Preparing for Your Newborn Session

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Your bundle of joy is on their way or it has already arrived? Here are some things to keep in mind as your little one experiences their first photo session;

What are you looking for? My style of newborn photography is a combination of lifestyle and documentary photography. You will receive lots of direction, but I also love to come into a home and be a fly on the wall. I want your photos to be about you and the new bond you have with your baby. Lots of photos will be taken of your baby alone, prop-free. I won't be jamming your baby into baskets or hanging them from tree branches. Please take a look at past sessions I've had with newborns to ensure my style is right for you. NEWBORNS

Schedule Your Session  When you know you'd like to work with me, get in touch ASAP. You can do this before the baby arrives to give me a heads up of their general arrival date, then get in touch with me again as soon as your little one arrives so we can schedule an appointment soon. For convenience and comfort, your session will take place in your own home. 

I'm on my way to you. Now what?  Thanks to my years of newspaper photography experience, I have shot in all kinds of scenarios. You've just had a baby, which means you're likely stressed and sleep-deprived. When I come to your home, I do not expect a spotless locale!  I will, however, likely move things around so we can get the best shots possible (but don't worry, I'll replace everything before I leave).

We'll follow the light. Natural light is the best light, so please open all your shades and curtains before I arrive. This will help me figure out all our location options within your home. It could be a hallway, it could be the kitchen. It is often more than one spot and I will likely make use of many if not al of them.

Temperature Your little one just came out of 98.6 degree oven. They like it warm, so unless it's summer and your home is already rather warm, I recommend turning your heat up so they aren't uncomfortable if they're being photographed in just a onesie, or a diaper, or nothing. Which brings me to my next suggestion...

Clothing  To help keep your baby comfy, I suggest keeping clothing as fussy-free as possible. If you want to incorporate hats or headbands, go for it, but try not to be too disappointed if you little one protests and it needs to be removed. Bold colors help photos pop, but too much pattern can be a distraction from the star of the photo. For family photos, avoid being too matchy matchy with each other. You have personality! Show it by wearing whatever makes you feel good. Are you having one of those Can't Find Anything Good to Wear days (see above about being sleep-deprived and stressed)? Choose a color you know works well on you, keeping in mind that paler colors can wash you out and should be avoided. Back to baby; if you want naked shots of your little one, loosen their diaper about an hour before I arrive to avoid lots of marks on their skin when we disrobe them. If you want shots of your baby in just diapers, it's a good idea to have a cloth diaper, diaper cover, or bloomers for asthetic purposes.

Feed Me!  Well, don't feed me (although if you feel compelled I love cheese and anything chocolatey), but rather, be sure to feed and burp your baby before I arrive so they're nice and comfy and satiated as we get started. We can, and will, stop at any time to feed them more if the need arises. Same goes for diaper changes. 

Siblings If you have older siblings to be included in the session, please have someone on hand who can take them when they're not involved in the session. Usually, I'll have them hop into shots intermittently. If they are milling around during the entire session they are bound to get bored and possibly disturb the peace. 

Relax When you are stressed your baby senses it. Relax and trust that I'm going to take great photos of you, your family, and your new baby! I'm very comfortable holding and working with my littlest clients so never fear, your baby is safe with me. A good amount of your session time may be dedicated to changing diapers, feeding, and calming your baby. That's normal. If you're baby is squirmy or upset, that's normal too. We'll take a break so you can hold them in their favorite blanket or walk around and bounce them in that perfect way that helps settle them. 

Be Patient A calm baby is key and that starts with you, but it's also not something we can always predict or control (welcome to parenthood!). Maybe you dreamt of sleepy baby photos but your little one is wide awake. That's OK! Big eyed baby photos are beautiful too. Unexpected things happen all the time during sessions, but we can work with it, and in the end, you'll have a great little collection of images for ever and always! 

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Fourth Of July

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I wasn't very active with my camera over the 4th of July weekend. I can never completely turn it off, but as I age, I have learned to slow down and enjoy with my eyes and soul a bit too, rather than feeling a need to document at all times. But still, I did. Some with my big kid camera gear and some with my phone. Now that I've joined Instagram (@CydScottPhoto) I've been enjoying the inspiration I'm finding there from other photographers in addition to the challenge of shooting in square format, often with the phone, and sharing work slightly different than my everyday stuff. 

Below is a combination of both! Scroll over the photos for more info. 

My Ann Arbor; A Recent Visit to My Parents' Alma Mater, U of M

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This entry is a bit of a personal one mashed up with professional. I spent all of last week at a symposium for the University Photographers Association of America (UPAA) of which I am a member as a staff photographer for Boston University. Every year the symposium is hosted by a different university, and this year was a special one for me because it was at the University of Michigan, which is where my parents went.

The conference was great. I relearned a lot of things I forgot about, made some new friends, had some interesting conversations about our field and the challenges within it.

Simultaneously, I got to know the place where my parents met. During the spare time we had between lectures and clinics and shooting competitions (photography, not skeet) I wandered the campus and found the places my parents lived when they were here in the early sixties. I experienced something I have never experienced before; sentimentality on someone else's behalf. I felt an emotional pull to Ann Arbor somehow. The campus was beautiful and it's downtown alive and peaceful at the same time (of course it is summer time and the student population is down, so there's that!).  I visited the sorority house my mom lived in and could see her in my mind, walking out the door with her books in her arms, heading up the walkway to class, many years younger than I am now. 

One of may favorite pictures of my parents is from their time together at UofM. It's black and white and dreamy and they lounge on a lawn together, my mom in her sixties bob hair style and my dad laying in the grass looking cool holding a cigarette. It was taken by my uncle Billy when he was visiting them from Switzerland as a teenager. 

I told anyone at the conference who would listen about the picture and how I wanted to try and have my photo taken in the same spot. Anyone Who Would Listen was very nice about me going on and on about Mom and Dad, and one shooter even joined me wandering the main campus trying to find where, exactly, photo was taken (thanks again, Peter!). We even tried asking at the grad student library but no one was sure where it was taken. So, no reinactment took place (being a photographer and not a model, I was OK with that).

Before I left for this trip, I also asked my dad where he lived, and so I headed to Mary Court where I introduced myself and told the young woman sitting on the porch "My dad lived here in the sixties!"  She thought this was very cool. Since spring semester was done, I asked her if she was in a summer session. No, she told me, and continued on about how she was soon leaving to teach english in South America, and her roommate, who was just inside, would be leaving that afternoon herself. "It's sort of a sad day for us" she shared "we've lived together since freshman year."  I told her that if she'd like I would take their portrait. She beamed and went inside to collect her roommate and I photographed them together on this porch where I could see my dad sitting playing his guitar.

The other thing I did was visit my mom's childhood home in Detroit. I was relieved to find her neighborhood in good shape, and sad to see so many other surrounding neighborhoods not doing too well. I approached the house, nervous, thinking about all the stories Mom's told me about growing up on this street so long ago; the field at one end where the kids played all sorts of games, and about the one mean kid who taped his guinea pig to his train set, how many great memories she had of her dad who died too young and so on. It was a modest home, and when I approached, the owner was very skeptical. I had a photo of mom in my hand which I'd brought along, and I explained what I was doing there and asked if I could take a few photos. She smiled at my story and my picture of my mom with her birthday cake and two dolls, one in each hand, and said of course I could. 

So, below is a collection of my favorites from my trip. To learn about what's going on in the photo, just scroll your cursor over the picture and a cutline will come up. 


Let's Hear It For New York!

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I spent the long weekend with my Mom and friends in NYC. It was a great few days with lots of shows, people watching (and it was fleet week!), amazing food, ad even a touristy visit to the Empire State building. 

For a change of pace I decided to share them in black and white. Oooo ahh oh!

• Sienna is Here! {Boston Area Newborn Photo Sessions} •

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Too much time has passed since I had this delightful shoot with newborn Sienna with her big brother Asher and their parents Laurie and Jake. But, if you're familiar with my site you'll notice it's been redesigned. So I wanted to wait to post this entry until the new site was live.

Do a search for "Asher" and you'll find his newborn session from just a few short years ago. Do a search for "Laurie and Jake" and you'll find their wedding too!

Laurie and Jake told me they weren't positive about what name to choose for their little girl until she joined the world with her bright red hair, so Sienna she became.  They also say she's a feisty one. As a fellow redhead, I can appreciate that!

Finley and Vivian {Boston Portrait and Family Photographer}

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These two had the nerve to both have winter birthdays. Sheesh! So, we headed out into the very snowy outdoors to photograph Vivian, 1, and Finley, 3. (I'd make a joke about their adorableness melting the snow, but I pride myself on more witty humor).

Still pretty dang cute, snow or no snow.

Florida

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I thought I'd share some personal photos this time. These are from a recent trip to Florida to see friends and participate in the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival. My friend Shannon and I chose to "paint" (really it's drawing with pastels) a character from the movie The Book Of Life.

While I was visiting, I went with my friend Libby to Miami to a neighborhood called Winwood Walls. It's an amazing place where most of the buildings have murals on them. Public art is good stuff!