Liam.

good enough to eat!

love bugs

enjoy these little ones. lulu wanted in on some of the action so we did a little photo shoot while her mom was feeding the baby. and boy am i glad i did! those eyes are crazy. they're totally her natural color! these little girls made me want one of my own!

itty-bitty blondy!

can you believe all this blond hair? this little guy is only a few days old and despite his size, he looks so much older to me. i don't think i've ever seen so much blond hair on a newborn. isn't he adorable?? and what a good boy!

awwe yes. my nephew....

remember my beautiful, pregnant sister? now she has a beautiful baby boy.

i'm so proud of my little nephew. for this reason, i wanted to post every picture i took. but i decided to narrow it waaay down. it was so hard to choose!
i love you little c. i'm so glad you're here!



and...he turns on the charm.

this little guy made my job EASY

one feeding and he was good to go. as soon as he ate and i started shooting, he fell right to sleep. i got every shot i wanted in an HOUR! that is short for a newborn shoot.
i have done quite a few newborn sessions recently and have several scheduled for the future. they are quickly turning into a favorite of mine. i'm also learning a few tricks along the way!
{a tiny bit of my pictures were cut off when i uploaded them on blogger.}

enjoy this little angel...










precious...

itsy bitsy, teeny weeny

she was the sweetest little girl. she didn't want to miss a thing and stayed awake the whole time. ooooo, i just want to squeeze her.







i realize this one makes her look kind of like a boy. but who says green is only for boys?? she is still SUCH a girl. look at those eyes.
and i have to say, what a good sport! look at her act like being cramped in a small, ceramic bowl is oh so comfortable.

meet shep

this is my new little nephew. isn't he the cutest thing ever?! we're so excited to have a new addition to the family! congratulations hayley and sky! you did good!

oh, wee little one

remember my last maternity shoot? it's a boy! he is so precious. notice the adorable, knit hat he's wearing? my incredibly talented friend and aspiring photographer candida made it special for this shoot. thanks girly!
so this was my very first newborn shoot. i did my research and planned for a longer than usual shoot. i knew the little guy was going to be the boss. and i researched and researched for tips to make the whole thing go smoothly. my friend jessica kettle gave me some very useful pointers as well. with all of this, i'd love to say that it was easy, peasy and was in and out in an hour flat, but i'd be lying. newborns are HARD. it was some of the hardest work i have done as a photographer. although i have to say it was a lot of fun too.
i forget how teency they are. he was such a sweet boy, but wasn't at all happy about being naked.
i was honored to share this time with their little family.






{these were all taken by a window in natural light}

in case any of you are curious as to what worked (for me) and what didn't, i'll let you in on a few helpful tips when photographing wee ones, although i'm not an expert quite yet:
make sure the heat is bumped way up, almost to the point of being uncomfortable. not only does it help them to be happier naked, but their skin looks more smooth and less blotchy.
heating pads (on low to med.) placed under a blanket are genius!
move slowly and quietly. in the beginning of my session his mom had the radio playing, softly, but i think with all the excitement of the shoot he felt a little overstimulated. so i asked her to turn it off and after that he was much more calm.
gently massage their legs and arms to get them to bend into position.
patience is KEY! plan for a lot of stopping, comforting, feeding, etc. i found that taking pictures of newborns is opposite of taking pictures of kids/toddlers, in that the first 20 minutes of a toddler shoot will most likely be your best pictures and the last 20 minutes of the newborn shoot are the best. (in my experience anyway.)