Babies and dogs are both near the top of my “favorite things” list so when I get to photograph them together…  well, paint me happy.  The most recent addition to my portfolio is baby Laney Louise and her big brother, Moose, a beautiful and giant dog.  And as if that wasn’t enough, Laney’s mama had the most amazing baby headbands and hats I have ever seen.  Apparently Etsy is THE place to shop for specialized baby accessories. Thanks for the tip Kelly!Laney was a very good little baby model for me, and thanks to my hair-dryer trick I was able to get a really happy naked and sleeping baby for a few precious shots. The hair-dryer trick is a simple but powerful one.  And it’s not really a trick, it just requires a hairdryer (on a low setting) and a person to point it at the baby.  The white noise plus the warm air create a magical combination that puts a newborn at ease, and oftentimes, to sleep.  It works like a charm! If you think about it, it makes total sense…  I for one, LOVE, having my hair blow-dried.  I’m sure those babies love having their entire bodies warmed up too.

I like to photograph newborns sleeping whenever I can.  Of course, if they are awake, it’s nice to capture their eyes, but newborns obviously can’t do much except lay there and look cute.  If they are asleep they are easier to maneuver and pose.  When I first started photographing babies, I could never figure out how photographers got those great shots of naked sleeping newborns, because every time I got a baby naked they would wake up.  After lots and lots of shoots, I’ve learned what tends to work well is to feed the baby right before we start, so they have a full tummy, and take their clothes off before they fall asleep and wrap them in a soft blanket.  Then get the hairdryer going and slowly unwrap them.  As long as they stay warm and comfortable and their tummies are fully satisfied, they are like putty in my heads.  Sometimes my clients will also turn the heat way up in the room or the house.  This helps the baby a little but but makes everyone else really hot and sweaty, especially me!  I prefer to keep the room a more normal temp and use the hairdryer.

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Erin and Dave are another of my favorite client-turned-friends couples.  I met them in 2008 when they hired me to shoot their wedding in Beaver Creek.  They loved their photos and working with me so much that I got to travel with them to Jamaica to photograph Erin’s sister’s destination wedding a year later. I love this family!  And not just because they took me to Jamaica.    We bonded early on over our mutual interest in airplanes and general aviation, so when I saw their little babies nursery, all decked out for a baby aviator, I was not surprised.  What a perfect theme for this little boy’s room.  I really hope he’s not scared of heights!  I imagine he’ll be flying before he’s walking.

Tanner John Rodrian was born in practically the blink of an eye on April 27th and weighed 7 lbs 10 oz.  Erin said it was a fantastically easy birth but apparently Tanner was pretty mad about losing his warm dark cave because he screamed for about three hours straight his first night on earth.  Since then, he’s apparently accepted his reality and been nearly perfect in every way, even sleeping long periods at night.  And he must be all rested up because at our photo shoot he was awake and alert the entire time!  We even took a break to have a glass of wine and catch up hoping he would fall asleep so we could manipulate him into all kinds of cute and contorted newborn poses…  but he had a different idea.  In the end, we went with his way.

I’m so thrilled I got to photograph this gorgeous little boy’s debut images and a big congrats to the happy new Mom and Dad!  Tanner is such a lucky boy to have you both as parents.  Wherever he goes and whatever he does in this life, I know you will be there helping him fly. Let’s hang out again very soon!

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