Kim Jones Photography

There is nothing better than spending time with brand new babies!  I love all parts of newborn sessions: cozy, crunched up small miniature bodies; wide, alert eyes, looking around at their new world and even the foibles of awkward first-time parents trying to figure out how to hold their new bundle of joy.  Thought I’d share a few recent photos from my newborn session with 10-day-old Adelyn in late February.  She was so sleepy the entire time we were shooting and then woke up right at the end of our session so we could get a few photos of her with her eyes wide open.  Notice, too, that her toes are a little purple in the first shot?  I always have a heater on and she was plenty warm, but for some reason we could not warm up those little toesies!  Sweet innocence.  Sweet eyes.  Sweet pumpkin pie.

One of the new trend with newborn photographers is to hang babies or suspend them in the air all wrapped up.  While *most* do this very safely, it was never something I was interested in doing without mentoring another newborn photographer that has experience with it.  However, recently, I had a client that insisted we try it, so I did some research on how to do this shot safely and decided to go forward with the shot.  In the end, we did not “hang” the baby or suspend her in air at all.  In this photo, she is resting snuggly on a bean bag chair and her daddy is holding the top part above her to give the allusion that she is hanging.  Mommy was right next to me ensuring that she was safe at all times.  So, here is my first stab at a “suspended” shot.

I can tell you that when I was 30+ weeks pregnant, all I wanted to do was eat, sleep, be lazy, and wear comfy clothes!  I met Heather and Greg a few weeks ago in their home for their maternity session and asked them at the beginning of the shoot to get comfortable on the couch and relax together.  So, they lounged and cuddled while I worked.  Don’t they look natural and cozy?  Greg’s even wearing some super sweet brown man slippers! Love that Heather is barefoot, too!  Okay, all this talk about being cozy makes me want to go take a nap!

Over Christmas, I was back home in Oregon visiting family and had the opportunity to meet up with the Reding crew!  The whole gang was there!  Mom, dad, four siblings and their families.  We had all sorts of laughs while taking different shots of all the groupings.  I think my favorite was the grandkid shot!  We were so lucky to get a break in the rainy weather to capture these moments.  Priceless!

I wrapped up Hudson’s newborn shoot right around noon and then it was time to take family photos before I left for the day.  We had had some snow fall in Colorado right before I did this shoot in late December and it had been pretty cold outside, but on this particular Sunday afternoon, the sun was warm and inviting.  So, we decided to just “go for it” and got bundled up and went outside for the shoot.  Hmmm….now where to go with a little infant nearby their home that would also give me all the things I needed to shoot in the noonday sun?  Well, how about the front yard?  At first the thought scared me a little since the street was so close (and I didn’t want shots of cars or houses in the background), but we found a great little shady spot by some pine trees and the shots came out great.  I love when the least expected turns out to be something wonderful.

We do life together with this family: we share all the fun stuff and walk through all the hard stuff together, too.  I have watched their two little twin girls grow over the past year and a half and it’s been so much fun to share in all the special “beginning” stages with their family.  From the maternity shoot with their mommy almost two years ago, to their newborn photos last April and now, family photos with two one-year-olds!  Piper and Lily are really sweet girls but as toddlers, they both also have their little sassy/spunky sides as well.  I enjoy their smiles as much as their frowns.  Hey, it’s life and life brings all types of emotions and faces with it.  Each fun for me to capture.  Life as it is, unscripted, and beautiful in every way!  I think these black and whites capture each emotion from this day so perfectly!

One of my best buddies, Cristin, and her husband, Leo, were blessed with their first child just a few short weeks ago.  She and I went out and took maternity photos in the warm fall air in early September and really got some good shots of her showing off her pregnant belly and cuddling with her main squeeze!   Valentino was born about three weeks early in mid-October and is such a sweetheart.  His parents are smitten!  I just love all these photos of Cristin showing off her little man “before” and “after” his birth.  Congrats and welcome to mommyhood my friend!

Looking at these photos from a recent family shoot, I couldn’t stop looking at Jackson’s expressions and the sweet innocence coming right from his eyes.  There is something so precious about a little boys (okay, I know, I’m biased, I have two!) and this time in life with their young eyes wide open to the world and all its experiences.  You could just scoop them up and snuggle them forever and just try to protect them from all the pain and darkness that this crazy world has to offer them as they grow older and more aware.  Jackson had fun playing catch with his daddy and was probably the most natural kiddo on camera that I have shot to date. What a handsome little man!

When Mrs. Haas and I were talking about her family session several weeks ago, she mentioned that she wanted to wear Denver Broncos jerseys for part of it.  I got really excited about this idea because I am also a really big football fan!  So, after our traditional session with “normal” clothing, the family threw on their favorite Broncos jerseys and we had some fun throwing the football and running around.  I also stole mommy and daddy away at the very end of our session and got some sweet shots of them together, too.  Go Broncos!

Okay, having a sister is really one of the best things in the world!   My sister is my best friend….now….but we weren’t always best friends, we fought and were competitive in our younger years for sure.  But, we went through our childhood together and now in our adult years those things we went through back then bring us together even closer since we experienced things at the same time, things even our husbands will never understand.  We still do life together, just differently since we live states away from each other.  I took these photos of Brianna and Alexis recently and it reminded me of how cool it is to have a sister.  Through thick and thin, we will always have each other and that is a magical thing indeed!  A fun quote on my coffee mug from Children of the Inner Light, Inc reads: “When I need someone to talk to I know just who to call….when I need love and support, you are always there.  Thank you.  The bonds we have are everlasting.”  Love you, sissy!