Having a newborn is a complicated phenomenon.  The sleep deprivation.  The changes in our bodies.  The hormones.  The way our bodies and brains shift to make mental space and begin to bond with the tiny mammal that just joined the family.  I have two children, 7 years apart, and I felt like a first time mom after both births.  They were extremely different births, and therefore wildly different postpartum experiences.  But after neither birth did I feel like throwing my body in front of a camera.  Both times I felt protective of my body, and my baby.  I wanted space to heal and bond.

When you get typical newborn photographs, the photographer often requires that the baby be young enough to put to sleep easily.  The newborn is meant to look a certain way (and most importantly, the baby's eyes are meant to be closed).  I do not fall into that camp as a newborn photographer.  I consider the full "fourth trimester" -- the four months after birth -- to be newborn, and all of it is worth capturing.  These are seminal months of motherhood, and it still feels new and incredibly meaningful long after the first few days.  I don't limit newborn sessions to those first ten days of life.  And part of that is because I want you in the photographs too.  The photos are meant to tell a story about your love for your baby.  And that story isn’t necessarily a simple one.

One of the things I love about photo sessions is how they freeze our lives in place.  Years from now, we'll be able to time travel back into these brief moments with our children merely by looking at a beautiful photograph.  Oh yes, that’s what it felt like to touch her feet.  To smell his soft curls.  To lean my head against hers.

And it’s amazing to see not just one moment in our lives captured, but a series of moments over the years.  Clients who’ve come back to the studio more than once get to see more than one of those bonding moments, those deeply special connections.  Look how small her hands were next to mine.  And look at his squishy little round cheeks.  Was he ever that small? 

Photographs can be such a gift, and it’s my joy to get to take part in the process of freezing those memories.  A physical representation of your love for your children growing, maturing, expanding through the years.

I've photographed this sweet mama and her son every year for three years, since he was 8 months old.  It's been really touching to see him grow up, and to see his mom evolve as a parent.  Their sessions are always such a beautiful representation of their love, and their evolving relationship, and I really treasure getting to see this sweet boy growing up.

Nothing stands still in childhood.  Things change minute to minute, day to day.  And we change with it.  You can see in these photographs how these two have evolved.  It's absolutely stunning.  How can so much shift in just a few years?

Do you have a rough and rowdy, playful family?  Do you worry about how that will translate on camera?  Are your kids high energy?

​Stepping into the studio might seem like something you're not prepared to do.  How will the photographs turn out?  What will your children do?  How will you keep everyone sane and happy?  How will you make it look like your family has achieved that kind of calm that you're always seeing in other families' photographs?

I think quite a lot of moms come into the studio kind of stressed.  Kind of over it.  Kind of burned out.  Because motherhood is an absolute crapshoot.  We're dealing with a constant stream of challenges and issues we didn't imagine the day before, or maybe it's the same stuff over and over.  It's complex, it's grating, it's frustrating.  We're holding the emotions of our children in our hearts at all times, and it can be truly exhausting.

But in every session, I find that there are always always always moments of real deep beauty.  Because children flash in and out of deep emotions with real clarity and fluidity. All you have to do is meet them there.  Don’t worry about where they’re looking (many a photograph has been ruined by a worried mom pointing at the camera so their kid will look at me).  Don’t worry about the kids’ faces.  Their faces will go through 1000 emotions in an hour, and I’ll take 1000 photographs.  It’s much more challenging for a mama to be in the moment than for a child to arrive in joy or play.  The barriers for them are so very low.  A goofy look from you, a sound they didn’t expect, a fart joke.  They’ll arrive at joy.  You just have to be prepared to meet them there.  Give them a soft place to land.  If they spend most of the session testing your boundaries, then we’ve got a typical kid on our hands.  So don’t sweat it.  Join in with fun.  We’re going to get those beautiful shots.

One of the things I absolutely love about these photographs is the kinetic energy.  Nothing (and no one) is standing still.  They were constantly moving and shuffling around, showing their bonds with their siblings and their mom.  It was 100% play, and I was there for it.