]]>
Check out some of my favorites from his newborn sessions:
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
Welcome to the world, Elizabeth!
]]>
Interested in booking a Belly to Baby package or a baby milestone session? Click the "contact" link above and I will be happy to schedule a session for you!
]]>
Welcome to the world, Julia James!
]]>
Welcome to the world, Gavin!
These sessions are perfect for parents looking to capture professional images of their new baby for birth announcements or gifts for family members at a discounted rate. More pricing and information can be found here.
This is an example of a complete Petite Newborn Session gallery where clients are able to choose their 10 favorites.
They are simple and sweet!
Happy birthday, sweet girl!
Welcome to the world, Blake!
Mila was a perfect model for me and just as sweet as can be. Welcome to the world, little one!
Fresh 48, Eliana meets her baby sister for the first time
Newborn portrait session in the living room 
Family portraits outside their home
Isabelle's First Bath
Papa & Eliana working on her playhouse
Thanksgiving Day
Burning off some big sister energy (and playing in mud)
Lots of love for baby Isabelle
Welcome to the world, Isabelle. We all love you so much already!
]]>
I have had quite a few clients contact me when their babies are a bit older, sometimes they missed out on newborn portraits, and they are now looking to document the most of their baby's first year. I always extend my "Belly to Baby" session pricing and discounts for any clients, even if they missed out on the maternity and newborn sessions. Better late than never!
Take a look at some of my favorites from the past year with this wonderful family-
Enjoy some of my favorites from this adorable six month baby and family portrait session:
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is natural, simple, and classic.
]]>
Happiest Holidays from Hannah Drews Photography!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is natural, simple, and classic.
]]>
I have added a brand new DELUXE package for newborn sessions which includes a posed studio session AND a lifestyle session in your home! This way you can take advantage of all the wonderful props, big and small, that I would not be able to bring and at a later date, I will come to your home and photograph your family in a cozy and comfortable setting.
The posed session will take place in the studio around 6-12 days old and the lifestyle session can take place anytime in the first three months after your baby is born. This way you can get settled in with your new routine and not have to worry about cleaning your home for a photo shoot a few days after coming home from the hospital! I know many previous clients loved that they could get a mix of posed and lifestyle images and I loved it as well! Here are some images from little Miss Liv's session to give you a better idea of what this awesome combo looks like :-)
Winter 2015 sessions are booking fast, contact me at [email protected] for booking details!
]]>
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is natural, simple, and classic.
]]>
Welcome to the world, sweet girl!
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is natural, simple, and classic.
]]>With the chilliest weather we have had all month, I thought it would be the perfect time to blog about fall minis! This year clients are able to sign up online via eventbrite.com. Once these dates fill up, there will not be any minis until May so grab your spot as soon as possible!
For October 17th or 25th, click HERE
For October 20th or 22nd, click HERE
As an added bonus with minis this year, ALL print products are 20% off! This means you can purchase 50 custom, professionally printed holiday cards for only $80 and guaranteed 2-day shipping. Mini session galleries take up to 2 weeks, so be sure to leave yourself enough time to order your print items before the holidays.
Can't wait to see everyone again this fall, and looking forward to meeting new clients as well!
]]>
I am SO excited to announce that Hannah Drews Photography is now offering
These sessions are the perfect option for those wanting to document the first moments with your newborn but not interested in photographing the labor and birth. The session will take place in the first 24-48 hours wherever the birth took place (hospital, birth center, or home). A perfect way to document every tiny detail of your baby and capture new and precious moments that are often forgotten.
This is not meant to replace a traditional newborn session as I do not pose the baby or bring any props, hats, blankets, etc. I just bring my camera, and aim to capture real moments between your family and the newest little addition. First cuddles, first bath, meeting siblings, dad's first diaper change, all of these moments documented for you to remember in the years to come.
The first five customers to book a Belly to Baby Package will receive a FREE Fresh 48 Session!
Signed contract and deposit required in order to receive this awesome discount :-)
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Mother's Day is on the horizon and what better way to celebrate than with a short and sweet photo session! In honor of all the amazing, caring, hard-working moms (and moms-to-be!) I am having a Mother's Day portrait event on Sunday, May 10th.
Moms and Dads are welcome! Don't have kids? This is a great opportunity to grab your own mom, grandma, or siblings and create a perfect portrait and Mother's Day gift.
Sessions will include:
25 minute shoot
10 digital images
Access to online proofing gallery
Photo Print Release
First session begins at 3:30 and the last one will finish up at sunset. The outdoor location will be determined closer to the session date, but be certain there will be a gorgeous spring-time backdrop!
These will go fast, so make sure to book early :-) Can't wait to see my past clients and some new faces as well!
xo Hannah
]]>
(Four Month Old Triplets)
Often times, babies born early will need to spend time in the NICU, inevitably pushing back the photo session. When this happens, I just tell parents to let me know when baby (or babies!) is healthy and at home and we will schedule the session at that time. This could be an additional few days, weeks, or even months, but it is possible to provide a session similar to a "new" newborn at an older age.
(3 Week Old Twins)
While babies under two weeks old tend to like being curled up in womb-like poses and sleep for longer stretches of time, there are a lot of posing opportunities for older babies as well.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when posing older newborns-
1. Bring extra wraps, pants, hats, etc- Older babies are not as happy being undressed, even if the room is warm. I usually start with baby in their diaper and swaddle them tight and cozy. They may start to drift off to sleep (great!), or they may be wide awake.
(One Month Old)
(25 Days Old)
2. Embrace the awake time!- Parents love shots of baby with their eyes open, and bonus points if baby is making eye contact with the camera. Since it is a bit tough to add a variety of awake poses, vary the props and backdrop. Put baby in a basket, add a bonnet, change the blanket, etc. This will add some depth to the gallery you present to the clients.
3. Use that pacifier- Soother, binky, miracle worker, whatever you want to call it, just be sure parents bring a couple ("Soothie" brand seems to works best). Even if mom says that baby hates it, I have found that babies will be able to soothe themselves at least a little (which makes all the difference sometimes). Babies aren't used to being moved as much as they will be during the session and popping in the pacifier for a few moments can really help get baby settled into the new position. Parents may worry that pacifiers will cause bad habits to form, but the few moments they are used during the session will not cause any confusion when feeding.
4. Mini lifestyle session- If baby is having a tough time settling, take a break from baby-only photos and include mom and dad for some lifestyle portraits. This way baby will be nice and cozy in mom's arms and you can still get some great shots of what life is like with a new baby including little details. These are always some of my favorites from newborn sessions!
I know I was a little overwhelmed with my first older baby (who stayed awake the entire 3-hour session), but now I know it is possible to get a great gallery with a lot of variety, that parents will love. I hope these tips will help make your older newborn sessions go smoothly and stress-free!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime.
Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
With spring around the corner (maybe just wishful thinking here) I am considering a spring mini session. Likely dates would be Mother's Day weekend- May 9th-10th. Feel free to comment on this post if you think you would be interested! Hopefully we will have some lovely spring flowers blooming by then :-)
I hope you enjoy these mini session images, I know I enjoyed taking them!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Hannah Drews Photography offers two kinds of sessions for documenting this unique moment in your child's life. Choose between a lifestyle portrait session or a posed session based on your desired outcome from our time together. We are thrilled to work with you in creating one-of-a-kind imagery that will commemorate this amazing family event. Read on to learn more!
What is a Lifestyle Session?
We find that lifestyle portraits are an ideal way to portray the raw emotion of the moment. Candid images, unposed, artistically capture things just as they are; real moments frozen in time for you and your family to enjoy over and over. They may additionally include shots of mom and dad, siblings, and even the family pet interacting with baby!
Lifestyle sessions do not require as much time as a posed session, and are ideal for fussy babies who have difficulty falling asleep, or babies older than 14 days. A typical lifestyle session lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on baby.
What is a Posed Session?
Posed sessions may take a bit more time and elbow grease than lifestyle, but it's well worth the work! With a few props and cooperation from baby, posed sessions result in images that will make the whole family, friends, and Facebook buds go Ga-Ga. Cute hats, baskets, and blankets surround your little one while we capture Baby slumbering in adorable poses. A typical posed session may last anywhere from 2 to 3 hours, and generally requires cooperation from mom and dad. We require a minimum of 3 hours per session to ensure we get the best (and most adorable) results.
If you’re having trouble deciding which type of session you’d like for your newborn, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions - we’ll be happy to work with you one on one to create beautiful and meaningful heirloom imagery!
All pricing info can be found here
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in Chicago newborn photography, Chicago child photography and Chicago family photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in chicago child photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
For any photographers looking to volunteer with The Tiny Footprints Project, I highly recommend signing up! And for anyone working in hospitals or know someone who has given birth to a premie, please spread the word about this awesome organization that provides complimentary in-hospital portrait sessions and all digital images to parents with babies in the NICU.
Welcome to the world, Whitney!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
I met Corri and Spiro back in June for their maternity session on North Ave Beach, and had such a FUN time! They brought along their two furbabies, Emma & Harley and everyone was anticipating Baby Z's arrival. I love when couples just click and can have fun together, and I can take adorable candid photos of them without much direction.
I was so excited to see Corri after the arrival of Baby Zelda. She easily slipped into the role of being a mom, and it was clear that Zelda stole her heart right away. Of course we had to take some shots in the amazing nursery and coordinated some props with her adorable lilac decor. You can follow Corri's story on her website as well as on her new blog, Glitter and Bubbles.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Eliana has always been such a little bundle of joy (and energy). This photo shoot was full of smiles and laughter and I loved every minute of it. She seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and while she was not very interested in eating her cake, she did have fun sitting on it and clapping :-) Happy birthday, sweet girl!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
During the trip I was able to coax Ioana and Jonathan into a little engagement session (coax may be a strong word, I think they were excited :) These two met 4 years ago at a mutual friend's wedding and have been together ever since. Jonathan and Ioana live in Washington D.C. working as an architect and graphic designer, respectively (could they be any cooler?). Check out Ioana's awesome design work here. Can't wait for this wedding, you guys are the best! <3
Next up is an adorable cake smash/first birthday party that you won't want to miss!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Welcome to the world, Sachi!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in newborn, maternity, and family portraits and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in newborn, maternity, and family portraits and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>Leo first came to see me when he was only about a week old. He was a perfect little newborn client and was just as sweet 6 months later! I met Leo and his family (including big brother Duke) for an early morning session in Lincoln Park and the weather was just perfect. The soft morning light was so warm and little Leo just loved being outside where he could check out all the sights and sounds of the park. It was so great to see how much he has grown in just 6 short months and I look forward to seeing him and his family again!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in newborn, maternity, and family portraits and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Welcome to the world, Ava!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in newborn, maternity, and family portraits and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Welcome to the world, Lily!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in newborn, maternity, and family portraits and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Welcome to the world, Jake!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in newborn, maternity, and family portraits and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Once little James was born, I ventured out to Glen Ellyn and set up shop in their dining room. Lucy had warned me that James had been having a difficult time settling so I was thinking the session may be tougher than usual. Luckily James was the perfect little gentleman and slept like a champ. Below are some of my favorite shots from this newborn session. Cheerio, P Family! I hope to see you all again!
Welcome to the world, Sydney!
How sweet is this photo of baby Sydney on a hand-knitted gift from grandma?!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
www.hannahdrewsphotography.com
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Welcome to the world, Jackson!
Baby and mom had a rough start, including both of them needing short stays in the hospital after Annabel's birth. This mom was so sweet and strong, and I know she is going to be a wonderful parent (she already is). Welcome to the world, Annabel!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Each new collection includes digital images (hooray!), and with the most inclusive collection, you will receive beautiful heirloom products featured below; a gorgeous white leather 12x12 photo album, gallery-wrapped canvas, and custom USB loaded with your full portrait gallery.
Top: 12x12 layflat 30-page album
Bottom: 24x30 inch Gallery Wrapped Canvas
I am also very excited to now offer Lifestyle Portrait Sessions! This is a great option for those clients looking for a more laid-back, documentary type of photo shoot that takes place in their home (or other favorite spot). This session, along with my Child, Family, & Engagement Sessions, are only $350 and include a USB of your full photo gallery.
Please take a look around my new site and let me know what you think!
]]>
There are few things I love more than being able to photograph a couple before they become parents and again a few days after they welcome their baby into the world. Maternity sessions are full of excitement, anticipation, chats about baby names and nursery colors, and are always a lot of fun. It is a great way for me to meet my clients before the newborn session, get a sense of their personality and style, which enables me to create a truly unique and custom newborn session.
While I do get shots of mom-to-be on her own, the majority of the session is spent focusing on creating beautiful images of the parents together. Often times these are the last photos the couple has before their little one arrives and is a little reminder of their life before baby.
How to create flattering poses for the mom-to-be:
For pregnant women, I often have them turn their belly toward the light, angle their upper body back toward the camera, and pop their knee up (the one closest to the camera). This creates pleasing shadows on the face, and nice soft light on the belly.
For forward facing poses, it is best to have women bring one knee slightly across their other knee which immediately creates a curve along the hip (always more flattering than straight legs).
During sessions, it is often overwhelming as a photographer to remember all the tips and tricks for posing, so if you can remember one thing- Never put weight on both feet at one time (keeping one heel lifted creates a lighter looking pose).
Once I have mom posed, I add the partner, making sure there is some connection between all three subjects (mom, dad, baby bump). I also love to shoot the couple from far away, letting them interact and chat while I photograph candid moments.
Below are some of my favorite recent maternity portraits taken around Chicago, enjoy!
Welcome to the world, Sophia!
I really enjoyed spending a morning with this wonderful family and can't wait to see them all again.
Welcome to the world, Kingston!
Don't get me wrong, I love posed portraits (like the "bum-up" pose below) and do them in every session, but there is something so beautiful about a photo of a newborn moving freely on their own. The parents probably see their newborn moving this way everyday, and will likely cherish these photographs later as they remember exactly how their tiny baby stretched their leg, or curled their hands.
My favorite types of "un-poses" (not sure that's a word) are on neutral backdrops, mainly black or white. I try to avoid using props that will take any focus away from the newborn and stick with simple wraps, or nothing at all. For the image above, I placed my beanbag at a 90 degree angle, 3 feet from a large sliding glass door. I pushed in the center of the beanbag to form a little well and placed the wrap on top. Then I set baby Lulu on the beanbag at at angle, so her little face would get more light. At first, her ankles were crossed on her belly and I took one corner of the wrap around her bottom and tucked it behind her back and did the same thing with the other side. She wasn't a fan of having both her legs tucked and decided to kick one of them out while she stretched out her little fingers. Lulu kicked out her left foot many times throughout the session and I thought it was something important to document.
This next series is done on a simple piece of black fleece, with a well pushed into the bag to help her curl a bit and feel more cozy. The beanbag is still 90 degrees from the window, but I placed the baby at the same angle to create a bit more shadowing. I placed her on the beanbag with her legs curled and then stood over her (camera strap around neck) and shot these images in succession. You can imagine the baby kicked her poor mother in the womb just like this :-) I like to edit these portraits with a soft and moody, matted black and white to really bring out the shadows.
Jaden was such a sweetheart and I only saw his eyes for the first couple minutes of the shoot and then he was out like a light.
It is always a nice surprise to arrive at a client's home and find they have awesome wood floors to include in basket shots as well as a large sliding glass door that let in the perfect amount of morning light. I am working toward a more airy and natural look to my portraits and I love the look of babies surrounded by soft light and white fabrics. I also hope to do a little more "un-posing" of newborns in future sessions so check back for a post on how to achieve this organic look.
Welcome to the world, Jaden!
]]>
Welcome to the world, Hayden! I know you have a great big brother to look after you :-)
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Julia was happiest in her Mommy's arms and I love this photo of their new little family of three.
Welcome to the world, Julia!
1. Prepare Yourself (and Your Clients) for the Cold.
Kind of a given, but it is important to remember to protect any exposed areas to the bitter cold when out on a shoot. Photographers are often putting themselves in strange positions to get the best shot and this may mean kneeling in the snow, climbing through snow piles, or even laying down on a frozen sidewalk. Dress warmly, and an extra pair of socks never hurts.
Fingers are most often exposed since you need those digits to turn dials and press tiny buttons that seem even smaller when wearing gloves. A great alternative are these fingertip-less gloves which only expose two fingertips. When not shooting, you can just flip those little covers back on.
I like to suggest my clients bring along a favorite quilt or blanket to wrap around themselves for cozy shots. Bringing personalized mugs (or Starbucks cups) with hot chocolate can be a cute prop and also keep your clients warm.
2. Care for your Gear
Cameras can withstand severe cold, but your battery may not perform as well as it would on a warm day. If you plan to be out for more than a couple hours, bring a backup (put in in an inside coat pocket to help keep it charged) and make sure you start your session with a fully charged battery.
When you bring your camera indoors, just like your eyeglasses, camera lenses can fog up and condensation can form. To help protect the electronics in your camera, warm it up slowly by leaving it in the camera bag for at least 20 minutes before turning it on again. While outside, you can also place your camera in a plastic bag, bring it indoors, and any condensation that forms with only form on the outside of the bag, and not on the interior of your camera.
3. Ignore your Camera's Exposure Meter (sort of)
One of the biggest issues when shooting in the snow is ending up with dull, gray images. This is due to the camera's tendency to assume that adding all the tones in an image will produce an average color of gray. Most of the time this works pretty well, but when out in a white snow-covered landscape, the average color is white, NOT gray. Alas, your camera is not smart enough to know this so you have to do a little manual adjustments. The easiest way to combat this is to "overexpose" your image +1 or +2 stops. Your snow may lose a little detail, but your subject will be properly exposed and the snow will look white, not dull.
The top image is exposed according to my camera's light meter set to 0. The image on the bottom is "overexposed" +2 stops. Besides the watermark, there were no edits. Exposure made all the difference!
5. Move Somewhere Warmer!
Kidding, but I am looking forward to my impeccably timed trip to Miami this weekend. I'll try to send Chicago some warm thought as I relax and dip my feet into a pool :-)
]]>
If any high school seniors are looking for a unique portrait location, contact me to book your Kinzie Bridge/Downtown Chicago session this spring!
Percy was my first little client to try out my up-cycled newborn pants and although he was kind of swimming in them, I still think they are adorable. Welcome to the world, Percy!
I began by laying the sweater out on a flat surface and measured out a rectangle 8"x11". Choose one side of the sweater to work with and cut out the rectangle. You could use any 8"x11" area, but using one side saves you a little bit of sewing. Next, cut a 1 inch wide strip up the middle of the rectangle. I would cut a little closer to the closed edge (1/4") as you will have to account for your seam allowance on the open side. You want to stop at about 5 inches, not quite half way up the length of the pants.
Turn the fabric wrong side out and pin all around the edges. Sew the length of the leg with about 1/4" seam allowance. Then sew along the U-shape to form the legs. I recommend testing out your sewing machine with the one inch wide strip to get your settings correct before beginning on the pants. In order to form the waistband, fold down the top edge about 3/4" and pin. I would wrap whatever string, yarn, or elastic you want for the drawstring around the waist before sewing. It was much easier than trying to feed a thin piece of yarn through after the waistband was already formed.
Thanks to little premie Percy for being my first model :-)
I would love to see the pants you create! Feel free to post a link to your photo page so we can see the props in action.
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
Hannah Drews Photography
I also had the whole week off to look forward to the new year and to brainstorm ideas to improve my business in 2014. I am going to focus more on newborns as well as offer some great canvas and print package options. There will also be a mini session sometime around Valentine's Day, so keep an eye on the blog and facebook page for more info :-)
Here are some of my favorite images from 2013 and I look forward to meeting lots of new little babies and creating lasting relationships with families. Happy New Year!
]]>
One of my first sessions was a bit of a disaster- the baby would not fall asleep, so creating those cute little squishy poses was out of the question. The mom and I tried wrapping, swaying, bouncing, feeding, burping, you name it and this little girl was not going to sleep. It took almost 2 hours before she finally wore her self out and slept. For fifteen minutes. This is what we all felt like by the end:
I tried to view that session as a learning experience and then threw myself into gaining as much information about newborn photography as possible. Over the following months, I watched countless tutorials, read blogs and articles about newborn safety, joined facebook groups, and had many new little clients along the way.
Here are my 3 best secrets for getting newborns to sleep during a photo shoot:
1. Turn up the HEAT! Ideally, you want the studio to be around 80-85 degrees and have a space heater nearby for added warmth. Not sure your room is warm enough? Spend a few minutes in the studio prepping and organizing your props. If you start sweating, baby is likely to be a happy client.
Be sure to tell the parents that the room will be very warm so they can plan their wardrobe accordingly. Breastfeeding moms are more easily dehydrated so always offer something to drink when the session starts. (I always have a pitcher of lemon water or Vitamin Water handy)
2. HUSH little baby. While babies are in the womb they become accustomed to all sorts of sounds- heartbeat, digestion, mom's voice, etc. Once they are born, white noise can be extremely calming, especially those that mimic the sounds they have heard for the past 9 months. I use the white noise baby app, and keep it on for the entire session. I usually have it on my phone and place it under the blankets or behind whatever prop the baby is in. A shushing sound also works wonders, and don't be afraid to get kind of loud. "SHHHHH" near the baby's ear can be very relaxing to a fussy newborn.
3. Take a breath and RELAX. Babies are great at picking up queues in their environment, including stress and tension. When mom and dad (or you) are stressed, the baby will certainly sense that and show her frustration. New parents are understandably a little tense when they are asked to hand over their most precious cargo, but try to reassure them that the baby is in good hands. Make sure you have seating nearby so their little one is always in sight. I usually have mom sit in for the first couple poses so she is comfortable and then suggest that she go relax on the couch, catch up on some sleep, watch tv, or whatever she has been missing the last week since the baby was born. I have had quite a few moms take me up on my napping offer :-)
Every newborn photographer has had a session where the baby just does not want to sleep. Mom says something like "He is never like this!" and the frustration keeps growing. Take a moment to think about how you can make the environment more calm and soothing for everyone and the session will go smoother. While each baby is unique, the advice above can be applied in almost every session and will help you to create images that the family will cherish forever!
Hannah Drews of Hannah Drews Photography is an award-winning photographer serving the city of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs. She specializes in maternity, family, and newborn photography and works primarily with beautiful, natural light. Booking with Hannah Drews Photography ensures you will receive a timeless portrait that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. Her style is classic, natural, and simple.
]]>
Look through Hannah Drews Photography's extensive Product Catalog and pick out your favorite card template. Contact me soon to book your session so you can start putting together your fabulous family wardrobe :-)
]]>
