Earthy, Woodland Creature Themed Newborn Session | Baby Atlas
“What’s an ‘earthy’ newborn session?”, you might be asking yourself right now. Allow me to answer that for ya. It’s a crunchy term for hues of greens and browns, mixed with an adorable baby wearing bonnets with animal ears.
With that said, prepare yourself for the the cuteness [and realness] that this blog contains.
Leading up to Atlas’s session wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies [though his session did contain rainbows].
His mama, a first time bomb ass mom, happens to be one of my closest friends and a super talented wedding photographer- and she was completely transparent with me the day of her session.
I care so much about the comfort of my clients and ease of the experience that they have with me; but I also care a whole lot about sleepy babies in order to deliver the images that are anticipated [ya know, the reason you booked me in the first place]. Which means, I have carefully prepared a small list of preparations for the client to complete in the hours that lead up to our session. It’s three things; keep baby awake, wipe baby down in a bath and feed baby before you leave. ONLY THREE THINGS- easy!
NO. WAY. I’m completely aware that those three things are not easy. It’s friggin’ hard to keep a week old baby awake for over an hour, not to mention, how to get yourself ready when you’re focused on baby for two hours straight, then you’re giving baby one of their first baths and finally, it’s time to feed baby just before you can leave, which you may not have mastered just yet.
On top of the suggestions of my morning preparations and navigating new motherhood in itself, you could be like Atlas’s mom, and feeling like you just can’t catch a break from hospitals, doctors, nurses, scary postpartum health complications, long periods of time away from your baby and lots and lots of worrying. New moms will wonder if their baby will even sleep after the effort of following the prep guide, they don’t feel like themselves emotionally or physically and leaving the house may just feel like a deal breaker. There are so many new, scary and hard things involved with bringing home your baby…. and then getting them back out again for pictures.
Breathe mama.
I see you. I know you. I was you. Do your best, like you always do, and I’ll do the rest. Those preparations are professional suggestions, not deal breakers. If you don’t accomplish all three tasks, you’re just as prepared for your session as the mama who does.
Do not be afraid to communicate with your photographer, if you’re feeling the weight of it. While I was trying to schedule Atlas, I could tell, while we trying to land on a date for his session, that this mom felt requirement of scheduling with me, but she didn’t feel the joy in it. I want you to feel the joy. I encourage open communication. I’ll always put your’s and baby’s comfort first, with gentle pushes where I feel is needed.
My session with Atlas and his mom ended up soo good! She shared with me how she just couldn’t make the photo session a priority, and she was glad I took the reigns a little bit; and I’d guess she left feeling much better after a little adult interaction, girl time plus a baby, witnessing a session unfold and enjoyed watching someone else play dress up with her babe for a pretty cool outcome.
Baby Atlas came in at 13 days old, cute, tired, slightly awake. He fell into a light sleep for his first two poses; enough for me to gently and carefully work with him.
After we turned him into a baby fox, he ate and stayed awake for a little bit. I was able to wrap him up and get him feeling secure enough to sleep. While he fell into his sleepiest state of the session, I photographed him with a felt Nintendo controller that his crafty grandma made in honor of his gamer-dad. Next, we turned him into a baby raccoon [for no reason other than how adorable it was]. We finished up his session with a cute little oatmeal romper on an olive cloth drop to match his nursery and shot his littlest details.
I am so honored to be this person. To be trusted with these new little lives and turn them into art for a few hours so that you can display them in your home for a lifetime. These moments are gone too soon, and I’m doing my best to add to the joys of motherhood and help keep your littles little, forever.
Congratulations Kopachy Crew!