A Peaceful Moment
Once you become a mom, the word "peace" takes on a lot of new understandings. The need for peace and quiet increases as the world gets a bit noisier with all the other feet and voices, the desire for a stillness and hush among the chaos. Oh, the chaos is all good, too - it breathes life in and out, and reminds us of all the love that is running around in circles about us. For this newborn session, "peace" was 40 minutes of time with just a mama and her sleeping newborn. The Longs have been clients for a few years now, and we knew this little one was on the way during last year's holiday photo session; needless to say, I was looking forward to this one!
Little Ellie joined the Long family less than a week before I captured these images. Mama and I chatted about the delivery, how the family is adapting, and just mom-life stuff as I set up in the kitchen nook. The soft natural light from the sliding door added a gentleness to the session, and Ellie slept through just about every moment. Going off of a general tone from her previous children's newborn images, we worked with neutrals and pastels for backdrops - a bit of simplicity in a quiet home. As I switched backdrops or added a headband, we talked about our children and what it was like for each of their births - all the ways we've learned how to be mamas from our kids as they grow.
As I've come to know the family and the three older children, I was amazed to see that Ellie already resembles her siblings in some ways (I think she looks like Owen). Our normal is to capture the kids as they are - full of personality, silly smiles, and energy. This time around, all the peace settled around with only mom and Ellie with me (with the exception of a curious Tucker). We were able to fit a few different backdrops, wraps, and set ups in to the session time, all with a quiet little babe, quite happy to be posed for her close ups.
While I look forward to spending another session with the whole family again soon, there was a beauty about the time together in the family's home, capturing precious moments of their newest little addition. Thank you for your warm hospitality and easy conversation, and I hope these images bring a smile for many years to come!
