Babies Light Up My Life, Even if My Lights Don't.

So this shoot stressed me out a bit, and not because the baby was bad! She was a perfect angel. I've actually never had a baby be so chill. No, it was the lights. I had just purchased a new set of studio lights and they malfunctioned hardcore. In fact, I couldn't adjust the output! That's the entire point of using lights, being able to control the amount of light that comes out!

I tried everything I could, but something just wasn't working. And we were in my house, so I didn't have the space to move them far enough away to lessen the light (not to mention there'd be light bleeding everywhere!).

In laymen's terms, it just means I had to get creative and bust out my speedlights again. So instead of the 5 light setup I had planned (well, 4 and a bounce), I was back to two and a bounce.

It worked. Andi looks adorable in the photos. But then again, she always looks adorable.

Sisters, Friends Forever

Here's the problem with taking photos of newborns: It makes me want another baby. Honestly, that isn't a problem. I mean, why wouldn't I want another snuggly, cuddly, cooing little baby to hold and love and protect?

I got my baby fix this weekend, though, with little Miss Taylor and her big sister, Natalie. These sweet girls just grabbed my heart and hung on tightly the entire time we spent together.

I love spending time with sisters. It makes me think of when my sis and I were kids. We were each other's best friends. And to this day, my sister knows me in a way that no one else ever will.

I'm so humbly happy I got to capture these moments between young sisters. I hope they see these photos when they're older and love them.

Babies are special.

I was fortunate enough to take photos of another perfect little baby the other day. It's very humbling that parents invite me into their homes to capture forever images of their families. Now that I'm a mom myself, I have a whole new outlook on family and what it means to love.

I try to make newborn sessions gentle. After all, you can't tell a baby what to do--they don't have words. And they're so tiny and delicate and precious, the last thing I want to do is disturb or distress them in any way.

So I work with parents and their baby. And we just take advantage of whatever mood the baby is in. I think the results are quite nice.

My selfie game is strong.

You, too, can have selfies just like this. All it takes is a great DSLR camera, a few speed lights with soft boxes, some remote flash triggers, a remote shutter trigger, a few stands, a tripod, and a happy baby.

It's easier than it sounds. I promise!

Happy Birthday, Madi.

Madi was less than 12 hours old when I got to meet her. I held her for as long as I could until her parents' other friends showed up. And after that happened, I pulled out my camera.