Mother's Day | Kensington MD Family Photographer

This blog post is all about Moms!! Most of the time moms are the ones reaching out to me to schedule family photos. I’m so grateful for you!!

I wanted to share a short blog post to highlight some of my past and repeat clients on the blog and include some reasons why gifting a photo session is a great gift for mother’s day!

Keep reading about how we celebrate Moms | Family Photography, Kensington, Maryland

One reason why a photo session is a great gift for mother’s day is that it celebrates moms!!

Holidays can be hard because it can be overwhelming just to think about what we “want” or “need”. Booking a photo session is a personalized gift that gives us a reason to look beautiful connecting with our family.

Moms want photos with their children.

A photo session documents connection and reminds us we were there! Moms are usually the ones taking the photo. Gifting a photo session is a way to personalize a gift where moms can be in front of the camera.

Time doesn’t stand still.

Photos help to remind us that time is such a thief. I don’t know about you, but watching our daughter grow up is so bittersweet. I want her to experience the world but I also want her to me a baby forever! A photo session helps to freeze time for just a little bit longer. Whether you’re booking a maternity session, newborn session, spring or fall family photos, each one helps to document a slice of life.

Once your photo session is complete, you can print the images of your family and decorate your home!

Gifting a photo session isn’t just about the session, but also what comes after! When you book a family session you cannot let the images just live on your computer and social media.

I’m a huge advocate for printing images. Decorate your home with the images from your photo session!!

We have photos on several walls in our home and downstairs in the playroom. It’s such an experience to walk through our home with loving photos of our family on our wall.

I hope this blog post was helpful at reminding you of a unique gift for mother’s day.

Family of Four | Northern Virginia Newborn Photography

Newborn sessions really are something I think every family should experience! I photographed this family when big sister was around 2 years old and I was so excited to hear they would be welcoming another little girl into their family and that the family wanted to schedule a lifestyle newborn session.

Today on the blog I’m sharing a few different ways you can make sure to have a full gallery of images from your in home lifestyle newborn session.

1. plan for the newborn session to take place at home.

   As a northern Virginia newborn & family photographer I usually find it’s most helpful to schedule the newborn session in your home. Each home is so unique to the family and the routines and environment can vary.

   Although there are always specific “poses” and combinations of family members I take at each session, the way we get there and the outcome varies which I think makes each session unique to the family.

2. include ways your older sibling can participate in the session

If you have an older child, we know that their world has completely changed from maybe being the center of all attention to now having to share the spotlight with a brand new baby. If the older child isn’t ready to participate, we aren’t going to force it. But if they are interested in touching and being near baby, we will embrace it for as long as we can!

This is a good time to capture images of the siblings together, whether laying together or sibling helping to hold the baby. A curious sibling will often do something unexpected and we have to be ready!

3. photograph each parent with the baby

The newborn is really the star of the show at a lifestyle newborn session. We want to have a gallery full of images of the baby alone and with family members, doing different things and spending time together. Photographing each parent with the baby is another way to ensure a full family gallery from the session.

4. document a feeding

New babies eat a lot and they eat often. I like to plan for newborn sessions to be longer than traditional family sessions because at some moment during the session the baby will want to eat.

A feeding is a great time to take a few moments to slow down and embrace this stage of life.

5. embrace unscheduled moments

Babies are going to do what they want to do when they want to do it. And so will siblings! Sessions tend to go smoothly when we embrace the unscheduled moments and go with the flow.

We might not have expected a specific thing to happen when it happened but it gives us moments that we might not have gotten otherwise. I’m always ready to take the photo!

6. pick out areas in your home that you spend time or that have meaning

We spent most of this session inside of the family’s home, and ending the session outside in the yard. For most of the indoor portion of the session we used some different areas in the family room, couch, large windows, and kitchen.

There is such a variety of moments that can be captured at an in home lifestyle newborn session. All of this will vary based on the family’s home and it’s fun to get creative with how to use the space!

7. be flexible with expectations

I’ll finish up this blog post saying that it’s good to be flexible with expectations during a lifestyle family session. The baby might want to nap, the baby might want to be awake, the baby might want to be held the whole time.

All of those things are totally fine for these laid back lifestyle sessions.