Baby Riley's Newborn Portraits

 love it when I have such an amazing connection with a wedding client and end up photographing their family as it grows!  I first met Kiran and Ryan when I photographed their wedding last year. First we did Kiran's Bridal Portraits, then I was finally able to meet Ryan on the wedding day.  When Kiran called me and told me they were expecting their first baby, I was over the moon excited! I was also thrilled that they wanted to work with me again!  We did the maternity session, which I blogged about last month and now it is time to introduce this precious baby boy, Riley, to the world!

But wait!  First, let me tell you a little about this shoot....  

Newborn portraits have always been a favorite of mine!   I find it very peaceful and inspiring to be around a beautiful sleeping baby.  Over the years, I have molded my approach to newborn photography through trial and error and finally feel I have found my personal style. For Riley's portrait session, I went to Kiran and Ryan's house and was able to set up my backdrop and pillow right next to a great big window and shoot with natural light.  I prefer to use natural light for newborns because I feel like the flashes tend to disturb the baby. My best investment was a heating pad, a noise machine, and really soft blankets over a peanut shaped newborn poser pillow to create a really comfy bed for the baby to fall asleep on.  I have transitioned into only using the newborn fabric wraps so that the baby can wear a diaper and I have not had a single accident since!  Plus there is so much you can do with a newborn wrap.  It really allows you to be artistic.  Ideally, the baby will sleep through the whole session and we can get a few looks in a couple of hours but realistically, this rarely happens!  I usually end up spending the day hanging at the house with the family waiting for the baby to fall asleep.  Post production is huge in newborn photography, I spend more time retouching newborn portraits than any other type of portrait.  The majority of the retouching involves backgrounds and skin healing.  The blankets may have a wrinkle or crease and babies tend to have peeling skin and some imperfections that just need some fixing up.  

Ok, now it's time to meet Riley!  Enjoy!