Miss D has been coming to me for her pictures since she was born (we did newborn photographs, 5 month baby pictures, 9 month, 1 year/birthday photos, and now 2 year!), and she has got to be one of the easiest 2 year olds to photograph that I have encountered. Most 2 year old children are very opinionated and use their new word “NO” that they learned, but Miss D just goes with the flow and is very easy-going.
For this session, we did most of the child photography outdoors at one of my favorite parks: Inniswoods (which is part of the Columbus Metro Parks in Ohio). Then on another day, we concluded our session at my portrait studio in Central Ohio.
When photographing children (and even babies), one thing I ask parents to keep in mind is that if the session is fun for the kids, it will go much more smoothly and we will get the most natural and happy expressions in the photographs. Miss D’s parents always bring really adorable little outfits for me to photograph her in (this time included a dress from Lottie Da, a flower from bows2cute.com, a headband from Cutie Heads (purchased at Helen Winnmore Crafts).
Here are a few of my favorite photographs from Miss D’s 2 year photography session:
Miss D at the park in her little white dress and bow (the green bench was brought from the photographer's studio)
Miss D wearing her Lottie Da dress (that matches her strawberry-blonde hair), on the bridge at Inniswoods Park
Miss D wearing her adorable little headband, climbing into her rocking chair (that her parents brought)
Here is one of my favorite photos of Miss D with her lollipop. (It has something like 1000 calories so I don't recommend eating the whole thing!)
Here is the beautiful Miss D at my studio. She was so proud of herself that she could get up on the pedastal all by herself!
And here is a close up, just to show I did take some. I love the adorable expression on her face, and you can really see how blue and sparkly her eyes are! (I also couldn't get over how adorable that dress is, she wears it well!)
Filed under: children’s photographer in Columbus Ohio, 2 year old portraits in Columbus Ohio. Westerville portrait studio, child portrait artist
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I had an amazing time photographing this sweet newborn baby girl at my studio the other day. She was one of the rare babies that sleep the entire time, so we got so much variety and so many pictures that we were worn out before she was. 
I also had some new newborn props that I was aching to use, so it was a lot of fun for me to be creative. And the clients were so easy, I love it when people say “We like everything… do whatever you want!”
Filed under: newborn photographer in Columbus Ohio, Columbus Ohio baby photographer
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These photos are close to my heart! I had an idea of some photos that I wanted to create for my youngest daughter, because I have canvas art of her siblings on our walls but none of her. So I got this idea of doing a fantasy theme… the problem is usually finding the time to do it, so this has been an ongoing “idea” for a few months.
So I ordered this dress from Ebay, and had some help to decorate it a bit with some flowers, and had a 15 minute photo session while my son had his gymnastics class to try it out. I have some other ideas so these will probably not be the only photos in this dress.
Miss V, in the queen anne's lace
Miss V showing a bit of her shy side
Miss V in the land of flowers
Beautiful Miss Vivi in the garden
Photographing your own children is vastly different from other people's children. Miss Vivi has a bit of an attitude, which she is sharing here. 
Stay tuned, I think in the fall or whenever we have some more time, we will go have another fairy tale photography session.
Filed under: children’s photography, fairy tale photography
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As a newborn photographer, I give my clients tips when they schedule their photography session with me, and thought I would share some of them with the rest of the internet.
First, I find it helpful when clients have an idea of what they would like. There are a lot of directions that we can go with their newborn photography session, and while some people “like everything!” other people take a look at my galleries and other photographers’ galleries on the web to get an idea of what they would like me to aim for (but not copy), and what ones they would rank as the most important.
However, secondly, parents should relax and understand that not all babies are able/willing to do the same things as other babies. But, with a creative photographer, you will still end up with wonderful photos that you will treasure for years.
So those are the first two things to keep in mind, but as a veteran newborn photographer, here are some things you can do to make sure that this short time in your baby’s life gets captured in a way that you wanted.
1. Book your photography session BEFORE you have the baby. I really can’t stress that enough. Babies come when they want to, and to get the sleepy, curly newborn shots, it’s best to aim for them to be younger than 2 weeks old. Sometimes people call me when the baby is 1 or 2 weeks old already, and then we can’t fit the session in until the baby is 3 or 4 weeks old. Month old babies are really adorable, but they don’t sleep as well as they do when they are brand-new.
2. Choose a photographer that has experience working with newborns, and one that comes recommended by others and is responsive to your inquiries. I hear quite often from people “My friend who is just starting her business did my baby’s newborn pictures for free/cheap, but they weren’t very good, and now it’s too late…” I’ve also heard “I booked a newborn session with this other photographer, and my baby is already 9 days old and I can’t get ahold of them! They don’t return my calls! I’m freaking out that my session might not happen at all.”
3. As part of #1, don’t expect to get heirloom-quality portraits from the hospital photographer. A lot of hospitals have contracts with a photography company that claims to do artistic newborn photos in your hospital room. But the pay as a hospital newborn photographer isn’t better than minimum wage, and they don’t take much time with you, so you can imagine that skilled photographers don’t work that job.
4. When scheduling your newborn session (after you’ve pre-booked with your photographer), think about your baby’s sleep/wake times. I’ve generally found that morning sessions run much more smoothly than afternoon & evening sessions, because after the baby spends all night awake, they are really tired in the morning!
5. Things to bring: make sure to bring formula if you are formula-feeding, and if you are nursing, it’s helpful to bring pumped milk so the baby can get his tummy filled up and avoid a nursing marathon. Bring diapers & wipes, and possibly an extra change of clothes for you if the baby won’t be wearing a diaper in the photos. If you are going to be in the pictures, bring powder for your face to help avoid shininess. I also love it when parents bring things to the session that are meaningful to them, to incorporate into the pictures.
6. Keep in mind your baby’s safety. Good photographers know what to do and what not to do with babies, but I’ve seen some really crazy things on the internet that make me fear for the baby’s safety. If it doesn’t seem like a good idea, don’t do it! You CAN tell your photographer “No!” Babies don’t belong on railroad tracks, in real trees, or in real mailboxes. Even if the baby is just sleeping on a beanbag, there should ALWAYS be a baby spotter right there next to the baby, just in case. You can never be too careful.
7. For max sleepiness, bring the baby in the carseat with just a diaper on (and blankets over top). Feed the baby right before you leave your house, and the baby should be happy, content, and sleeping soundly when you arrive at the studio. Then you’ll be able to get all the sleepy pictures out of the way quickly right when you get there rather than spending the first hour putting the baby back to sleep. And when the baby wakes up, you can then move on to some awake photos.
I may add some more tips as I think of them (you may have noticed that I’m a photographer, not a writer, so I don’t expect to win any awards for my writing abilities) I love photographing newborns (ok, I will admit that I love photographing babies in general, not just newborns!) and I really like hearing that people had a wonderful experience giving their baby their first portrait session. I still proudly display my own children’s newborn pictures; they will never be that tiny again!
If you are in the Columbus, Ohio metro area and looking for a newborn photographer, feel free to check out my main web site with my galleries and pricing information at http://www.dgnphoto.net. I can also be reached by phone at 614-323-3147 if you would like to book or have any questions I can answer.
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These are returning clients, 3 years later! I did their maternity & newborn pictures for their older daughter who is now 3 and a completely adorable little ham. I really enjoy doing maternity pictures for people with a child already, it’s a lot of fun to incorporate the sibling into the photos.
This is probably one of my favorite maternity pictures... how cute!
A take on the ol' hands in a heart on the belly... big sis fills up their heart too!
Big sis had a fun time finger painting with Mommy and the baby belly
Filed under: maternity pictures in Columbus, OH. Belly pictures, and maternity portraits with a family. Photographer located in Columbus Ohio.
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