Stella's Newborn Session in the Annex
What a privilege it is to be able to document such precious moments with an incredible family… again
The last time we saw Lauren & Dan was at their maternity session, pre-baby, so being able to come back and photograph them with their new, beautiful, addition to their family was such an incredible honour. At their last session they told me that although they know what they wanted to name their baby girl they weren't going to tell anyone until she was here. Lauren sent us an email a few days after she returned home from the hospital with a photo of her girl and the line "her name is Estella, and we are calling her Stella". They originally weren't too sure if they wanted to take newborn photos (they didn't even really want to take maternity ones, but were eventually talked into it!) so we were surprised and excited to find out that they wanted us to come back for more! Lauren & Dan said that they wanted to take pretty much the same photos as we took for their maternity session, so we happily headed back to their home in the Annex to hang out and to shoot again!
When I arrived and asked Dan how everything has been, how Stella has been since coming home he simply replied "everything is perfect, she's perfect." *cue to feeling all the feels* Stella was very much a newborn baby in that she was beautiful, happy, and healthy, but also hungry and crying throughout our whole shoot (despite being fed not too long before we began... it happens, and that's more than ok!). Of course, Lauren sent me a photo of Stella just a few hours after our shoot so happy and smiling ear to ear- where was the enthusiasm before, Stella?! Just kidding you guys, all tears aside she was and is still so beautiful, and such a trooper for having a camera in her face for a few hours.
There's something special about this family that I keep trying to put into words but can't; between how incredibly warm and inviting they are, how relaxed and casual they are, or the fact that I was able to document them and not worry about posing or lighting, there's something about looking at these photos (and their maternity session) that leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside. Lauren, Dan, and Stella are truly the type of family I hope to be lucky enough to photograph over and over again and this is type of work I hope to continue to capture for more families in the future. Lifestyle and documentary session tend to be completely different from more styled shoots, and in truth these are the ones where I find we can deeply connect with people more so I'm putting it out there into the universe that this is more of what I want to do- let's find each other, friends!
