my new friend, meadow. { frost on flower }

The first time I met Meadow was while she was being born.  I assume she wasn't really aware of my presence and probably wasn't really yesterday either.. so maybe we haven't really met yet.  But there will be plenty of time for that in the future.  :)  Meadow Jane belongs to our friends Brooke & Scott.  You can read about their birth (and see some photos I took) on their blog, if you like.

This session was kind of refreshing - I didn't have to waste any time lugging my supplies around (newborn sessions are typically full of props and things) and didn't have to go through the formalities of familiarizing myself with a location and a new family.  I was able to photograph Meadow in my own backyard.  :)



We started out with the soft white fluffy cloud.  She spent a few minutes attempt to nurse it (it's really fluffy and in no way feels like a person) so Brooke nursed her before we tried again.  It did the trick and she was ready to go.









Summer babies are lucky - I love outdoor baby sessions.  The lack of clothes, even lighting, and greenery makes everything easier and a little better.





She was great at making faces.





And she didn't seem to mind being in a big wooden bowl.













We moved onto Olive's suitcase.. because how can you not put a baby in this lovely suitcase?



And she knew exactly what to do.  Can any other baby in a suitcase photo ever manage to top this one?  She's smiling.. in a suitcase.. That's just perfect.









We took a couple of minutes for family photos.



For being a photographer, Scott is surprisingly not so great at looking at the camera.  I think he kept watching Olive wander into some landscaping.  But that's ok.  :)





Welcome Meadow.  :)

a newborn little brother. { frost on flower }

It was a huge pleasure to photograph this little guy shortly after he was born.  I first started photographing his big sister about a year ago, for her one year photos.  She is the same age as Olive, within weeks, so they've always been really fun to check in with.  For her two year photos her mama was within weeks of giving birth so we squeezed in some cute belly related shots.

There was talk of a possible play date with Olive and big sister while we tended to the new guy's photos.. the session ended up being on a weekend morning though, so that wasn't necessary.  Olive was disappointed but enjoyed watching me edit these and was calling him by name when she would see him pop up on my screen.

It's wonderful following a family past only one session, especially for major events such as adding an entire new person into their family.  Welcome to the world little guy!  And thanks for letting me put you in bowls and baskets.  :)



His hat matched my blanket amazingly well.





I always have to capture some of the moments of mama's soothing their new littles ones during sessions.  Newborn photo sessions aren't all about perfect happy adorable squishy babies... they need some mama time in there, too.









Big sister popped in for a few photos, too.





Later we moved to the sofa where she was able to hold him for the first time - she did a really great job!  And we grabbed a few family group shots before being an older sister just became too much work and a cookie was needed.  I enjoyed a cookie also.  :)

newborn twins. { frost on flower }

Back in February I met these lovely little girls for the second time.  The first time I "met" them was when I photographed their mama and their older sister for a maternity session.  They booked the First Year Plus package with a maternity add on so I'll be seeing these little ones again soon.  Mama's maternity photos were lovely but she opted to keep them private.

As anyone who has had or been around a newborn baby probably can assume... newborn sessions can be quite challenging.  I provide a list of tips to help the session run smoothly but sometimes those tips don't work well for a family or sometimes the babies do whatever they please... because that's what babies do best.  My tips include the temperature of the space, how to be prepared, how to assist me in running the session, etc.

I set up our space and started with some larger formal family portraits before moving on to just the girls.

The girls weren't in the mood to sleep much during the session but for the few moments that they did we were able to capture some peaceful twin love.



As newborn girls often do, they each had their own custom made hats.





In general positioning one newborn baby isn't overly challenging, especially if they're sleepy, but position two usually means you just have to go with the flow and see where they end up.  But regardless of what happens, newborn babies are adorable and extra adorable when they're squished together.





I love the following photo because it captures what parenting twins can really be like.  Mom and dad both have a hand on one little one, attempting to console and calm her while the other becomes increasingly more upset and can sense that her parents are nearby but not tending to her own needs.  Twin parenting must be full of plenty of compromises - even with both sets of parent's hands around to help.





Their older sister had her newborn session at a Sears Portrait Studio two years ago.  The family was hoping to replicate the same style of photo so that they could all be placed somewhere together.



As it turns out their older sister had a bit of a center gradient in her photo's background so I later had to go back and edit these... but I much prefer the solid black background.





They were hungry.





And of course we had to snap a few photos of older sister all dressed up for the formal family portrait.  I typically shoot family photos in a more lifestyle setting but this family preferred formal photos - we used the same space that we did for the maternity session but hung up one of my many fabric props to use as a backdrop to change things up a bit.

a tiny december baby.

Here are some of my favorites from a newborn session two weeks ago. I bet she looks much different by now!























I had the pleasure of photographing this mama in the fall.

As always feel free to leave me feedback here or over at my photography website, frost on flower.