Posts Tagged: creative baby portraits
newborn pictures of sawyer jane at 2 weeks charm the pants off the jury
The cat who ate the canary. Seriously, she just knocked off her 3rd bank. Or more likely, her minions did it and just called to let her know that the funds have been successfully transferred into her account off the Cayman Islands. And there’s a cell phone somewhere buried in all of that cotton. She’s sittin’ on it. And laughing at all of us. LOOK AT THAT FACE!!! Who would convict her? Not me.This perfect little imp, this little stealer of hearts, is Sawyer Jane. Great name, right? We took these photos in our portrait studio in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and the truth about this photo is that I had no hand in getting her to look right at me and grin like that. I just let the lens do it’s thing and knew when to pull the trigger. Her grandmother and mom, Jamie both marveled at that shot above and I just smiled, shook my head and said, “I had nothing to do with it. God is better than I deserve and he equips me with what I need every day.”
So here’s a little thing about taking portraits of newborns: you have to have lots and lots of patience. The photographer has to have it, the parents have to have it. It’s just the way it is. An average newborn session can take 3-4 hours and not all of that time is spent in front of the camera. It’s mostly time spent feeding, changing, burping, soothing, and getting the little one back to sleep.
What always sticks with me and makes me smile and empathize is that every parent thinks their baby performed terribly or won’t show well in the finished photos. They worry that their baby cried too much or didn’t show personality or whatever. And a phrase I’ve heard 1000 times if I’ve heard it once is, “we just hope that you got one or two good ones.” I hear it all the time. The fun part is that they show back up for our PreView saying that very same thing right up until the moment I start the slideshow. They’re overcome with emotion in seeing all the great photos of their sweet baby. Jamie, along with every other mom, has that moment of “awwwwww. Oh my gosh, LOOK!!!” To say it’s rewarding is this week’s understatement.
Jamie and Dad Joe were newlyweds and then – BAM! – this little robber showed up. I love photos of parents cradling their newborns, especially the first born. The whole thing is rife with excitement, awe, natural worry, tenderness and all the fresh outrageousness that teeny humans bring with them to the world. I say this a lot but I mean it every time: we love watching the growth of newlyweds into solid marriages, marriages into families, babies into kids and the multiplication of love in each of those transitions. We’ve added Sawyer Jane, Jamie and Joe to that category.
They say that only the guilty sleep well. Heh, heh.
We’d love to photograph your sweet lamb, whether he or she is on the lamb or not. Call 336-990-0080 or email mail@pixelsonpaper.biz and please view other baby blogs and our website.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
Brock turns one and celebrates in our outdoor portrait garden
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” We scheduled this outdoor shoot months in advance and planned a large number of portraits with Master Brock to celebrate his first trip around the sun. And Mother Nature shook her head and said, “sorry, guys.” It poured rain.
We first met sweet Brock as a newborn in 2014 when his parents Becky and Jackson brought him from South Carolina to our Wilkesboro studio. He wasn’t as big as a minute, but grinned in one of our first, and favorite, shots of him. We saw them again for his 6 month session and he was even smilier. That hasn’t changed. He’s a happy kid.
Check out Brock’s mini work boots!!
“mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………. SPRINKLES.”
Because we don’t pull a switch-a-roo with families who make arrangements months ahead and then travel to us, we LOVE having the backup options we do. These outdoor photos of Brock were taken on our covered front porch while the rain was coming down. When there was a slight break in the rain, we used a wagon rather than plopping in onto the wet ground. The lush green of the yard ultimately made a perfect backdrop for this little dude in his plaid shirts and work boots.
For those who don’t know us – YET – we converted a piece of property and restored a farm house that is 162 years old. We’ve spent hours, days and weeks on every square inch of the studio both inside and out, creating spaces everywhere than can be used for photos. We have even more plans for creating portrait scenes in our outdoor portrait garden for 2016! Whether you have a little one or two (or 3) you want photoed outside, or creative maternity portraits shot, or are newly engaged, please get in touch. We’d love to get to know you and work with you whether it’s at our studio or at a location you love.
newborn portraits taken in the comfort of home
So much can be translated through a simple black and white photograph. There’s something about them that conveys more with less.
We love photographing in color and black and white depending on the setting, the subjects, the mood and desired results. We didn’t take every single image during this shoot in black and white, but my favorites just happen to be those. When you take away the color, there isn’t less life, there is actually more. The distractions are removed and you have a more documentary feel, more emotion. Your eyes go to the subject, place and story. And because most of us have family photos in black and white of grandparents, there is something universal and timeless about the look.
We joined parents Anita and Mitch, big brother Rohan and grandfather Bhushan at their home in Boone, NC for an intimate family photo session to celebrate their newest member, Anya. She landed in warm arms, surrounded by those waiting for and excited by her.
In-home sessions are less about posed photography and more about capturing a family’s lifestyle. Images tend to be candid moments shared in the home during daily life and interactions with each other. I try to focus on emotion and finding moments of connection. Babies, newborns especially, are sort of mesmerizing because they’re so new. The world was one place and then – BOOM – it changed with a new member of the human race. Molecularly, chemically, socially, emotionally, naturally – the planet shifted.
I loved watching the way Mitch held Anya in his lap and talked through her crying and comforting her. Daddy love is real. Another sweet moment was when mom Anita held Anya and softly explained to Rohan why he needed to be gentle with his little sister. Rohan gently explored Anya’s fingers and toes while she was in his lap and locked eyes with her when she was wide awake and taking in her new world. The entire family gathered together on the couch and read a book together (mostly in an effort to get Rohan to sit still long enough for a family photo). It was so beautiful and simple that the black and white just seemed to capture the day.
We don’t do too many in-home newborn sessions because there is no control over the environment, what natural light is available vs. the lighting we can transport, backdrops and props, temperature, etc. But I bend to families in situations such as a C-section or tough schedules or when a baby’s health prevents them from coming to me. I’m more than happy in those cases to go to them. While I let parents know that I may not be able to capture what I can create in the studio, it’s a fun challenge and often the elements of home and comfort shine through. This was true of the Parry family and sweet, sweet Anya. We look forward to watching her grow up.
one year in the life of a one year old girl – 1st birthday lemonade stand (and the vendor is a diva…)
It started here. She hit the planet in a cute bomb. We added the feathered head band and props, but she brought the pout, the languid body language, the laser-focused eyes and bored expression. Someone 20 times her age could never have pulled off that look without some coaching. Miss Ivy would have shaken it out of her sleeve – if only she’d had one.
And then THIS happened. 6 months passed and her cuteness turned to a pensive longing for a purpose in life. Just look at her expression. What on earth is she dreaming about? What is she plotting? Or is she remembering the good times …. all 6 months of them?
And this.
Then Ivy crept up on her first birthday and her parents, Kim & Justin Myers, had a plan. They designed a lemonade stand themed birthday party complete with stand, sign and big jar of lemons. When we heard their plan and saw cell phone photos, I insisted that we also use it in Ivy’s one year portrait session. We moved from our indoor portrait studio to our outdoor portrait garden in order to grab the best lighting and have fun with all the props. The kid is a natural.
Quick aside: Please know that we don’t mind if parents bring their own props. We want you to get as much use out of them as possible and coordinating is always fun. Ultimately, I bought the lemonade stand set up. It had to be done. It was just too cute and I know some of you parents out there can picture your babies and kids playing in it for their upcoming portrait sessions.
This kid is all about pink AND sugar AND dress up. The tutus have become sort of expected with little girls and with Ivy, the headbands. She also loves pop music, but don’t we all? The lemonade stand theme was perfect for her personality. You sort of want to dip a big ladle into a bowl and come up with this little creature floating in pink sugar and tart pulp.
Still Life with Ivy & Cake
Year one is in the books. Actually, it is. We created a custom photo book for the Myers to enjoy, share and show Ivy when she’s older. We had five (5) sessions with Ivy during her first year, and we are already planning and have scheduled year number 2.
8 month old’s studio baby portraits + a little “dress up”
We photographed Madelyn’s (well, Maddie’s) newborn portraits earlier this year and somehow she’s managed to get cuter, her expressions more animated, her eyes more blue and her parents, Valerie and Jason, more delighted. In fact, they should probably just keep us on retainer.
Her newborn session was a complete joy, because she’s just so perfect. I say that knowing the bias is evident, so full disclosure: this little lamb is my second cousin.
Her mouth is almost always open, either in the biggest smile or because she’s chattering away. I foresee a lucrative contract in her future …. and most likely with an opera company or any advertiser looking for a child who expresses a constant, persistent joy.
Her eyes are unbelievable and we’ve dubbed them the McGuire eyes. Those big blues are hereditary. Her dad and granddad, my own dad and I ALL have them. Suffice it to say that photographing her is an exercise in seeing how many photos are NOT close ups. And those cheeks! Those cheeks power that smiling and laughing mouth.
Of course, we get tapped to photograph our own friends and family, but we would consider it a pleasure to photograph yours. For those of you new to our blog, please know that we love to photograph newborn babies, infants, toddlers, teens, families, seasonal portraits, newly engaged couples, weddings, bridals – you get the idea. We have an indoor portrait studio, an outdoor portrait garden and a variety of places, props and ideas to share. Please see our work and give us a call. We would love to create heirlooms for your family.