I love it when perfect symbols (unintentional or otherwise) make their way into my sessions, especially this signature maternity session. When I’m first composing a shot, I’m initially thinking about the person I’m photographing – do I want this to be a closeup, 3/4 shot, full body? Horizontal or vertical orientation? What kind of in-camera cropping will I compose for? How is their clothing hanging? Are their hands loose and relaxed or balled up? Where is the light falling? What kind of expression do I want?

Then, after all of that, I double check the background making sure there isn’t something I would want to Photoshop out later. Or, in this case, something significant or meaningful that I want to compose around.

Like these circles:

And what pregnant mama hasn’t heard the following bit of advice? (The harsh light wasn’t ideal in this location, but I spotted the words as we were walking back to the cars and couldn’t resist.)

Once again, we were joking when she scheduled her maternity session that baby would likely come well ahead of her due date SIMPLY because she booked it with me. Remember the track record of early babies over the last four months?

Well, guess who arrived early?

We shot this session at their home which is a nice change every now and again from the studio sessions I normally do – it also allows us to incorporate the baby’s nursery in a bigger fashion. The beautiful rocking horse is a family heirloom:

Proving once again I really am funny:

I love a vintage prop and color pop as much as the next girl, but I also believe that, no matter the pose or the accessories, the focus of a newborn session should always be the nuances of that tiny little person.

The “smallness.”

The “curlyness.”

The “furryness.”

The “I just want to bottle that newborn baby smell and smother you with kisses …. ness.”

(G’head, nose on up to your screen. I won’t tell.)

Here are some of my favorites of Quinn and his beautiful mama “before” and “after.”