I was so excited to have Raphael come into the studio in January with his family for his newborn session. The last time I had seen and photographed their family was less than two weeks earlier when he was born! Emily and Matt are two of the most fun and loving parents, and their daughter Penelope is darling. They were so sweet, they brought me a latte from Octane Coffee on their way in to the session. You'll also recognize their family from the video here on my website which sums up my philosophy and how I work.
I always like to capture my clients as they are during newborn sessions. There is some guided posing, especially with some of the more traditional portraits, but for the most part all you have to do is hold and love your baby! Older siblings that are toddlers can be more challenging, but since Penelope already knew me from their maternity and birth session, she was comfortable with me and enjoyed participating in the session. You can see their mommy and me maternity session here. For younger children who have never met me, I have my methods and I discuss how I work and what I'll do to encourage cooperation in advance of your session.
When they arrived, Emily immediately spied a printed bohemian dress in my studio wardrobe that she loved and selected to wear. Penelope wore one of my studio dresses for little girls, and Matt came in his own clothing that we discussed prior to their session.
I like to start my sessions with siblings whenever I can if the newborn is in deep sleep. This allows for those treasured sibling images before big brother or sister gets tired of being in front of the camera. Penelope was just adorable and so excited to hold her baby brother for a picture.
Since Raphael was sleeping so deeply, we moved right into solo baby images, which his parents wanted a few of to always remember his tiny little details.
How adorable is that little pucker?!
I work with two beanbags in my studio so that I can easily and quickly move babies from one setup to the next with minimal interruption and jostling. This greatly reduces babies waking during the session and needing to be settled back down, which in turn reduces the total time my clients spend at the studio.
Penelope wanted to steal a kiss during the session. Some of the sweetest moments happen when you step back and wait. These images are exactly why I don't rush through my sessions. Patience is key when working with babies and children.
After we finished with the solo baby images, we moved on to father and son. These are some of my favorite images to create. The perspective really shows how tiny your baby was at the beginning, and being able to look back at these images is amazing. They're only this small for such a short period of time. Emily really loved the little whorl cowlick that Raphael had, so I made sure to capture that detail for their gallery.
Emily then joined Matt for some images of them snuggling with Raphael together.
Penelope hopped in when she was ready and willing. I never pressure my little clients, and encourage parents to let them join in when they're ready as the session is a lot more fun for them (and everyone else!) that way.
Then we wrapped up with mama and baby images... the mother and son relationship is so incredibly special. I never understood it until I had a son of my own.
If you're pregnant and looking for a newborn and/or maternity photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will treasure for a lifetime When you are no longer here, your children will be able look at your family and parent images and remember how much you loved them, from the very beginning. Contact me today to begin planing your session, as it's never too early to book. I can't wait to work with you and your growing family!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and birth photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.