* Note: Mini Sessions include files but do not come with the custom printed disk or CD case.

Now and again things happen at photography sessions that make one laugh, though usually not until a bit later after a glass of wine or two. A small sampling…

1. I was doing a very casual portfolio building shoot of a friend’s 3-month old son at my house on my back deck. She took her glasses off to get some pictures holding her child without the specs and my own child grabbed her glasses, broke them, and dropped them under the deck. We had to fish them out (or rather, I did, as she really is basically blind without her glasses) using a hook AFTER we located where they were by peering through the wooden boards at the assorted dead leaves below. Finding patterned brown glasses in dead leaves with almost no light is, well, interesting. I told her to let me pay for new ones. Did she? No. They are STILL taped together and that boy is 18 months old now. Every time I see them I feel glasses-guilt. Lesson learned: don’t ever try to do even the most casual shoot with your kids around. This just doesn’t end well.
2. I did a maternity session for one woman and was doing a set of rapid fire pictures, one after another, of the same pose. When I went back to proof the pictures, as I flipped from one to the next, I realized I could see the baby shifting around inside her womb and causing her abdomen to change shape. I’ve also had a woman have contractions during the shoot; she was a trooper and hiked all over West Hartford Center – in high heeled boots – pausing only briefly during contractions. She admitted she hoped the walking would bring on full labor. No such luck. I did, however, once have a mother go into full labor about 5 hours after our session.
3. Babies pee on my ALL THE TIME. It’s just part of the job and one reason I wear very casual clothes to shoots. Only once, however, did I manage to actually catch an arc of pee in the air when I pushed the shutter RIGHT as the baby peed. If this happens to you I will add a complimentary 4X6 of that shot for you to tuck away until your child’s wedding rehearsal dinner when you can add it to the slideshow of cute childhood pictures. This will be payback for the sleep deprivation.
4. At a wedding I once, camera gear hanging from my neck, jumped down a river bank to grab a blow-away ketubah that the wind had snatched and was attempting to introduce to the water, not 15 minutes after every single person in the family had signed it. This was not in the fine print of “How to be a wedding photographer.” I’ve also helped a bride into her dress, which eliminated any sweet “the bride getting dressed” shots but ensured that she actually DID get zipped into her dress.

Isn’t she just the sweetest thing you have ever seen? The sweetness of newborns never stops amazing me. She was a sleeper, and the last of my Fresh Faces models. I’ve had babies who couldn’t be woken up for love, money or even food and babies who couldn’t be coaxed to sleep even in an 85 degree room with full tummies. That’s one thing you always have to remember about photographing newborns – you just have to go with the flow.

Now this little sweetie was older than I usually like to do newborns; she was over 3 weeks. I like to schedule them in that 4-7 day range as that, usually, makes for sleepy babies who still curl up into adorable little balls. Once they get a little older the shoot can be harder as they are more alert, less, well, bendy and 3 weeks can be a very difficult age as that 3-week newborn growth spurt can result in a baby who wants to eat 20 hours out of the day. As you can undoubtedly tell from her picture she was, despite her advanced age of 3 weeks, quite happy to sleep.

Newborn portraits are such a delight to do. I get to see all the wonder of new life. Sure, I get peed on during most sessions (though not, actually, during this one). And urped on. And now and again I get pooped on, but there is a reason I wear jeans to the sessions and the joy of a little baby is more than worth the many fluids that come out of them. All of which is to say, in the babbly way that lets you know it’s been an interesting day with my twins, that I have the best job in the world.

Of course, that isn’t so bad. I think it’s awfully sweet. In all truth, if I were working out of an actual studio and paying overhead and such I’d be hanging that one as a giant sample on the walls. We had been shooting up in this room for a while and were about to head downstairs to to the “head in hands” shot when big sister and baby brother settled in for a snuggle. I couldn’t resist. And I just love the result.

The head-in-hands is a classic I almost always do. These are mom’s hands; we did a set with each older sister as well for the perfect triptych.

And, despite being such an ancient baby this guy slept like champ too.

Thank you for letting me borrow your wee one! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did. Now I just have to chose which one I’ll put in my portfolio as a Fresh Face…