Santa Barbara, California Front Porch Newborn/Family Session

This front porch family/newborn session in the cutest little Santa Barbara, California neighborhood was such a fun time to shoot. First of all, Santa Barbara! Secondly, newborn babies and cute fams like this! What could be more perfect? This beautiful family and my husband and I are actually good friends, so while we were in town we went over to see them. 

Connor, the newborn, was a DREAMBOAT. We didn’t get lucky with those newborn photos of him, he really did just sleep and chill the entire time. Talk about a dream baby. Quinn, the toddler, was SO stoked to have people skate with him. He loved showing us all of his tricks (his bravery was a force to be reckoned with. Raddest little dude.) You can see the pure love that mom and dad have for their sweet little family in the way that they hold their babies and each other. I’m so happy I was able to capture that love for them.

My favorites though are those intimate shots with mama and her boys. This mom of little ones stage isn’t always easy, especially in those first few weeks when you’re adjusting to life after a newborn. These moments always feel so important to document. A look back for your future self to say, “look at me go.” And also, “Where did my babies go?”

After I sent these photos to Hayley she responded in such awe of how they turned out. 

“Flipping out. You are insane...because I was feeling so down that day about postpartum weight and belly, I am truly shocked at how you captured the peace I feel with my boys. You have no idea what a gift these are to me.”

As moms, we all occasionally experience the defeat, the exhaustion,  the overwhelm of newborn life, and just being a mom of little ones in general. Sometimes you don’t like yourself, but I don’t think there will ever be a mom who looks back on photos of herself with her babies and regrets these pictures existing. 

We hung out, skated, and ate pizza all afternoon while snapping some really sweet family and newborn photos. I loved freezing these moments in time because they really are gone before you know it. This was pretty much the perfect evening, and I can’t wait to do it again soon!

Check out one of my other favorite family sessions here.