How I help mamas remember the early days well as an Atlanta newborn photographer
I recently prepared for my own family’s photos, an in-home session from a photographer I’ve admired for years. I’ve found myself thinking a lot about what I want to remember about this season of life.
The little things that feel so ordinary right now. The way my kids come find me throughout the day. The familiar rhythm of our mornings. The version of our family that exists right here, in this moment, before another year changes things in ways I can’t quite imagine yet.
It’s funny how you can be so fully immersed in a season and still know that one day, the details will look different in your memory.
And as I reframed some of our newborn photos to be sure they were captured in our session, I was deeply emotional about how much I remember … and how much I DON’T. During a time where I did nothing but try to soak in every single second, my fallible human mind still let the details slip away and get fuzzy.
Every photo feels natural, heartfelt, and full of love. From documenting the excitement and joy of pregnancy to capturing our little boy’s precious newborn moments, Jess did an exceptional job preserving these fleeting moments in a beautiful, creative way.
– Heist Family
The things I remember … and the things I don’t
I remember so much about becoming a mom. I remember how much life changed when those tiny people came home with us. I remember the exhaustion and the adjustment of learning who we were as a family.
But there are details I can’t quite call to mind anymore. We really can’t control which snapshots will stay in our mind, like a specific middle-of-the-night feeding or the first time we realized the curve of our thumb fits like the perfect puzzle piece alongside the side our daughter’s forehead.
But then, as an Atlanta newborn photographer, I meet a new baby and am blown away by NOT REMEMBERING how small my children actually once were. The way their little bodies curled into me. The details of their faces when they were brand new. The scrunches, pursed lips, curled toes.
The ordinary moments that made up those first weeks, when every day felt long but somehow the years still moved too quickly.
I was there for all of it. I loved them through it. And yet, time has softened some of those memories in ways I never would have expected.
I think that’s one of the strange things about motherhood. You can live through something that changes you forever and still find yourself wishing you could remember more of what it felt like.
Newborn photos are about more than remembering what your baby looked like
When we think about newborn photography, it’s easy to focus on the baby. Those tiny fingers, the little toes and the sleepy expressions that change so quickly.
And those details matter. So much.
But the older my kids get, the more I realize that newborn photos hold something else, too. They bring us back to a version of ourselves and our families that we can never quite return to.
They remind us of how we held our babies before they could hold us back. Of the way they fit against our chests. Of how new everything felt, even when we were running on very little sleep and trying to figure it all out as we went.
And they remind us that we were there, too.
Not just the baby in our arms, but us holding them. The way we looked at them. The way we fit together in those early days.
I think moms sometimes put off photos because they don’t feel ready. The house isn’t quite how they want it. They’re tired. They’re still adjusting to their bodies and their new routines. They want to feel a little more like themselves first.
I understand that. Truly.
But the photographs I find myself most grateful for aren’t meaningful because everything was perfect. They’re meaningful because they let me see a season of life that I can’t recreate.
Why I’m so grateful I have my newborn photos
When I look back at my own newborn photos now, I see more than the babies I brought home.
I see the beginning of our family as we knew it then. I see a version of myself who was learning how to be someone’s mom. I see details I might not have thought to pay attention to at the time because I was busy living them.
And I’m grateful those moments were documented.
I can’t go back and hold my babies at that age again. I can’t recreate those first days or ask my memory to give me back every little detail. But I can pull out those photographs and spend a little time there.
That means something different to me now than it did when the photos were first taken.
Maybe that’s what I love most about photographs. Their value doesn’t end when a session is over or when the gallery is delivered. Sometimes, it takes years for us to understand just how much we’ll treasure having them.
For the mom in the middle of those early days
If there’s one thing I could share with new moms, my biggest piece of advice … is give yourself grace, upon grace, upon grace. We are expected to carry a baby, have a baby, then act as if we didn’t just do those things. To bounce back seemingly unaffected so we feel less than when our house is a wreck, when we’re crying one second and overflowing with joy the next, when we need the extra time to recover. TAKE IT! Take all the time you’re able and know that in just a few short years, you will look back on this time and have little control over what parts you’re able to remember.
So this is where I hope to help fill the gap as a newborn photographer in Atlanta.
My approach to newborn photography is built around my deep understanding of what it’s like to be a new mom. I bring a studio-style setup into your home for those carefully styled newborn portraits, then make room for the photographs of you and your family together with more lifestyle vibes. The quiet moments, the familiar spaces and the people who are learning this new version of life alongside you.
You don’t have to choose between beautiful portraits of your baby’s tiny details and photographs that tell the story of your family.
We can make room for both. And we can do so when you’re ready.
Because one day, these days will be memories. Some details will stay with you and others may surprise you by how much they’ve faded.
And I hope you’ll be grateful to have photographs that bring a few of them back.
If you’re expecting a baby in the Atlanta area and would love to preserve this season without having to leave home for your newborn session, I’d love for you to explore my in-home newborn photography experience.
Give yourself grace. Get in the photographs. Trust that you’ll want this season documented.
