Macro images are close-ups of small objects, usually taken at close distance from the subject and with a special Macro lens that can focus on very tiny details. In the case of newborns, Macro lenses allow photographers to get close and personal with: puckered lips, tiny nails, cheek dimples, skin flecks, sweet eyelashes, hairlines or swirls, nose bumps, profiles, body rolls, finger knuckles, digital prints, and those adorable tiny toes.

I am thrilled to introduce my boy B who joined our family in early May. He has already transformed our lives in the best possible way and we could not be more in love. He is perfect in every way, and as a mom photographer I am obsessively recording the first days of his life with my camera.

Props during baby photography are important because they keep babies entertained and engaged, so that the resulting images are dynamic. They also serve as a point of reference to see how small our children are.

Images are worth a thousand words, so there is not much for me to say other than that love shines through in these images from a recent Newborn In Home Session.

As they become more toddlers and less babies, kids are so full of curiosity and eager to explore and discover the world around them. Their playfulness and personality just comes through in the photos - that’s why milestone sessions are so fun.

Meeting and taking lifestyle photographs of Molly and her parents, at their home in Lincoln park, was a joy. She was asleep for most of the session but gave us a few little smiles and cute yawns - see if you can find them.

I loved meeting and photographing Baby B, who was less than two weeks old during this lifestyle newborn session. He’s an average-sized baby, but seeing him so small melted my heart. I think you forget how tiny babies are. They are just a human in miniature. It sounds obvious, but really, how amazing is nature that allows us to create life, and then makes these little people that will grow and grow and grow in pure perfection.

No one prepared me for how fast my daughter’s first year would go! In the blink of an eye, Liliana’s first birthday came, and I obviously wanted to take some photos to document this giant milestone. For the Smash the Cake session, let’s say the cake wasn’t entirely a success and there wasn’t much of a smash...

A magical way to end my year: spending an afternoon with these lovely parents and their three-month old cutie. Parents often worry about their babies reacting during a session, and I always tell them not to stress about it. The baby will always dictate my pace, and my job is to follow their lead.