I spent the beginning of the New Year meeting Cleary for the first time for his newborn photos. I’ve been anxious to meet the little guy since doing Ismael & Lauren’s maternity photos at the end of November. He arrived for his first photos still sleepy. He started off the morning a smiley little guy. Typically when I begin positioning newborns at the start of a session I work with them a bit to get them into position before having the courage to take off the diaper. And as I do I photograph them through the process because I can’t guarantee they’ll stay in position. As much as I adore this photo, as a newborn photographer I had hoped to take his diaper off. Trust me, we tried. Once we got him into position we took off the diaper and he made sure to start his session with us having our guard up after he peed. I of course have no fear and quickly changed blankets in hopes to get him back into position for a similar diaperless shot but he had other pooping plans in store for us.
When Ismael & Lauren first arrived they informed me Cleary was a great sleeper and such a great baby. As much as I absolutely love to hear that I quickly shushed them because the last few times parents have said that it has seemed to jinx me. Though he cried early on I had faith we’d still capture some priceless moments with the little guy. Of course when he cried I didn’t hesitate to let him cry for the priceless newborn crying photo.
After comforting Cleary a bit he returned to me wide awake and full of curiosity. Of all the newborns I’ve photographed I have to say he’s got one of the best complexions and eyes…yes, the more I admire this little guy I’ve come to realize he’s the perfect little babe.
Hope expressed an interest in joining me take some photos of Cleary. Don’t be fooled by her innocent smile…she enjoyed going between being helpful to being competitive about taking photos…maybe someday she’ll understand the importance of teamwork in photography.
Most times when Hope steps in to help she ends up taking a photo or two of me behind the scenes. Here’s one of me photographing Cleary in the wrap…it was one of the ways we kept him content because he really didn’t care to be naked. Ismael was a huge help holding up the fabric to help create a seamless background.
Here are a couple photos that came out of those few minutes photographing Cleary…
Cleary was born on Christmas Eve so Ismael and Lauren brought the Santa hat they were given at the hospital. Cleary seemed to be in more of a Bah-humbug moment by the time we tried to take the Santa hat photo. We even tried wrapping him and he really wanted nothing to do with taking a Santa hat photo.
After a feeding we realized Cleary was happier clothed and held so we took a few photos with Ismael & Lauren.
After getting a bit fussy again he took another break for a feeding and returned such an adorable sleepy little guy. He looks so tiny in Ismael’s arms.
Because he finally seemed to be sleeping well we tried to take a few more photos…this time in a bowl. We decided to wrap him instead of getting him undressed…he sure looks cozy!
Finally I was able to admire all the little details of this precious little guy.
Ismael & Lauren I hope you enjoy the photos of your little man. You’ve definitely been blessed with an adorable son!
by Amanda Kern
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