Jul
30
2014
As always, this image is a composite of multiple images. Baby was always supported by a parent’s hands.
Meet Mara. At just over two weeks old this tiny baby girl was a little over 6 pounds. Mara was a tiny little peanut.
Mara insisted on being awake for about half of her session. But it was my favorite kind of awake: content and curious. So we did a bunch of set ups to capture her pretty dark eyes.
My favorite images are the ones of Mara awake in her pretty mama’s arms. You can tell she looks so much like her pretty mama.
I love the juxtaposition of tiny babies in their parents hands. So this image of sweet Mara is definitely one of my favorites for the session. It’s so perfect that I love it in both color and black & white. Which is your favorite?
After about an hour of just staring at my camera contently, I swaddled Mara tightly and rocked her until she feel asleep. I love how parents trust me to snuggle their new ones to sleep. It’s such a sweet time each session for me.
My favorite set up with Mara is in this little wooden salad bowl.
With a diameter of 13.5 inches, this bowl is only a cozy home for baby’s under 8 pounds. So it’s always a special treat for me to be able to use this bowl! Mara just snuggled right in and dozed sweetly while I took as many angles as possible.
Mara was still so curly in that crucial 7-14 day period where they sleep soundly and retain the flexibility of womb memory.
Would you like beautiful images to help you remember your tiny little newborn girl? Contact me today to set up an appointment: my calendar books up quickly so don’t hesitate!
Jul
24
2014Meet Colin just over a week new and a little over 8 pounds. I loved his beautiful coloring. The smiles he kept sharing with me completely melted my heart!
He arrived to the studio awake and content so we were able to capture some awake images on my chocolate Flokati rug before we topped him off with a bottle of pumped milk. After that he drifted off to sleep.
His two year old sister Brooklyn kissed his sweet cheeks and loved cuddling her new baby. Like most two year olds, she wasn’t very sure of me. However, she followed directions so well I could hardly believe it!
His mommy Johana and daddy Ron take fitness very seriously, believing that a strong body helps keep a strong spirit. So we took a few images featuring Colin against his father’s strong chest. I love the contrast of manhood with the softness of this sweet baby.
If I could just photograph one thing for the rest of my life it would be parents with their babies. The emotions that overwhelm you during the first few weeks of your baby’s life are just incredible. Giving clients an image of the pure magic of these poetic first moments is really my passion. To show each baby how much they were loved and wanted from this very first moment…. oh, it’s such a gift to be able to share these images.
Brooklyn and Colin are my niece and nephew and I look forward to seeing them grow up. Thank you for letting me capture your family again, Ron and Johana.
Interested in booking a session for your newborn? Start here see a video of me posing sweet babies and read a bit about my philosophy.
Jul
16
2014
From the moment I met Chrissy for coffee at the Stomping Grounds in Greer, I knew we would be a great fit. Her infectious laughter and pretty red dress brought out her personality. She was so excited to find a new option for date night complete with board games and both coffee and wine. Chrissy is adventurous, too, we met at 38 weeks and she was headed to the beach that weekend, content to deliver wherever the Lord had for her.
We talked for a bit about which product would fit her needs the best and although she really loved the albums, she also had a bare wall and an obsession with quirky giant clocks that needed the balance of a good portrait as wall art. She settled on canvas.
Chrissy and Chad chose to do a pure simple outdoor newborn mini session. The wanted to give their older children Emily and Evan some space to roam and capture them without the formal feel of the studio. I think they made the very best choice for their family. During a feeding, I brought the two of them down to the pier for some individual shots. Emily and Evan were also able to roam and throw rocks into Lake Robinson with daddy as we posed Eli alone. I may have also treated them both to some pretty awesome suckers for their fantastic ability to follow directions!
This is the Image chosen as wall art from this outdoor newborn photography session
These little smiles are always my favorite!
Although we photographed this family during witching hour for a newborn and golden light hour for a photographer (sunset), Eli was super kind to settle for a few outdoor images. I am in love with the results. I’m now pretty sure that photographing newborns outside might be right up there with photographing newborns in their parents arms as my favorite things to do.
About two weeks after our photography session, I came to Chrissy’s home for her design session. We spent a little more time talking over what she really wanted and then sorted and resorted through her favorite images from the session. Chrissy chose to create her own collection and purchased all the digitals as well as a 20×30 canvas of the sibling image above.
We also spent the tail end of our design session watching the 5 Languages of Babies that helped me learn to soothe babies for my sessions. Eli was having a pretty difficult day and after I had worked a few good burps out of him, they may have been a little sad to see me go 😉
Chrissy, Chad, Emily, Evan, and Eli, thank you for being such a pleasure to photograph. I hope to see you guys again soon!
Jul
02
2014Last month I had the pleasure of being the classic Greenville SC newborn baby photographer for Anna Beth.
Anna Beth helped me and Colie Photos create videos that show what a newborn photographer does. You can watch that finished video below.
Interested in booking a newborn session? Contact me today, I’d love to meet you for coffee and hear your baby’s story.
Anna Beth was a little pixie of a newborn.
She smiled and smiled every time Nicole or I rocked her. That’s what I’m laughing at in the opening scene of my video: Anna B’s silly noises and huge grins.
Anna Beth was sweet enough to smile for my camera as well.
Though at just over 5 pounds she made me work to find those beautiful back wrinkles!
I loved her on this purple with this gorgeous tie back from the lovely Cricket + Bean.
Our second model for the morning, Gideon, arrived just as I finished feeding Anna Beth a bottle. Anna Beth was wide awake at that point, but Gideon was sound asleep.
I haven’t had the pleasure of photographing twins since I took my newborn workshop last summer, so I asked if we could pose them as twins.
And so we did! Ironically, these two share the same birthday!
Here’s Anna Beth all snuggled up to Gideon falling back to sleep.
It’s amazing how having a snuggle buddy just soothes a baby back to sleep.
These two sweeties were by far the best sleepers Nicole and I had ever photographed. We could not have asked for better babies to help us make this video.
This little girl just keep smiling over and over. I think she liked Gideon 😉
Beth, thank you so much for allowing Nicole and I the privilege of photographing Anna. I hope you enjoy the photos and the videos of her for years to come.
Jun
25
2014Today I want to lift the veil for you a little. Here’s a big secret:
Most Posed Images of Newborns that Look Impossible Are Impossible
Those Images are Photoshop trickery of the eye.
A Safe Photoshop Composite of a Popular Newborn Pose
Quiet Graces Photography, as a safe Greenville SC Newborn Baby Photographer, I care more about your little one than the any image I want to create.
If you’re uncomfortable with pose or if your baby expresses discomfort in a pose, I will never push for that pose. Your baby is worth more than “getting the shot”.
I have been in the photography industry long enough to have seen some scary things.
There are crazy YouTube videos about how to get the pose above (called the “Frog Pose”) without the the parent’s hands on the baby. The baby “balances” there for an awful moment and my heart sinks to the floor watching. A baby’s head is 1/3 of it’s birth weight. There are no muscles on a newborn strong enough to hold a head up: not in the arms or the neck.
There are images circulated every year at Easter of babies lying in glass vases full of jelly beans or Easter eggs. I’ve seen images of babies lying on piles of glass Christmas ornaments. Glass! Glass can break. Glass can cut.
I’ve seen babies lifted 2-3 feet in the air on tree branch for beautiful hanging images in wraps or crocheted stork pouches. Or a baby placed precariously on a stool with an over enthusiastic 2 year old sibling “loving” on him. Or on bicycles or motorcycles or wooden swings. Falls could happen. It’s always better to do these images as a Photoshop composite. And if you a see a photographer advertising these types of images, it’s always best to ask if they are composites before hiring them. Most of these things can be done well in Photoshop, but the inexperienced newborn photographer may or may not know the ccorrect process.
Picking a Safe Greenville SC Newborn Baby Photographer
Please ask any newborn photographer who has these unsafe/impossible looking images on her website if they were performed as Photoshop Composites.
If they hesitate in their answer, choose a different photographer.
As an artist: we have visions in our heads about where we would like to be and there is a learning curve before our images and posing reach our visions. But a photographer who is claiming to be a professional and doesn’t know how to safely learn while keeping your little love comfortable should be avoided.
Are you a photographer or parent who wants to learn more about Newborn Safety? Check out Learn Shoot Inspires Newborn Safety Week Posts.
