I first worked with this family when they were expecting their son for their maternity session in the studio, and again for his newborn and First Birthday sessions. Adrienne and Dave are some of the most loving parents I’ve met, and that’s very evident when I’m around them.
Adrienne emailed to ask if we could schedule a family session for Logan’s second birthday. He’s an October baby! My birthday is in October, and so are the birthdays of my two younger children. While we’re on the subject of October… we are almost fully booked for weekend dates in October. We still have a handful of weeknights open at this time. If you’re hoping to have an outdoor session, please don’t delay in contacting us to get on the calendar. November is also starting to fill up with just a couple weekend dates remaining, and a handful of weeknights as well.
Adrienne has worked with our HMUA team for her previous sessions, and this time was no exception. Our lead artist, Margaret, worked with her and we met at the field location that evening. Logan had fallen asleep on the way… so he was a little bit disoriented and shy at first. He also had a death grip on … a toothbrush. Definitely one of the most unusual objects that I have ever seen in a session!
As a mom of three, I know how stressful it can feel to plan your session and then have it seemingly go sideways if your child (or children!) are in a less than stellar mood. I always tell my clients to come into their sessions with a laid back and relaxed attitude. Children know when their parents are stressing out, and it can sometimes make it worse if they decide it would be fun to push a few of your buttons. Putting pressure on children almost always backfires. Here’s the deal: you cannot FORCE a toddler to smile and look happy, and why would you want to? Every time you look at your images you would see that the smile wasn’t real and you would remember how miserable everyone was that day. Instead, I give my little clients the time and space to warm up to me. If they want to snuggle with you, we go with that. Once they’re more comfortable, I’ll quietly give you some prompts of things to do with your child. I also step pretty far back and let things unfold naturally to capture your unique family dynamic in the most authentic way possible.
As for that toothbrush… well, Adrienne asked me to leave it as it was. Editing it out would not have been realistically possible with many of the image, but she told me that she knew she would laugh about it someday, and that it was a great story to share with him when he was older. That being said: if you don’t want your child to have an interesting object, bring neutral wooden toys if you think they’ll need something to hold. Whatever you bring for them: you need to be okay with it being in the images. Some children won’t give it up. :) In Logan’s case, we were eventually able to get him to trade his toothbrush for a lollipop towards the very end. And as you can see…. the sugar definitely transformed his mood and made him into a little camera ham!
Want to capture your family just as you are now before time completely slips away and you’re packing their bags for college? Contact us and we’ll chat about your session goals, your vision, and our approach to see if we’re the perfect match for your family photography!
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 family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.
