I’m coming off a weekend high of having my mom and family visit for my daughter’s 4th birthday festivities – so much fun and, with all of the extracurricular commitments, I actually did not work late nights the entire time. Yes, sleep is a beautiful, beautiful thing! I’m playing catch up on several sessions and have lots to blog later this week, including the gorgeous Stella, handsome high school seniors Cody and Zach and could-very-well-be-a-model high school senior Abby.

Important calendar note: If you’re an expectant mother (or are planning to purchase a baby shower gift certificate for an expectant mother) and due in July or later this year, it’s not too soon to get on the session calendar for a single Signature Newborn Session or a newborn session as part of baby’s First Year Program. I reserve a limited number of newborn spots each month so that I can give the highest level of attention, planning and creative detail to each one within a flexible schedule around baby’s due date (because we all know they have minds of their own even before birth.) May and June sessions are now closed. As always, it’s a good reminder that babies are best photographed within the first 5-10 days of life when they’re most sleepy.

I photograph a lot of newborns and have many photographer friends who also photograph a lot of newborns and, at least once a week, we find ourselves comparing notes, laughing, smiling and learning together from each session.  New tips. New tricks. New composition ideas. So when I came across this post on the GO-{4}-PRO Photography blog, I had to share. (Photographers: If you don’t followthe GO-{4}-PRO blog, I definitely suggest it.) If you search “newborn photography” on YouTube, you’ll find a gazillion videos of actual sessions. This is one of those capturing Seattle photographer Emily Weaver Brown at work during a session with a 7 day old baby.

In pre-session consults and new client inquiries, I get asked a lot about the flow of a newborn session and the length. And it’s often shocking to new parents that it can take anywhere from 2-4 (yes, 4 hours) hours for a typical newborn session incorporating the beautiful, sleeping art-inspired shots of baby curled up, in baskets, on blankets, with hats, in dad’s hands, etc. I craft each session so that there’s at least one or more elements that are unique to that session (besides baby, of course). If you’ve never experienced one first-hand, it’s easy to wonder why it would take so long … I mean, they’re just a week old, how hard could it be?

I LOVE how Emily and GO{4}PRO explain  “it’s a lot more about rocking and waiting then it is shooting and playing, oh so true!! Newborn sessions take the longest (PERIOD).”  Newborn sessions are all about soothing, rocking, waiting, molding, waiting some more, positioning, waiting and ……. then taking a shot. LOL. It’s not uncommon for one “pose” to take half an hour to secure. And the beauty of a great newborn photographer is not only in knowing lighting, composition and camera settings, but also extreme patience. This is also the beauty of custom photography vs. traditional mall/chain store photography. (I can’t imagine a chain/mall studio letting mom nurse multiple times and spending another half hour or more soothing a baby to sleep.)

I’ve wanted to do video during one of my sessions (and eventually will once things slow down a bit), but in the meantime, enjoy this fun peek into one of Emily’s sessions:

It’s been a super busy day, but I did conduct a random drawing last night for the final winner in my 2010 Image of Year promotion. The final prize is  a $500 Gift Card toward a 2010 Signature Session with me. The winner was drawn at random from the pool of Facebook fans on Kami Brady Photography on Facebook and the awesome blog subscribers here at www.kamibradyblog.com -  subscribing here.

The prize goes to: Brittney Henderson. Congratulations, Brittney!

And a huge thank you to everyone who participated in my first big contest of this type. I had no idea what to expect and was simply blown away by the response. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

(Drumroll, please) …. The voting was seriously down the wire for the second, third and fourth highest rankings last night.  I am simply amazed: There were a total of 1,568 votes cast. Thank you everyone for spreading the word and voting! And don’t forget, there are still two more ways to get really cool stuff:

Enter to win a $500 Gift Card toward a 2010 Signature Session with me: As a thank you to all the blog readers, past clients and future clients I just haven’t met yet, you have the opportunity to win a $500 gift card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session  simply by becoming a fan of Kami Brady Photography on Facebook or subscribing here to the blog. One Fan/Subscriber will be chosen at random on January 31 as the winner of this gift card.

Added bonus: If  you reserve a session to take place in 2010 by the end of this month, you’ll receive a $50 Gift Card to be used toward prints/products following your session.

WINNERS!!!

The grand prize winner of the 2009 Kami Brady Photography Image of the Year Contest goes to image #5 (13% of the votes) featuring a very vintage little Brendan:

Brendan’s parents receive a 16×20 gallery-wrapped canvas of the winning image AND a $500 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me!

The first runner up in the 2009 contest is image #7 (11% of the votes) of beautiful Miss Lauren:

Lauren’s parents will receive a mounted 11×14 linen art print of the voted image AND a $200 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Ryan, Amy, Pete and Nicole and an even bigger thank you to everyone for spreading the word, getting the vote out and simply for the awesome support of my work.