It's a rainy day in Calgary today, so I'm taking advantage of it and catching up on some gorgeous babies to blog about! I always feel guilty sitting at the computer when the sun is high and hot, but today is the perfect day to snuggle up with a coffee and turn the tube on for the kids while I ramble on about some adorable babies! It never gets old, and I love reliving the moments of past sessions and sharing them with those who are also currently couch-bound and relaxing on this rainy day with me. 

Taking the spotlight today is sweet baby Takeshi, a calm and laid back little newborn who had a delivery that did not suit his personality at all! His momma told me his labour was 20 minutes from start to finish and arrived in such a scramble that had everyone a little surprised and short of breath after his hasty arrival. A labour as fast-paced as this would have anyone assume that this little lad would be a feisty and active little guy. But that was very much not the case. 

Takeshi was pretty well asleep from the moment he arrived until our final pose, and everything that happened in between was nothing short of adorable moments and smooth sailing. There was nothing to prove here with any of my baby-whispering skills; he was an absolute dream and a sound little sleeper. 

I think the highlight for me during this session was the actual delivery of the sneak peaks to Mom during this session. Clients' can witness the entire session unfold before their eyes while I work with their little loves during the actual picture-taking process of a session, but revealing the variety of beautiful images is a whole new experience once the session has taken place. I absolutely love the excited reactions and heartfelt comments I receive from these families as they lay eyes on their photographs for the first time, and it truly never gets old and the novelty never wears off. I am always so excited at the end of a session, I normally run straight to my computer the moment my clients' walk out the door to return home and get straight to work backing up, sifting through, and editing up a couple of my favourites from the session to send right away. 

I know that the waiting time in between the session to the final delivery can be hard! "What did she get? Did they turn out? I can't wait to see!" So I try to send a tiny little taste of what's to come as soon as possible so that there is a tiny sense of instant gratification and an idea going forward of the beauty to come! I absolutely love it. I often refer to it as the "Kinder Surprise Moment". 

My favourite image from Takeshi's session is hands down the bear shot - how utterly adorable! It's "magic" like this that I absolutely love delivering to these anxiously awaiting clients and taking their breath away with photographs that they didn't expect to receive, and I so often wish I was sitting in the room with them when they see their little baby captured in a beautiful photograph for the first time. Of course, it's always hard to pick a favourite. Even I have troubles deciding which image I love the most, but there are always a couple where even I clap my hands together in excitement and feel my heart doing backflips in my chest. It's just SO much fun and I live for the moment every single time! 

Even when babies aren't 100% cooperative, I know that parents' sometimes go home a little disappointed or in doubts with what I may have captured. But that's almost my favourite situation because at that point they are completely flabberghasted that their gallery and the stunning portraits that were achieved during the session. A photograph is literally a split second in time, and I love catching those seconds and transforming them into lifelong keepsakes. But, like I mentioned, little Takeshi was a more-than-cooperative little man, so we were lucky to have been given many of those precious seconds and crammed a gallery full of precious moments to be enjoyed for years and generations to come! 

As always, it's been an absolute joy and pleasure working with this handsome and downright snug-able little man and I'm so deeply, truly wish to see him again in a year for a big birthday bash cake smash! Thank you so much to this wonderful family for their patience, trust and choice in me as their newborn photographer - you were amazing to work with and I loved every little minute with the four of you! 

Here's Takeshi, 12 days fresh.