Remember the beautiful family I photographed recently in a maternity session? Janice, Peter, and Chloe returned to the studio with their stunning new family member — baby Ellie! Ellie’s newborn photo session ended up turning into a beautiful family session. I don’t consider myself strictly an Austin family photographer, but I love it when I get to work family portraits into maternity and newborn sets. Although it was Ellie’s day, doing a family-focused session made sense. If you didn’t see Janice’s maternity session, you’ll see why! This family has such a wonderful dynamic.
Introducing Newborn Baby Ellie
Meet baby Ellie! She is the newest member of Janice, Peter, & Chloe’s family — and what a sweet addition to an already wonderful family. Miss Ellie was very new, and it was delightful to work with her. When she came to the Cedar Park studio, she was only 10 days old and a very small 5 pounds. What better way to welcome a sweet baby girl than by a super cute, super pink session? Full of flowers & bows, Ellie’s newborn pictures were the epitome of springtime.
Although Ellie’s family accompanied her to her newborn photo session, we made sure to do some photos that included just her. For these, I did some close-up work, which allowed Miss Ellie to come into the spotlight. Close-ups like above allow the texture of the fabrics to highlight her beautiful skin.
We also played with some whimsical photos while staying true to the overall color scheme of the session. I particularly love this photo of baby Ellie on this prop swing for newborns. This is a very versatile photo prop. You can really put it in front of any background and pair it with any other props to make the photo unique. Pink ranunculus flowers just seemed right to me for Ellie’s session!
Austin Family Photographer Highlights — Ellie’s Family!
As much as Ellie’s solo photos were enough to ooh and ah over, but I just loved working with the entire family, especially Miss Chloe (who was an excellent help during this shoot).
We did a few color portraits, and several black and white with all members of the family. It is also important (from a family photography lens) to mix up who is included in the photos. In other words, I didn’t take photos of just the entire family, I also took photos of mom & dad, just mom, just dad, and just Chloe. Each family member has their own uniqueness that they bring to the table. Taking a variety of photos to include all personalities diversifies the session!
For instance, every photo with Zoe was irresistibly adorable! Just check out this set Featuring Peter, Zoe, and Ellie. But as you can see, there is a distinct difference between the mood of the photo with Zoe and the mood of the photo with just Peter and Ellie.
Similarly, I loved the dynamic between Janice, Chloe, and Ellie and then just Janice and Ellie. The photos with all three of them felt bright and happy, so we went with a light background. The photos with Ellie and Janice felt contemplative, so we went with a darker background.
The dark background also really enhanced the black and white family photos we took. Check out how those came out!
And even though Chloe brought an undeniable sparkle to the set, she showed off her true big sister vibes and took some stunning, serious photos I’m sure she and Ellie will look back on with pride in the future.
Thank you to Janice, Peter, Chloe, and Ellie for taking the time to do this newborn session with me in the studio!
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