My first correspondence with The McGuire Family was while Kayla was pregnant with their first baby girl. We had planned their session in late 2019 for their baby girls arrival in March of 2020. We all know what happened in March of 2020 though, it was a huge shock of unknown and ultimately baby girl missed out on her newborn session. I actually didn't up actually meeting them all until Thanksgiving week of 2020. We did a beach session on the Isle of Palms and by this time baby girl was already sitting up and smiling. It was such a strange time, but we created some amazing family portraits for them as their first official portrait. 

By summer of 2021 I was so excited to hear from them again as they were now expecting a baby boy! I mean two pandemic babies, who would have thought right? It was amazing to now see Miss Baby Girl getting so big, walking, the sassy attitude. Those little curls she has just pull at the heart strings! We did their maternity session at Hampton Park this past fall of 2021. Hampton has two peaks of being beautiful, spring and fall, so we were able to capture all the elegance of the spanish moss and seasonal blooms. 

Baby boy made his arrival just in time to still be a 2021 baby on December 28th. They were my first session of 2022, and boy did he make me WORK for that sleep (as you'll see later). As always, I begin my sessions with the full family. I like to give the older siblings the excitement and attention when I first arrive so that once they're tired of my presence we're already done shooting and can then focus on the baby without interruption. I would say she still is working hard at being the center of attention and sharing the spotlight, but I don't blame her one bit. 

Building relationships with my clients and their families is truly the best part of being a photographer, for me. I love seeing babies grow, I love seeing families grow. It fulfills a void in my heart and my life as I know I will never have kids of my own. No matter how hard or difficult your session seems to go, just know that my job is to turn those moments into memories for your family, and that's what I really live to do. I know they were really feeling the pressure having a toddler who is known as the wild child and a baby that wouldn't sleep, but can you tell that even happened here? Nope. That's why you just go with the flow! 

Usually by the time I get to the newborn portion of the session the babies are completely tuckered out from being passed around but not this sweet baby boy. He wanted to check me out and watch my every move. I think babies have an incredible sense of smell, and he absolutely knew I was not his momma - LOL!  Although I don't mind a few awake baby images, Kayla had to really put him back in a milk and skin-to-skin trance. She became my assistant during the session as I could absolutely not even make contact with him or he would wake up. I swear that has never happened to me! But she did an amazing job and we did finally get the shots we were hoping for. Those sleepy baby posed shots that we all melt over. 

If I can accomplish two different set ups for a baby that didn't sleep well during a session, I would call that a huge success. Kayla was an absolute trooper, when normally I would have loved for her to rest and just watch from afar. THANK YOU KAYLA! It was such an honor to be a part of their second addition, and wishing this family a happy a healthy year. (GO AWAY COVID!)