This is something I get asked all the time for baby milestone sessions: what should I bring to the photoshoot? Aside from your baby and a few simple outfits, you should definitely spend a few minutes thinking about any items that are meaningful in your baby’s life…

Posing doesn’t have to look old-fashioned and obvious. It could be organic and flattering, and it an essential part of looking great in photos for those of us who aren’t natural-born models. This post is all about what goes into posing a family (big and small), my approach to getting those relaxed group images, and yes - even using posing to achieve candid shots that a lot of families absolutely love as part of their session.

Milestone Sessions are incredibly easy limited-edition photo sessions just for babies and children who are three months and older. But even with an easy session experience, putting a little bit of time in preparation goes a long way…..

Here’s the thing, most people don’t know the options that are available when it comes to hiring a family or newborn photographer. They see a pretty family portrait their friend posts on Facebook and decide to hire that photographer for themselves…

The “Baby Book” is one of those things we all feel we should create for our babies. The first child usually at least gets an attempt at the baby book. The one where you keep track of milestones, weight, height, etc.. and include pictures from the first year. At the end, it’s a lot of work for parents who are already sleep deprived, tired, and have a baby to take care of on a daily basis..

It’s a little late, seeing as it’s already October, but I figured it was still worth sharing the super adorable babies from this past August’s Milestone Sessions…

The first year for a baby is so full of growth and development! It was one of my favorite times with my children because there is so much discovery and joy, on both sides. The one thing I missed, however, was having really simple, clean portraits of my children. I didn't have a Studio back then! And I was just starting on my photography journey. So I have lots of at-home photographs, and plenty of outdoor shots.. but nothing like what I provide to my clients now. Which, in many ways, is why I do it…

Here is the biggest problem I see… Often after we have our baby, we get stuck in the day to day minutia of keeping everyone fed and alive.. in turn forgetting about preserving those precious firsts in our baby's life. Things like crawling, sitting up, smiling.. even finding their feet! All of those little milestones come and go so quickly. And before we know it, we have a full-fledged toddler on our hands with no frame-worthy photographs of our baby's first year…

There are many reasons why parents do milestone sessions for their baby (like this session we did for Siena, who is 8 months old). The most obvious is that their child is growing like crazy and they want to forever preserve those changes in photographs. And there are many photographers who offer these types of sessions. They can be quick or elaborate. Cheap or expensive. But what sets my milestone sessions apart is the fact that my clients walk away with beautiful museum-quality prints in the end...

I photographed Connor and his parents when he was a newborn. Now that he's almost 1 year old, Connor came in again, this time for a Milestone Session...

There is one thing that Demerest and Conway's Mom said that really stuck with me. "I am so glad we did this photo session when we did." And what she meant was, I'm glad we waited until they were a little older...

There are a few business types out there that don't require a big monetary investment to start. Photography is definitely one of those. A lot of people have expensive digital camera equipment already, so it's a very easy transition to start charging friends for photos.. and viola! you are now a professional photographer, right? 

Ilex, who is just around 8 months old, came into the Studio with his Grandma and Aunt to do a photoshoot as a gift for his parents. This was the first time Ilex was photographed professionally. And listen, there are many reasons why parents don't get professional baby photos. Sometimes they don't really feel it's important. They could too busy simply surviving day to day to even give the idea some thought (I certainly know how that feels!). And other times they feel that iPhone photos are good enough, so why bother?

Families reach out to me for many reasons. It's not a secret that I'm not a cheap photographer. So why do families choose me over somebody else?

Parents today face some pretty tough expectations when it comes to providing all possible comforts for their baby (heated butt wipes, I'm looking at you). Today's babies are also growing up as part of most photographed generation.. but parents are consistently making these 5 mistakes with baby's photographs which will leave their babies with no record of their childhood at all. 

I am not a trendy person. It took me many years to discover that I like things to be simple and clean, without much fuss or fanfare. And that definitely translates to my photographs.There are many trends out there. Fashion, of course. That's new every season. And every year the style and color is different. Fashion doesn't seem to care about body types or things looking flattering on people. Whatever is in style is what everyone is supposed to wear. 

Being a good photographer has nothing to do with the camera you use. Granted, you have to know how to use your camera (that's a given, I would hope!).. but if that was the only factor, we would see a lot more capable photographers out there. Most people think, you go out, buy a fancy expensive camera, and viola! you can take professional-quality photos. Well, yes and no. Because having that camera is step 1 of the many many steps on the road to producing professional-quality photographs.

It's easy to figure WHY you would want photos of your newborn baby. These first few weeks of a baby's life are so completely and utterly new. You want to make sure to remember them, through the haze of doctor's appointments and all-night feedings. And often the iPhone photos don't really come close to capturing how you see your baby during that time…

There seems to be this idea of how newborn photo sessions should go. Your baby should sleep soundly through the whole photoshoot, allow herself to be changed and manhandled, and will overall be in the most amicable and pleasant mood the entire time. Never mind that she's in a totally new environment and has just been born a few weeks prior…