Emma Marilyn | Newborn Shoot

As a photographer, you never forget your first shoot of any kind, because when you eventually look back, you can see how you have grown as a person, but especially as a photographer. This shoot was special for me, not only because it was my first newborn, but also because it was for my best friend and new mother.

I have heard people say that they don't take professional photos for family and close friends because it can create a divide. However, when someone is your best friend, you know in your heart that nothing can really break apart your friendship, especially when your husbands work the same job and you have gone through a lot of the same stress together. It creates a special bond.

As a photographer, I believe that you should help others in the same business. When I used to compete in pageants, I tried to learn from other contestants and ask for advice. However, for fear that I would steal their thunder, nobody would help me. In my blogs, I try to support other photographers by listing my props or locations. For this shoot, I decided not to invest in any expensive props or lighting yet, as I wasn't sure if this type of shoot would be something I would continue. So I bought a $17 bean bag and blanket from Big Lots, bean bag filling and a backdrop stand from Amazon, bought some clearance fabric from Jo Ann's, and used natural light in the client's home. All of my props and fabric were around $100. And I believe for my first shoot, it worked well.

When I got ready to start the shoot, sweet Emma wasn't sleepy yet and she got the cutest hiccups. Eventually, after another feed and some rocking, Emma was good and sleepy during the entire shoot. I made it a point to get a great shot of her beautiful strawberry blonde hair. It is important to remember that you must be extremely patient when working with newborns. A shoot could last one hour or four hours, depending on the posing workflow you are trying to accomplish and whether or not your newborn is cooperative.

Later in the shoot, I wanted to make sure I got my mom in one or two pictures with Emma. Needless to say, she looked gorgeous and showed off her radiant new mother glow with pride.

In addition to providing my friend with high resolution pictures for her announcements, I also made her a Facebook timeline so she could quickly display some pictures from the shoot.