Melissa Aldrich

This family focused newborn photos Greenville SC session is one of my favorites! Looking to book your own? Click here or read on!

Lauren, Taylor, Harrison, and Mims adore one another. This session really showcases their bond!

Harrison was, of course, a typical two-year-old. He didn’t want to do anything that wasn’t his idea.  But it was also clear that Lauren and Taylor had talked with him about the session expectations with Harrison.  I give directions for this technique for preparing big siblings for a session in my preparing for a newborn session video. And when a parent “front loads” the session like this, I can usually win over any two-year-old. They know who I am, the photos that we’re going to take together, and, I promise, even little kids do well if they can!  Having the expectations up front helps your two-year-old know what is expected.

Harrison agreed to “test my camera” with some fun shots with his bunny which you can see in the collage above.  And from there we played some games. I always ask your two-year-old for consent to be in a picture.  If they say no, I carry on with posing mom and dad. Eventually being ignored will make a two-year-old curious and then I can just ask if they want to hug mom or if dad can pick him up and tickle them.  Eventually, with Harrison, we even moved on to letting him old Mims on his own.  Two is never easy at a session, but I promise that telling them about me, trusting the process, and remaining calm during the session usually means your two-year-old will surprise you with some beautiful images!

After Harrison was finished with family images he was rewarded with a date with daddy! This gives him something to look forward to and also gives mama a little rest in the studio for the rest of the session. I highly recommend this strategy!

Little Mims was also a delight, staying asleep for family focused newborn photos Greenville SC , waking long enough for some cute open-eye images, and letting me pose after a good meal in the studio.  It was a delight to get to know Lauren during this time.  Click the video slideshow below to see the whole session! You can also view other session videos by clicking here.

Thinking about booking your own family focused newborn photos Greenville SC? I’d love to have you in the studio.  Click here to tell me about your dream session.

Ever wondered if what happens if if have to take awake newborn photos Hendersonville NC? What if your baby just doesn’t sleep?  Normally, I get at least 20 minutes of sleep from your baby no matter their age.  I always recommend a warm bath and a game of keep the baby awake before a session, but sweet Rita May has three siblings that made that really hard for mama!  In consequence, she was awake nearly her whole session and here’s a slide show of the beautiful set of images we captured.

Looking to book your session?  Click here to contact me now.

As you can see, open eye images can be beautifully styled and truly capture you little one’s curiosity. You don’t have to be afraid of awake newborn photos Hendersonville NC. That said, we did get a few minutes of shut eye for some of these sweet poses.  I love the dramatic light and how well these transfer to black and white.  Which is your favorite? Color or black and white?  I edit both of each image chosen for my client’s collection so you never have to choose!

Rita May is named after her paternal grandmother who left this world a little too soon. Therefore we had to capture these sweet images with Rita’s grandmothers first shoes.  It’s an unusual request, but I love the sentimental feel of connecting these two strong women across time.

Rita’s mama has been my friend since college so I actually did this session at her home.  This is not something I typically offer, but was a beautiful way to catch up.  I spent the night as she lives over an hour away and captured most of these images in the wee hours of the night.  In the morning, we did family pictures with Rita’s three older brothers, Henry, Graham, and Theo.  These boys were so fun!  I loved taking them on a walk and getting to know them in this extended time together.

Looking to document a Large Family Newborn Photography Greenville SC? It can be intimidating with young older siblings, but I make it fun by playing tag, high fives, and random animal noises. I also send parents a video teaching parents how to prepare big siblings for the session. It’s amazing what some simple play acting and communicating expectations can do to help your 2-5 year old (or older!) feel prepared and at ease with at my Greenville SC Photography Studio. Even so, we’re going to capture a few images with kiddos just being kids. Honestly, they’re some of my favorite! Scroll down to see all the images we captured of the HT Family with Alexander (4), Victoria (2), and Natalie (newborn!).  Or click here if you’d like to book your own Large Family Newborn Photography Greenville SC! Victoria took a little bit of time to warm up to me, but Alexander was all in from the moment we met. I was running back and forth racing these two more than they appeared in front of the camera. We were all exhausted flying them back to couch. In fact, Mama Nicole was worried we might not have captured any sibling or family images at all. Imagine her delight at capturing these fun memories of the siblings together, but also expressing their own unique personalities! After family images, I unveiled my toy corner for Alexander and Victoria. Few kiddos can resist the appeal of the Little People Zoo ;-). This gave us a few moments to catch our breaths and really celebrate the gift that tiny Natalie is. She is an invitation to rest and a gift of joy.

When parent pictures were over, daddy Matthias took Victoria and Alexander to daycare so that Nicole and I could enjoy some quiet time with Natalie. She rocked the rest of her session! I love every set up we planned so much. Rick wood tones, creams, and baby on black make for a beautifully timeless sesion.