The Woodlands newborn photography: Life begins with Gracelynn

Alexis & Gerrod welcome their daughter Gracelynn in The Woodlands, TX

Miss Gracelynn was my first newborn session in The Woodlands, TX for 2020. I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter baby girl!

There are so many things to love about this in-home newborn session:

– New motherhood perfectly suits mama Alexis

– Gracelynn slept peacefully the entire time!

– The family’s wardrobe blends beautifully, creating timeless, beautiful images!

Mama in a familiar floral dress

This lovely PinkBlush dress might look familiar! Alexis actually wore it for her maternity session back in December. I knew then that it would not only flatter her post-baby figure, but it would also be easy to nurse her daughter in, too.

I love when mamas wear the same dress for both maternity and newborn photos; there’s just something about seeing her wear the same thing before and after baby that is so stunning.

She also wore the signature ivory lace gown from my client closet for a portion of Gracelynn’s at-home newborn session. It complimented her post-baby curves perfectly!

The proudest daddy

Alexis shared with me before her maternity session that Gerrod wasn’t the biggest fan of being photographed; I hear this from 99 percent of mamas about their husbands or partners! To be honest, I think most people start out being at least a little uncomfortable in front of the camera, but that fades pretty quickly.

There is a beautiful contrast between the tininess of Gracelynn and her broad-shouldered father. My favorite photo of daddy and baby features Gracelynn’s head laying softly on his shoulder. I shot this from the back to capture how small she is compared to Gerrod; the simplicity of this shot always melts my heart. It’s a must-have at every newborn photography session.

I also loved the image of Gerrod holding cupping her head in his hands as Gracelynn lays across his forearms. It’s a gorgeous shot of her dark curls, with her little fist curled around his thumb. When that sweet girl is walking down the aisle some day, this is going to be the photo that dad recalls as he gives her away!

Celebrating a sweet family of three

I put a lot of time and effort into ensuring my mamas have a varied, diverse photo gallery of final images. To do this, we photograph in different rooms, often with outfit changes for mamas and different wraps or swaddles for baby. We can also change bonnets, hats and headbands for babies.

This way, you can decorate your entire home with newborn session images without feeling like you’re hanging identical photos in every room. It’s challenging for most studio sessions to give you this same level of variety, which is why I prefer and encourage mamas to schedule in-home newborn photography.

Don’t miss Alexis’s gorgeous sneak peek video (available to all clients after every session!)

For Alexis’ session, we used the bedroom and an area near a hallway window for her entire session. I loved how the photos of the family on the bed turned out. You’ll see a genuine smile from Gerrod; that’s when we discussed football and his favorite pro teams while mama laughs and gazes down at baby.

For the above shot of dad smiling, he was actually watching a football commercial on TV (yes, dads can absolutely watch the game or whatever they’d like during sessions if that’s what works!). I’ve had dads watch college football during the session or play a favorite playlist to help them relax. As long as dad is okay with periodic interruptions, it doesn’t bother me at all to have the game or music on while we shoot!

For mamas, simply cuddling their newborns and looking at their sweet tiny faces is all it takes for a genuine joyful smile. Finding what works for everyone guarantees you’ll love your photos and recall the experience with fondness, too.

Capturing Gracelynn Mae

Newborns don’t need much to be absolutely adorable – simple earth toned swaddles and tiny headpieces are all I typically suggest. For Gracelynn, we used my oatmeal newborn wrap, paired with mama’s choice of headpieces. Alexis selected my ivory bear hat, along with a pink tieback. She also had her own headbands for her daughter to wear.

These small changes during a session can make such a big difference in your images. Of course we also removed the headpieces altogether for some photos to showcase Gracelynn’s gorgeous dark curls.

Neutral colors make for a lovely, timeless session

Dressing the whole family in neutral shades free of logos and graphics makes for clean, timeless, beautiful photos. (You can learn more about what to wear by checking out my free what to wear app! It’s got advice for maternity, Fresh 48 and newborn sessions!)

Otherwise, the most important aspect of your session is access to natural light. This means your most important job is wearing something that makes you feel beautiful and that flatters your skin, as well as baby’s. I will take care of everything else!

You can view the rest of Alexis’s beautiful session below!