The perfect newborn session. Thats what this was for me.
First, a little backstory.
Before this session I was feeling a little hum-drum about newborn sessions. I’ve just never been that good at the whole- make baby fall asleep, perfectly pose them on a backdrop without waking them up, while you’re sweating-cause its 80 degrees in the room to keep said baby sleeping. (sounds like fun eh?) I’ve given it the ol’ college try. And done ok, but I wasn’t about to be making any calendars anytime soon. and that kinda bummed me out. SO. I did some hardcore thinking, about how I like to play to my strengths. The things I love. The things I’m drawn to and enthusiastic about. None of which was sleeping-cherub baby photos. Maybe it was time to take them off my repitoir.
That’s where this session comes in. Corey and Sheila (the proud mom and dad) are dear, dear friends of ours. This session was sort of a gift to them. As I was getting ready for their session, I felt particularly excited- not just because they were my great friends and I got to snuggle their sweet babe- but also because I realized I had no expectations placed on me! I could do whatever I wanted and I knew they would be happy and grateful! Going into their session with that mindset, totally changed the way I shot. I approached it like all my other photography sessions. Capturing connection. Emotion. Little moments. With some direction and fun little projects thrown in for good measure. And the result- was my favorite newborn session to date. This is what I want to do. THIS is what I love. If you hire me for a newborn session, THIS is what your session will look like. I will still bring headbands and props, but they will be usued in a less typical way. No more ‘ill hang out for 4 hours until baby falls asleep’. Its so much more fun, natural and special this way. In my opinion. And please note….yes they did have an adorable nursery, but many of these shots were taken just with window light and a small piece of plain wall, or with their living room floor as the background (complete with dog beds that we moved out of the photo) or just the sweet dresser and wall decal used as props. What I’m trying to say is really, your house does NOT need to be spectacular to do this type of a session. I promise.

And just because i have a little rant left in me….I know what some of you moms in particular might be thinking-
‘I just had a baby, I don’t want to be in any photos!’(and trust me, i do understand. I have 3 kids myself) But guess what. Im here to tell you, you should be. You should be in some photos with your baby. Who is with your baby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for, pretty much the entire duration of your infants life? You are.

Who does your baby know and love more than anyone in this world? You.

Why should you not be in your babies photos? Do it for them. Do it because, I promise, when they are 5, 7, and 35 they will love seeing photos of you with them, when they were babies, and so will you. When you are 60 and have grandkids, will you be thinking ‘Jeeze, I look fat and tired. why did I agree to be in those photos!?’ Of course you won’t! I (hope) that you will look back at your photos and remember this incredibly fleeting time in your life, and remember how perfectly imperfect it all was.  Thats what parenthood is to me.  And thats what i want my newborn sessions to be from now on.
Perfectly imperfect.

There are two ‘looks’ that I really adore for photo sessions, and in general really. One, is bright, colorful, patterns, and the other is a more subtle vintage inspired look. Todays wardrobe inspiration is definitely more the latter.

As much as I adore both of these styles, they do tend to lend themselves to certain locations, more than the other. For example, bright colorful patterns work great with a urban setting, so maybe if its a city shoot, or, something else a little more unconventional and modern, that would be ideal. Whereas if we were shooting in a field with hay bails, or an apple orchard, a more vintage-y look would flow better!

Here are a few examples of a vintage inspired wardrobe!

What do you think? What is your style? Also, don’t forget to visit my Pinterest Board for more style ideas! Happy shopping!

Phew! Its been a busy week over here! With 3 sessions, and a wedding this week, and working on editing a shoot with Rising Sun Dance Studio from a few weeks back, I have been ONE. BUSY. GAL. but! I’m working on sneak peeks, so i will have some of those up on the blog shortly. and also working on a ‘feature’ a weekly (in theory) blog post with a particular theme. and as much as i hate cliches it will probably rhyme. ahem. Maybe ‘favorite things friday’? Hey, if i have to talk about it every week, its gotta be something I’m enthusiastic about!  Anyway, I decided tonight to throw up another installment of wardrobe inspiration, since its a pretty big topic lately among my session goers. And if you all are like me, the more visuals the better! This particular style is Vintageey. I would picture this session taking place in a sunlit field with an old rusty, or conversely immaculate Old Truck, or fancy car. The possibilities are endless!

And don’t forget to ‘pin’ this to your my style board on Pinterest! You can use the ‘pin it’ button below. And Feel free to follow me on Pinterest as well!

Phew! Had an awesome shoot this evening, and I’m working on getting some sneak peeks up on Facebook, but in the meantime, i thought i would post some more wardrobe inspiration for this that have upcoming shoots with me!

A couple things you should know, about what I think works best!

• I LOVE COLOR. In my opinion, the days of jeans and white shirts on the beach are over! Color is so appealing in photos, and looks awesome hanging on your walls in the final product! Cause thats what its all about right? Hanging your photos in your home. Over the mantle, in the stairwell!? On that note, that is another GREAT (often overlooked way) to choose your outfits. Take a look at your decor and color schemes in the rooms of your home. Choose to wear colors that will accent your decor, that way when you DO get some prints hanging, ahem CANVAS’ they will compliment your rooms!
• Patterns are not a bad thing! I love patterns as well, and i love mixing patterns, and colors, don’t be afraid of patterns!
• Accessories are a great, easy way to add variety to your photos, and can also be very practical. If you’re having a shoot on the beach, even if its summer, bring a sweater! or a scarf! It will add variety to your photos, and can also keep you warm if its chilly!
• If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start when it comes to choosing outfits, start with one person. Get an outfit together for yourself, or your daughter, whoever, and then dress everyone else around that outfit pulling colors from their outfit, to dress everyone else in.

Ok. Those are my tips for tonight! Here are some adorable outfits for you to oogle over. Don’t forget to ‘pin it’ to your ‘my style’ board  on Pinterest!:)

# 25  Kristal Parshall! Congratulations! Shoot me an email Kristal and we’ll talk about your session! noelsmallphotography@hotmail.com And thank you again, everyone, for entering, and being PATIENT. what a nightmare that was! LOL But hey, TWO winners, thats kinda cool!?

I have NO IDEA what happened with that whole drawing, but it backfired on me big time. So here is the new plan. I will list everyones name who entered, and give each one a number based ROUGHLY on the time they entered. I saw roughly, because Im not going to calculate who was before who in terns of minutes and such. It just aint gonna happen. The important thing is that everyone has a number, and the list is public before i draw. The winner will be chosen again via random.org and will be posted on a separate post. As i said on Facebook, i don’t care if someone hacks my website, and jumbles and erases and all out screws it up, this is final, and you guys will just have to trust me! And since its not fair for Jen to think she had won, and then have it ripped from her, Jen Ulrickson, you get a session too my dear. (and jen’s name was not included in this list! Ok. here goes!

1. Stephanie Goss

2. Kelli Doherty

3. Kelly Guite

4. Kim Drosdik

5. David Taylor

6. Noelle James

7. Kendra Pratt

8. Molly Ladd

9. Audrey Trask

10. Rebecca Osgood

11. Kate Brown Johnson

12. Jennifer Brown Hibbard

13. Becky Doten Lizotte

14. Amanda Denyl Ward

15. Kimberly Granholm

16. Bambi Ulrickson

17. Barbara Schermerhorn

18. Annmarie Neill

19 Misti Doherty

20. Lynn Walkiewicz

21. Lily Fortin

22. Amanda Wrobel

23. Carrie Harrison Bowen

24. Shannon Snowman

25. Kristal Parshall

26. Cathy Doughty

27. Courtney Maygan

Ok. it took me a few minutes to figure out what the heck i was doing, and i decided to number all the entries, just to make it clear, since they didn’t show up in chronological order. If your entry didn’t have a number, than you didn’t enter in time. Anyway, without further a do…..

Congrats #21  Jennifer Ulrickson! Can’t wait to photograph your family again this year!!! Shoot me an email at noelsmallphotography@hotmail.com and we’ll set up your session! Thanks SO MUCH to all of you for entering, and i hope you come back to visit my blog every once and awhile. I may do some more giveaways in the future, and DEFINITELY will as i reach a greater fan base on Facebook, so share my page with your friends!!!

Here’s some more wardrobe inspiration for you all! I can’t get enough of these. I love having something to look at to give me ideas for piecing together outfits (one of the many reasons i love Pinterest so much!) Which reminds me, If you are on Pinterest, follow me, as i have some boards set up specifically for my clients, with wardrobe inspiration, wall display guides, and cool wedding ideas!

Anyway here are some great ideas for spring family outfits.