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Little Lilly’s Newborn Session in Manhattan Beach
Every newborn session is a new chance to make a beautiful memory for families celebrating new life. This session was especially precious to me because I have known this lovely couple for a long time and I have watched them waiting to become parents forever. This mama was dreaming of motherhood since she was a little girl. Meanwhile, little Lilly has the most committed, thoughtful and gentle daddy that she could ask for.
Newborn sessions are some of my favorite sessions to do. The little babies are all different, and as I’ve had the pleasure of photographing so many of them, I’ve fallen in love with their cute little details. Lilly was a very small baby, so wrapping her up into a bundle was extra tiny and adorable. She was extra sleepy and let me do all the things I wanted to do. She even gave me the cute newborn dream smiles.
Want More of the story? Check out little Lilly’s parents’ love story here
Styling for Newborn Photography
Styling is one of my passions. When I plan any type of session with my clients, we lay out outfits, colors, and expectations. Lilly’s session was no different. Her momma and I spent a lot of time planning out this session. We explored color schemes and decided that Lavender and purples would be our main focus, and we wanted to support it with pastels. The colors helped us create a mood that felt almost like she was a fairy princess. The key was that we wanted to make sure it felt like a fairy princess session without dressing her up as one.
Flowers are an incredible thing to add to a newborn session, and Manhattan Beach newborn photography sessions are often full of flowers. This time, I brought lots of fresh flowers, doubling what I usually bring to sessions and it really made the whole shoot feel magical. We used a cute little hand-knit romper, and one of my perfect little baskets for perfect little people.
Another thing that we focused on was making the style nature focused and peaceful. We wanted to highlight the real feelings of newness and freedom that new life brings with it. So we added creams to make whimsical fairy vibes without making it too direct.
I was really excited to bring together a lot of the pastel things that I have. I brought a styling mat with me that matched our plan, and it turned out GORGEOUS.
Manhattan Beach Newborn Photographer – How does the session go?
Every photo session is different, but for most of my Manhattan Beach photo sessions I go to the client’s home. Lilly’s session happened in her new home, where everyone could feel as comfortable a possible. Comfort is the most important part of a newborn session! Everyone has just been through a lot, so I make sure that mom and dad feel taken care of, and I was honored to be a part of taking care of little Lilly during our session as well. We made sure to let the baby do what she needs to do. If she needed to eat I used those moments for styling. If the baby is fussy, that’s when we do the family and parent pictures, but when the baby is sleepy, that’s when we pose her. The most iconic pictures everyone loves of their newborn sessions usually come when their precious newborn is asleep!
What to Wear for a Newborn Session
One of my passions as a photographer is helping clients figure out what to wear for their sessions. This momma had a hard time figuring out what to wear so I worked with her to decide on the perfect newborn session outfit. If I’ve worked with my client previously, I like to take a step back and think about how their sessions in the past have played out. This is more than a photo session, it’s a series about your life! I like to figure out what will work with their vibe.
People usually hire me for the dreamy look, so I often suggest light colors and something flowy, especially for new momma’s, who have recovering bodies. Often, I suggest that they wear the same thing from their maternity session, because they have so much to focus on. I also have a closet full of wonderful clothing items for them to choose from! I always recommend to men that don’t know what to wear that they wear tan pants and a white shirt. This is a classic look that feels halfway between casual and dressed up, adding just enough structure to work with most body types while giving that light, whimsical, and gentle feel for their newborn session!
Luckily, we had already done a maternity session, so we had a lot to work with. I was able to help her think about what worked well during the maternity session to inform our choices and what you see below is the dreamy result!
Manhattan Beach Newborn Photography Gallery
