Photographing newborns is nothing like photographing children.  I don’t have to make silly faces, chase a fast moving toddler around or blow bubbles and bribe with candy.  It’s another whole unique art, and I will be the first to tell you that it’s extremely difficult.  I remember back to almost two years ago when my good friends Heather and Vinny had their first child.  It was before I had ever shot any newborns.  I was drawn to so many newborn photographer’s blogs as inspiration and had the mindset that–wow. . . that’s so easy! i can do that!  you just get the baby to sleep and stick it in some props and you can’t go wrong.  piece of cake!

Ha.

When Heather delivered her baby, I asked her to bring Grace over so I could try out my hand at the “easy”  art of newborn photography.  Well–it’s a good thing she wasn’t paying me, because I definitely learned a valuable lesson that day.  Photographing newborns is not a piece of cake.  They cry.  The squirm.  They are hard to move around if they aren’t fully 100% conked out.  They eat a lot.  They get mad at you.  They pee and poop all over.  They turn very red while they are mad at you.

Since then, I have slowly tiptoed my way into newborn photography.  I haven’t done an incredible amount of sessions–it’s a scary venture.  You really only get one shot at it.  It’s not like a two year old that you can have come back to the studio in a couple weeks if they are having a bad day.  It’s a newborn.  And a newborn is only a newborn once.  Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph a little boy, who was ten days old.  I won’t pretend like the session was easy–it was hard work. But what an awesome privilege to be able to capture the first days of a little baby’s life–This family will look at these pictures in eighteen years when it’s time for him to graduate from high school.  And one of these pictures may end up on a slideshow at his wedding.  In thirty years, one of these images may be used when comparing the similarities between him and his own little son.

Truly, my job is a privilege.  And I am grateful for this opportunity.