Baby Keane | Omaha Hospital Newborn Photographer

New momma and photographer extraordinaire, Lindsey, invited me to come take her first family photos at the hospital after baby Keane arrived. Lindsey and Sean were practically begging me to do it.

Okay, so it was less her asking me and more me telling her I was doing it. Sometimes it pays to invite yourself places. Especially labor and delivery wards. (Pregnant friends, you've been warned.)

Jude's Newborn Hospital Session | Omaha Lifestyle Photographer

Oh, Jude. Jude, Jude, Jude. What a darling and lucky little boy. He was welcomed into this world by his awesome parents and a group of siblings that will surely show him the ropes.

Parents and Babies, Falling in Love - Newborn Hospital Photos

I've had something on my mind lately. I watched the 20/20 episode with Adele that was on before the Grammys a few weeks ago. In her interview she told Anderson Cooper (baw chica bow bow) that she recorded an entire album and when her manager listened to it, he told her to throw away the entire thing. He called it "Quality Control." Only put out the music that you're proud of.

The thought of taking control of my own career and really pushing myself to create work that I feel represents who I am not only as a photographer but an artist has been in my head ever since. I'm proud of everything I do and I'm proud to work with all of my clients. But certain projects and certain shoots open up my heart in a way that's different from the rest.

That feeling of a wide open heart came when I went to the hospital to meet my friends' new baby. I grabbed a camera on my way out of the house as a total impulse and ended up realizing something huge in the process. I took photos of my friends within a few hours of becoming parents and falling in love with their son. I took photos of something that was real and I documented a once-in-a-lifetime day for them.

Taking those photos was such an amazing experience. It only lasted a few minutes (because I wanted to stop and hold the baby) but I couldn't believe the way it made me feel when I went home and looked at the photos. I had that thought back to "Quality Control" where I realized that yep, this is what I should be doing. I should be doing this all the time for people. This is who I want to be as an artist and a photographer. I want to be a documentarian.

So, if you're still with me after all of that, I'll get to my point. I want to start offering hospital newborn sessions. There's no posing and no props. It's just parents and babies, falling in love. If you or someone you know is pregnant and would be interested in being a part of this project with me, please contact me!

Lillian's Newborn Photos

And just like that, it's December. Having a studio this year has bumped up my business like I never would have imagined. It's been crazy around these parts with all the holiday family photos so it was a nice change of pace to get to take Lillian's newborn photos.

Ehem. Time to plug myself since this is my blog. I'm done booking sessions for Christmas deadlines, but now is the perfect time to pick up a gift card for a session in 2012.

Okay? Okay. On to the photos...

Eliza - Omaha Newborn Photographer

This is baby Eliza. If it were possible to keep her a newborn forever, she could be a professional newborn model. She slept the entire session. Never have I had a baby stay alseep the entire time. But if I were her, and I were stuffed into a fluffy sleeping bag and then nestled into a basket full of blankets, I would probably be more than willing to stay there forever as well.