Watching families grow is one of my favorite things about being a newborn photographer.  It brings me so much joy.

The Udodiks are one of my favorite Seattle families.  We met the first time about four years ago when they came in with their first baby.  Then I saw them again about two years later when they had their second daughter.  And then again, just a few weeks ago with their third daughter.

This family is so sweet and so much fun to work with.  It is clear that they are completely in love with their little family and it is a pleasure to witness and capture.

I believe babies are perfect.  

They really are.  Their skin.  The way they smell.  Those little sleep smiles.  All perfect.

I also love that they come out of the womb with their own little personality.  No two are alike.  

When you take a sleeping baby and lay him or her down on a bed, they all do something different.  Some curl up, some stretch out their legs (or just one leg), others will put their tiny hand up in front of their face, or give a little fist bump pose. 

Whatever they do, it's inevitable that at some point in the session their mom will laugh and say something like "we have an ultrasound photo with him in the exact same pose!"  Or "Ha!  She came out with her arms up by her ears like that."  They recognize a gesture in their baby that is unique and special to their baby, no one else.  It always gives me goosebumps.

I believe that as a portrait photographer, my job is to capture the essence of the person I'm working with.  

That job is the same whether the person I'm working with is 45 years old, 5 years old, or 5 days old.

I want to create a piece of history that people can look back on and say "Oh my... look at you as a newborn baby... you know, you still make that expression"  

I want each portrait I take to be as unique as the infants I photograph.

And so I don't pose babies.  

I soothe them.  I put them in a swaddle if they seem to need it.  But I let them lead the show.  I want to see who they are.  And I want to capture that for all time.

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The adorable Brothers family came into the studio on a rare sunny Seattle day back in January. 

This time of year, I get so used to the dark days of winter that I forget what it is like to have natural light to work with.  This gorgeous day reminded me how much I love natural light and just how beautiful the results can be.

And, as if the sunshine wasn’t enough, I had this sweet family and their adorable newborn to work with. He snoozed through the entire photoshoot. 

We all had a wonderful time, and the photos that we got as a result are just magic.