One of the most challenging (in a good way) aspects of my job is walking into a client’s home, sight unseen, for a newborn session and making beautiful art in whatever conditions I find myself.
Sometimes I walk in and find a bright, airy space with neutral tones, flooded with sunlight from giant windows. Other times, I wake up in the morning to find gloomy skies and step into my session to see a lovely space, but one that has little-to-no natural light.
On those days, I open every blind and curtain available, but still sometimes have a challenge before me. Oh, I don’t shy away, and there’s no need to reschedule. I may move my subjects ever closer to that one window to soak up every ounce of light there is. I may even choose to pop my external flash on my camera to add a touch more light to the space and ensure crisp and beautiful photos, regardless of the weather and number of windows. I promise, if this is your house, I’ll make gorgeous art of your newborn photos, too.
Maybe my favorite days, though, are ones like the day shown below — when I was welcomed into a beautiful bungalow in South St. Louis County for an in-home newborn session with Finnegan and his wonderful parents. The living room was bright enough, with several windows, but not so much direct light that rays of sunshine created overly bright spots. There were beautiful neutral tones in the furniture and decorations, accented by warm wood floors and accents. It was a really nice place to start photographing this sweet new family of three.
But when we rounded the corner into Finnegan’s nursery, I felt positively giddy with the luscious light I found. The East-facing windows let in gorgeous, moody sunlight, made even more delicious by the deep emerald green walls, rich wood floors and trim, beautiful, hand-picked wall art, and the vast array of yummy textures from the soft rug and the woven Moses basket to the nubby-knit sweater and slightly-crinkly linen shirt of Mom and Dad to the quilted changing pad cover and the velvety crib sheet on the vintage heirloom of a bassinet.
Truly, it was a dream of a backdrop to freeze memories and moments that slip by so quickly as newborns grow ever-so-swiftly into toddlers. Check out the divine light in the slideshow of photos below!
And click here to chat about the magic I can create with my camera of your sweet baby in your own lovely home, regardless of your style and how many windows you may have!
