It's a girl! You might remember we discovered during Stephanie and Allan's maternity photography session that they weren't finding out the sex of the baby. Well now we know, and what an absolute beauty she is. I can easily pick out one word for how her new parents feel about her: euphoric. I love seeing parents so blissfully happy about their new little miracle.

Sweet baby Kaleo you're just as cute as your name. I loved the bright green colors in his nursery, and I couldn't help but use them in his newborn photos. Don't you think they go nicely with his full head of red hair?

I’d like to introduce you to sweet little Alton. At almost one month old, he is a doll with a full head of red hair and dark blue eyes. With the wind whipping up a gale outside, he stayed nice and warm inside wrapped in the arms of his brand new mommy, as I snapped photo after photo of his cuteness. I particularly like the first one. I’d like to think I was channeling Rembrandt with the colors and the way the light falls on him. I also adore the photos of Alton cuddled with his mom. If you look closely you can see his “brothers”, two little Silky Terriers, sitting with them on the chair.

Allow me to introduce you to baby Miles, the latest addition to an already gorgeous family. Even their dog Maggie is lovely. You can tell she’s not quite sure what to make of this newborn interloper, but she’s going to keep an eye on things regardless. I adore the photo where mom and dad are snuggling Miles, and Maggie is watching me just to make sure I don’t try anything funny.

Meet sweet little baby Jake. You may remember his mommy’s lovely maternity portrait session from a few weeks ago. I just love getting to come back and see the little charmer everyone has been waiting so anxiously for. We were lucky that we got so many photos of him with his bright eyes open. I think that big yawn was just him showing off how adorable he is.

Stormy weather makes landscape photographs dramatic. The same can be said for portraits, even if that wasn’t my original intent. One of the coolest things about my job is that when I wake up in the morning, I have no idea what art I will have created by the time my day is over. Sure, I make detailed plans for each of my photo sessions, but you never know what’s actually going to happen: the way the light can change, how your subject’s personality is expressed, or how a freak thunder storm hits you out of nowhere.

I was really looking forward to doing baby Kaelynn’s newborn session outside. When we got there it was ninety five degrees and really sunny. Not even thirty minutes into our session the wind picks up, clouds move in, and the temperature drops by fifteen degrees. The wind whipping through the grass and trees and the dark, stormy skies made for stunning photography, but not really the best weather for little babies. Little Kaelynn and her parents were good sports though. We stuck it out for a little while longer to get these awesome photographs. However, when it started thundering and raining it was time to pack it up and move it inside where we finished out the session.

Say hi to little baby Max. I photographed his mother, Corie, for her maternity session just a few weeks ago. I love getting to document both sides of the equation: belly and baby. He’s a lucky little boy because he was born into such a loving family. I really like the photo of his dad soothing him after he was a little fussy. Sleeping babies are beautiful in their own right, but it’s always nice to have a slice of reality in there too. An image that shows the connection between parent and child is precious, and I’m honored they invited me into their home to capture those moments.

Sweet little baby Braeden was just over a week old when I photographed him this week. So new he still had all of his peach fuzz…I love that! He also had the most perfect ears and lips. The girls will probably be so jealous, and I bet he gets the long eye lashes too. His parents were also lots of fun and so lively considering how little sleep they’ve probably been getting lately. I adored all of the bright colors in their house, and I had a blast incorporating them into the photos. In the end, I actually had a hard time picking out my favorites for this preview. So enjoy, and I can’t wait to show you the rest.

Can you believe this beautiful little sweetheart is my first newborn girl of the year! So many little boys out there this year, I guess. Well, watch out fellas because she’s going to be a heart breaker. She already surprised her parents by showing up almost three weeks early. Who knows what else she may have up her little sleeve. She certainly charmed me.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to get these photos up for their early preview. Meet baby Devin. He’s all of four weeks old. His new parents were so much fun, and dare I say it Devin, cool. That’s right kid, your parents are cool. Devin’s dad is a pilot, so of course I had to get to get a shot of the eagle tattoo. Don’t you like how it turned out?

When I was in college, National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore lived in an old farmhouse nearby. When he wasn’t trotting around the globe on assignment, occasionally he’d stop by and give a presentation to my photojournalism class or our photo staff at the campus newspaper. Mostly what I remember are his photographs. How could I not. The man is amazing. I don’t recall a whole lot of what he said, but there is one piece of his advice I use every day. Joel believes there are three things required to create an amazing photograph: composition, light, and emotion. You can have one or two of these and still have a good photo. Yet, if you want to cross the line into breathtaking, you need all three.

I think about this every time I pick up a camera, and this is forever my goal with each photo I take. I don’t profess to share the wisdom of Joel Sartore, but there is one element I might add: history. When I head out the door to a portrait assignment I am prepared for anything. Like a good former Girl Scout, I have a small arsenal of props, lights, and tools. Yet no matter what I bring, often what I find when I get there is even cooler than I could ever imagine.

Perfect examples of this came from the two newborn sessions I did this week. Little Cole was the first one, and you can see a few of his pictures below. His wonderful parents had many amazing pieces of their personal history, and I couldn’t pull out my camera fast enough. The cradle and blanket his mom used when she was a baby, an elaborately carved rocking chair, old suitcases, and a beautiful basket are all parts of Cole’s history traced through his parents. Using the pieces that have meaning to the families I am photographing always trumps whatever I have in my bag. It is their history, and what better way to show it than by using it to photograph their future.

Babies! Babies! Babies! Aren't you all jealous because I get a week full of babies? I know, I know it's a living.

I'd like to introduce you to this little cutie pie. Collin was nine days old when I was lucky enough to photograph him and his brand new parents.

I had so much fun spending the day with them, and they even fed me a scrumptious sandwich from the local deli Collin's grandparent's own. You are going to spoil me! In return, I promise I got lots of cute photos of him in his WSU Cougar outfit.

This is a busy week full of babies. I'm so excited! If I'm not careful I'm going to catch the baby bug and want to have another.

Let me introduce you to my first baby temptation of the week. Little Grady was ten days old when his family welcomed me into their home to photograph him today. Isn't he handsome with all that blond hair! His big sister was simply gorgeous too, and I'm in love with the netting over her perfect princess bed. I want one just like it!

I don’t tend to shoot vertical photos. I guess you could say I’m a horizontal photographer. I like horizontal photographs. I think that’s the way the eye naturally sees things. Back when I was a newspaper photographer, the design editors who laid out the page every night, would practically drop over dead if I handed them a vertical photo. “Are you feeling OK?” they’d ask. “Is it my birthday?” You see, page designers love vertical photos because it’s easier to build an interesting page around it.

Ironically, now with my own business, shooting vertically has been something I’ve really been striving for. Portraits often look great as verticals, and so many card designs and albums work better with vertical photos. Plus, it’s important to push yourself and shoot things in a way you might not have normally.

Case in point: my session this week with a gorgeous new family. Alaina and Matthew welcomed me into their home to photograph their new little cutie pie, Henry. There was so much love in their home, and I wanted to do my best to show that. Guess what. I did it with verticals! Well, not all verticals, but I did try to mix it up a bit more. In the end, many of my favorite photos from the session where not vertically challenged. So enjoy!