Newborn

Jennifer and Jeremy welcomed James William earthside on at 6:38am on November 4th, 2018. His name holds so much meaning, named after two of his grandfathers who passed away within days of each other earlier this year. Family is so important to Jennifer and Jeremy, that James William was exactly the blessing they needed to honor their loved ones and hold them a little closer to their hearts . . .

The last time I did a newborn session for my cousin, Amanda, I was just starting out in photography, still building my portfolio, a new mom myself with another one already on the way. Here we are just over two years later, and I got to meet sweet baby Adelyn. 

This little man was born three years ago, as of last Friday. It’s still hard for me to grasp that. I can still clearly envision the days and hours leading up to his debut into this world, and still feel all of the feelings that I felt during that time. To say having children turned my world upside down would be an understatement. And yes, I know it’s a little cliche, but it’s true. I look back on who I was before kids and wonder how on earth I didn’t get more done, how I was not more focused and I marvel at the things that I thought were important. That’s not to say that I didn’t try back then, it’s just that I didn’t know what I was capable of until I had to do it all with two little diversions in my life, every single day.

But this story that I’m telling today isn’t about being a mom, or my childbirth experience. It’s just to share with you part of what drives my photography journey . . .

I’ve done some location scouting in my area. It starts with an internet search, creating a list, driving around to attempt to check out parks during golden hour, even doing some self portraits at these locations to test them out. I’m always looking for places with beautiful backgrounds, not too crowded and yet not too difficult to access. And yet, the truth is that my favorite location is the one that my client suggests.

I had just had a baby via c-section and I had picked up photography 9 months before. I had been blessed by having my first son’s newborn photographer as my mentor, had shadowed her on sessions, and had done a few newborn sessions myself over the past several months.  Surely, I could do newborn photos for our newest addition myself. Now, almost a year and a half later, I’m going to tell you why I regret that decision . . .