Rubeo Family/Senior Session

I've been photographing so many newborns lately (it's my passion, of course!) but have recently received a request for senior and family portraits.  I photographed her friend's son's senior portraits while I was in school, so it's always wonderful to receive referrals.  I consider that to be such a huge compliment and really appreciate it.

The seniors are twins.  I think the overall posing for this session was pretty traditional, but the location happens to be one of my favorites - Sharon Woods Park in Cincinnati.  There is a lot of variety there, not to mention a huge waterfall, which I've used on quite a few occasions. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Product Spotlight: Ties for Little Guys

I mentioned before that I plan to spotlight various products (print-related) that I offer as well as props for newborns.  I recently won a contest on Facebook where I won some ties made by Kiwi and Kiki http://www.kiwiandkiki.com/   They sell the cutest little ties & bowties, which are great for photography and in my case, newborn photography.  Their ties/bowties are hugely popular and I can certainly understand why.  Newborn girls have headbands which are specifically for that gender and boys now have ties!  They are just the right size for their little bodies and come in so many different colors and patterns.  I look forward to using these props in some upcoming sessions!  Thank you Kiwi & Kiki for introducing me to this fabulous new prop!

Ala Carte Now Available!

I'm excited to announce the addition of ala carte prices to my price listing! I have prices listed both with and without package purchase. Minimum order: $50 in product plus $50 session fee. Packages will be listed on my website and FB, but please make request for ala carte prices. I will be doing Product Features periodically in my blog, describing the many products I provide with pictures. Prints, gallery wraps, albums, announcements, you name it!

New Adventures in Cheesecloth

I've recently purchased 6 hand-dyed cheesecloths  from one of my newest vendors, Tiny Tops.  Cheesecloth is a very soft, fine thread cloth that you would use to wrap a newborn for portraits.  It can be used in several different ways not just with newborns, but also in maternity photography as well.  With longer pieces, you can create a custom newborn hammock.  The wonderful thing about cheesecloth is that it gives you a great splash of color to the image, which is something I'm really focusing on in my newborn photography.  It's also pretty affordable, so I plan to purchase many more colors in the future!  Some future colors I'd love to purchase would include eggplant, teal, turquoise, peach, and magenta, though my wishlist extends well beyond this!  I will be using these cloths in some upcoming newborn sessions and look forward to exploring my possibilities with it!

The colors listed from top to bottom:
Espresso
Lilac
Denim
Sage
Tangerine
Bubblegum

Wilber Newborn Sneak Peeks

The ultimate goal for a newborn photographer is to achieve sleepiness (in the baby, that is) so you can photograph them doing what they do best and is the best way to get those cuddly sweet posed newborn portraits.  This is best done between the ages of birth to 2 weeks of age.  But, each baby is different so you really don't know what you will encounter when you go through your session.  With all the newborns I've photographed, I've had very sleepy babies as well as babies that just did not want their picture taken!  lol  So when this happens, you take to plan B and figure out what type of portraits would be best with the newborn.  When I'm transitioning a newborn into a different pose or prop and they either fully awaken into calm alertness or into full crying mode, I will generally turn my focus to the parent/baby interaction portraits.  I find this works great, because then the baby will more than likely calm down and either fall back asleep or engage in sweet interaction with the parent as well as the camera.

Baby E woke up mid session and was as calm and content as can be!  She was a very sweet little girl with some of the greatest expressions.  Her eyes are just amazing!  I think this series of portraits featured in this post capture that interaction nicely.

 

Brooks Newborn Session Sneak Peek

I had a great time photographing 3 newborns over a span of 48 hours.  This little guy was the first of the three.  I've been really trying to accomplish new poses and techniques.  He was the first newborn that I was able to successfully pose in a head up position, which is very exciting!

 

My Style

I've been doing a ton of research lately into all aspects of newborn photography, to get an idea of what I think looks best, from depth of focus, to props, to color combinations, backdrops, and even floors.  I really want to find my style-something consistent that will make you think of DVP when you look at the image.  I'm currently going on location for my newborn work but will someday like to get a small studio either out of my home or somewhere centrally located, that will both house my growing list of props/backdrops/floors, but also offer the best in lighting as well.  I think a combination of natural and studio light works well when it comes to portraits, working with either one and/or the other to get the desired effect.

I'm currently looking into my options for portable flooring, because I think texture/color is not only important in the background, but also in the floor as well.  The majority of newborn photography takes place on the floor, usually in a prop such as a basket, bucket, chair, hammock, cocoon, scale, etc.  With my work on location, portable flooring/backdrops offer great versatility to the session and endless possibilities. 

Because of my desire to hone in on my newborn photography craft as well as build my newborn portfolio, I will frequently have specials geared towards newborn sessions.  Since I feel word of mouth is so important when it comes to photography, I will also offer incentives to those that refer new newborn/maternity clients to me.  Please be on the lookout for those specials in the near future!

My current special for newborns is focused around Spring and all the wonderful little creatures that come out to play!  I've partnered with an incredibly wonderful and talented crochet business, Calleigh's Clips (http://www.facebook.com/Calleighsclips) in starting a line of crochet newborn props called Cuddle Critter Capes.  These capes are pretty unique and include a hat and matching, detachable cape (the body) that turns tummy posing newborns into adorable creatures!  I currently have a ladybug, bumblebee, caterpillar, skunk, hedgehog, bunny, giraffe, and monkey available for shoots and will be adding to the collection! 

Since I'm interested in getting product photographs for her business as well as build my portfolio, I'm looking for newborns to model these cute, cuddly products!  If you have a newborn session with me between April and June 30th, you will receive an on location newborn session with me (3 hrs max) and 15% of any portrait print package, which includes a DVD of all edited images (minimum 20 images), both low and high resolution.  I will not only do portraits with these products, but also will do a regular newborn session featuring my props as well as anything you may want to contribute!  Like I mentioned before, if you refer a newborn client to me, you will also receive a special deal! (Deal to be announced)