3 Lifestyle Newborn session Must Haves | Dallas, TX Newborn Photography

The new baby smells, little toes and baby coos that melt your Mama heart. It is in those earlier days that time passes way too quickly and you need to capture the littlest details of your precious newborn! I love entering a home a seeing the nursery all set up, hearing where some of your favorite pieces came from or how you picked your little one’s name! All of these little details help me as I begin to capture your new family and tell your story!

Newborn sessions can vary from 45 minutes to 2 + hours depending on how your baby is doing. Each individual newborn determines our session from start to finish, well unless there is an older sibling. If there is an older sibling, then we let them lead the session!

3 LIFESTYLE NEWBORN SESSION MUST HAVES

These are a few of my favorite newborn must haves which can help you prepare for your session before your little one arrives. This will give you as the Mama a little more peace of mind before your session!

1. Simple Swaddle: Yes, I love to utilize just a simple white, blue, pink or swaddle with a small print to capture your newborn. This keeps your baby wrapped up tightly, which must prefer. Sometimes their sweet little arms, rolls or hands get out and this just adds to the perfect little newborn detail shots. Some of my favorite swaddles are Aiden and Anais, SpearmintLove or Little Unicorn

2. White noise: Many times a walk into a clients home and ask about a sound machine. Yes, newborns are used to hearing some calming noises from the past 9 months. The white noise can help soothe them to sleep or just keep them content while we work through the session.

3. A simple onesie, bows or hats: Simple, small bows for baby girls are perfect to put on during our session. This can add just that touch of pink to the session gallery. I also tend to lean towards swaddles, but if you have that perfect coming home outfit or onesie you want to use we can always utilize those special details during our session!

3 small tips to help you prepare for your lifestyle newborn session! And if you are ready to book your newborn session before it’s too late, please reach out to me and let’s get you on my calendar!

What to Wear for your Spring Session | Dallas, TX Family Photography

Spring Sessions are just around the corner! And yes, I know it can be a bit overwhelming to get all the outfits together! I am sharing tips for planning your spring photo-worthy wardrobe; as well as, a few outfits for the whole family!

1. Start early! Look now for your Spring wardrobe. It is always best to begin looking as early as possible. You never want to wait until the last minute to put your wardrobe together. This only makes us mama’s a bit more stressed!

2. Mama, start with you! Yes, it is always best to start with the women of the group. Mama’s you can some times be the pickiest. Find a flowy dress, cute top and white pants, or skirt and top combo. I particularly think dresses are prettiest and most flattering for pictures, but that’s not to say I have some of my favorite pictures in a top and white jeans combo! You want whatever you choose to be flattering and make YOU feel good! I may ask you to sit or bend down, so make sure you feel comfortable doing this in your outfit!

3. Coordinate. Yes, I did say COORDINATE not matching! We want the family to be coordinating wearing like colors and a pattern or two, but not all in those old traditional photos where everyone is matching. A coordinating wardrobe will last a lifetime! Do you have siblings that you want to match? Yes, you can do that, just try to have the family coordinate.

4. Lay it all out. I always suggest for clients to layout all the clothes. See if they look like they go well together. This way you can switch out options if you have multiple outfits for a child or you. I personally like to lay them on a simple, clean background like the floor to have all the distractions out of the way.

5. Try it on! Mama, make sure that dress fits or that those cute little outfits tucked away for the kiddos aren’t too small! It’s always good to try them on before hand in case you have to make a change. Also, don’t forget the shoes! Yes, you want to make sure the kids shoes fit before your pictures or they may not want to wear them! But hey, I love a good barefoot picture too, so I am okay with no shoes on the kiddos!

Lastly, if you are client, I am always happy to help with your wardrobe selections or ideas! Just reach out, send me an email and I would be more than happy to help guide you as you put your outfits together!

If you are interested in more information or booking a family session, please contact me here for more information and availability!

Look One

1) Mama's Eyelet Dress 2) Toddler Boy: Plaid, Khaki Pants 3) Baby + Toddler Girl: Light Pink Flutter Dress 4) Baby Boy: Romper 5) Men’s Navy Dress Shirt, Men’s Khaki Pants

LOOK TWO

1) Mama's Smocked Floral 2) Toddler Boy: Chambray Shirt, Khaki Pants 3) Baby + Toddler Girl: Light Pink Smocked Dress 4) Baby Boy: Olive Green Overalls 5) Men’s White Dress Shirt, Men’s Light Jeans

LOOK THREE

1) Mama's Tiered Ruffle Peplum 2) Toddler Boy: White Shirt, Khaki Shorts 3) Baby + Toddler: Green Floral Smocked Dress 4) Baby Boy: Khaki Overall 5) Men’s Buffalo Check Dress Shirt, Men’s Dark Jeans

LOOK FOUR

1) Mama's Floral Midi 2) Toddler Boy: Light Blue Shirt, Khaki Pants 3) Baby + Toddler: Pink Pock-a-dot Dress 4) Baby Boy: Navy Blue One-Piece 5) Men’s White Linen Shirt, Men’s Light Jeans

LOOK FIVE

1) Mama's Blue Stripe Dress 2) Toddler Boy: White Oxford, Gray Pants 3) Baby + Toddler: Floral Cottage Dress 4) Baby Boy: Romper 5) Men’s White Linen Shirt, Men’s Khaki Pants

LOOK SIX

1) Mama's White Smocked Floral 2) Toddler Boy: White Polo, Gray Pants 3) Baby + Toddler Girl: Green Romper 4) Baby Boy: Dark Gray Overall 5) Men’s White Dress Shirt, Men’s Dark Khaki Pants

Is Spring Break Bringing up all the Feelings? | Dallas, TX Newborn Photography

We head into Spring Break next week. The thought of it is a bit overwhelming. Last year we were wondering what we would do with a 2 month old and almost 3 year old for a week. We hadn’t planned to go anywhere as this Mama was still in a haze. We had a few ideas, but were just going to take it day by day.

To kick off Spring break, we ventured to the Fort Worth Zoo to meet our cousins the Friday before. Boy was it crazy. There was still talk about all that was going on, but field trips were happening and people were enjoying a perfect Spring day.

On Wednesday, March 11th, 2020, I distinctly remember going to the park. We wanted to enjoy the weather and let our big guy run off some energy. Plus, Mama needed some sunshine! We met a friend and talked about her upcoming trip to New York. Would it be cancelled or would she still be hopping on the plane in the next two days. The fear of the unknown was looming.

After the park, we decided to run by Costco on our way home. Grab a couple of things after hearing about the coronavirus. Thinking “let’s have a few extra things on hand in case we need them.” It was our first time to venture out with both boys.

On Thursday, I had a lunch date with my mom and our youngest to eat at one of my favorite places in Arlington, Rose Garden Tea Room. The Big 12 tournament was being cancelled, and things where changing by the hour.

I fortunately was still on maternity leave from my corporate job, and was just beginning to take on sessions again. In fact, I had to Fresh 48 sessions for the following week along with newborn sessions in the coming days and weeks. I was touch and go with my Fresh 48 sessions, but finally having to cancel them all as the world went into lockdown. So many sweet babies were still born during this time and I got to photograph them a few months later!

Fast forward, and here we are. Is the fear of Spring Break creeping in on anyone else?

Surely we aren’t heading into another lockdown. I know we had all hoped that by now things would be back to “normal” and maybe they are slowing getting there, but never did I think in 2021 a year from when things changed that we would still be talking about the coronavirus, wearing masks, and social distancing.