Newborn photos taken in the comfort of your own home are one of the most challenging and rewarding things I do.
They might not be perfect in the way of a studio image with nothing in the background, but they will be real, and, they will be perfectly you.
They will depict your life as it was when your baby (or babies) came home with you. Your very first weeks will be documented and never forgotten in the haze of sleepless nights. You will have timeless family heirloom photos to cherish forever.
I love photographing high school seniors because they are so vibrant!
A good match for me are Seattle students who want to look like real people, not fake glamour gals. Take Isabel for example, she is so naturally beautiful, she just showed off that beauty at the Ballard Locks and the backyard of her Ballard home (actually, that’s the neighbors house, a shared dock -:). I digress. The point is, be real!
It’s also interesting that often the clients favorites are not my favorites. I loved the expression in the second one, the black and white one, but she preferred the top. This is the wonderful subjectivity of photography and how we see ourselves.
In the end, she used the one with the shell for her yearbook photo and got the rest framed. Thank you Isabel. I had so much fun with you! Meryl
The opportunity to come to your home and document your joy at having a new baby is one of the most special things I do. And, I love it!
Every family is different and I adjust to what you want out of your session. It’s not about me, it’s about you!! For example, not all women want breastfeeding photographs, but many do. They note the way I capture the way the baby looks at them, and are so happy they will get to remember that look and memory when they are no longer breastfeeding.
Congratulations Ingrid and Aaron! What a beautiful family you have. And to let everyone know, this is a small sample of what an in-home newborn session can look like.
Every family, home and session is different, but this is realistic for you! While these two may look like models, they are real people!
We find a spot or spots in your home that have some natural light (I can do with less than you think) and I spend between 2-3 hours with you documenting anything from your baby alone, to breastfeeding, to the whole family. It’s all about you and what you want!
Not pictured are over 100 other images the family received to have forever as cherished memories of their newborn.
A blog post can only be a small sample of our work together, and while my favorites are usually black and white, and while I think I’m more known for black and white, most of the images are available in color as well. In fact some of Ingrid’s favorites are in color with a beautiful flower crown made by Flower Lab in West Seattle. I’ll show them in a second post if I can ever find the time!
I hope this will give you an idea of what I can do for you and your family as we create together.
Annika was just fantastic to work with, open to all sorts of ideas, and humored the photographer! And, her brother gave a great assist holding my reflector.
As a result, she was given a large selection (over 100) of images to chose from from our 2 hour session in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill in Seattle. She hasn’t picked her favorites yet, but here are some of mine. As a side note, my choices are often very different than my clients.
Do you know anyone who didn’t get their Senior Portraits done in time for the yearbook, but still want to document this time in their lives? Or perhaps you are thinking ahead for August when you will get your portrait done when school’s out, and things are not so hectic. Either way, I hope you’ll consider me for your portraits.
My style is natural, relaxed and classic. Let’s just go out and have fun! There are no “poses” and number of outfit changes, just me revealing the best you!
Thanks for looking! Meryl
Claudia Rowe is a terrific writer and fantastic journalist I am fortunate to call my friend. Her book, “The Spider and The Fly” is scheduled to be released January, 2017 by Dey Street/HarperCollins and I can’t wait to read it! You can check out this blog post to get what the book is about.
No, we don’t all look like Ingrid when 32 weeks pregnant. She is stunning. But whatever your body type or level of comfort with nudity, I can make a beautiful portrait of you. These are only three from a studio session that produced hundreds of images. I just want to give you an idea of what’s possible.
If I could give any advice to parents taking photos of their children, it is, let the children be themselves. Don’t make them smile for the camera. To me, this makes the best photographs. I hope you’ll agree.
Oh Jack, you’ve won my heart. What a bundle of joy you are.
I’ve been spending a fair amount of time with 3 month old’s lately. Some parents don’t feel up to being photographed immediately after their baby is born, or they get those images at the hospital. But, they don’t want to wait for a 6 month old photo (which is a really good time for photos). So I’ll go their home and do what I call an in-home documentary photo session, or “a day in the life of..” These can vary in length according to the tolerance of the parents, since the child is just doing what they normally do-breastfeeding, making google eyes, or pooping.. 🙂 It usually works out to photograph between nap times. This age can be a little challenging and more time-consuming because the babies can’t hold themselves up, but the photos can be quite rewarding. I hope you’ll agree!
I was called by Queen Anne mom Cecile to do an extended family portrait of 10 people-grandparents, two sets of parents and these children. And, we did those more structured pictures. But what I hope to achieve during those sessions as well, is also capturing these moments in between the more formal portraits. I love capturing natural emotion, and don’t want children to “smile for the camera. ” My hope is that you will find these as successful as I feel they are. Thanks for looking.
Meryl Schenker Photography 