Category Archives: Newborn

I learned something at this shoot. I learned what kind of newborn photos I love most.

Here was the situation…baby Miriam came a little late, which changed our plans to do the shoot within her first 7 days. (Can’t control when babies want to come out!) I was out of town the following weekend, so we had no choice but to push the shoot back another week. I won’t lie, I was nervous, because newborn shoots usually are scheduled in their first week because that’s when you can keep them asleep the whole time, and get all those cute little cuddly poses. But, any older than a week, and it’s a toss up…they’ll either sleep (like a baby, hehe) the whole time, or they’ll be awake and kickin’ (literally). At a full two weeks old, I was worried she’d be awake and fussy, and those sweet sleeping photos just wouldn’t happen. And that’s how I’m supposed to do it, right??

Well, that’s what I was hoping for. But you know what…she was awake. She was kickin’. There were moments when she was fussy. But the photos I got to capture were real. They were family moments, the look in her eyes as she gazed up at her parents, the laugh on their faces as they watched her antics. The kicking feet and flailing arms…all those little movements and expressions that are just so…baby. Not to hate on the classic sleeping baby pics (because they really are adorable), but I think these are more my style. If I had a baby, I’d want his/her little traits captured. After all, a baby comes into this world already equipped with a little personality, so why not document it?

Sweet baby Miriam, your little personality is precious, and I could see in your parents’ eyes how much they adore you already. Thank you for flailing your arms, kicking your feet, and reminding me of how beautiful the little moments can be.

It’s 11:46 pm, and I got home about an hour ago from second-shooting a lovely wedding. I am exhausted to my core, every bone in my body aches, and my right foot hurts…but it doesn’t matter in the slightest. I’m in a great mood, because I just spent the last 12 hours behind the lens. Seriously, I don’t know what I would do with myself if I didn’t have photography. Earlier this week I actually contemplated quitting photography. Self-doubt, insecurity, and straight up exhaustion became a toxic combo that made me question everything. Throw in my tendency to slightly overreact to things, and wowza. Not a great feeling. But the thing is, when I really did contemplate removing photography from my life, I just knew it wasn’t even an option. I can’t live without it…which again sounds a little dramatic, but seriously…I just know I wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t taking pictures. So, I will probably continue to doubt myself, and I will definitely always be a drama queen, but I will never give up photography. My life would be missing an essential piece, and that’s just not ok. So, tonight I sit here tired beyond belief, but happy. Really happy.

And because I’m feeling so happy, I thought I’d share another photo of the happiest little baby in the world…