You know it was a good session when I want to print samples of the entire gallery! This sweet baby boy we are about to rave about is the nephew of a past co-worker of mine. And I'm talking, like... from my first retail job working at La Senza when I was 18/19 years old. We opened the store in CrossIron Mills together, ha! My gosh. Feels like yesterday but, I guess it's been 8-9 years, give or take. I've given up counting.
It's amazing how Facebook can keep people in touch, so when my friend reached out to me for some newborn photos of her brand new little nephew, I was grinning from ear to ear and beyond excited to meet this little dude!
There was a request that towered over all the others. I have an elephant-themed photo that is a popular request from parents, so when it was mentioned I assumed right off the bat and was ready to respond with, "Yes, absolutely! Not a problem at all!" But instead, I was met with a challenge. "We love the real animal idea, and we'd like a lion. A REAL lion."
Well, hmm. I was intrigued. But admittedly wasn't sure where in the heck I was going to find a photo of a lion that I could use (you know, copyright laws and whatnot) nevermind having to make it look real, and get a baby nestled into all. that. hair. and make it look as real as possible. But, I'm always up for a challenge. And I was very excited to take on a theme that very well became the "mane" event (ha!)
It dawned on me that last summer, my girls and I had gone to the zoo and I had brought my camera along. It also just so happened that day that the lions were very active, and I remembered that I had photos of those lions - somewhere. So I started digging. Success? We will come back to the lion image shortly. Let's chat about the session itself for a moment.
Arlo and his parents arrived in my studio and we were able to get straight down to business. Mom & Dad were very easy to talk to and I enjoyed listening to their stories about their fur-baby at home, and I shared some funny stories of my own kids (I can't help myself; when I'm not a photographer, I'm a mom, so a lot of my stories start with, "One time, my daughter...")
This little baby boy was so calm, despite initially disliking a couple of our intended poses he ended up calming right down and we were able to get a variety of shots with him in different poses and in different props.
The joy on his parents' faces has me finding a smile upon my own face as I look at the photos and remember as Mom gently snuggled her baby and Dad proudly boasted about how amazing his kiddo was doing with feeding, growing, sleeping, on and on (although I do believe there was a quick comment on how Arlo liked to wake up at night, ha! I think a lot of parents with newborns can relate to that!)
Oh, my goodness. Every time I see this sweet little face, with those perfect little lips and round little cheeks, I just melt all over again. Such a handsome baby boy with perfect features and such a snuggly personality. I could have just sat with him all day and taken in all the newborn sweetness. He was so rolly, and soft, and perfect... and all the other descriptive words that could make this run-on sentence just keeping running forever.
It absolutely drives me crazy for how short of time these little ones stay so soft, sleepy, and snuggly. I absolutely love the newborn stage. If I could just have a warm newborn to snuggle with every single day... but alas, they grow so very quickly. And although I do love the other baby stages too (who doesn't love those baby laughs and rolly thighs!) there is just something about that fresh baby goodness.
Perhaps it's because it is for such a short time that it makes it all the more special. But I am so thankful for photography and the ability to capture newborns in this very fleeting and short-lived time. Yes, the sleep deprivation is real. Oh so very real. But trust me, even if you don't think you'll miss these days, you will miss the tininess that was your newborn! I look at my 6-year-old daughter and she is SO big! I can't even imagine her as the tiny little 6-lb lump I brought home not-so-long ago.
Try as I might, Arlo hated being on his tummy. Even waiting until he was sound asleep didn't work; I tried thrice and no dice. But, despite the little yells of retaliation, he tossed me a grin that had my heart doing flips. I wish I could take credit for those big baby grins, but they are always 100% baby and perfect timing. And that smile is probably the biggest one I've had to date; I absolutely LOVE it! Ahh! That photo needs to have big and proud on a wall, it's just way too adorable!
Now... back to that lion photo...
We managed ONE shot of Arlo on his tummy for the lion shot. That is the only thing I needed in order to attempt this requested image, and I am glad that we got it, even if it was ONE. SHOT. And straight to work I went to pull together this perfect shot I've never done before and could not even find a reference of on Google, Pinterest, Instagram...
That's right, my friends. I do believe this is an original piece and I am so glad to say that the photos are 100% mine and the editing is 100% mine, too!
I painted hair by hand. I added shadows and colours and lighting and on and on.
It. Had. To. Be. Perfect. And perfect it is.
I feel that when it comes to Photoshop and digital composites like these, there is a thin line between fine art and a tacky photo. And by the time I had finished this photo, some 6 hours of straight editing later, I am actually quite very proud of the end result. All of that effort was 100% worth it. As much as we like to think that Photoshop is a series of button clicking and muttering magic words and all kinds of other hocus pocus, then *poof!* it's done. Not likely... it's taken me 15 years to learn the ins and outs, and learning more all the time (AND they keep adding more to the program - ahh!) But, I love it. It's art and I absolutely love to do it and have been doing it every single day since the day I discovered this amazing program.
Anyways, that being said. A friendly reminder from your neighbourhood photographer - your photographs are art. Your photographs need to be printed! USBs are where fine art portraits (and any photo) go to die. Prove that statement wrong and print!
And, if you want to print quality products of the photographs you just invested so much into (time, money, effort... etc) then make sure you contact me! I have access to top-notch professional print labs that you can't get access to anywhere else (seriously, Walmart and Costco don't cut it!) and I will happily tailor to all of my wonderful families and their portrait printing needs! Need advice in sizes, too? (Those numbers and measurements used to make my eyes cross, I get it) I can help you with that. Heck, I even have a nifty photo-hanging tool and will come over and help you hang your photos, too. ;)
Anyways, thanks for reading and congratulations to Arlo's parents on the arrival of their PERFECT baby boy. It was an absolute pleasure, and it was really, really hard to not share every. single. photo. from your session. Thank you for being so amazing and for trusting me with your keepsakes!
0 Comments