn photographer

I recently had the honor of welcoming Winter Lily to my Saratoga Springs studio to capture her newborn portraits! Winter Lily was accompanied by her big brother, Phoenix, and her parents. Her big brother was SO proud and it was the absolute sweetest thing to watch throughout our session. Our portraits for Winter Lily really focused on the interactions between these two babies and the family together. Winter Lily’s solo portraits featured beautiful pastel colors - and I even got to play with some fun winter overlays and snowflakes! 

While I was photographing Amanda’s family, I knew I was going to fall in love with the final portraits. And, I definitely did! This family’s outfits were perfect in the studio.

When you’re planning what to wear for your own studio newborn portraits, consider light neutrals. Light color shirts reflect light back onto the baby’s face when you hold them up against your chest, it keeps the focus on the family & expressions & love. I’m a huge fan of creating imagery that will be classic, timeless, and simple. Light neutrals help make that possible! 

I’m so happy for this family of four and I’m thrilled that they asked me to document this incredibly special time in their family’s lives! Welcome to the world, Winter Lily! 

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Older Awake Newborn Photos With Lots of Smiles

I recently welcomed baby Kiran to my Saratoga Springs studio for his newborn portraits. This little guy was a month old when he and his parents came by, and we were able to enjoy lots of eye contact and adorable expressions during his session because he was a little bit bigger and more awake! I absolutely loved working with Kiran and his family to create their heirloom portraits celebrating his arrival to the world! 

For Kiran’s session, we incorporated lots of neutrals with white. I’m obsessed with their family portraits with everyone in white. They’re stunning! We included a few pops of soft sky blue and sage green, which coordinates nicely with his nursery and their decor at home. I always encourage families to think about where they want to display images when deciding on a theme or color palette. I know Kiran’s portraits are going to look perfect displayed at home! 

My favorite part of working with Kiran and his parents might be that we were able to create a special gallery wall in their home to feature their favorite portraits. I love knowing that they’re going to enjoy these images on their wall every single day as their little boy grows. That’s why I do what I do: I want you to remember these moments and be able to relieve them as time slips away. 

Kiran, thank you for being such a sweet boy for me in the studio! Your session brought me so many new favorite portraits and I hope you’ll always see how loved you truly are in these moments. 

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White & blue newborn portraits in our light and airy studio

One of the most special parts of my job as a newborn photographer is getting to welcome families’ brand new babies and seeing their first babies turn into big siblings. It’s always so magical to have those deja vu moments when looking at the new little siblings and seeing similarities to their big brother or sister’s portrait session from a few years earlier. That was definitely true with sweet Parker’s session. About 2.5 years ago, I did his big brother Ollie’s newborn portraits. I was definitely experiencing deja vu as I photographed Parker! 

For Parker’s newborn session, we chose a simple palette of white and blue to incorporate in his outfits and setups. I always aim to keep things simple and focused on the baby in our light and airy studio, so that your portraits always remain classic and timeless. Nothing crazy, always classic! Parker looked so sweet, all bundled up and was an angel - sleeping well for me throughout the session. Ollie especially loved when Parker was in my Moses basket and he could look at Parker and fawn over him. It was SO sweet to watch him be so excited for his little brother. I know these two are going to be great friends one day! 

While Parker did sleep for most of his session, we did get a few portraits near the end of him with his eyes open. As much as I love sleeping portraits, I always adore babies with their eyes wide open! They’re so precious. Congratulations to Ollie and his family for welcoming Baby Parker to the world. I can’t wait to watch him grow! 

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Classic newborn & family portraits in our saratoga springs portrait studio

Welcome to the neighborhood, Kiran! Another beautiful baby was born in our neighborhood this year. We’re now up to SIX babies born within the neighborhood in the last year. I love that these little ones are going to grow up together. This newborn session was also special to me because I photographed Kiran’s big brother’s newborn portraits in 2019, too.

I loved seeing Ravi as a big brother. He was soooo excited and 100% into cuddling up with Kiran and taking pictures of the two of them together. We got the cutest sibling portraits! Amy and Raj also loved watching their boys together. I had a wonderful time catching up and hearing how the adjustment from three to four has been going for this sweet family.

For Kiran’s newborn portraits, we chose a classic setup and color palette featuring white and ivory setups and blue accents. Kiran looked so sweet nestled into all of the blankets and wraps during our portraits. He’s so precious and I adored the chance to meet him in my studio! Congratulations to this sweet family. I can’t wait to watch Kiran (and Ravi!) grow up!

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Best of 2022 Newborn Sessions

What a year! 2022 marked my tenth year in business, and I am so incredibly grateful to every single family that trusts me to capture their most special moments and milestones for them. My son is in his second year of preschool, and one of the things that his teacher has told us parents multiple times is “Thank you for sharing your children with us.” I absolutely love the sentiment, and I feel the exact same way toward each of the families that I work with. SO, THANK YOU. Thank you for sharing your children with me, and thank you for allowing me the privilege of creating artwork that showcases your family’s story. This truly is a dream job, and it is such a joy working with so many lovely families and their babies.

Newborn sessions have always held a special place in my heart, and those tiny little babies with their sleepy yawns and soft, round cheeks are what drew me to become a portrait photographer in the first place.

We welcomed our second baby into our family this year, a baby girl named Adelaide. And as we introduced her to long-time family friends, it occurred to me that for some of them, it had been DECADES since they had last held a baby that small. It is not lost on me how special this job is that I get to do this every day for my job. It really is an honor to be able to hold these brand new babies week after week, curling them up into the sweetest poses and watching magic unfold when they are snuggling in their parents' arms.

Every January, I love sharing a roundup post of some of my favorite portraits from newborn sessions over the past year. I hope you enjoy these sweet little babies as much as I do! This year they will all be coming up on their first birthday, and I look forward to seeing them back in the studio for their first birthday cake smash!

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Mauve & neutral newborn portraits for Seraphina Marie

I’m so happy I was able to welcome Seraphina Marie to my studio for her newborn session! Her parents and I planned a gorgeous and simple session to welcome their baby girl to the world. During Katy’s maternity portraits, she wore a beautiful mauve gown - so we used that as the inspiration for Seraphina’s setups. I love when we can tie sessions together like that for families!

Seraphina was absolutely perfect during her newborn portraits. She was snuggly and loved being with her parents. Capturing new parents holding their baby is always so special to me. Those early days go by so quickly and I want to be sure you remember how tiny your little one was. Katy actually wore the same gown for these portraits that she wore in the maternity photos, too. After we captured portraits of her and her parents, it was time to wrap her and place her on the sweet setups we created. I focused on mauve and cream when selecting pieces for her setups and I love how they look together in the final images!! 

When they came back to the studio for their reveal session, this beautiful family decided on our matted prints. They are going to look so beautiful on the walls of their home! I can’t wait to see how they look when they arrive. They’re some of my favorite products to create with portraits from sessions in the studio. 

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Welcome, Ivy Joy: Newborn Portraits at Four Weeks Old

Welcome to the world, Ivy Joy! It’s so special getting to meet babies after I’ve photographed their mom’s maternity portraits, like Ivy Joy. I photographed her mama’s maternity session this summer while they were anxiously waiting for her arrival. I loved getting to know Heather and Lee better during their maternity session, and I love that we pulled elements of the colors Heather wore into Ivy Joy’s newborn portraits, too. I’m all about creating cohesive images that will pair well together in your albums or on your walls!

For Ivy Joy’s session, she came to my Saratoga Springs studio. She was 4 weeks old, but so sweet and mellow. While she was awake, she had the best eye contact - and that’s one of my favorite things about older newborns. They’re always so sweet!! Ivy Joy was easy to pose and I loved capturing some of her new expressions. Photographing older newborns can come with it’s challenges, but I also love the ways you can capture their personality because they’re a bit bigger now.

Heather and Lee requested the sage green and mustard yellow in her setups - which was a great way to tie into Heather’s maternity portraits. I’m also obsessed with the dark navy setup with the stars. Ivy Joy looked so sweet on it! Come take a look at some of my favorite moments from their beautiful studio session.

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Classic Studio Newborn Portraits for Baby Ea

Say hello to Baby Ea! Ea’s portrait session was my last newborn session before going on maternity leave to welcome my own baby girl! Ea was the sweetest girl, wide awake for our entire session… but perfectly calm. With that attitude, every single portrait was just adorable and I’m so happy she was so relaxed in the studio. 

For her session, Ea’s parents didn’t have too many requests. We wanted to keep the timeless and classic feeling for each of her setups. One of my favorites was the teddy bear setup because I caught the cutest little smile! Baby Ea is definitely already stealing hearts!! She’s seriously so sweet. Her parents did want to include fresh flowers in her setups, and I personally loved how the purple setup came out with them. 

After their session, we had their ordering session! All of these gorgeous portraits were turned into an heirloom album and circular wooden wall art. I hope that one day Baby Ea flips through her own album of portraits, like my son does, and that they can all look back on these early days of her life with fondness and happiness! 

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Baby Starr | Classic Black & White Newborn Portraits of Adelaide Olivia

I'm savoring this stage that we're in with our baby girl. I want to remember the newborn squeaks and grunts. How she stretches her little body, arches her back, and curls her hands up by her face. The way that her tiny fingers grasp my pinky and hold on tight. How her legs fit together perfectly like two puzzle pieces when she tucks them up together and fold them across her tummy. I find myself pulling out my phone more and more often to capture videos of this newborn goodness, the precious little mannerisms and reflexes that I know she'll soon outgrow but that I don't want to forget anytime soon. And of course I can't help but document it all on my camera as well, beautiful portraits that I know I'll look back on years from now and feel a yearning to go back to those sleep-deprived newborn weeks when she snuggled up so peacefully on my chest and her breathing synced with mine.

When capturing Adelaide's newborn portraits, I wanted to document a few that were raw and natural. Perfectly unposed. The black & white images and the clean white background keep the focus on the baby, and all of the sweet little details are front and center.

Some photographers like to refer to this as "baby led posing," and that's exactly what happens to capture images like this. You let the baby run the show, and you let them curl up, stretch, sigh, and settle into the comfy positions that they naturally find comforting because it's how they were curled up in the womb. As the photographer, you can guide them a little bit by wrapping a swaddle around them or gently bringing their arm in when it floats out to the side, but you capture all of that newborn goodness and the natural movements and expressions that they make.

These are a few of my favorite sleepy, unposed newborn portraits from Adelaide's first few weeks, and just looking at them now already has me missing those early days when she was so light and tiny in my arms. It really is true that it goes by so quickly, and it's hard to believe it until you're experiencing it that you can miss something already even as it's happening right before your very eyes.

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Pastel Newborn Portraits for Baby Lakin with Big Sister

Welcome to the world, Baby Lakin! I first met Lakin’s family when they welcomed their first daughter, Quinn, 3.5 years ago. Now they've added another little girl to their family and they came back to my studio again for another set of newborn portraits. I’m SO happy I got to meet their new addition before my maternity leave. 

One of the best parts of working with a family more than once is getting to see how their kids grow up – and adjust to being big siblings. Quinn is an amazing big sister! She was super helpful during the session and wanted to take pictures with my wooden camera prop. It was so sweet. She even told her parents to move closer together and say cheese. At one point, she even posed her baby doll in the wooden bed I used for Lakin. It was adorable!!! I might have to hire her for my studio one day! 

Baby Lakin was sleepy the entire time, and I only saw her beautiful bright eyes as they were putting her in the car seat to go at the end of the session! She was still in that tired stage in the first few weeks of life – but that’s okay. Lakin looked adorable in each setup we chose. Personally, I loved the green wrap we used in the last few images. She looked precious snuggled up under the blanket!!

Thank you to this beautiful family for trusting me not once – but twice – with their girls’ newborn portraits. I’m so honored that I had the chance to work with you twice and celebrate your growing family!! 

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Baby Starr | Adelaide's Newborn Portraits

Adelaide Olivia

June 17, 2022

We welcomed our daughter in the middle of June, and somehow an entire month has already gone by! I don't remember time going this quickly when our son was born, but the weeks have all blended into one another and time is disappearing faster than we can keep track of it. I swear I barely blink and another week has passed in a blur of feedings, naps, and doctors appointments!

Sweet little Adelaide Olivia was born on June 17, 2022. She is our rainbow baby, and we waited a very long time for this beautiful baby to join our family. She's finally her, and we are over the moon.

Adelaide is perfect in every way, and we are so in love already. Grayson is the proudest big brother, and he lights up every time he's in the room with her and wants to be involved in everything that has to do with his sister. His grandma keeps saying that "he was born to be a big brother," and it's true that he is really doing an amazing job in his new role already. We love watching him in this transition, and it's so sweet to see how he interacts with his baby sister.

She spent the first couple of weeks sound asleep, and we couldn't wake her up for anything! She was literally the sleepiest baby I had ever encountered in my 10 years of posing newborns. But that meant that I got to enjoy multiple mini portrait sessions in the studio to capture a few setups each day. This was such a stark contrast to Grayson's newborn portraits, where he wouldn't settle into a deep sleep because he knew mama was close by, and every click of the shutter startled him wide awake. Baby girl knew what to do, and she snoozed and posed and smiled! I had so much fun capturing these first portraits of her, and now I'm excited to choose which ones to print and frame in our home, and many more to put into an album for our growing album collection!

For Adelaide's session I enjoyed lots of neutrals, and you all know I'm a fan of classic baby portraits on white backdrops and layers. I pulled out all of my favorite headbands and floral crowns from Polka Dot Poppy, and I added a few new ones with baby's breath as a nod to the baby's breath I wore in my hair at our wedding, and that my mother wore in her hair at her wedding in the 80s!

And of course, I couldn't resist using the same tiny camera prop that I used 4 years ago in Grayson's newborn portraits. Every photographer has got to capture her baby's portrait holding a newborn sized camera, right?!

I have so much more inspiration for Adelaide's portraits this year, and I'm excited to share more with you as she grows!

Thanks for celebrating our sweet girl's arrival with us!

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Welcoming Jordan Elliot - Newborn portraits for this family's third baby boy

Welcome to the world, Jordan Elliot! I’m so happy to have welcomed the Popper family back to my studio for their third baby boy’s newborn portraits. This sweet family has three boys: Jonas, Jacob, and Jordan - all 22 months apart and I’ve had the honor of capturing all of their newborn portraits. It’s truly an honor to be invited back into their life to document their milestones and new additions as they grow.

When we began to plan Jordan’s newborn portraits, Natalia and I knew that we wanted to create portraits that would coordinate with his older brother’s newborn portraits, too. That would ensure that all three boys’ portraits could easily be displayed together and enjoyed cohesively. Because of that, we stuck with blues and greys to match the other two boys!

It was so fun too see everyone in the studio together while we photographed Jordan. Jacob and Jonas were thrilled to introduce their new brother to me and showing him off! Capturing their interactions might have been one of my favorite parts of this sweet session. Enjoy a look into Jordan’s newborn portraits today!

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Welcoming this family's third baby boy with newborn portraits!

Everytime I work with this family, I’m reminded about how much of a privilege it really is. This is their THIRD baby and I’ve photographed all three boys now. I met them during 2018 when their oldest was just a few months old, and they frequent my studio often for milestone sessions now. There is truly nothing like the joy of watching families grow and meeting Baby Rhys was just the next wonderful part of our story together!

When we were planning, Jen (their mom!) had a few props she wanted to incorporate in the portraits. I’m a huge advocate of making your portraits yours with sentimental props and setups. Jen knew she wanted to include a tiger, because Rhys is the tiger zodiac sign - how fun! She also wanted to include some shamrocks because his name has Welsh and Scottish roots. I love that we were able to create these beautiful custom setups for this sweet boy!!

I can tell these three boys will be the best of friends. Rhys’ big brothers, Jackson and Xander, were just over the moon their entire session. They wanted to hug and show off their new brother to me and we had a lot of fun! I’m so happy to see this family again and can’t wait to see them soon for Rhys’ first milestone portraits!!

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Why Most Newborn Portraits are of Sleeping Babies

Have you ever wondered why most newborn portraits are of sleeping babies? It's not just because photographers are pros at getting babies to sleep. There's actually a whole science and reasoning behind it!

When they babies are sleepy, they are:

-more relaxed

-easier to pose

-safer to pose

Sleeping babies make our job easier and safer. As you know, a baby’s safety is always my priority in the studio or at home, so any time we can allow baby to sleep during our portraits, everyone feels a bit better! (Of course, it’s okay if your little one doesn’t sleep, too!!).

Newborn babies tend to sleep more than they’re awake.

All babies are different, but most newborn babies are asleep more than they are awake -- even though sometimes it doesn't seem that way to new parents! Most often in those first few weeks, the only times they are awake are when they are eating or getting changed, and it's rare to have many moments when they are awake and relaxed at the same time. This means that in order to find those moments of peace for our session, we want baby will be asleep and therefore relaxed during our session!

Some poses just aren’t safe to do if baby isn’t sleeping.

The first priority in every newborn session is the baby's safety, and some poses are just not safe to do with a newborn while they are awake. For example, tummy poses are not safe for an awake baby because they can kick their legs and wiggle off the posing bed or prop. In other poses, the babies have their heads carefully balanced on their arms or hands, and even though this is done in a very safe manner to distribute their weight evenly and keep their bodies balanced, an awake baby is too wiggly to attempt this safely.

We work to create a relaxing atmosphere for your baby!

Since we want your baby to sleep (so they’re relaxed and even safer), newborn photographers work hard to get babies to relax during their session. That is why we crank up the heat in the studio, swaddle and rock the babies, use white noise, and use gentle repetitive motions such as patting and stroking to soothe them. Our goal is to get babies as relaxed as possible so that they will fall asleep and be easy and safe to pose for their portraits. Plus we are able to capture the most variety in images and poses while they are sleeping, too!

But what happens when a baby just won't sleep?

Honestly, this happens fairly often, so if your baby is one of those ones that just won't settle, don't stress! Usually it's a digestive issue. Some babies have upset tummies and they're trying to work out some gas or a BM. Others are affected by caffeine in breastmilk, or maybe a new formula just doesn't sit well in their tummies. Some had a stellar night's sleep last night and they're just not tired right now (but you know the second you leave they're going to drift off to dreamland!).

Newborn portraits are about photographing your baby!

No matter what happens (or doesn’t), we'll figure it out and work around it to capture beautiful portraits while you're in the studio. Typically newborn sessions last 2-3 hours, and most babies would struggle to stay awake for such a long period of time in those early weeks. We keep their tummies full and use all of the tricks to help them relax and stay happy. While they're awake, we swaddle them up and capture those big bright eyes and funny little expressions. I looooove photographing awake babies because they are so expressive, and those wide-eyed shots always make it onto the front of their birth announcement cards. Eventually they all fall asleep and they give in to the heat and the white noise, but some babies just take a little longer than others.

When should you schedule newborn portraits?

For the traditional posed newborn session, we usually schedule those for between 7-15 days old. The ideal time to reserve your newborn session is before the baby is born to ensure a spot on the calendar. After the two week mark babies are often much more alert and wiggly.

I love photographing older newborns, too, but the type of images we create in those sessions is more about interactions and expressions while they are relaxed and awake. Older newborn sessions are less posed and they are usually done with babies 4-8 weeks old.

Ready to get your session on the calendar?

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