Coming back to photograph this Marin County family for their second baby felt like returning home. I’ve watched their firstborn grow, and now seeing that older sibling step into the role of big sister. It’s the kind of arc that makes this work feel less like a job and more like being trusted with something real.
Their house has this natural light that just works. I set up near the windows and let the family be themselves. The big sister cradled the newborn with such tenderness, totally unselfconscious. Those moments happened because we gave space for them to unfold naturally, not because I posed it that way. One mom gazing at the other while she holds their newborn. A toddler’s hand reaching out. The newborn’s wide alert eyes looking straight at the camera. These are the shots that stick: the ones that’ll mean something in five years, in ten years.
What surprised me most was how the warm light in their Marin County home just caught everything: the texture of cream knit blankets, the curve of a shoulder, a profile against the window. Simple setups. Real life happening in real time.
If you’re expecting and want someone to capture your family as it actually is, I’d love to be there.
