You asked about how we handled our own newborn photos, Teddy’s birth announcement, Clara’s four-year picture and annual video, and what I received for Mother’s Day (spoiler: a sentimental photo book of Clara’s quotes). This post rounds up all of that documentation. At first I worried John and I might be unusually document-happy — shooting lots of photos and making yearly videos — but then I remembered that many bloggers and a ton of our friends and family also have phones and computers full of photos and videos of their kids. Thanks to smartphones, capturing moments is easier than ever, and maybe we’re not that unusual after all.
For Teddy’s birth announcement we did set our phones aside and used our camera to grab some casual newborn shots when he was about a week old. We chose one favorite image for the TinyPrints template, uploaded it, and ordered a few dozen cards.
As with most photoshoots, things looked less glamorous when we zoomed out. That cover shot was taken while John stood between a giant box and a plant in our office — sometimes the best angles come from odd places.
We photographed Teddy at seven days old to capture that sweet, squishy newborn stage. Our brother-in-law Todd, who is a professional photographer, also offered to take family and baby photos, which removed a lot of pressure and made the whole process fun. John and I both took turns shooting, and we even captured some tender moments of Clara with her little brother.
For our casual shoot — definitely not professional level — we used a few helpful tools: a diffuser John received for Christmas, a soft surface created with blankets and a Boppy on our office desk, and a step stool to shoot from above.
The diffuser made a dramatic difference. One shot without it had harsher light; the next, with the diffuser, was much softer and more even. We giggle at the baby-in-a-basket shots because Teddy looks so snug and womb-like. After a few of those setups we moved to simpler, quieter shots of him sleeping, John holding him, and Clara gazing at him.
We shot with a Nikon D3200 and our “nifty fifty” AF-S Nikkor 50mm lens. It’s great for detail and soft backgrounds, though we use the camera’s stock lens for wider room shots.
We also included items that mean something to us, like a blanket Ali, my brother’s wife, knitted — her first ever — which turned out beautifully and made a meaningful backdrop.
Intermission: baby feet. I still insist there’s nothing cuter.
One of my favorite images highlights Teddy’s full head of hair and John’s wedding ring against a simple light background. I was surprised by how much hair Teddy had — Clara had very little hair at birth.
We even managed a shot with his eyes open, which felt like a major win since seven-day-old babies are usually sleepy and squinty.
We used the bed as a casual backdrop for photos of Clara with Teddy. That series of images melted my heart — she absolutely adores her brother.
We liked those sibling shots so much that we used several on the back of Teddy’s announcement. A few more candid photos were taken the next day while they were just lying in bed — the pair can be pretty hilarious together.
Switching to Clara’s four-year photo from her ongoing photo project: many of you asked after seeing her birthday party photos. It had slipped our minds amidst party planning and newborn life, but we finally captured her four-year shot.
It’s striking to compare how much she’s changed since we began the project. One of our favorite routines is shooting Teddy’s weekly photo and then comparing it to Clara’s photo from the same week. She loves studying the side-by-side images and spotting similarities and differences.
We also captured some great outtakes from Clara’s session — one made her laugh and exclaim, “I look like a flamingo!”
Finally, my Mother’s Day gift: John surprised me with a small photobook full of Clara Conversations — quoted moments and memories that had me smiling through tears. It was such a thoughtful, emotional gift and a complete surprise. He even left the last page blank for Clara to draw our family, which she did, complete with charming details like Daddy being smaller than Teddy and some Easter stickers.
Update: John made the book through MyPublisher, which is where we also order our family yearbooks. This particular photobook is smaller and thinner than those yearbooks.
How are you documenting life these days? Is your phone packed with photos? Have you edited videos set to music? Are you sending out birth announcements? I keep every announcement we receive in a stack next to the cookbooks in a kitchen cabinet — I can’t help it, they’re such nice mementos.