It so perfectly captures Chase in his element. Sleepy and happy (wearing no clothes since Naked Baby is always in full force in our house) with his arms up by his face. I want to scoop him up and cuddle him when I see this photo and his expression shows me that he’s dreaming about something since his lips aren’t fully relaxed. My sweet little boy.
This moment was one of many captured by the incredibly talented Brooke of Brooke Whitney Photography.
Brooke came to our home in Charlotte 10 days after Chase was born for a newborn photo shoot. I am so grateful to her for beautifully capturing such a special time in our lives.
Brooke is an Atlanta-based photographer but was in town visiting a close friend and kindly offered to do a newborn photo shoot with us after Chase’s arrival. I am thrilled to be able to share some of her wonderful photos with you today!
Brooke instantly made all of us feel at ease when she arrived around 9 a.m. Right off the bat, she asked if there were any specific photos we wanted (my only request was to have Sadie included in a few) and if there was anything we wished to avoid. (I immediately told her that Ryan and I are awful with “serious” photos and prefer natural photos that feel genuine.) Brooke listened to everything I had to say and while she expertly took over snapping photos of Chase when he was peacefully sleeping, when it came time to incorporate me and Ryan into the photos, she basically let us be ourselves and just hang out… All the while snapping pictures over the course of about two hours.
Here are a few of my favorite photographs from our newborn session with Brooke:
Sadie wanted so badly to be included in every photo and I love that Brooke managed to capture her ridiculous personality in these pictures. When Sadie crawled onto our bed, she immediately started wiggling around, trying her best to reclaim her spot as the center of attention.
Our sleepy little boy…
Wispy blonde hair…
Sleepy baby with a full belly…
All snuggled up in a blanked knit by Grammy…
Tiny pink baby toes!
Baby cuddles on my chest… I can’t get enough!
You may see more photos from our session with Brooke on her blog. Thank you again, Brooke, for so beautifully capturing such wonderful memories for us. I will treasure these pictures of our little boy forever.
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The yawn & those tiny toes! SO cute!
Ohhhh my goodness. These are just too precious. I can’t believe we’re so far from you guys… I need to meet Chase. What perfect photos you will cherish for the rest of your lives! <3
Beautiful photos! Loving the little toes sticking out from the blanket 🙂
Absolutely beautiful! Congratulations!
What beautiful pictures!!!
These are beyond stunning. They are beautiful, natural, and make my baby fever stir up something harsh 🙂
I typically balk at professional photos because 90% of the ones I see are babies wearing ridiculous get-ups and stuffed inside a wagon or bucket or hot-air balloon filled with unicorns. Real life is beautiful. These photos are perfect, just like Chase 🙂
This made me laugh out loud. 🙂 I feel ya on the staged photos. I really wanted pictures that felt like us more than anything. Thank you for the sweet comment.
I SO agree with this! Sometimes these newborn shoots are so over the top with props and outfits and the baby posed in completely awkward ways …
The simplicity of these photos is incredibly beautiful — your photographer is fantastic! These are the kind of photos that are timeless 🙂
Such beautiful photos of you guys! She did a fantastic job! I really like how everything looks so natural – not forced or staged.
Julie, those pictures are gorgeous!!!
Beautiful pictures, thank you for sharing.
These are precious! What a beautiful baby, and a beautiful family.
These are absolutely gorgeous and I love that Sadie was included. 🙂 You and Ryan look great as parents.
Oh Julie! These pictures are priceless. What a gorgeous family. You guys look so natural and happy! I love these!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! What precious memories these pictures will make 🙂 Chase will be so glad to have these when he is older!
So sweet! Those pictures are awesome and reinforce that baby Chase is all you girl! 🙂 You and your family will cherish those memories for many years to come.
Absolutely precious!
What sweet memories and amazing photos!
So so cute! Congrats 🙂 Random question – what brand/color is that nail polish? Love it!
It’s Sally Hansen Miracle Gel and the color is Crème da La Crème! I bought it at Target. 🙂
Julie, you are such a beautiful mother! And Chase! My goodness, what a little handsome dude! I have no doubt that you and Ryan are going to be such great parents. Congrats, again!
Julie,
These pictures are darling and capture your family’s joy in this time of your life so beautifully! They are by far some of the most stunning newborn photos I’ve seen! Congratulations and thank you for sharing!
-Nicole
Julie,
Where did you get your top? I am 34 weeks and starting to think about newborn pics too (and what to wear postpartum!)
Beautiful!!
Julie, these pictures are absolutely beautiful!
These pictures are amazing!! Too precious for words. Chase is adorable and you and Ryan look so happy. Enjoy those baby snuggles, they are the best!
My favorite is the last one you shared of the four of you- SO perfect!!! Glad to see Sadie is coming around. 🙂
<3
Hi Julie,
I have never commented before but I’ve been reading your blog for several years. First of all- congratulations on your beautiful baby boy! Second- these photos are incredible. They made me tear up. There is so, so much love and emotion in every picture and it makes my heart melt. You have a beautiful family. Chase is so adorable and it’s so obvious how loved he is by you and Ryan. My husband and I are expecting our first baby (also a boy!) in January and seeing your photos made me even more excited to meet our little man.
He is truly precious! Stunning photos!
I love these! I also want to know the details on your shirt!
These are gorgeous!! He is so cute <3
Julie, thank you so much for all of these sweet words! Your and your family are so beautiful, making my job super easy! You’re the best!
LOVE these! So, so, so, cute! I really love seeing a pic of you and Ryan together with Chase, it really brings it all together. I love them ALL, but I also love seeing Ryan holding little peanut Chase all wrapped in a bundle, and I love seeing you from the side, holding Chase on your chest but not looking at the camera. I.e. I love the candid moment and photo. So many great candid moments. It seems like Brooke did an amazing job! Bravo, Brooke! Love your work.
These are the sweetest photos. EVER! 🙂 Oh my goodness, she did such a beautiful job of capturing you and your adorable family. Can I say that yawning Chase is my favorite!! Little munchkin face! I love that Sadie is being her adorable self in the photos and you darling look AMAZING!!! Definitely know that in the future I want a baby photo shoot! These pictures are precious! <3
Julie, Chase is so beautiful! These pictures are heart-warming. I’m curious- have people said Chase looks more like you or Ryan? At first I thought he was 100 percent Ryan but now I see your face in him so much, especially his eyes!
What a beautiful family. I love that Sadie was included-the one with her looking down at Chase-awww! Thank you for sharing these precious photos. I am so glad we did a newborn shoot for my little boy almost 2 years ago…they grow so so fast but the photos will always take us back to those sweet first memories…
How beautiful! I love all the natural light and that they don’t look staged!
Congrats! These are gorgeous. xoxo, ganeeban
such a beautiful family!
Omg, such great photos! She did an amazing job!
No, you have to stop, he’s just TOO adorable! That one of his little baby yawn – so precious! You’re making me want another one!
These pictures are absolutely gorgeous!
What a BEAUTIFUL family! You can just feel the love from those photos, what a precious family, Chase is one blessed little guy 🙂
He’s such a perfect little dude 🙂 I love all of these!
Beautiful, all of you! I love your white shirt – where is it from? Would love a post on postpartum clothing, by the way!
awww, absolutely gorgeous! 🙂 You have such a beautiful family. Congratulations! XOXO
such an adorable little man! Congratulations again!
Love the photos! They turned out wonderful:)
Beautiful! I especially love the adorable pic of Chase yawning 🙂
Oh, and I LOVE the one on her blog of you, Ryan and Sadie all looking at little Chase – melts my heart 😉
Julie your little dude is just the most handsome thing. Those pictures are beautiful. You look gorgeous. And Sadie is the cutest. Hugs to all of you. Thanks for sharing. Oh almost forgot and your husband is happiest father. Such a lovely family you have.
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww heart melted
Oh and that cute little buns picture of your son…..just too sweet for words. There’s nothing like baby bottoms. I miss my sons being little. I don’t miss changing diapers though. Lol