Truly happy people are those who find their work exhilarating! Not only does photographing babies allow me to be artistically expressive, just as if I created a painting with a brush on a canvas, but it's also truly heartwarming to engage with young adult newbie moms and dads.
These special people pioneering parenthood are often at the pinnacles of their careers when they decide to expand their families, very confident and secure in life, and yet now they find themselves dedicated to the biggest new project they will ever take on ... and one with the greatest possibilities. Independence and assuredness aside, I admire these folks for jumping in and tackling such a grandiose challenge. In return, they will experience the most intense joy and love possible - for each other and also for new life as they nurture their baby in all of its freshness. What they saw and felt during the nine months that preceded that awe-inspiring delivery room moment was only the beginning of the fresh innocence of new family affection and the heightened emotions they will experience over the next many years together as a family.
New parents are still awestruck and so proud when I visit them, yet humbled and uncertain of what will come next. Their homes are sprinkled with jubilance and a slight bit of tentativeness, and I am honored to work with them during this precious period giving them an in home newborn photography session. I relish the chance to gently sway their precious infant with patient, slow, calming and nurturing movements that reassure both parents and babe in arms. And, when I'm finished creating a full set of newborn pictures that capture the essence of the baby, I can then spend a few more delightful moments with the trio, evoking mom and dad's innermost emotions as they "give birth" to gorgeous wall art or an album of heart-warming memories.
As I work to preserve the fresh innocence of new family affection, my mind daydreams ahead to the many milestones that will continue to emerge when this little one is all grown up and heading off to college, getting married, or having a baby of her own in 18, 26, or 30-or-so years. All of the joy and love that parents encounter during this new, fragile, fleeting time will come rushing back to them as they look at their wall hangings with rays of light drawing attention to tiny fingers tucked under baby's chin.
My eyes get watery remembering my own tiny children grasping at the world even as they slept so soundly. I just adore capturing these emotive glimpses and turning them into endless heartwarming memories that will stick around forever!