 Are you wondering if you should bring your twins into the studio for mama and babe bonding photographs? Are you wondering if it will be chaotic? Are you wondering how you'll contain them in your arms, how it will feel? Are you wondering if it will be worth it? I'm here to tell you to do it. Just bring them. Bring them to play, bring them to snuggle, bring them to wrestle, bring them to love each other, and you, up.
During twin toddler studio sessions, I make sure to get each twin with mama alone, and the twins together alone, and all three of you together. It will be playful, it will be vibrant, it will be a little bit chaotic. These girls, below, were three when they came in with their mama. They were incredibly active through the whole session, but the action, as well as the in-between moments, were absolutely stunning.  I love the dynamism of this session. Their interactions are almost like a dance. Rough and rowdy sometimes, and delicate and ornate others. 
These sweeties, in the photos below, were two during this session, and they were so adorable, energetic, and playful. This mama was also pregnant, so the session had a lot of amazing dimensions to it.    The mama below brought her beautiful two year old twins, along with her seven year old for a proper snuggle fest.
Bring your twin toddlers in to get photographs made! This time is fleeting. This time is beautiful. This love is absolutely sensational.
0 Comments
Sometimes booking a session with me can be a little bit of an emergency. At least it's felt that way a few times. I've had women write to me because they're on a timeline. Something big is about to change, and they want to remember this moment, right now, before the change comes.  Years ago, this amazing mama wrote to me asking if I'd photograph her with her 15 month old. The timeline was a bit tight, she said. She'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, and was going in for a double mastectomy on Tuesday. In 4 days. She wanted to memorialize this time, to celebrate her body, to hold on to something tangible from this period of her motherhood, her womanhood, her life. This wasn't about darkness and gloom. She was filled with optimism and hope for a cancer-free future. But she still wanted to be able, in the future, to touch back and see evidence of her body, and her bond with her baby, and to celebrate this moment. So we sat together in the yard, the two of them snuggling and examining each other, exactly as they are.     That same mama came back to my studio for more photographs. Years had passed, and she had another sweet child. She wanted to capture another specific transition. She had gone through reconstructive surgery for her breasts, and she had gotten a new tattoo. The tattoo spreads onto her breasts, and adds new life and a new kind of beauty. These later sessions are all about her new body, her bond with her brilliant little ones, and the evolution of her motherhood.    This mama, below, came to me the day before she went into surgery for a postpartum complication. She was just a few months postpartum with her third little boy, and she was told that she wouldn't likely be able to continue nursing her newborn after the surgery. She was devastated at the prospect of the loss of their nursing relationship. So she asked to have some time with all three of her sons, as well as her mom, in the studio.  The hour they were with me was a little bit of everything. Absolute love, deep joy, and moments of buoyant, playful chaos. Having three small boys in the studio is what you would expect. High energy, running around, lots of laughing.  But also moments of lovely quiet, and deeply meaningful snuggling and bonding.   And she got to nurse her baby on camera. That was a big moment. An emotional moment. And one I'm so grateful I got to capture.  I don't know if coming to my studio is a way of healing yourself, exactly. But I do think that looking at honest photographs of ourselves and our little ones can be incredibly touching and moving, and can change something in us. I think seeing ourselves as others see us can be surprising and deep. And when you come in to the studio with the intention of being totally present with your baby or children, it's amazing what comes through. Your pure love. Your joy. Your deep connection.
It's powerful to have someone reflect back to us that our bond with our babies matters. The work you're putting into them -- I can see that. It is not invisible, and in fact, it's really quite stunning. I always hope that my photographs show you what I see in the room. Those small moments and big feelings.
This incredibly sweet baby, above, had just gotten out of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), and needed a feeding tube. He had struggled with different complications from birth. His mama wondered if we should wait to do photos until after he had outgrown the tube. I said, and I say to other moms who are wondering: Don't worry at all about the feeding tube or oxygen on my behalf. These things are part of who your baby is right now, and what they need. And it's likely part of who you are right now too. It's a visual representation of your advocacy. You being happy to capture these early moments in your baby's life, regardless of their needs, is a beautiful thing. That's powerful mothering right there. Below is a sweet mama and her baby who was on oxygen. I love these photographs because they're not about looking like anyone else. The photographs are just a reflection of this mom and her baby in that moment in time. A true reflection of their deep love.   The baby below is Sully. He was born about 7 weeks before his due date, and spent months in the NICU with an extremely rare condition - Vein of Galen Malformation. Too much blood was being pumped to his brain, making it hard for blood to flow to other areas of his body effectively and putting great strain on his heart. After Sully's second stroke, his parents learned that his prognosis was different than they expected and hoped. "This isn't just about quality of life, it is also about quantity of life - we are not really sure how long we're going to have with him." That's what Sully's mom told me when she got in touch. She wanted to do photographs with Sully because they were uncertain about his future. This has to be one of my favorite sessions I've ever done. Nothing says mad love like a mama who has seen her brand new baby through months of challenges, scares, sadnesses, successes, and changes, and has stood, unwavering, by his side. This is deep attachment. This is deep love. It was incredibly powerful for me to get to photograph these two together. The mama was just so deeply present. So in the moment with her sweet boy. And I got to show that mama what her love looks like for her sweet Sully. He passed away about a year after we captured these photographs.    |
RSS Feed