I started out as a photographer, almost (30??) (can it really be that long??) years ago... as a baby photographer... You know, one of the "in home" photographers... You would get called for a free 8x10, and it was my job to get great photos, sell you a package, pack up and get to the next home, all within 30 minutes... that job taught me a lot about life and work. However, my point is, at that time, the main goal was to get GREAT baby pictures.. with the baby awake, alert, and if at all possible, smiling!!!! It was not always the easiest task... and many times, I had to ask the parents to walk out of the room so that I could get more cooperation from their child.

Well, that field certainly has changed! I no longer work for a large company doing those types of portraits.. And over the last few years or so... baby portraits of SLEEPING babies has become all the rage! How much easier my job all those years ago could have been! Or so I thought....

I had the pleasure of doing a newborn session yesterday... I always look forward to these... coming up with ideas on how to pose the sleeping, unsuspecting infant, the props we'll be using, and the thoughts of how these images may be used against them at some point in their lives! (Like in their high school yearbook, or a slideshow at their wedding....)

Well, my cute little subject yesterday... Everett... had no thoughts on sleeping... at all... he was wide awake and HUNGRY... and not your "run of the mill" hungry... like,  he was just fed, and seemed to have forgotten that fact 3 seconds after being fed.. So it was a roller coaster of.... a few seconds of awake and calm while we try some of these ideas.. to crying... feeding... back to a few seconds of calm... and on and on.. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. After about an hour of this, his very patient Mom, finally got enough food into his belly that he fell asleep!! For 10 seconds!!! And then we started the cycle again.. So, I learned that really, not much has changed.. other than the infant knowing what it is that I want to photograph, and trying not to give me that. Luckily, I am a very patient person, and can work with the circumstances that are presented to me. And, I still leave a shoot loving what I do... which is why I became a photographer in the first place!!