Sometimes dads contact us to schedule newborn sessions! Colleen had contacted us for information and then life juggling a full time job and two older children got in the way and she forgot to email us back. A few weeks later, we heard from her husband Jeff, who had been tasked with squaring away their third baby's newborn session. We fortunately had an opening due to one of our December babies arriving in November and scheduled them to come in. Colleen also requested to add on hair and makeup services because she knew it would be nearly impossible to do herself the morning of.
When Colleen arrived, I took baby Alexandra back to the newborn shooting room, but little miss was uncomfortable and didn't want to settle. I held her and determined that her little tummy was bothering her, so I took her back out to Colleen and asked if she had been having any issues with gas. Colleen let me know that all of her babies had reflux and she suspected that Alexandra did as well. I'm not a doctor, but I work with several newborns every week. Handling babies and reading their body language (are they stiffening up when put on their backs?) has given me a lot of hands on experience. It was clear that Alexandra would not be comfortable enough to proceed at that time, so we stopped shooting and I held her upright in between feedings. Sometimes that's what my job looks like: I hold newborns for as long as I need to in order to get them comfortable. Rushing a session is pointless. While the average newborn sessions takes between 2-2.5 hours this is not a guarantee. Sometimes babies need more time to settle or have special needs that we might not know about until they're here for their session.
Jeff and the children arrived for their part in the session, and we moved to sibling family images right away because Jeff needed to get back to the office. Colleen warned me that her oldest daughter, Reagan didn't typically ever smile. I warned Colleen that I could be pretty goofy during sessions, so there was a chance I could get Reagan to laugh at me. (scroll through the images to see if I was right!) Grandma was in town helping out, so she was able to take the children back to the house after they were finished.
Alexandra had settled and was sleeping by this point, and we had been able to get a few good burps out of her. I moved slowly and gently, and was able to photograph her despite her reflux issues. When she woke up, we moved to mommy and baby images and kept alternating between. Even though the session took much longer than the average time, it gave Colleen a break, and she enjoyed the peace and quiet while enjoying snacks and drinks from the studio supply. We also chatted a lot and found that we had a lot in common besides having three children. Both of us were from Pennsylvania, and we both had similar childhoods. I always love getting to know my clients during their sessions, and this time was no exception.
I adored working with this wonderful family, and their squishy cheeked baby girl. Enjoy the images!
If you're expecting a baby or already a parent and looking for a newborn, maternity, or family photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will love for a lifetime. Watch this video to hear about my philosophy and see how I work in the studio so you can determine if I'm the right fit for you. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and birth photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.