Posts Tagged: Newborn Photography
Leo Orozco newborn photos
“Babies smile in their sleep because they’re listening to the whispering of angels.” – Author unknown
This little angel is Leo Orozco and we had the pleasure of not only photographing his parents – Ashley and Oscar – for their engagement and wedding portraits – but his first portraits just about a week after he was born in April.
And yes, he is feeling his developing bicep.
“His little hands stole my heart,
his little feet ran away with it.” – Joshua Riley
It’s going to be so much fun watching this multi-cultural little man grow up surrounded by his loving family and the strong community within their church.
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, 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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
newborn portraits | what really happens?
Earlier this week, I wrote about how setting realistic expectations for your newborn portrait session is important. And it is, but don’t let that deter you from scheduling and having a portrait session when they are so young. Some of the most beautiful portraits we take are not always of brides, but of the newest creatures to join us on this spinning planet. More importantly: we’re ready! We know what we’re doing and we’re ready to go. Don’t worry!
So, what really happens during newborn photo sessions?
Well, for starters, the sessions don’t flow from pose to pose and set to set, as I’m sure you’ve already imagined. We’re dealing with fresh little beings who have been breathing on their own for only about 10 days. They don’t know about lighting, where to look or to remain still, because they are little tubes. Breast milk or formula goes in and poop comes out. In the middle they stare, cry and sleep.
A newborn session can take up to four hours. During that span, our camera is not up with the shutter clicking away, because, as mentioned, newborns babies are entirely unpredictable. We never know when or how often they will cry, sleep, eat or need a diaper change and all those things tend to take the most amount of time during our session. A fraction of the 4 hours is spent capturing images, but don’t worry, we tend to get the magic because we know what to look for and when to seize a moment.
To get those cute cuddly curled up newborn photos, our portrait session needs to take place within the first 10 days after birth. An exception to this would be premies and Moms who are recovering from a c-section. While there are breaks for diaper changes, feedings and tears, newborns at this early, early stage, do tend to be more receptive to cuddled and curled poses and will drift off to sleep while we orbit around them.
Inspiration & Props
At our Pixels studio, we have lots of props, wraps, hats, bows and head bands. New parents have enough to think about without having to bring a lot of extra stuff with them. You don’t need to bring any special outfits or props unless there is something specific you want incorporated. We ask that parents send us photos of the nursery or any other part of the house where they will be hanging the portraits so that we can coordinate props to match. All of our studio props and wardrobe items are cleaned after each session.
Studio Space
Our studio is also clean, cozy and extra warm for newborns. We have a convenient changing table and if you’re a nursing Mom, we’re prepared for that as well with a clean boppy and a private comfy chair for you. Ryan and I have been doing this for a long while and have been prepared since the beginning. Now that we have our son Finley, I’m proud of the accommodations we provide for newborn portrait sessions.
Here are a few tips and suggestions that I email our clients prior to the session:- Give your baby a bath and lather him or her in lotion and bring the lotion with you. This will help condition any peeling skin.
- Keep your baby awake before the session if possible. We know this can often be tricky during the car ride, but do your best.
- We want you to bring us a hungry baby! When you arrive he/she will be ready for food and a nap. Those sleeping angels make the best portraits. Try not to feed for a few hours before arrival. Feeding when you arrive at the studio will ensure that he/she will drift off to sleep and be most cooperative to being posed and photographed.
- If you are nursing, there is a list of foods that we recommend you avoid for 48 hours before your session that will help keep your baby from being gassy or fussy during the session.
The most important thing to us is that you get photos of your sweet child that you will cherish. That only happens when we make you feel comfortable, free to move around depending on what the baby needs and completely supported. Believe me, you are!
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, 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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Fatherhood ~ portraits and musings
“Beyond the need for sleep, my frustrations come from not knowing what makes him cry. He can be clean and fed and still fussy, and it’s hard as a guy to not be able to fix it. Patience is still top of the list for what we need for both parenting and photographing OUR newborn. You’ve got to be ready at any moment for that one thing to be amazing and on your toes when its time to capture it, whether with a camera or with your memory which will last just as long or longer. Having cameras to capture is great, but sometimes just being in the moment is way better.”
It’s hard – even when sleeping in ridiculously small increments – we’re drowning in grace and gratitude and constant epiphany. This parenting thing surpasses every other thing we’re doing. To Daddies out there – we love you.
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, 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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
pixels on paper’s favorite newborn portraits (well some of them)
Dr. Seuss would have been 112 years old on March 2 and “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” remains one of the most given books to kids of all ages. When we looked over the newborn photos we’ve taken to chose our favorites, I kept thinking about their perfect faces. The world hasn’t happened to them yet and THEY have not happened to the world. YET. So, here’s to Dr. Seuss, the great and wondrous unknown, and the impact these little creatures will have on the world. “KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!”
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And then things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
On and on you will hike,
And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
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.
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.