pascale wowak photoblog

Jace

The way these clients came into my life, or me into theirs depending on your perspective, is quite serendipitous.  Our dogs met first. :)

I was walking Kooper around my neighborhood, which I happen to do twice a day because:

a) He is high needs and spoiled rotten.

b) I love where I live and love walking around my 'hood.

c) We both love our walks together.

d) It breaks up long editing sessions with some fresh air and sunshine and makes me happy.

During one of those walks Kooper very happily approached a SUPER sweet dog named Odi who is just the most adorable, gentle spirited and fantastic dog.  Kooper and Odi were enjoying getting to know each other more than just a passing sniff so I started talking to Odi's owner, Delphina, and noticed that she was expecting.  We started talking and I enjoyed her company as much as Kooper enjoyed Odi's!  Over the next few weeks we ran into each other in our neighborhood a couple more times.  At some point I think the subject of me being a photographer came up and I gave Delphina my website address.

Turns out Delphina and her partner Jen liked what they saw on my website and when baby Jace was born they gave me a call.  I was completely booked up at the time but I cleared a day off for them because I really liked Delphina and wanted to meet this little guy.  I'm so glad I did.  We had a wonderful and slightly eventful shoot and I know I was meant to be the one doing this shoot for them.

Jace wins the award for BEST NEWBORN HAIR AND DIMPLES EVER.  And I've been doing this a LONG time.  So, that's saying something.  He was just the cutest, most alert, aware, awesome little dude on the planet.  I fell in love with Jace right off the bat and absolutely adored both his mommies as well.  They are a wonderful trio.   

The whole time I was editing these images I kept thinking the same thing over and over again, like the chorus in a song: "Ain't love grand?!"   You just gotta love LOVE, you know?  It's a beautiful thing.

Delphina & Jen,  CONGRATS on your sweet boy's arrival into the world.  I can't wait to watch him grow up in your loving care and tender embrace.  ENOY the ride!  :)

Avery, Quinn & baby Morgan!

You all probably remember the super fun pregnancy shoot I did just a few weeks ago for this beloved family!  Well, baby Morgan just made her appearance into the world and she could not possibly have been welcomed into a more loving and happy family!  They are as lucky to have her as she is to have them!  Avery is being such an AMAZING oldest sister and little Quinn is adjusting to her new role as "no longer the baby" quite well!  Mom and Dad, as always, are handling all the adjustments and lack of sleep with grace and humor.  I just love them so much!   The shoot was very "fly by the seat of your pants" because it seemed every time we were  gearing up for a specific shot, something caused us to re-arrange, switch gears, change things up.  We just went with the flow.  As I was setting up the backdrop Quinn and Avery were playing on the cushions so I grabbed some cute shots even though I wasn't done setting things up.  Cuteness waits for no one. :)

Later, as we were trying to get a very specific hands shot that we get with every new addition, Quinn was insistant on being behind rather than in front, it led to some really cute shots and I was rewarded for not hampering the unfolding of the events.  I also want to remind other photographers that while you are focusing your attention on a certain shot (ie: here I was shooting dad & baby Morgan), I always keep an eye on what else is going on behind or around me, and was able to capture a great shot of Avery.  Don't get locked into tunnel vision.  Keep observing all around you!  

Newborn shoots are notoriously challenging with siblings involved but this shoot was fun and everyone was working so well together.  Carly and Kevin, after three times of doing this together, I think we are just a well oiled machine at this point!!!  Love you all SO MUCH!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  *smooches*

ENJOY your sneak peek!  Just a few favorites, plenty more to come... :)

Wylie & his big brother Quincy

There are no words for how much I adore this family.  From the moment I first met them during a newborn shoot for their first son Quincy, I was instantly smitten.  Everything about them rang true to me and we had an instant connection.   When Kristen contacted me to book her newborn session just WEEKS after finding out she was pregnant with baby #2, that's when I knew they maybe liked me as much as I liked them! LOL! :)

Kristen and Walter have an amazing birth story for little Wylie.  It was an unplanned and unexpected home birth.  Technically, an in-the-car parked in front of the house thank goodness the neighbor is a labor and delivery nurse, kinda birth.  Walter caught his son.  Kristen is a ROCKSTAR.  Big brother Quincy was, initially, far more interested in the firefighter's who came to "clean up" than his baby brother!  And luckily Grandma was around to help with everything including wrangling Quincy and keeping him entertained during this session.  Such a wonderful, amazing, awesome family.    I especially loved that Kristen & Walter are not into props or "things", they wanted their newborn session to be as raw and authentic and natural and relaxed as possible.  Totally my vibe.    We basically hung out for several hours and I took pictures.  Directed a few shots here and there but mostly just engaged, observed and captured.  

Kristen & Walter, thank you for entrusting me yet again to capture these special memories for you.  As always, our time together was absolutely delightful despite the record making that was going on in the pee & poop department! HA! :)

Love you all!  (and a huge thank you to grandma for all her help!)

ENJOY your sneak peek!

Benjamin (& his big brother Lucas)

Nearly 3 years ago I was at this incredibly sweet family's house taking newborn pictures of Lucas.  This time I was there to capture memories of their newest addition to the family, little Benjamin.   It was such a time warp for me to be able to talk and interact with Lucas considering the last time I had seen him, he was just a few days old!  And boy did we talk!   Mark my words, this little boy is the next Steve Jobs, or something equivalent...  I was completely captivated and beguiled by his brilliance, expansive vocabulary and inimitable witty charm.   This boy is, quite simply, amazing.    I found myself wanting to stay long after the shoot just to have the distinct pleasure of being able to continue to interact with him and observe, in awe, his brain working in ways I've never seen a nearly 3 yr old brain function.   I was utterly and completely mesmerized by this child.  Before I left he drew me a picture, of a section of a train, not the whole train, because he intended to do different parts on different pieces of paper and then mail them to me one at a time so I could slowly assemble the full train.  I had him sign the drawing for me, which he happily did.  It's on my fridge.  And one day, when he's famous for discovering the cure for cancer or finding a way to turn mud into renewable energy, it'll be worth a pretty penny! HA!

But, I digress.  Little Benjamin is likely to be just as astute as his big brother because he only slept for a few minutes out of the 5 hrs I was there.  He spent most of the time awake and alert and intensely observant of his surroundings.   

Mom and Dad are two of the sweetest, kindest, warmest people I have ever met.   There is possibly no greater feeling than to have a client look you right in the eye as you are saying your goodbye's and have them tell you, with unmatched depth of sincerity and appreciation: "thank you for your art."    In response, I'd like to thank them for a most delightful shoot and having had the opportunity to capture some fabulous moments for them because they were willing to be so authentic, open and genuinely themselves with me.  It's THAT recipricol relationship and symbiotic dynamic which creates the art you see here. 

Much love to you F. family and ENJOY your images!

Grant (& his big brother Easton)

It's always an extra special treat to be able to come back into a family's home and get to do a "Round 2" (sometimes even 3 or 4....!) session when they welcome their newest arrival into their family!  I had photographed big brother Easton when he was just a few days old (and he was such a CHUNKY baby!) and this time I got to meet baby brother Grant!  Grant looked EXACTLY like his big brother, except about 2 lbs lighter and so MUCH smaller!  He was a total little peanut.  Grandma and Grandpa were there as well to help out with Easton while we focused on Grant so it was a full house!  We will neither confirm nor deny whether or not bribery was used to faciltate Easton (safely) holding his brother for some shots....  :)

We had a lovely time hanging out together and capturing these images! I can't wait to see them all again, hopefully when Grant is sitting up and can interact with Easton!

Dan & Cheryl (and grandpa Charlie & grandma Louise!), ENJOY your sneak peek and CONGRATULATIONS again!!!

 

 

 

Oliver

Oh how I love the smell of fresh newborn in the morning!  :)

Oliver was a last minute squeeze into my schedule.  He was already 10 days old and had been a 10 pounder at birth so you can imagine the amount of CHUNKINESS we were dealing with!  SO PERFECTLY PLUMP!  Becca & Mark were the sweetest parents and so utterly devoted to their "little" boy, it was incredibly endearing.   Oliver wasn't too keen on the whole picture taking process so I was able to indulge in a whole lot of newborn snuggle time.  No complaints here!  Becca & Mark had also told me that they didn't want any props at all.  Just them with Oliver and Oliver alone.  Super simple, sweet and classic.  I was happy to oblige!  It was also extra special that we were able to squeeze in their shoot that day because he was scheduled to get a cast on his foot the very next day and is now sporting an itty bitty cast for the next several weeks.  So glad we were able to do this before then so that they could have these shots to share with family and friends who all live so far away!  

Becca & Mark, thank you for inviting me into your home during the post-birth-chaos and giving me the opportunity to capture these images for you.  I truly enjoyed our time together and especially all that serious cuddle-time with your beautiful, perfect, chunky boy!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

ENJOY!!!

 

 

Lily, Maya & Rowan

This is another long time client family of mine whom I just recently had the pleasure of visiting again for the arrival of yet another little girl in the family!  Three gorgeous girls!   I think I captured approximately three BILLION amazing images, so it was really incredibly hard to narrow down the sneak peek.  I had to just accept that many personal favorites would just have to wait for their eyes to see them when they get the CD package.   Lily and Maya could not have been more cooperative and ridiculously cute.  I was able to get an inordinate amount of stunning sibling shots which can be (let's be honest here!) incredibly hard with a 4 day old newborn, a 2 year old and a 4 year old.  But they were DELIGHTFUL and fun and responded so fantastically well to my antics. In fact, mom had warned me that Maya refuses to have her picture taken and when I initially asked her to let me take her picture she responded with an emphatic NO!  Two minutes later she was mugging like crazy for my camera.  So, yeah, that was certainly rewarding!  :)

Kim and Doug, thank you for welcoming me into your loving home a mere 4 days after giving birth to little Rowan!   I had a great time with you all and hope you are thrilled with the images we created that day!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Brayden

This was such a fantastic session!  I instantly fell in love with Brayden, which of course, was so easy to do because LOOK AT HIM!  But besides being the perfectly plump newborn, he also had  the most mellow disposition.  I was able to do so much with him!  And after spending some time with his parents, it's easy to see why he has such a chill disposition.  Mom and Dad could not be more relaxed and easy going.  In fact, Robin is hands down the most relaxed first time mom I've ever met.  Nothing fazed them and they just went with the flow and were totally comfortable leaving me and Brayden to do our thing!  I love that!  I was extra thrilled when I found out dad is a firefighter and wanted to get a shot of Brayden in his helmet as this is a shot I had wanted to do for a while now but never had a baby as cooperative as Brayden to make it happen.   He was such a rockstar.  As a side note, I want to make sure it is VERY clear that there were two hands on Brayden in that position AT ALL TIMES.  Mom was holding him from behind and dad was holding the helmet from the side and was photoshopped/cropped out.   Safety is paramount in newborn sessions and I don't want someone seeing these images and thinking you can just plop a baby in a helmet and snap away.  I've seen some scary stuff out there on the web with regard to newborns and inexperienced photographers and I just really want to make a point here.  Safety, comfort and common sense....  Brayden was an angel and totally cool with everything so we knew we could pull this off.   Robin and Christopher, thanks for welcoming me into your home and allowing me to capture this special time in your family's journey.  It was an absolute pleasure meeting you both and spending some quality time with the most mellow baby on the planet!  My womb is still aching.....  :)

ENJOY your sneak peek!

Nate & Max

Earlier this week I had the distinct honor of being able to go up to the North Bay and photograph these AMAZING newborn identical twin boys.   They are one of my closest friend's nephews and I was thrilled to be able to do this, especially since I feel so personally invested in them knowing how much my friend Amy ADORES them already.  And how could you not!?  These newborns were the EASIEST newborns I have ever photographed and that's saying a lot considering how much harder a twin newborn session is than a singleton.  Granted, it was a LOT of baby wrangling and whereas I can usually send the mom away to take a nap and have the dad go grab a bite to eat or something, in this case we needed all hands on deck!   Poor Heidi was basically nursing one while I was photographing the other and then switching babies!   Major props to her for being so committed to nursing twins, it's a huge commitment.  I remember nursing Gavin every 2-3 hrs around the clock and he would nurse for an hour each time!  Little porker.  Ellie was different but I think I pretty much just nursed nonstop 24/7 with Gavin so I cannot even imagine twins!

Nate and Max look SO much alike that were it not for the adorable little mole on Max's cheek, there is NO way I would have been able to tell them apart.   Their temperaments are a smidge different but even then, they are both such sweet, mellow, chill little babies.  They didn't cry or protest ONCE.  There was minimal amounts of having to get them settled down and into their poses.  They just cooperated with pretty much everything.  It was incredible.  The most magical part for me was watching how they were when they were placed together skin to skin.  Their bodies COMPLETELY relaxed and they melted into each other, grabbing each other's hands and reaching towards each other almost reflexively.  They fell into their deepest sleep when they were together skin to skin.  It was just breath taking.  I truly think that the twin relationship is one of those incredible magical things that is just SO special.  Nothing really compares to it.    We marveled at how many times they spontaneously would hold each others hands or reach out to each other.   I was mesmerized by the whole thing.  It's just so cool. :)

Heidi and August (and Heidi's mom too!)  were all so wonderful to work with.   I cannot believe how relaxed Heidi is and how she is managing everything so incredibly well.  I was a hormonal basketcase after both my kids were born and she is just happy, easy going and not remotely frazzled trying to juggle the needs of TWO newborns at the same time.   I really believe God only gives twins to the people who CAN HANDLE it!  Ergo, I didn't have twins....   But she makes it look easy.   And those boys could not be sweeter!  Daddy August was SO hands on and so lovingly and tenderly involved with their care not to mention how cute it was to behold how completely enthralled he is with his boys.  It's fabulous to see a new dad be so active in his role.  Kudos to you August!  

I am completely in love with them and so glad that I have access to them via Amy!  Works well for me! :)

Heidi and August, I cannot WAIT to see your boys again and see how much they change and grow over time!  They are absolute perfection.  Your love for them shines through.  You were both glowing the entire session!  I wish you both the very best!  MUCH LOVE!

Here is your sneak peek!

Norah, Leah & Caleb

This is one of my long time favorite families!  I just lurrrves them so much!  Norah and Leah are always in RARE form and I can predictably expect a FULL array of expressions and antics.   The girls are lively, funny, witty and always give me more than enough "material" to work with.  They feed off me and I feed off them and together we create magic!  Also, as you will see, the girls have the most INSANELY GORGEOUS eyes you will probably ever see on this planet.  I have NOT in any way enhanced the color of their eyes.  This is the real deal folks.  Truly mesmerizing.

Also, this time there was a new little brother in the mix!  The family welcomed little Caleb just three weeks prior to the shoot (which is not an age I usually photograph for newborns for a variety of reasons, one of which we discovered when this big boy couldn't fit in any of the baskets, hahaha!) but Amanda didn't want a highly stylized newborn shoot, rather she wanted images of Caleb seamlessly integrated into the family shots and a much more natural, intimate approach, so that's what we focused on and I loved it.

Amanda & Andy, I know you know how much I adore you guys but thought I'd mention it again here just to make it all official-like.  :)

I hope you love your sneak peek!

CONGRATULATIONS again on Mr. Caleb, he's absolute perfection.  May I have him?  (*smile*)

*** CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW ***

Bodi

Introducing Kenzi's little baby brother!  My long time readers will immediately recognize this gorgeous family whom I get to photograph quite a bit and whose maternity shoot I just posted a few weeks ago.  Well, Mr. Bodi made his appearance, early as predicted, and is the cutest little bug on the planet!  I kept marveling at how small he was compared to his sister who came out with chubby cheeks and practically edible thunder thighs.  Cheeks and thighs she still sports on her adorable 2 yr old body and which I just can't get enough of!  

We so badly wanted to get shots of Kenzi and Bodi together but, seeing as Kenzi is 2 she wanted nothing to do with the camera and even less to do with the camera AND her brother combined.  We tried everything.  But she was  just not having it so we grabbed what we could and focused our camera on a very willing subject in little Bodi.  He was positively angelic.  We didn't have a single accident and he barely cried at all.  The only real cry was when Kenzi accidentally whacked him on the head with a sippy cup and that lasted about a minute, he is already learning to be a tolerant baby brother and let his big sister be the boss! Ha! :)

I fully expected Bodi would delight me with a full head of jet black hair so I brought light colored backdrops to really highlight this feature of his.   I love me some newborn hair!  I tried very hard not to spend the whole session cuddling him and do what I was there to do but I would be lying if I didn't sneak in a little snuggle here and there....  who can blame me!?  Look at this guy!!! 

And all you moms out there don't be hating on Elisa looking so stunning right after giving birth.   She looked this good after Kenzi too.  I don't think she can help it.  It's genetic, therefore we must forgive her.  :)

I'm excited to see what our next session has in store after Kenzi has had some time to adjust to the new arrival.  With Kenzi, it's always an adventure and lots of laughter so I can't wait!  On a side note, I have NEVER in my life witnessed any 2 yr old child be able to manipulate and navigate an iphone like this child can.  She swipes screens, enlarges, moves around, loads utube videos, plays angry bird and takes pictures BY HERSELF.  I'm thinking PERHAPS a future engineer at Apple!?!?!  Love that girl!

Elisa and Peter, CONGRATULATIONS on your sweet, adorable, cuddly, beautiful baby boy!  Much love to you!

Brody

I've been photographing this family (and mom's sister's family) for AGES!  I just lovelovelove watching their families grow!  

Little Brody was already two weeks old and yet only 6 lbs! A total itty bitty lil peanut!  And he stayed awake the entire session!  That has never happened.  At some point they all eventually fall asleep!  But he was awake and happy the entire time and just an absolute sweetheart, looking around, watching, taking it all in.  A wise little soul this one, I can just tell.  :)

Here's Brody - and his family who loves him very much!

Quinn

This newborn shoot came on the heels of one of my all time favorite family/pregnancy sessions ever, which you can view HERE.   I adore this family.  It was with boundless joy that I came over to their house and spent several hours with them hanging out, shooting, talking, cleaning up poop, reading stories to new big sister Avery and, oh yeah, taking pictures too!  The thing is, it's not just about the images in and of themselves. Clearly, that's critically important since your clients are hiring you to take these all-important photographs for them.  But, it's also about the experience, the process, the time you spend together.

This is a time of huge transition for Avery and so it was really important for me to make sure I made her feel special during her baby sister's newborn shoot.  With kids, it's all about the little details. Greeting the older child first and giving them your undivided attention before even acknowledging the presence of the new "intrusion"! Ha!

Mom, Dad and I were all on the same page so everything went really smoothly and even though we were "losing" Avery near the end of the 4 hr session, it's pretty remarkable to know that we had her fully engaged and participating in the shoot for the majority of what is a really long session for a 2 year old!

So, without further ado, here is the latest addition to this wonderful family whom I love so dearly...Quinn.

Baby Danielle

Little Dani here belongs to two of my favorite people.  Daddy Dave and I go WAY back and his beautiful wife Kristy and clicked the moment we met.  I've had the immense honor of being able to chronicle their journey together from their engagement photos, to their wedding, to their pregnancy pictures and now... tada!  The arrival of their adorable little girl Dani.

Being able to watch and document this journey for them has brought me so much joy.   It's been so amazing to watch the transformation from dating to married to parents.   Such HUGE milestones in someone's life and I got to be there taking pictures for every single one of them!  What a treat!

Little Dani definitely takes after her parents.  She looks like the perfect combination of both of them and has their strong, vibrant, lively personalities.   She did not want to acquiesce to my plans right away.  She wanted to let me know who was boss first! :) 

Eventually, time and patience (combined with a few tricks of the trade) won out and she relented, allowing me to photograph her and her adorable little self not to mention her magnetic smile.  I love catching those smiles!   I CANNOT wait to watch her grow up.  

Kristy and Dave, I love you guys to pieces and am so touched that you have let me chronicle this journey for you from the beginning.  I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for your bright and beautiful family.  Kristy, you are a NATURAL at being a mom.   

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

This first shot cracks me up.  That's the "what the heck?" look that I've seen on Dave a billion times... muahahahahahaha

 

Baby Kenzi

Oh how sweet this little buddha baby was!  Aside from being awake for only a few short moments when I was setting up, she slept the ENTIRE session! UNREAL!!  And not one single "accident" either.  She broke quite a few records this little rockstar!   I just went from pose to pose to pose so seamlessly it almost didn't feel POSSIBLE to have a baby be THIS cooperative :)

I had the distinct pleasure of photographing mom and dad when they were expecting Kenzi and so you may recognize THIS gorgeous mommy-to-be from just a few short weeks ago.  (Which was another super easy shoot I might add).  I am just so thrilled that I will get to watch Kenzi grow and photograph her 6 mo, 9 mo and 1 yr photos.  Those are the BEST ages to photograph and I get giddy just thinking about it.

No need to delay this any further, I know how excited they are to see these images so here you go!  Peter and Elisa, thank you so much for inviting me into your home and letting me take these precious images of your adorable little girl.

 

Kyvan

Oh how I just adore that name! It reminds me of my son's name (Gavin) but with a twist!   Kyvan was 9 days old which is on the tail end of when I will photograph newborns but he was born while I was away on our mini vacation so we squeezed him in as soon as I could!  Kylan is just the cutest little guy and still so itty bitty, just 7 lbs at 9 days old.  All tiny and wrinkly.  I just so love those newborns!

This little guy was absolutely determined not to be photographed though! HA!  He was just not remotely interested in the whole "undress me and pose me" thing.  We tried all the tricks at our disposal including a sweltering warm house, heating pad, full tummy, you name it, we tried it.  He wanted nothing to do with the process.  Ky wanted to be double swaddled, held and nursing, wide awake and anything short of that was just not going to happen.  Smart little bugger, because given the choice, wouldn't that be your preference as well, over being moved and posed and manipulated?  He held out for 4 hrs straight and refused to sleep until the very end.  I'm so fortunate that mom was one of the most relaxed and easy going first time moms I have ever met because it was a LONG shoot.  He eventually did fall into a light sleep but made it very clear that un-swaddling him or putting him down was still not on his agenda.  We worked around it as best we could.  I think Ky is a very bright little guy and suspect there are big things out there for him in the future.  He was onto every one of my tricks and made it perfectly clear that he was not going to fall for any of them!

I think we all left feeling a little bit discouraged but I was pleasantly surprised by a few gems I found while sifting through all the shots later that evening.  The good part of him being so very alert was that we did get quite a few bright eyed shots in between everything else.  He is such a cutie pie with those blue blue eyes.

 

Rylan Blue

First of all, awesome name.  Second of all, awesome family.  I have this core group of client/friends whom I've been photographing since my very first year in business.  I love that 4+ years later they are practically family to me.  Kathy and Luke are part of that group and I've had the distinct pleasure of photographing them over the years since our very first shoot when they were pregnant with their daughter Luci.  I knew right then and there (after a great and super fun session) that I would become friends with them.  I've been able to document Luci through every major milestone and then capture their second pregnancy, which is posted HERE , and now (drumroll please), the arrival of their baby boy Rylan Blue.

I've gotten to the point where I consider newborn photography to be my specialty.  And I try with every shoot to push the envelope and try new things.  I don't want to merely copy the "rockstars" of newborn photography, such as the amazing team of Carrie and Brittany aka BABY AS ART.  Everyone knows they are true innovators who first came up with many of the unbelievable shots every newborn photographer now tries to emulate.   Rather, I try really hard to put my own spin on concepts, ideas and poses.  All of this, of course, involves a myriad of props (baskets, toys, fluffy blankets, textured blankets, hats etc...) and it's so fun and challenging to get a newborn into some crazy, unbelievable pose and totally nail the shot.   So, I came to their house with several new props I was DYING to play with (including a vintage scale that my friend gave me from her grandma's attic).

But, Rylan had other plans.  After a couple hours and no success I was, admittedly, a little bit worried.  How am I going to get my usual amazing shots for Kathy & Luke?  And then, I remembered something very important that I think I had started to lose sight of lately....namely, that the baby is not a prop.  That capturing the emotions and connections of the day along with the magic of this moment in their lives, which is what got me so passionate about newborn imagery in the first place, is far more important than capturing some incredible pose.  So, Rylan, THANK YOU for wanting nothing to do with all my props and instead making it perfectly clear that the only place you wanted (and rightfully so, needed) to be was on your mommy.  And, really, who can blame him!? :)

When I walked in I saw Luke in the bathroom combing and prepping Luci's hair.  SO sweet.

 

Ava, Jordi & Gabriela

Little Ava is one lucky baby!  She has two of the most doting and adorable older siblings (twins no less!) any little girl could ask for.  I arrived at the M. house ready to face a newborn and four year old twins and fully expecting a smidge of chaos.   Much to my surprise, the entire shoot was smooth sailing from start to finish.  Yes, we had the requisite poopy accidents (poor dad!) and I even got christened a few times myself but those are all part of the deal when it comes to newborn photography!  The rest was just pure happiness through and through.  Mom really just wanted the focus to be on Ava and her siblings so that's what we concentrated on.  Ava was wide awake and VERY alert for the majority of the shoot which made for some really special and rare open eyed shots.  She was a total squirmy little worm too so we had to give up on some ideas we had envisioned due to safety reasons!  Having said that, she *finally* tuckered out at the very end and I was able to go crazy with a bunch of different poses.  I can't remember the last time I got so many different poses out of one baby!  And then, just as a super duper bonus, we got a ton of incredible sibling shots with the twins and Ava together, which you can well imagine was a real treat to accomplish.  The twins were absolutely incredible!  It was a real pleasure meeting this sweet family for the first time.  

This little guy (Jordi) greeted me at the door with a million words a minute and was such a little chatterbox throughout the shoot.  I was completely smitten with him from the get go.  How could you not fall completely in love with that killer smile!?

Quincy Kai

Wow, there is a serious baby boom going on right now!  I have photographed so many newborns this month I've lost count.  As you can imagine, I am quite happy about this as newborns are my favorite subject.  They are the longest and hardest shoots but also the most magical.  

Due to a variety of reasons, Quincy and his family were not ready to have their shoot done with me until he was 20 days old, which is much older than I usually recommend doing.  I try to get my newborns photographed within the first week of birth.  And ,although he was starting to have the common baby acne that starts at that time and was very alert the first half of the shoot [which are some of the reasons why I do them so early on usually], the shoot was very successful.  He also broke a few records.  Mom and Dad know what I am talking about! :)

Quincy was also a really big baby (12 lbs) so between his alertness and his size, I had to really do a great deal of outside the box thinking and deviate a bit from what I am used to doing for my newborn shoots.  I think it actually worked in our favor because we were able to highlight the roundness, rolls and "plumpness" that you just don't have with a 6 or 7 lb newborn.  And mom and dad were such great sports about everything and willing to just go with the flow.

Enough rambling.  Kristen and Walter, it was a pleasure meeting you and your extended family and especially your Quincy.  Thank you for the honor of capturing this special time in your lives.  ENJOY!

When I arrived Quincy was WIDE awake with no intention of sleeping, so we switched gears and did a great series of awake shots.  Mom and Dad also had a strong preference for B&W so that's mostly what you'll see posted here.  Right off the bat with one of my all time favorites.

love this

i adore everything about this next one

so sweet

Once he finally fell asleep, he was OUT and I was able to change him from pose to pose without him so much as stirring.  Easy Peasy.

crazy in love with the whole set here on black

kristen is gorgeous, that new mama glow!

Jackson

Oh did little Jackson EVER put his daddy through the wringer on this shoot!!!  Mom and I were *quite* entertained. :)

Despite the rough start, we got the most amazing images of the little guy.  He was a little over a week old because our original shoot date was rescheduled due to his jaundice but on the day of the shoot he was no longer yellow and still just as itty bitty teeny tiny as the day he was born!

This couple always has me laughing out loud so I most definitely look forward to our time together and this was no exception.  We had a wonderful session and got some great images of their new little bundle of love.  He is a very lucky boy to be born into this family and they are equally lucky to have this cute-as-a-button baby as their son.

I can't wait to continue to chronicle their lives as he grows up!

Annie and Danny, ENJOY your images!  (Danny, you earned them....)

Jackson has the longest feet I have ever seen on a newborn!

I should mention that the beautiful blanket in these next few shots was hand crocheted by my good friend Mary just for me to use for my newborn sessions.  Love her.  

pure bliss

Lily and Maya

I had the pleasure of meeting this new family of four and capturing some special images for them!  Lily is a very bright, talkative and extremely photogenic little girl (see below!) and baby Maya is the most precious little thing with jet black silky smooth tresses I could not stop caressing.  I'm a little obsessed with newborn baby hair seeing as both my kids were BALD until AFTER their first birthday.  I never had a baby with hair so I go cuckoo over those luscious locks. :)

Maya was definitely at her happiest when she was being held tight and kept warm.  We were still able to get a ton of great shots with her sans parent though and even ventured outside during a break in the rain to grab a few quick family shots!  Even though Maya was the "oldest" newborn I've done in that she was already 2 weeks old at the time of the shoot she was still SO tiny at just 7 lbs and a few ounces.  

Some of my favorite images were of Lily and daddy when mom was busy nursing Maya.   Those two have a very tender and special bond and it was fun watching them interact in that playful way that daddies are just so good at.

Kim and Doug, ENJOY your images!

Yes, the whole shoot was done with natural light, including these. :)

I just adore these

Linnea

This little cutie pie was just a few days old and sweet as could be.  She had a really mellow disposition and was incredibly quick to settle back down after pose changes.  When she smiled really big you could see the MOST adorable dimples in her cheeks.  I love that you can see traits, even this early on, that will stay with them the rest of their lives.   I am such a huge fan of dimples and freckles!

At one point while we were doing family photos dad starting having "happy tears" and next thing you knew we were all crying!   It just reinforces how truly magical this time is, especially with a firstborn.  The transformation that occurs within the family unit as well as within mom and dad individually and as a couple is huge.  It really is a metamorphosis.

People always tell you: "your life will never be the same" and it is so true but it goes well beyond the physical changes.  Yes, you no longer get any sleep.  Yes, your time is no longer your own.  Yes, you are up to your eyeballs in poop and spit up.  Yes, most of your day is spent nursing!  Yes, parenting is a 24/7 all consuming act of love, devotion, sacrifice and reward.  But beyond all that, your heart and your soul are also forevermore changed.   

I can only speak for myself but the day my son was born, a new "me" was born as well.  I could suddenly understand and relate to the plight of mothers everywhere.  I could suddenly feel that powerful unconditional love that a mother has for their child, a love that transcends everything else.  On so many levels my thinking and perspective were altered.  I saw life differently from that point on.  My priorities were restructured and I had a new purpose in life.  

Babies are pretty amazing, aren't they?  And this precious time goes by sooooooo fast....

Ok, I think I have kept Veronica and Peter waiting long enough with my little spiel so here you go, ENJOY your images!!  

color or B&W?

dad plays the piano so we wanted to include it in a few shots!

I'm not sure why but I love this shot of her peeking at me from behind her hand. So cute!

 

Chiara

OMG.  Chiara was the most angelic and cooperative baby ever!  It took us about an hour to get her settled in and then after that she just slept soundly the rest of the shoot.  I cannot even begin to tell you how many different poses we were able to get out of her.  It was insane.  I kept thinking "ok, there's no way she is going to let me put her like that but hey, no harm in trying" and voila, pose desired: achieved.  She even smiled at me at the beginning of the shoot (real smiles! not gas!) and I was totally smitten... as I am with all newborns....  It is probably well known at this point that I am just completely enamored with newborns.  Can't get enough of them.  I know it was probably my fault that my kids couldn't tolerate being put down or sleeping alone, I just loved having their itty bitty-ness on me at all times and so I indulged.  There is just something truly magical about newborns.

And then, as if all that weren't delicious enough... When it was time for big brother Liam (2.5 yrs old) to get a few shots with his baby sister (images which are traditionally incredibly challenging to achieve at his age), we was a total champ.  Sweet as could be with his baby sister and super cooperative.  Wow.  A fantastic shoot in every possible way.

Here is just a small sampling, I had to really force myself to narrow it down because I could have easily posted the entire shoot.

Jacqui and Chris, a pleasure meeting you and your lovely family.  Congratulations!!

ENJOY.

I swear she was totally laughing and smiling, I have a series of 5 in a row here where she is smiling so big.  What a sweet baby!

I really don't understand how all these mommies I photograph look so unbelievably gorgeous right after giving birth.  Seriously.  If you saw me for the first 3 months after giving birth to my kids you'd probably run away screaming.... and then have nightmares...

Jacqui is stunning.  No fair.

in daddy's arms and I can't decide which I like best, color or B&W?

I can't explain why but this next one is my favorite.

Liam was so tender and gentle with his sister, it just melted my heart.

Owen

I have been photographing this family since their toddler Louie was a newborn.  Although to call him a newborn is a bit of a misnomer since he was over TEN POUNDS at birth and practically 11 lbs when I photographed him.  I kept laughing because he was not the typical itty bitty little newborn I usually get at a mere 4 days old...  I've been able to watch Louie grow since then and he is such a vibrant little guy.  I love this family and was so honored to be able to continue the tradition by photographing their latest arrival Owen.  Our shoot was rescheduled three times due to Owen having a serious case of Jaundice, me catching a nasty flu bug and us getting a dark storm on our last scheduled date.  But the third time's a charm because Owen was a CHAMP during our shoot.  A total mellow lover-boy.  I just couldn't get enough of him.  And so tiny compared to Louie at that age!  Louie was feeling under the weather but we still managed to get a few fun shots with the whole family.  I'll be seeing these guys again in the fall and can't wait to see how much they have changed and grown between now and then!

Allison and Louis, ENJOY your images!!

Note: I walked in and saw this spot in the living room with PERFECT light so I moved their dining room table out of the way and moved this leather chair into my chosen spot.  Set up my reflector where I needed it.  Allison didn't even bat an eye, love her!  They know me by now and just let me do my thing... :)  Louie was hesitant at first with the camera and gave me some choice looks that had me in stitches but quickly overcame that with a lively little game of peekaboo.  

i'm really loving these "feet while nursing" shots.

These next ones were fun!  There was not nearly enough light in the bedroom to do these without supplemental lighting so I put my flash on my camera, pushed it to +3 power, swiveled the head and had it bounce off the wall behind me to create a huge burst (with good spread) of light in the room, softened by the bounce effect to reduce the presence of shadows.  With a sync speed of 1/200 it was able to, for the most part, stop the motion in the throwing in the air shots.  Totally worked!

Back to my favorite little spot in the house.  I just really like the clock in this set up, it adds that element of "time", that reminder that the clock is ticking and these moments are all too fleeting...

so lovin' these

Camille

This sweet little angel is the new daughter of my friends Heather and Danny and big sister Samara.  You may remember Heather from a few weeks ago, the one you all thought was a maternity model? Yeah, her.  Little Camille was just 4 days old! It was a very dark and rainy day so the lighting was really challenging but judicious use of a large reflector made all the difference.

The thing we learned about Camille is that she *really* likes to be very warm and tightly swaddled and held.  Not too keen on the naked baby alone thing...(unlike her big sister who greeted me at the door in her birthday suit! ha!).  So we had to work hard to make her go along with our little agenda! :)  But we persevered and got some great shots!   I'm sure you will be able to see that both girls look exactly like their daddy (who is being a total rockstar with the helping hand right now).   I cannot wait to watch these two girls grow up and chronicle them over the years. It is such an honor.  Thanks C. family and ENJOY your images!  

My heart melts when I watch a baby smile in their sleep.  Not sure why but there is something just so RAW and AUTHENTIC about newborns, they are pure innocence and real and transparent.  They radiate trust and love.  It sometimes takes my breath away. I think if I weren't doing this photography gig, I'd be a labor and delivery nurse.  

  

I can't decide if I like the color or the B&W versions better?!

two beauties...

The story behind the sibling shots is actually pretty funny.  We'd practically lost all our light so the girls had to be right on the edge of the bed closest to the window.  We had a very active 2 yr old and a 4 day old newborn.  I had dad crouched on the floor holding them firmly so they wouldn't roll off.  Mom was standing next to me holding the huge reflector basically directly over the girls at a slight upward angle (these shots would not have turned out at all without the reflector) and I am jammed up over dad and next to mom and trying to sing the Wheels on the Bus while taking the shots!  OMG so funny!!  But we did it.  Here are just a few from that set.  So glad we tried!

Cassia

Little miss Cassia is quite literally a miracle baby.  She was born 7 weeks premature and this shoot was on what would have been her actual due date week.  SO, even though she is technically 7 weeks old, she is just now hitting 7 lbs, so still a tiny little peanut!  

Besides being a miracle, she also happened to be a complete and total angel with me throughout the duration of our lengthy shoot and I was therefore able to get so many incredible poses/shots out of her.  She has this old soul awareness to her and was just really ZEN throughout the shoot.  I even got to do a pose that I have been trying to do *forever* with a newborn but could never get a newborn to let me do it because it's not really the most comfy position.  But little Cassia granted me my wish :)

Now, if you were to take Cassia's mommy's light, creamy skin tone and blend it in a pot with daddy's dark, rich skin tone, you'd end up with a truly luscious golden cinnamon-y color...which, lo and behold, is exactly her skin tone.  And, wouldn't you know it, Cassia means Cinnamon!  Honestly, how cool is that?!

Without further ado, here is the little sweet pea.  

This is that pose I'd been trying to do.  OMG so cute!

I just love this stretching one in mom's arms!

What I love most about this one is that mom is nursing in the backdrop, you'd never know but she'll always know when she looks at that photo.  So tender.

look at that flirtatious, charming smile!

heart, melting.

Ian

It was so funny when I saw little Ian it was total Deja Vu, he looked EXACTLY like his big brother Samuel when I did his newborn shoot two years earlier.  I couldn't stop laughing!   I adore this family and was so honored to be able to once again document this magical time in their lives.  Little Ian was just 4 days old.  Cute as a button!

It was a very dark, wet, rainy, cold day.  The result is that we quickly ran out of light and had just one little window to work with.  I did a little bit of off camera flash but quickly gave that up since I just hate the harshness of flash. I was fortunate enough to have plenty of helping hands so I put them to work.  Grandpa held the reflector and grandma wrangled the big brother.  It worked out beautifully!

We even braved the great outdoors for a couple minutes when there was a little break in the weather!  

Amy has a preference for B&W so I posted a bunch of B&W's for her.  I had a hard time narrowing it down so decided to post the ones that were different from other newborn shoots I have done and showcase how you can make one little window work for you! :)

Amy and Christopher, thanks again and ENJOY your images!

This was one of those "in between" moments when mom was nursing Ian (you can see her in the left side of the picture) and dad was playing with Sam.  A total lucky shot.  One I happen to just LOVE.

So, uh, yeah, the sibling shots didn't quite work out... But the attempts were quite entertaining to say the least :)

For the next set, the window is behind mom (camera left), big reflector is facing her (camera right).  Love the feeling in these.

Apparently no one told Amy that you are not supposed to look that good four days after giving birth.  She missed the memo.

Lucas

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting little Lucas and his delightful parents last week.  Lucas is a sweet little soul who is very aware of his environment and extremely expressive.  Caroline is not a big fan of the black backdrop, which as you know is a staple in my newborn photography, so I had to stretch myself a bit to come up with a variety of new angles and approaches. It was really good for me though because I was able to think outside the box and came up with some really fun and unique compositions.

 

Lucas's daddy is a musician and when Lucas was starting to fuss a bit we were all given a nice guitar-accompanied lullaby and it took all of me to not fall asleep!  I'm passionate about music and was just in heaven with the soothing tunes and zen-ness of this shoot.  

We got so many great shots and I had a hard time narrowing it down for the blog, but here are a few standouts.  

Caroline and Douglas, thank you for opening up your home and allowing me to capture this special time in your precious son's life.  Enjoy!!!

I absolutely adored the bedspread in their room and the light was really good in there for a 20 mn block of time, so I took advantage of it.  Caroline is into the soft, vintage look so the bedspread was perfect and Lucas graced us with all these adorable expressions.  I had knit the little blanket he is using just for this shoot and luckily the colors worked so well together!

he is so trying to communicate already!

love this angle

i just love that you can see his little "peelies" here!

Completely and insanely crazy about this next series.  When I saw the mirror on the wall and that fabulous frame around it, it took all of me not to jump up and down like a maniac.  I had to stay calm and composed, after all, I am a professional.  But on the inside I was screaming: YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I have always and will always love this angle.

Lucas's auntie knit the blanket in this one.  Love the pattern! (too complicated for me to do though!)

Look at that smile!

Layla

Little miss Layla was such a cutie and just 3 days old!  I couldn't believe how a little one who was born 2 weeks early and weighed only 7 lbs could have such sweet little rolls on her body already.  I *heart* baby rolls.

Layla was quite the squirmy worm and very clear about what poses she would do and which ones she would not accept.  And this is where the individuality of each newborn comes into play everytime I do a newborn shoot.  I tend to not pre-visualize newborn shoots because so much is dependent on the baby's personality and what they like/don't like.  Layla liked being a) warm and b) on her side and c) cuddled!

She was also very alert and aware as to sounds (like my shutter) and movement (even when her eyes were closed, she could sense when someone was getting close or moving away).  Pretty remarkable.  I think she is going to be very in tune with her environment and very clear on preferences later on! A smart little cookie that one :)

We were also fortunate enough to have big sister Aliyah be uber cooperative and helpful and so we were able to get the sweetest sibling shots (those tend to be the most challenging ones).  Aliyah has the most gorgeous eyes and dreamy skin tones along with such a charming personality.  So adorable!

This was another shoot set up by an incredible grandma.  Other than the gift of your presence in your grandchildren's lives, this is the best gift ever to a new (or newly expanded) family.  So thoughtful!

Ok, enough on that, onto the pictures!

Beth and Karim, enjoy these images!!!

I just really love this next one so much!

these next three make me melt not only because she is so darn cute but because I know the backstory about how happy she was to be snuggled up in daddy's arms, warm and secure and how her body totally relaxed and voila : magic

Talyn

There's definitely a baby boom going on!  This sweet little girl Talyn (how cool is that name!?) was another rockstar model.  Dad had us all in stitches and Talyn "performed" a few firsts for me so that was certainly very entertaining!

We were able to get an amazing amount of different poses out of her and I was able to play around with several different backdrops, which was a lot of fun as well.

I had photographed mom and dad when they were pregnant so it was a treat to meet Talyn.  I just love following families as they grow and watch their children change over the years.  It's the best part and greatest reward for what I do!

Kathy & Dave, enjoy these images, you know first hand how much you "earned" them!!

smiles!

so squishable at this age!

mom had this rug in Talyn's nursery and I loved it.  I need to get a couple for my arsenal!

look at her little hand caressing her dad!

This next one is my favorite of the shoot!

there is quite the hilarious story behind the next few shots but I'm going to let Talyn's parents share it with her when they need some leverage some day in the future...

grandpa's teddy bear!

Easton

My baby cravings are back and I've got a bunch of newborn shoots this month.... Sigh....  So dangerous for me!  Everyone knows just how much I love doing newborn shoots and little Easton was doing nothing to help assuage my aching womb.  He was gorgeous, sweet, mellow, easy going and perfect in every way. A total rockstar in the world of newborn photography and cute as a button.  I could have taken him home.  

We must have gotten a gizillion different poses out of him.  Grandma was the one who had arranged this shoot.  The perfect grandparent gift if I may be so bold.  She was even there to help out and I think, based on all her adorable little sighs and "oohing and aahing", that she quite enjoyed seeing how I managed to get her first grandson to look so stinkin' cute in so many different poses.   The whole family was delightful and I'm so glad I was able to get this in for them. 

Bottom line is you just don't get a second chance at these...  I hope the whole family enjoys these for years to come!

this next shot incorporates a teddy bear that belonged to Easton's daddy when he was a baby..isn't that just so sweet!?

this next one makes me want to gobble him up...

 '

the moment I clicked the shutter on this next one I knew instantly it'd be a new favorite, and it is...

sneezing!

Garrett

Garrett was just TWO days old!  My youngest yet.  :)

He had literally just gotten home from the hospital when I arrived to photograph him.  Mom had called me from the hospital a few hours after giving birth and the only day I could squeeze them in was the day they got home so we went for it.  And I'm so glad we did!

The light was playing with us (in and out) and little Garrett was having some massive growth spurt requiring him to nurse pretty much nonstop but in between we snagged several great shots.  We tried the sibling shots but those were not quite as successful... Adrian loved having me take pictures of him alone, but not so much with his brother and Garrett wasn't wanting much of it either! tee hee :)

Adrian did do the absolute cutest thing ever.  At one point, while mom was nursing, Adrian goes up to his new little brother, caresses him gently on the head and says (with total sincerity and heartfelt affection): "I love him so much!" ... (pause) ..."What's his name again?"

I nearly fell over laughing.  Hilarious!

At one point we managed to get Garrett asleep and curled up into what appears to be the most uncomfortable position ever and yet that was the longest stretch he slept, go figure!  It resulted in my favorite image of the day.

To the F. family, it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope you enjoy your images!

Adrian has the most charming smile!

love this shot!

Keena Madison

Oh, how I love newborns!!!  Keena is such a little old soul.  A peaceful, happy little zen baby.  She let us totally manipulate her little body this way and that way.  I cannot even begin to tell you how many different poses we got out of her.  Absolutely unreal!  If she even fussed at all, it was just for a few seconds until she regained her bearings and then settled right back down. Amazing.

(I've heard that the third child is supposed to be really easy but I'm afraid I'll be the exception to the rule and after my two high need squawkers, I'm not taking any chances...)

Keena was a total little rockstar supermodel too.  Striking poses like nobody's business.  I could not get enough of her and her fabulous parents.  Her mommy is perhaps the most confident, relaxed and natural first time mother I have ever met.  She greeted me at the door nursing 6 day old Keena with one hand and opening the door with the other hand.  To have mastered the art of walking/talking/one handed breastfeeding within a mere few days of birth is unbelievably impressive. But to also do it with such natural ease, like she's been doing this her whole life, is mind boggling.  It certainly took me a few weeks before I was able to so much as entertain the possibility that I just MIGHT be able to nurse Gavin without my boppy, my water bottle, my pillows to support my back, and my other assortment of "accessories"!  I eventually got the swing of it and became a pro at the walking/nursing/talking on the phone/cooking dinner routine but certainly NOT within Gavin's first week of life...

So, needless to say, this whole family is just pretty chill, my kind of folks, and we had a really great time.  In fact, I got my all time favorite newborn photo EVER this shoot so that was an added perk!

StevieLee and Gabe, it was a real pleasure, ENJOY your images!!!

she smiled alot!

at just a mere 5 lbs, her feet were TINY!

I'm crazy about this next one

she's already a daddy's girl...

This next one really has to be seen in a larger format.  Totally unscripted moment, sooooooo much emotion and love, very powerful and moving.  I stared at it for 10 mn after finishing up with it.  My favorite newborn image ever thus far.

Nathan

Nathan made his mommy and daddy wait a LONG time to finally meet him!  And he was worth every minute! :)  He was just THREE days old when I did this photo shoot.

Newborn sessions are my longest photo shoots by far and anyone who has done one with me knows the behind the scenes work that goes into it.  Plus, mom and dad are usually still in that fuzzy new parent mode where day and night overlap and everything is just a blur!  

So, while the end result of these beautiful images would make it appear as though the baby slept soundly for the duration of the shoot and we just moved him from one pose to the next, I can assure you that that NEVER EVER happens!

There's ALOT happening during my time with the family including plenty of downtime for nursing, rocking, soothing, changing etc...

What was particularly great about this shoot was that mom and dad were super relaxed and mellow even when things were not going quite as planned.  And, as it always does, a little bit of patience goes a LONG way. :)

Nathan fell into a deep sleep and was too cute for words in his poses (which he practically engineered himself!) and even gave us a super bonus treat at the end by calmly lying there and looking at me all bright eyed for several seconds; which is very rare at just three days old.

Little Nathan is as cute as they come and so very very loved by his family.  I had the pleasure to meet BOTH grandma's that day and they were taking care of everything for mommy so she could focus on her baby boy.  I told them I thought it should be a "law" that all new mommies have that "transition" time where all they have to do is nurse and bond.  Wouldn't that be great!?

And daddy was a superstar at getting Nate to sleep - total baby whisperer caliber!

I just love newborns and despite the "production" that goes into these shoots, they are so incredibly rewarding!   I'm seriously contemplating doing one year where I take a "sabbatical" of sorts and ONLY shoot pregnancy and newborns that entire year.  There is such an amazing energy around pregnant women and new mommies.  Plus, the added perk of getting to hold and snuggle a newborn is just fantastic!

CONGRATULATIONS Jean and Jeff!!! Enjoy!

Andrew

Oh Little FOUR DAY old Andrew... Andrew is the new title holder of SEVERAL Pascale Wowak Photography "records"!!  Mom and Dad will get a chuckle out of that one I'm sure! :)

Andrew, as fresh and pure as they come, was utterly adorable.    It's so amazing to me that I get to photograph these little ones so soon after they are born.  I look at them and just shake my head thinking "you're SO brand new!!"  I even grabbed a couple shots of the uber cute toddler big brother before he took off running and we were thereafter a tad bit busy with Andrew...

I even did something rather unconventional this time when we encountered a few challenges but I think it really worked for us so I'm glad we did some "outside the box" thinking.   I also got a bunch of REALLY nice nursing shots that I did not post but mom will surely love.

Mom and Dad, you SO earned these, I hope they make you smile! :)

Joshua

My good friend Deborah just had her third baby in just over 3 years.  Yeah, I know.  She's amazing... and slightly nuts!  The first two were girls (her eldest is just two weeks younger than my Ellie) and now she has a little boy, the 'cute as a button' Joshua.   He was only 6 days old when I came to take his photos!  And he must have been hitting a massive growth spurt because he nursed and nursed and nursed!   I could not believe how much he could pack into that teeny tiny body!  It reminded me how long it's been (almost 3.5 years!) since I've had my own newborn to care for and man, I was exhausted just watching her!  And yet, still, I just could not get enough of the little guy.  There is a special energy and aura about newborns.  They truly epitomize the best life has to offer.  Newborns generate in me a sense of optimism and hope for the future.  They represent humanity in its purest form.    They are LOVE.  And they are all perfect in every way.    I've had alot of newborns lately and it's been really delightful for me to be around their awesome little spirits.  They each have their own unique personalities and it's fascinating to see how each baby really does come hard wired with their own distinct temperament.  I love that stuff! 

Little Joshua was unbelievably alert for a not yet week old newborn.  Usually it's a struggle to get any "open eyes" images but he was awake for a really, really, really long time! :)  (Deborah will get a chuckle out of that).  Patience paid off big time and we got some fun stuff at the end but we were too afraid to unwrap him (that had not gone too well for us during the shoot!) so we left him bundled up and worked with it!  I even caught a large mirrow out of the corner of my eye and decided to move it and try incorporating it in a few images.  The thing about mirrors is, well, it's REALLY hard to get a shot without you in it!!!  So it took a bit of creativity to find angles that did not include me.  Still, I'm pleasantly surprised with the results of those shots.  Definitely gives me the impetus to play around with that idea more.

Deborah, enjoy your images and GET SOME REST!  Love ya! :)

We got a quick shot with grandma!

And of course the very proud dad!

J. Cooper

Little Cooper was just under 2 weeks old and still so tiny!  I walked in to the most delicious smell of Chinese herbs and was greeted by a very adorable and very alert little boy.  So alert and aware in fact that he refused to fall asleep for over 2 hrs!  Finally I had to just whip out my baby whisperer techniques and get the little guy to slumber, even if it was only for a few minutes, at least we got our images!  I've said this a thousand times but newborns are absolutely my favorite age.  I know it's the hardest time on moms what with the nonstop nursing and lack of sleep but for me, it's great! I get to cuddle, play, hold, smell, and stare at them for two hours and totally get my much needed baby fix and then I get to go back to my children who are now *finally* sleeping through the night.  It's really the idea situation! :)

Cooper was not remotely sleepy during the entire shoot and even though I would (luckily) catch the split second that he would occasionally momentarily close his eyes, the rest of the time his eyes were wide open, taking in everything we were doing and saying.

Congratulations Fei!! Enjoy your images :) 

   

Avery

I walk in the door and am met by the most adorable little newborn AND a plate full of freshly home baked cookies!  Now, people, does it get any better than that?  I will proudly state that I resisted my impulses and did not dive headfirst into the cookies and instead focused on  what I came there to do!  Those of you who know me (and my sweet tooth) are surely quite impressed with my restraint!

I photographed this lovely couple when they were pregnant with Avery and got some super fun images of Kevin running "airplane" circles and jumping around Carly because he couldn't subdue his joy over his child's upcoming birth.  It was such a sweet, fun and tender moment and those photos are so full of life and evoke all those wonderful emotions. 

Avery was the sweetest little thing and, despite being super tired, was not remotely interested in going to sleep insomuch that she might miss something VERY IMPORTANT! :)  Finally, at the tail end, she fell into a nice deep sleep.  We got some truly amazing photos of this expressive little gal, such a kick!

Near the middle I have some images of Kevin holding Avery in his "daddy tree branch" pose.  Whenever Avery started fussing he would hold her like this and she would immediately settle down.  So cute!

And, in case you were wondering, I grabbed three cookies on the way out (naturally!) with the intention of indulging in one and bringing the other two to my kids to enjoy....All three were in my belly before I had even gotten back onto the freeway... Bad mommy! :)

Carly & Kevin, enjoy your photos and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Thomas Bradford

This little dude was only 8 days old and just barely 6 pounds.  TEENY tiny little guy.  When they are that small their skin is really loose (wrinkly!) and their heads are pretty big compared to their little skin and bones bodies and honestly, it just makes these pictures so meaningful because when he fattens up in a couple weeks he will look like a completely different baby!  Thomas was so mellow and easygoing too.  Everytime we changed his position he just looked at us like: "ok, ladies, do what you have to do, i'm cool."  He never protested!  So sweet!    I just loved the color of their front door so we had to get some stork delivery pictures too.  Heather, try to enjoy every moment with your little angel, they grow up so fast!

Easton

I. LOVE. NEWBORNS.

I really really really do.  Sigh.  So this little dude was as cute as they come.  Bluest blue eyes.  A little squirmy worm for the longest time and totally not wanting to sleep!  But eventually he did finally conk out and was sooooo OUT that we were able to really have fun moving him around and holding him suspended and just basically goofing off around his little sleeping self.  So much fun!

I believe this is the family I have had the most shoots with and it's gotten to where I pretty much just know exactly what their vision is and what they want from me.  I don't even have to consult with them anymore about what their focus or priorities are as mom has a list ready for me when we get there and we are all good to go!

Big brother was not remotely interested in the process, which is pretty standard for a 2 year old!   During a nursing break I tried to get some shots of him sitting in their stairwell... and sadly was quite unsuccessful.  I believe I told mom when we came back down: "I think I have ONE. Maybe."    Well, I was right, I only got one, but it's such a sweet image that I hope it makes up in quality what I was lacking in quantity for AJ! :)

We also tried a few times to go outside for some shots but kept getting rained out after a couple minutes.  We did manage a few stellar outdoor shots but for the most part, everything we did was indoors using natural light only.

I love the wedding ring shots because we did very similar shots with AJ when he was a newborn where we put their wedding rings on his toes.  This time we put them on Easton's fingers so we could have the same theme but with enough difference to honor their individuality.  Just so cute!  And the upside down heads up shots at the end are also a play on similar shots we did with AJ as a newborn.  It's fun to start photographic traditions like that and I really enjoy being a part of the history and process.  So thank you for letting me continue to chronicle all of you over the years!

Cooper Mattias

Oh how I love love love LOVE newborns!!!  I always go home with my womb aching for more babies after every single newborn shoot.  I am thankfully greeted by a bunch of incredibly loud, highly verbal and extremely demanding little ones of my own which immediately squashes all those intense maternal feelings! Phew! :)

Little Cooper was such a great little dude.  He totally let me manipulate him and pose him here and there and this way and that way.  Such a trooper!  I had alot of fun playing around with the wonderful props mom had on hand (baskets, fuzzy blankets etc...) and even went home and immediately ordered two different colored sets of his white blanket that we used because it was so incredibly soft, big, fluffy and cozy and Cooper was just in heaven with that blanket so I knew I'd need some for all my future newborn shoots!

Can I just mention that his bedroom was INCREDIBLE!  It had this vintage airplane theme and just totally rocked!  He is so gonna love his room.  It was too dark to get any pictures in there but maybe next time we can manage some. :)

As always, it was a major struggle to limit myself to posting only 30 images from the shoot but I finally settled on some of my favorites.   If people know that they will be ordering a DVD slideshow from me then I will take the extra time to put one together with ALL the images and post the slideshow on the blog but it's just so incredibly time consuming to put those together that I don't do them anymore unless a client has pre-ordered it.

I should mention that, as in the past, I used ONLY natural light and absolutely NO studio or artificial lighting whatsoever.  And it was a pretty dark and dreary day!  But we managed quite nicely thanks to some big windows. 

The last two images I posted were to honor the fact that Mister Cooper was born right before Christmas and so I did a little holiday "Christmas basket" delivery theme.  I had fun with those and making the colors really pop to highlight the red of the basket against the stark white door.  I love using color vibrantly when the photograph allows you to do so artistically without it looking like a picture was just overly saturated or something. It has to FEEL right rather than overdone.    I'm just gaga about all these photos and hope Sarah and Chris will be too!!

CONGRATULATIONS you two!! :)

This last one I used an old school vintage toning to make the red look antique and his jeans really dark.

Abigail and Emma

I posted pictures a while back of Emma's family when mommy was pregnant with Abby.  Well, Abby is here! Congrats to the family!  I had actually gotten pretty sick the day before this shoot but knew I couldn't cancel because of my total lack of availability until January '08, so I checked with mom first to make sure she even wanted me around, and when she said yes, I came to do the shoot.  It was so hard for me to be so close to Abby and not be able to hold her, touch her, smell her newborn smell.... TORTURE!  I didn't want to even chance getting anyone sick so I didn't touch anyone or anything but it was totally killing me.  I wasn't feeling really 100%, so it's with great pleasure (and relief) that I came home to see some truly fantastic images from the shoot.  The ones of Emma with Abby just melt my heart.   But the biggest reason for our successful images was the fact that Abby was like a little rockstar supemodel baby.  She was happy the whole time.  That is unheard of.  Either they are awake and happy (with occasional fits) or sleeping soundly (with occasional fits).  I have NEVER had a newborn that was both, equally, happily wide awake and sleeping soundly during the duration of the shoot.  So we got the best of both worlds.  It was so cool.   She was such an angel, even when being constantly moved, repositioned and head butted by her sister, a total little trooper!  I am positively in love with these pictures...I wish I had something like this of my own two children when they were newborns, I have useless, yucky, terrible snapshots taken on a rinky dink point and shoot... I started my business when my daughter was just a few weeks old and wasn't nearly as good then as I am now.   So, needless to say, I went home with double baby cravings (one: for being around such a delightful and gorgeous baby, and two: for wanting to have a newborn of my own to get similar shots of...so, basically...my womb was aching all night...grrrr.)

It was great seeing you all again, congratulations on the sweet addition to your beautiful family!

 

Louie Louie

Oh how I love me those newborns!  I had the delightful experience of meeting Louie and his first time parents.  Little Louie reminded me so very much of how my son was as a newborn.  They even looked alot alike!  Except, of course, my preemie son was not 10 lbs when I gave birth to him.  I nearly fell to my knees to bow profusely at Allison when she told me that.  Brave woman.  Allison is one of those really relaxed and genuinely confident new moms.  She can read Louie really well and was cool as cucumbers even when he fussed (due to tummy issues that day) and categorically refused to fall (or stay!) asleep no matter what they did!  Patience eventually won that battle and, at the very end, I got some wonderful sleeping shots in addition to all the others I had gotten.   It was a pleasure meeting you guys, enjoy your pictures!