I love it when my friends ask me to take their family photos! We traveled over to Whidbey Island for this cute family session. I photographed their baby when he was a newborn and it was an honor to be asked back to take their family photos again.
What to Wear for your Photo Session {Seattle Family Photographer}
Are you holding back on booking family photos because you feel overwhelmed with picking outfits for your whole family? It’s a common concern but I am here to help. For one, all my clients have access to my online styling service. This will help make choosing your outfits a breeze, but here are some tips to get you started:
Mama, pick your outfit first. You’re the one that likely wants this session more than anyone else so pick something you feel not only beautiful in, but comfortable too.
Once you’ve chosen your outfit, choose your color pallet based on that. If you have a pattern, pull two different colors from it to dress the rest of your family. If you’re wearing a solid, pick two other colors that will compliment it.
Don’t be afraid to mix patterns, just limit it to two different patters with some solids too.
Accessorize! Especially in cooler months. Beanies, scarves, chunky sweaters all look great.
Don’t forget footwear. Brightly colored running shoes can ruin a perfectly coordinated outfit. Go for neutral footwear so it doesn’t clash with the rest of your clothes.
Don’t be afraid to run your selections passed your photographer. Most are happy to help!
A Beautiful Golden Hour Family Session {Edmonds Family Photographer}
This beautiful family returned for another session. It’s always such an honor to photograph families as they grow.
A New Family of Three {Everett Lifestyle Photographer}
Welcome to the world little Theo!
A Favorite Family Returns {Everett Family Photographer}
I really can’t describe how much it means to me when families return year after year after year. I photographed this beautiful family for the first time many years ago and it was my very first lifestyle newborn session, the very session that got me hooked on lifestyle. After that, I stopped offering posed newborn sessions. It was such a big turning point in my photography journey. Fast forward a bit and now I get to see this family grow every year. It’s been such an honor to photograph them through all their changes.
Welcoming a New Baby Girl {Seattle Newborn Photographer}
It’s always such an honor when a family trusts me to capture their precious memories as their family grows. This sweet family welcomed baby number three and their session couldn’t have been any more beautiful!
Tips for Photographing Your Own Newborn {Seattle Newborn Photographer}
I always, always, always recommend booking a newborn photographer. Whether it’s your first baby or tenth, you will still be tired and sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to get the perfect image and then it takes what could have been a fun exercise, and makes it stressful. Not only that, it’s really hard to do self portraits with your baby. It’s so worth having a professional take your newborn pictures. That way you can relax and not stress about getting all the images. However, if you do want to have fun taking your own newborn pictures, here are my top tips, as well as examples of my own newest babe.
Don’t try to do it all in one day. You have a newborn for a month. There is no harm in breaking it up over several days.
Start with images in the hospital. Focus on details that you’ll only find in the hospital such as the plastic bassinet, the hospital bracelets, the little hat, and the hospital blanket.
Set the scene before you get baby to sleep. If you know you want to photograph your baby in the bassinet, set it all up and get your camera ready before baby drifts off to sleep. If you know there’s a certain sheet you want in there, put it in there. Get your camera out and ready to go. Get baby dressed in the outfit/swaddle/hat etc that you want them in. Then you can feed or rock your baby to sleep. Once they drift off, put them in position and snap away.
Use swaddle blankets. There are so many beautiful swaddle blankets out there now. Buy one or two favorites and utilize these as much as possible. They look beautiful in images and most babies are calm and sleep well when swaddled.
If your baby doesn’t like to sleep when not being held, photograph them in the arms of their other parent, grandparents, siblings etc. You will treasure these images anyway.
Hand off your camera to someone else and make sure you are photographed with baby too.
Make sure you get the little details such as umbilical cord stump, feet, and lips.
Move furniture around if you have to. Our crib sits in a super dark corner with hardly any natural light. I knew I wanted images of my baby in the crip while he was still tiny so I moved the whole crib closer to the window so I could get the image without it being too dark.
Turn off overhead lighting. Natural light is your best friend.
Ditch the baggy baby clothes. In order to keep the focus on baby, don’t dress them up in fancy outfits. Swaddles and plain color onesies photograph the best.
Good luck and enjoy photographing your own little one.
Welcome Baby Finn {Seattle Newborn Photographer}
If you’ve been following my work, you may recognize this sweet family from just a couple of short months ago. Back in February, their newborn daughter’s session was the last session I did just 5 days before my own baby was born. I was so happy to get their session done in time because from the very first email, I just knew I had to photograph this family. After waiting several years, they were finally parents to their sweet daughter through the gift of adoption. You can check out their first session here. In a beautiful turn of events, they became parents again just 3 months later to their beautiful baby boy, Finn. Here is their love story continued.
Welcome to the World Lois {Seattle Newborn Photographer}
Coming back from maternity leave is always a little stressful. I worry that I’ll be rusty and I’ll forget something or forget how to direct families, but thankfully, this first session back was so easy and relaxed. This sweet family welcomed their first baby over Easter and it was such an honor to be invited into their home as they adjusted to their new roles as parents. They are doing such a beautiful job with sweet Lois and I hope they will cherish these photos for years to come.
Introducing Theo {Seattle Newborn Photographer}
It’s hard to believe little Theo joined us 7 weeks ago. The time has flown by. He still feels so new but it’s like he’s been a part of our family forever. I can’t imagine life without him. I love documenting babies in the hospital. It is such a special, but short time. I always try to keep these “Fresh 48” sessions as authentic as possible. I want my families to always remember what those first couple of days felt like. I try to include details you’ll only see in the hospital - hospital bracelets, hats, blankets. It was no different photographing my own sweet baby. I haven’t been able to do any Fresh 48 sessions due to Covid, so getting to do my own after a year of not doing any felt really special. I can’t wait to start offering these again! For now, here is my own little one, Theodore.
