One of the things I love most about newborn photography (besides snuggling those precious newbies), is stretching my creativity to deliver unique, colorful and striking images for my clients. I like to learn the decor and style of their home, and what, if any, theme is in the nursery. If my client has a particular passion, like a sport for instance, maybe we do a setup that incorporates that love. Sometimes my clients give me a vague idea like, "our home is more traditional, and we like natural looking images with parents interacting with baby." And sometimes, clients will send me a list of Pinterest images, or others from Google searches, and want to duplicate those. While I love to have an idea of what a client may like, it's important for them to understand that no two babies are exactly alike. No newborn session runs exactly like another. And likewise, no two photographers are exactly the same either. I know and admire the work of several photographers, but I'd never want to do exactly what someone else has done. Get inspiration and ideas - yes! Copy - absolutely NO! 

With that being said, I love it when I learn that a client has a special item like a blanket knitted by Grandma, or purchased a particular item (usually from an Etsy shop) and wants to use it for one of the setups. And speaking of setups, my goal for newborn sessions is to get 2-3 creative looks. If we're capturing more than just baby (parents, siblings, pets, etc.), I shoot for 1-2 creative looks then the shots with family members. Safety and comfort of that precious babe are the main priorities. I've learned that some babies are fine with just about any pose, while others may only be happy on their tummies, or maybe more upright in a bucket. For that reason, we bring a variety of props, and we can quickly assess if a pose we're doing is favorable or not with our tiny client. If it's not, we adjust and move on to something else. So, I advise my clients to have ideas, to share them with me, but not to get too focused on any one particular "look". And some clients don't have much of a preference either way, which is totally fine too. I've yet to have a session where my client wasn't thrilled with their final images, even if they aren't what was first imagined or desired.

Now...meet Kai...He's tied for the Most Laid Back Baby prize. As you'll see in the following images, we were able to get several creative looks in addition to sweet shots with Mom and Dad. Mom bought this aviator set and told me about it before hand. I have a nice variety of props, including these suitcases, that can be pulled into a setup. And, I'm blessed to have wonderful friends who respond to my requests to borrow special items like the vintage airplanes seen here. 

I thought a little vintage treatment was in order for this shot. Can't you just picture this as a huge canvas in baby's room? I sure can!

Mom also told me she'd love to get some "bookworm" shots, so we came prepared.
Fortunately, baby Kai was easy-peasy to work with so we transitioned fairly quickly to this setup.

Next, we headed to Kai's jungle themed room. I knew ahead of time that this was the theme and
what the colors were, so I was able to bring along accessories to coordinate.

And then...there's that TREE! Oh.my.goodness. I love that tree!!  
Since I brought a little lion mane, we decided to put him in the basket at the base of the tree.
His little friends were lovingly made by his Grandma, so they needed to be there too.
I think these are my faves because they were taken in his room. More personal. Love it!

Just look at how he's studying his Mama's face. Like he's taking it all in. Seriously, he was mesmorized. So cute!

Bundle Kai's go-with-the-flow mood enabled us to get lots of variety for this sweet family within the three hour session.
This is not always the case, and I'd like new parents to understand that we will
get as much as we possibly can, all while taking our cues from baby.
Before the session, I email suggestions that seem to help everything run more smoothly.