I recently had a newborn session in my Atlanta natural light studio, and had one of the most involved fathers to date. This father wanted to be in the photos with his newborn son, and was eager to create beautiful images for an album. I do not pose babies completely naked, so this little guy kept his diaper on. I keep my studio warm and toasty so that babies are comfortable and sleep well. While his mother was pregnant with him, both parents wore a pendant with the archangel Michael, which is what they named their little boy after. If you look carefully, you can see the pendant on the father's chest in this image. Since the pendants have such special meaning for this family, I knew it was important to have his father keep it on for their photos.
While I love motherhood portraiture, I also believe that images of babies and children with their fathers are equally as important. Your children need to see how strong their daddies are, how much their daddies love them, and how tender their daddies were with them when they were babies. I have found that fathers (and most men in general) often do not understand the emotional importance of photographs. My own husband is included in this generalization. I have a very dear friend who lost her father to cancer a few years ago. We were on a trip with them when our first daughter was an infant, and my husband didn't want me to take a picture of him holding our daughter. Our friend turned to him, put her hand on his arm, and said "I have many photos of my father. I don't have anywhere near enough photos of us together. And now that he's gone, photographs are the only thing that I have left." My husband hugged her and turned to me with a nod, and I took the picture.
Be in the photos. Your children will be grateful for it someday.
My newborn sessions are a blend of posed and lifestyle. Clients often remark on how easy and relaxed their session was at the end of it as we are packing up, and that they were expecting it to be more stressful. Your baby always leads the way, and we work around their needs the day of their session. There are so many beautiful images that can be created with baby in your arms, even if they aren't asleep.
Want to stop by the studio to meet and see the products available or reserve your session? Contact me today. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and birth photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.