Rachel’s sister called me from another state to gift her sister a portrait session for Rachel’s new baby girl, Mila.  This isn’t the first time someone has called from another state to book a baby photo session, or a maternity - or both!  I think it’s such a great gift to give, over the normal baby shower items because the gift last a lifetime.  I knew Rachel was expecting soon, and I made up a certificate to mail to her (snail mail) so that she would know what her sister had given.  I let her know that when she was ready, she could capture the time she wanted, and directed her to my site, which she’d not seen yet, of course… so she would know what to expect.

I got word via email from Rachel that Mila had been born and we set up a time for them to come over.  Rachel also lives in Sherman Oaks so she opted to come to my studio.  It’s nice to do it either way.  When people come here I have music playing that is very soothing; Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong… songs from that era.  It’s happened often that I’ll burn a CD of the music - my clients like the mix so much!  It was a compilation made by a friend, and I absolutely love it.

Also, I always turn on the heater to make sure when the babies are in the birthday suits, they aren’t cold.  This day was a warm one, however, so we quickly decided to turn it off.  The weather has been so wacky lately!  Rachel didn’t want to be in the photographs but I did persuade her to include her hands in the photos, where she is holding her baby girl’s feet or fingers.  It’s so great to see the comparison in size, especially since they’ll never again be that tiny.  And it’s so sweet to see a child holding onto their parent’s hand… the symbolism of trust, intimacy, and support always moves me.

Mila was a little angel.  She didn’t cry once, which is rare.  Babies usually cry to let us know they’re hungry and need a minute to regain their supermodel strength.  She was perfectly content to have her moment in the sun, basking in the attention.  Plus the pillow I use for baby photography seems to have a magical quality to it.  Even the parents who say “Oh, he doesn’t like to lie down.  He prefers to be held” have to retract it with “Look - he loves it!!” as they see their child smiling away, or even falling asleep.

The session went by pretty fast and all three ladies - Mommy, baby, and me - said our goodbyes smiling.  I love my job.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.