Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Photo Shoots can be Exhausting for Babies

February 23, 2018/by kmiller

This recent newborn session was chock-full of cuteness with a sweet baby girl and her siblings. So I’ll just start with my favorite: I can’t get enough of seeing these siblings love on their baby sister.

big brother holds baby sister

What better place for a family portrait than a couch, especially this one with lots of nearby windows and soft natural light!

family portrait on the couch

This baby girl is in for lots of kisses and tickles from her big sibs!

brother and sister checking out baby

kissing baby sister

This session was such a breeze, but this baby girl wasn’t able to fully sleep though all of the passing back and forth and an outfit change or two. So I suspect she was ready for a long nap after I left!

daddy and baby

Isn’t it sweet to see a parent look into their baby’s face? It’s such a sweet expression of love! I love photographing newborns one-on-one with mom and dad for just that reason.

kisses from daddy

smiles from mommy

mommy snuggles

And I hope that mom and dad got some rest too! Life sure looks busy with three little ones!

Pittsburgh Newborn Photos: Siblings Can Sweeten the Session

January 12, 2018/by kmiller

In my personal experience, our oldest wasn’t super excited about the birth of his brother. He was indifferent at times and jealous at others (thankfully, they’ve since bonded and are best buddies now). And I’ve photographed other families who have had similar experiences. But when there are big sibs who are actually excited about having a baby, the newborn session just gets that much sweeter. I love to see this and it is a treat to photograph it. In the past, I’ve written about times when sessions were a struggle for big sibs and this recent session provides a great opportunity to write about times when including siblings in the newborn portrait just amps up the sweetness!

the whole family on the couch

adoring their baby sister

big sister and baby sister

taking care of her baby sister

One cute thing about these sisters is that they kept wanting to touch their baby sister’s face. Their mama kept encouraging them to touch her tummy or toes instead, but they couldn’t resist. So cute!

sisterly love

I can’t put my finger on it, but photographs of my two boys together have super powers over me. They completely capture my heart. I hope this mama feels the same way about this photo.

all three daughters

mama and her baby

father and daughter

This next photo at the door was taken there mainly for the natural light, but as I was editing it occurred to me that this could have been what it looked like when this mom and dad brought their third daughter home. So sweet!

the whole family

What a breath of fresh air seeing this sweet family in their first days with their three daughters! I’m blessed to be able to capture such a special time in a family’s life.

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Photos with a Full Belly

January 3, 2018/by kmiller

This little sweetheart was just two weeks old when I got to photograph him and his is darling parents. And he started out the session a little fussy – his mama had an unplanned guest visit the hour before the session and she didn’t get the time to feed him beforehand like she had planned. And I can really identify with her, not wanting to turn someone away and hoping that everything would work out. Well, this little sweetie just wasn’t having it, so she took a break to feed him and what a turnaround once he had a full belly! He was so content and it was a breeze documenting this angel and his sweet family.

brand new baby

bright eyes

Look at how content this little guy is.

what I like to call a baby sandwich

father and son

mama and baby

This one of my favorite ways to photograph a baby. I love seeing babies in their mother’s arms, they’re happy that way and what a beautiful representation of this special time.

babe in arms

family portrait on the bed

Just look at those bright eyes! And this little guy is so content, he doesn’t even fuss at being in his crib.

newborn portrait in crib

I also love the simplicity of swaddling a baby.

baby swaddled

And then there are these sweet baby feet! My baby fix has been met and I’m excited for all that’s ahead for this sweet family!

baby feet!

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Getting Comfortable with your Photographer

December 15, 2017/by kmiller

It was an absolute treat to photograph this new family. I know this couple from church and I am blessed to witness their family grow.

mom, dad, and baby on bed

For every session, I try to identify a take-away that I can offer to anyone reading my blog that might be helpful to apply to their next session. Usually it’s clearly titled after the colon in the title of the post. And for this session, I really felt the biggest benefit I noticed is that this new mom and dad were totally comfortable with me. Now they have an advantage in knowing me from somewhere else, and hopefully have the sense that I will support them and encourage them in this exciting and sometimes challenging thing called parenthood. But I want the same for every family I photograph and I try to show my support and encouragement throughout the session. So what I’m getting at is when my clients trust that I support them, they can relax and that is very evident in their photos.

baby talk

We spend so much time admiring our babies, so it’s natural to spend a lot of time doing just that during a newborn session. And I think it shows the love that a parent has when they welcome a child into the world.

admiring their son

We also spend lots of time lounging on beds or couches because it’s comfortable when holding a baby.

family portrait

This session took place in November on a mild day, so we were able to get outside and get some fresh air.

family portrait outside

Its so sweet seeing babies look into their parents’ eyes.

looking into mama's eyes

And when the baby turns to look toward the sound of my camera’s shutter, I’m always happy to get a bright-eyed close-up.

baby's close-up

This dad is pretty smitten.

father and son

And this little guy is getting lots of love from his mama.

mama kissing baby

Love this shot of them walking in the alley behind their home!

going for a walk

Pittsburgh Newborn Sessions: Let’s Start at the Very Beginning

September 12, 2017/by kmiller

A very good place to start! This session took place when this wee one was just 7 days old. And she was awake for almost the whole hour and was so content! We started in this family’s gorgeous foyer. It had ample window light and lots of room so that I could back up and use my favorite lens.

kisses and snuggles

mom, dad, and baby

It’s so sweet to see parents swoon with delight when their baby yawns.

yawning baby

This might be my favorite shot of the session. I love seeing their faces so close together—the loving kiss of a mother and her baby so contented in her arms.

mommy kissing baby