As a newborn baby photographer, I meet lots of babies. Some newborns are so sleepy that I never see their eyes open, some are sensitive and open their eyes or startle with every sound they hear, and some are laid back and easy-going. When I met him in his South Haven home, I could see right away that Elliott definitely fit the last category…he was relaxed whether he was awake or asleep. When I talked with his mom before the session, she said one of her top priorities was getting a picture of him with his eyes open. It’s not always as easy as it sounds- even when their eyes are open, newborns don’t see far yet or focus well, so their eyes tend to dart around very quickly and they don’t look right at you too often or for very long. Elliott must have known what Mom wanted, though, because he started out the session by opening those eyes and gazing right at me. Check that one off the ‘wanted’ list!

and just for good measure, he gave us another one-

now that that one was taken care of, he drifted off for a nap and let us wrap him, put cute hats on, and pose him in the curled-up baby poses. He’s just as adorable asleep as he was awake.

after we had gotten plenty of beanbag poses and some of him with his mom, we tried out the new little knit pant and hat set I’d just gotten and popped him into a basket. Babies love the fur lining, and it’s usually a hit with them, but he really seemed to love it. To top off his already wonderful performance, he gave us a little smile. It’s not often you can catch one- they come and go very quickly, but I got lucky. Way to melt the heart of a newborn baby photographer!