This little guy gets the “sleeper of the week” award!  Mom and dad arrived for their session last Thursday and said they followed ALL of the advice in our welcome material to prepare baby for the session.  I can’t even tell you how happy I am when I hear that.  It always means we are going to have a fabulous session!  Why do I tell you this parents… because I want every session to be this amazing!  L slept like a champ from start to finish.  Not to mention, he was crazy adorable.  We created all mom and dad had envisioned for portraits… and then some!  Thanks for such a great morning M family.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I’ve been having so much fun traveling on-location lately.  For a long time, our studio schedule was too full for me to leave for a day, but now, with Mariah here shooting along with me, we can head out on the road to photograph families in their homes.  One of the most important factors for an in-home portrait session is light.  When Shaun asked mom-to-be A if they had good light in their home, she said, “yes, I think so, we have a lot of windows.”  Well, she wasn’t kidding!  Their home had more light than our studio.  I was in heaven.  Between the decor, the amazing light, and the gorgeous family I had to work with, it is no wonder everyone exclaims “these look like they came out of a magazine!”  The best part about photographing newborns in their home is finding creative ways to use the space.  I get a little bored after a long winter in the studio, so it is always refreshing to get out and do something different.  I loved shooting with my wide angle lens, using the dining room table as our set and capturing a little bit of Boston in all of our portraits.  Plus, the F family was so fun, I could have stayed all day.  I almost did!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Last week I was lucky enough to photograph four adorable newborn boys and it all started off with handsome baby R and his family.  I’ve known this family since photographing big brother H as a newborn just over a year ago.  H wasn’t so sure about the new little guy at first, but he sure was happy exploring the studio and hamming it up for my camera on his own!  With a few snacks, H gave us some sweet sibling portraits by the end of our family time.  Then, it was time for R to make his debut.  He too wanted to check out the studio rather than sleep the day away, but luckily I can get a newborn to sleep easier than I can get a toddler to sit still!  Mom had been wanting to do the branch shot for years so I was determined to pull it off… even if it meant a 6 image composite.  We even had dad pitch in to make it happen.  I think we nailed it!  I can’t wait to show you your full gallery, B family.  Enjoy your sneak peek.

Last week was filled with sweet and sleepy newborn baby boys!  T was the second newborn boy of our week and he was such a dream to photograph.  Mom and dad were so laid back and I could see how in love with their new little man they were.  T cuddled right up onto my bean bag and even gave me a few big smiles.  Who do you think he looks like when he smiles, mom or dad?  We kept our sets simple and timeless with a few nautical accents.  I loved our morning together!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Every time I see the L family, we leave saying “I wish we lived closer together!”  Mom and drove down from the North Shore of Boston once again for a session at our studio.  I am always so thankful they make the trip because they are the sweetest of clients, we always have an amazing session, and we truly count them as our friends here.  What a great job this is, being able to watch families grow and feeling like you get to be a small part of all of the good memories.  I couldn’t wait to meet the newest addition to the family.  Mom emailed me just a few days before our session and said “did you look at the forecast?”  Finally, a warm spring day for New England!  It went up into the high seventies, so we decided to take a few photos outdoors at the end of our session.  This spot is right on Narragansett Bay, very close to our new studio location!  While it was a gorgeous day inland, it was still a bit chilly for a newborn out by the coast.  The ideal time to try some newborn portraits outdoors is when it is up over 80 degrees.  We kept T wrapped up in a cuddly blanket and away from the wind and sun and managed to pull off some pretty adorable seaside pictures!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

There are sessions when I spend a whole hour just trying to get a big sibling in the same FRAME as their newborn brother or sister.  Not with this family!  Big sister A loved being in front of the camera and loved showering her new baby brother with kisses.  Newborn A was just as content as could be.  This session was especially fun to look forward to because I was let in on a little secret that no one besides the ultrasound tech knew… a BOY would be joining the family.  I could barely contain myself during our pre-session as mom talked about flowers and gardens and all along I knew this would be a session filled with blue!  I was sure I was going to slip and call him a “he.”  Finally, I could talk to mom again when the secret was out.  I am overjoyed looking at all of the sweet moments we captured of the W family welcoming their new baby boy.  Big sister rocked every possible sibling photo I could think of for this age and then she played so nicely for the rest of our session.  Newborn A rocked his individual portraits too, but he mostly just loved to be cuddled.  I can’t wait to show you the rest mom and dad!

I have been loving our Newborn and Family sessions lately.  Watching big siblings welcome a new baby into the world has to be one of the greatest moments in the story of a family.  I can see these photos being pulled out at high school graduations and on wedding days.  Of all of the photos from when my second daughter Grace was born, my favorites are the portraits I have of Giuliana holding her.  The wonder and joy on the faces of children as they love on their new baby is so beautiful!  We started our session full of family fun and then it was C’s turn to steal the show.  After all of the commotion, he was worn out!  He loved posing on the bean bag, and with some serious cluster feeding, he even slept like a champ for our last few sets.  Enjoy your sneak peek!  ~ Heidi

Our first baby girl was a bit of a surprise for Shaun and I.  We were a few months married and just 26 years old when we found out we were about to become parents.  Most of my girlfriends are just now getting married and starting their families.  I am overjoyed to watch them become mothers for the first time and sentimental thinking back on those first few days of motherhood.  There are some things in life that must be felt to be understood.  There is nothing in the world like holding your firstborn child.  Awe over the miracle of new life and creation envelopes your long nights and foggy days.  You feel at once completely extraordinary for bringing this new life into the world, and yet strangely connected to every other woman and all of humanity.  Every quiet moment, every tiny detail, every rise and fall of your newborn’s tiny chest is momentous.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I wish I could relive every teeny tiny newborn breath.  And I wish for everyone I know to know that joy.  Every mother does.

I was so thrilled to visit two of our college friends 2 weekends ago and meet their new baby boy.  As you can see, he is quite adorable.  I couldn’t wait to hold him, but I was also excited to be able to capture a few mementos of this time for their family.  Mom took all of my advice and worked hard so we could get a few sleepy shots while I was there.  I brought along my camera, one blanket, and a handful of hats.  We got baby T down to his birthday suit and took a few pics around the house.  It took all of 15 minutes!  You can even see my makeshift set up below.  Beautiful newborn photography can happen anywhere.  The beauty is found when you focus on the simplest of things… love

I hope you enjoy these portraits J and D.  Congratulations!

And here is a little behind-the-scenes for ya   See, it really can happen anywhere!

In teaching photography, I often get asked the question “what happens when the baby just won’t sleep?”  Well, that depends how you approach your session.  One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a photographer is to let the baby lead the way during a shoot.  Each baby is a unique little person.  Some are alert, some are sleepy.  Some love to be curled up, some love to be stretched out.  My favorite part of a newborn session is the beginning, when I get to know the baby.  I like figuring out what makes them tick and creating the session around what keeps them happy.  Baby L started our session wide awake.  He was so strong and had amazing eye control already.  I love creating portraits of newborns when they are awake just as much as I love the sleepy shots.  About an hour in, baby L finally fell asleep in my arms.  Parents usually say “I’m sorry they were so much work to get to sleep” but I assure you all, cuddling newborns to sleep is the best part of my job!  I loved my time snuggling L and once he drifted off, he rocked every sleepy shot we tried!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

Meet two of our newest baby-planners!  Mom is a photographer in Massachusetts and we hit it off instantly at her pre-session consultation a few weeks back.  I could have chatted with her all day.  In true photographer fashion, she shopped for some amazing hats for us to play with during our session.  C and C were born ready for photos.  They totally rocked their newborn portraits!  We even pulled off a portrait with both of them just hanging out in our sling.  Thanks for the great day V family.  I’m already excited for our next play date!  ~ Heidi