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I have always been fascinated by siblings. My own, my friends'. It can be such a striking relationship. And it's something I absolutely love to photograph. The look on a baby's face when his older sibling comes near him has to be one of my very favorite things ever.
One of my favorite, and most surprising sibling sessions, was with a 12 year old (shown below) and his 5 week old sister. I had never had a 12 year old in the studio before -- I had thought before this moment that 12 was too old to be in there. I was focusing only on babies and toddlers. But this mama brought both of her kids in. I did most of the session with just the mom and baby (you can find those images at the top of this page, if you're curious!), but I invited the older brother to come play with his sister at the end. Seeing the two of them together was really breathtaking. And it shifted my idea of what a Bonding Session could be.
 I absolutely loved photographing this mama, below, and her two boys. The boys loved to play around, tumbling and chasing, but they also were just so incredibly sweet and calm together. I always melt when I look at these nursing images. What love. What deep affection.   I'm also really moved by older siblings. This beautiful family, below, came in for photographs when the kids were 3 and 5.   And this session, below, is one of my all-time favorite siblings session. This mama brought her four children in, and they truly just played the whole time. It was kinetic, vibrant, and so full of love.     
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 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.
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.     I had the honor of photographing this beautiful family in welcoming their sweet baby, in a session at the hospital, within hours of the birth. I call these sessions "Brand New Newborns", but they're often called "Fresh 48". It was really a richly meaningful experience, and I was so glad I got to be there. They were all so loving and gentle, but the older sister didn't always seem super excited to meet her new sister.  I loved how the parents reacted to their older daughter's reactions. She was having feelings. It was a complex day for her. And her parents didn't get frustrated with her, or push her. They just let her be who she is, and to hopefully come around to her sister when she's ready.  We all want our kids to be madly in love with each other from the jump, but the reality is that it's not always so simple for an older sibling. They've been "left out" of the birth most of the time, and they're likely feeling a bit unsettled with the massive change in the family dynamics. It took my son the better part of a year to start to think of our baby as really part of our family. He still felt for months and months that she was interfering with our time with him.  It feels respectful to our older children to recognize that this experience -- the first meeting -- is a little wrought. It's not simple. It can be layered and emotional for a few different reasons. But the first moments of that meeting are still worth capturing. Still worth remembering. To see the evolution. To honor the way our babe entered the family, and the work our kids did and do to engage with the ever-changing landscape of love and family.
To piggy-back off of my previous post (which you can read here!), which was all about how I ask mamas what (if any) risk they'd like to take during a session with me, here are some of the mamas' responses to my questionnaire question about bravery. The question is: Is there anything you'd want permission to do during the session that might require bravery? A risk you'd like to take? "Breastfeeding photo and even just being in underwear only for some pics with [the boys]." "Nursing, being confident in my 3rd kid, postpartum, 42 year old skin." "Relax! Let go of my self-consciousness." "I’m an open book. I struggle with body confidence but I believe that I will be able to overlook that in order to capture this time in my life." "I think of this project not only as bonding but as a nod to body positivity, which is something I’m more likely to grant others permission to accept than myself. I want to celebrate this perfect newborn and the body that made it." "I'm a pretty everything on the table gal. But getting my photo taken in general is very hard for me. I do not like photos of myself. Let alone photos of my body. I'm doing this because I know I will cherish these in 15 years. But right now? I don't feel like it." "I, like many, pick every photo of myself apart. I’d like to be able to trust your skills and do what you ask of us." "I’m not breastfeeding and that makes me worry about our intimacy. I’d like to capture that somehow." "To be nude with the baby. Eeek that's a bit scary." "Being partially naked/topless, being comfortable expressing the authentic tenderness for our family in front of you." "I'll think more, but perhaps something that shows my stomach rolls."  I send a questionnaire to mamas who are going to do a Bonding Session with me before their sessions. It's not an easy questionnaire. It asks a lot of each mom. You don't have to answer the questions, but I find that the answers often lead me into understanding of a mom before she arrives in the studio, and meaningful conversations during a session. And if you do answer the questions, that means that you've thought deeply about mothering and parenthood -- and maybe even your childhood -- before you've even gotten to the studio. This session isn't just about getting in and getting photos. It's about going deep. Being present. Letting the moments of your motherhood wash over you and letting your love for your child be the overwhelming feeling and presence in the room. Typically, in our busy lives, we don't often allow ourselves much time to just *be* with our babies. The repetition of motherhood, the simplicity and complexity of it all can feel overwhelming -- or worse, underwhelming. One of my favorite questions on the questionnaire, though, isn't a question about your experience of motherhood day to day. It's something one of my favorite photographers taught me to ask a few years back. The question is if you want to be brave or take a risk during your session. And I'll ask you how you want to be brave. Over and over, I've found that asking this question can be like handing someone a key and letting them open their own heart.  Some women have declared that taking off their tops and doing skin to skin is their idea of bravery. Or breastfeeding during a session. Some women have said that they'd like me to photograph their c-section scar. Some have asked me to capture their body "as it really is" -- softer than they'd like, maybe, but still in the vague design of their pregnancy. Still holding on to the birth they went through six months ago, a year ago, or more.  Still, most women tell me that the simple act of coming into my studio, for them, is an act of bravery. And it absolutely is. It's hard to be vulnerable. It's hard to let go of our guards: the clothes we allow to drape over these "embarrassing" parts of our bodies, and the distance we allow to grow between us and our neighbors. Who would want to disassemble the protections we hold so dear? But when we do allow ourselves to be seen, when we let go of our fear of how we might look, and instead look for how we are connected to the ones we love, the results are absolutely stunning. I encourage you to take a risk -- whatever that looks like for you. I encourage you to be seen. And to let yourself see what you look like when you're being totally present, and in love, with your sweet babies.  During bonding sessions with a baby or a toddler, breastfeeding is always an option. Some women tell me it's something they want to capture, but that it would require a bit of bravery on their part. Nursing is an intimate thing, and we don't usually share it with others -- especially a camera. It's absolutely something you can choose to keep private -- you can tell me not to share the images of you nursing. You can keep them for you and your children -- a sacred record of your early bond. Or you can lean in and share the photographs. After all -- what could be more exciting, and more beautiful, than a portrait of you nursing your sweet one?  I always invite women to nurse in the studio if they want to. On or off camera. With me in the room or not. If a child needs nourishment, we can absolutely take a break during a session. You never have to feel an ounce of pressure to nurse, especially on camera. But nursing is an incredibly special act, and if you do want to capture it, I am so on board.  If you're wanting to capture your nursing experience, but are worried about being too exposed, we can always talk about different ways for me to help you cover up. Nursing doesn't have to show much of your body, if you don't want to. Some women take off their shirts for nursing photos. Some women keep their tops on and just lift or lower them enough for their babies to access their breast for nursing.  Nursing isn't necessarily going to be a big part of your session. Maybe you'll nurse for two minutes, maybe you'll nurse for the whole time. Most women nurse for about 3-5 minutes total. We'll capture the experience, and move on to other types of snuggling and play.  Nursing a babe is so personal and so individualized. The way we hold our babies, especially as they get older, and how their bodies fit with ours. How we talk to our toddlers about breastfeeding and our bodies, and what it means for them to take their nourishment from us directly.
Breastfeeding is so intimate and personal, and, frankly, one of my absolute favorite ways to capture a bonding pair. Because the way you feed your baby is unique to you, and absolutely gorgeous.  Lighting is key in any photo session. And then there's the colors of the place we'll shoot, and the weather, and whether or not your child has eaten or napped or has a runny nose. The thing I always start with is the light. Because, depending on where we go, that will affect a lot of the other factors. Not the runny nose. That's just a fact of childhood. But light is hugely different based on time of day, and where we're shooting. And time of day will affect whether your child has slept, or eaten, or needs to go to sleep. We can only control so much, but I love to be able to offer families sessions at a reasonable hour. A lot of people, understandably, want to do family sessions in the mountains, with long views behind them. Which is, obviously, gorgeous and timeless, and perfectly Colorado.  But it's also a shot that works only with certain light. I recommend families book mountain shoots with long views during Golden Hour -- the hour before sundown. Which, in summer, can be as late as 8:30pm start times. Not great for (most) human children. This photograph (above) was possible because it wasn't too bright. The family above wanted mountain views, so they opted for a 3:45pm start time in November. Another benefit to shooting in late fall and winter is there aren't crowds, even at popular spots. Not as many hikers, not as many photographers. Much more intimate and quiet -- two things I absolutely treasure for family sessions. In the spring and summer, when days are long, I offer shooting locations with cover from the sun in gorgeous wooded areas. No long views, but these spots are absolutely beautiful in a different way. Majestic, bold, incredibly meaningful, and, to be clear, also very Colorado.  Mosquitoes can be annoying, but, in my opinion, they're worth it for such a gorgeous location. This photograph (above) was taken in late June. Below is an example of a mountains photo session in the fall. These photographs are from late October. We met at 5pm, and did a lot of shooting in the shade before going to do some with a small view of the mountains. The sun never went low enough to get long views, but I still love the mountain-feel of these photographs.
 My feeling is, you can't go wrong with a photo session in Colorado. There are so many gorgeous places. Just be aware that lighting may affect where we can shoot, and what time of day will work best. You've got to consider your child's schedule, and what's best for their mood. An unhappy child isn't going to have a great time during a session. Let's do everything we can to help them have a wonderful, fun photo shoot! That's a huge win, in my book. Of course, I love a wooded area any time of year. And not just for the mid-day joy of it. Here are some winter and fall sessions in the woods. The light is always gorgeous, and there are so many fun things for kids to explore and find.  The above photograph is from early November. The photograph below is from late November.  The long of the short of it is: any time of year is the perfect time of year for a photo shoot. Just be flexible about where to go, and trust me. We'll find ourselves in a stunning location with beautiful, love-filled photographs of you and your sweet family in this moment of time.
 A lot of women ask me if they can invite their mom to their Bonding Session with me. If you want to include your mom in the session -- if she's willing to wear all black and dive in deep with love and connection -- I say: bring her. Don't bring her to sit in the studio and watch your session. Bring her to be a part of it. To snuggle you and your babies.  These multi-generational photo sessions have been some of the most beautiful, most love-filled that I've had the honor to capture. It's really moving to see grandmothers loving their grandbabies, and also loving their daughters. And what a gift to see all of that in one frame.   
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