Nashville Family Photography | In-Home 3 Month Session — Baby E
BABY E'S IN-HOME 3 MONTH SESSION
The last time I photographed this family, Samantha and Graham were standing in the tall grass at Long Hollow Gardens with an ultrasound photo tucked into their hands, announcing the baby who is now very much here. If you missed that one, you can read about their maternity session at Long Hollow Gardens first.
WHY 3 MONTHS IS A MILESTONE WORTH PHOTOGRAPHING
Samantha and Graham decided they wanted to do a 3 month session of Baby E. While a newborn session is all about a swaddled, sleeping baby, a 3 month session is about movement. Baby E was awake the entire time we were together, which is typical for this age — by 3 months, babies are interacting. They smile on purpose. They track sound and motion across a room, and with a little patience you can usually get them to look right at the camera — which Baby E did, more than once.
That awake, engaged stretch is exactly why I point families toward 3 months as a milestone worth photographing in that first year, whether or not a newborn session happened. If the newborn stage got skipped — genuinely, no judgment, that window is short and life is busy — 3 months is a wonderful place to pick back up. And if newborn photos did happen, this session captures something entirely different: a baby with opinions now, who smiles at you on purpose and is starting to feel like herself.
The other thing to know about this age: most 3 month olds do not want to be held still. They want to move, and they'll let you know it. So instead of fighting that, we followed her lead. Samantha and Graham walked her, bounced her, flew her like an airplane, and let her wiggle, and that constant motion is where the real photographs came from — the genuine, open-mouth smile a baby gives you mid-bounce is photo gold. You have to stay ready and let the baby set the pace, which is true of most sessions at this age, not just this one.
We shot the whole thing in their home, using the light they actually live in. In-home sessions like this one hold up over time in a way a studio backdrop doesn't. It's their actual house, their actual life, at 3 months old.
Watching Samantha and Graham with Baby E, three months into parenthood, after being at their wedding and photographing their maternity session, was an honor. As a Nashville family photographer, getting to document both ends of that story for one family is exactly why I love what I do.
INTERESTED IN WORKING TOGETHER
If you're weighing newborn photos, a 3 month milestone session, or anything in between, I'd love to help you figure out the right timing. Learn more on my Nashville family photographer page.