I’m sitting here on a rainy afternoon thinking about baby Hadley and her parents, who I met at the beginning of December. This story actually began this past fall when Cameron, a labor and delivery nurse in Virginia, was considering learning newborn photography. As a night shift worker, the hours can loom long and unforgiving (something I know well from my own years as a hospital OB nurse), especially when you’re waiting for your patient’s labor to progress. Cameron found herself browsing through the work of local photographers, which is how she came across my website. Now, I’m in Maryland and she and her husband live in Virginia, but when we spoke, all the stars aligned and Cam and Todd decided to hire me to follow their family through their baby’s first year.
I adore it when families decide to invest in a year’s worth of memories with me because memories are SO important and, selfishly, I love developing the relationship over the year and seeing the little one grow. There’s nothing quite like seeing a tiny fresh newborn develop into a personality-filled sitter who then turns one practically overnight. I spend hours staring at my baby clients as I edit and I feel like I know their faces almost as well as their parents. It’s astonishing and heartwarming to see that tiny face grow over the span of a year. The qualities that were there when they were a primitive 14-day-old babe remain there as a grown one-year-old which is why it’s so rewarding to document a baby’s first year.
This family has been an amazing addition to my First Year Membership club. Hadley blew me away with her sweet face and her amazing head of hair and her parents and furry sister, Dooli, were so welcoming and kind. Their home was inviting and beautiful and the perfect spot to capture those precious newborn days. Can’t wait to see them again for Hadley’s sitter session in the summer and her one year cake smash next November!
Liz Viernes Photography is based near Kensington, Maryland, and specializes in maternity, fresh 48, posed and lifestyle newborns and first year milestone portraits.
leave a comment