It took me almost 2 months to get his 1 Month photos blogged, so this Month you’ll be getting a double dose of Callan (actually probably a triple dose, since I’ve now done his 3 Month session as well!) I can’t believe how much more alert he was this month! I’ve only ever seen him sleep. This time around he showed me those big blue (ish?) eyes the entire session. He took me in, for sure. It’s funny to watch babies watch you. It’s obvious when they don’t know you. And Callan didn’t pretend like he had any clue who I was. This serious little guy had a sort of puzzled, serious look on his face every time I caught his attention. It made me laugh. At one point, I actually took to massaging his brow to see if I could get him to relax a little which sent me and his mom into a small fit of giggles. Babies are so fun. Each one is different, even at 2 months old. Callan is reserving most of his smiles for mom right now, and that is truly awesome. It feels good to be the Mom, to be the one your baby wants to look at. I know the feeling, and there is nothing like it. After all, you are the one who grew him, birthed him, the one who gets up with him at night, the one who will be responsible for raising him for 18 years, the one whose life will never be the same because of his entrance into the world. Being “Mom” is a truly blessed calling, and it’s worthy of a little special treatment. And I’m happy for the challenge. We have many months to work on coaxing those smiles out of him, given that this is just one mini-session in a series of sessions commemorating his first year of life.
The yellow bassinet in these photos was Callan’s Daddy’s when he was a baby. We wanted to incorporate it into our session as a piece of his history, since it’s the very piece of furniture that Callan himself is now sleeping in every night. And he’s almost too big for it already! I love when families bring personal items like this into their sessions, especially ones with history.
While getting the shots below, Jennifer commented (through laughter) that I should have somebody taking pictures of me when I’m taking pictures. In order to get any light on his face I had her holding the bassinet up at an angle while I, with one hand, held a reflector and, with the other, held a camera, balanced on my tippy toes to get the height I needed (all 5′ 3″ of me) to get his whole body in the shots. I frequently look comical during photo shoots. Ask my clients. I don’t mind looking ridiculous. His precious, goofy expressions were worth the contortions. 🙂
This last one is one of those photos that proves the rule. With toddlers you usually only have 1 chance to get an orchestrated shot. When you ask a toddler to do something (in this case kiss her little brother), you better be ready. If you’re lucky enough to get one who likes your idea and goes for it, they probably won’t do it twice. This was the last image I took during this mini session and I didn’t get a second chance. We were lucky enough this time to end up with a sweet image anyway.
Go back to Callan’s newborn session here. And look for Callan’s 3 Month session coming up soon!
Melissa - I love love love on-location shoots. I also love that although small fine details may have been enhanced, you really have to think twice to see if they are in fact altered in any what because of the “newborn skin” as I call it. (redness). This is a great set 🙂 very lucky clients to have you!!