Little darling Erik was in the studio last March at the age of only two weeks old!
At every session, I take the opportunity to get acquainted with my tiny clients. They all have likes and dislikes. Some enjoy snuggles on the tummy or on the back or sides. Finding these sweet spots of comfort takes time. Usually I get them comfortable in the first half hour and then we are well on our way into the session.
Erik was an extra special tiny client. He and his family are very near and dear to my heart. Although, on the day of his session, Erik handed down some rules about how he prefers to be. In this case I took those "rules" and I bent them to create a session so magical!
Rule #1: Erik didn't like being naked as he only prefers to be warm and cozy at all times. Challenge accepted!
So I dressed him in my sleeper set that comes with this adorable sleeper hat!
While girls have bonnets, it's nice to have a set alternative of hats for boys and sleeper hats come in various lengths and are so super cute!
Rule #2: Erik doesn't like being wrapped.
Most new parents are not champions at swaddling. Swaddling takes practice and in no time it's an easy skill to obtain once you know how to get passed a wiggly baby. Although when you have your very own newborn baby in front of you for the first time, it can be hard to swaddle when you want to be as gentle as possible. I can relate to this as a parent too. I didn't swaddle my first baby either, I was far too nervous!
Why do newborn photographers wrap their babies?
When babies are in utero, they are warm, snug and comfortable. In order for our tiny clients to relax, we wrap them snug so it helps them feel comfortable as they were before birth. This is also essential within the first two weeks of life as they rely on that close comfort.
Have you ever seen a baby's arms open up at random as if they were startled?
That is called the Moro Reflex. When this happens, babies are often woken up and disturbed. By wrapping them, it helps to prevent this reflex and allows baby to feel more secure and relaxed. When baby is relaxed, that's when I capture their sweet sleeping faces.
Find out more
about the Moro Reflex
at the following link:
So back to sweet Erik.
We often think there's only one way to wrap a baby. Matter of fact there are many ways to wrap a baby. One of my favourites is the egg wrap. This is how I wrapped Erik so he could feel his hands and feet and still be comfortable. By the looks of it, I'd say challenge accepted and challenge accomplished.
For every session I do, I always try to capture a pose that allows me to create an artistic composite that the parents will love and enjoy. It's part of my photography that makes my work more magical and unique to every session I create.
For Erik, he was such a dreamy baby to work with.
So I found it suitable that he be placed among the moon and stars.
Thank you for reading my blog! :)
Coming up, spring is in the air and sweet colours are what my sessions are all about!