There are shoots I look forward to, and then there are the ones that feel like we are all in exactly the right place at exactly the right time and everything flows together effortlessly.

J & B are fellow photographers — film lovers, neighbors, and now, new parents. After they reached out to us to photograph their newborn session, we realized that we were all neighbors who had never met before! Talon, August, and I walked over to their house with our coffees (and respective juice for Auggie), as the sun was still rising and the cool breeze blew around us, and it felt like a little moment I’d only ever dreamed of.

Baby M was an absolute dream. Sleepy and soft and so perfectly content to be held and adored while we all moved slowly through the morning together. J & B drank their coffee, snuggled their new baby, and we talked through all of it — postpartum life, newborn days, the particular kind of tired and wonder that comes with those first weeks. It was one of my favorite sessions we’ve ever had the privilege of being part of.

This is what at-home newborn sessions are meant to be. Unhurried. Unposed. We follow the baby’s lead and document the beautiful, fleeting details that are so easy to forget — their favorite spots, the way you hold them, the way they curl into you like they’ve always known you. The way the light streams in through your windows, the routines in your comfort place. Your whole world, together on the couch.

It feels impossible how small their hands are. How they wrap around your finger like they’ll never let go. And one day you’ll be holding that same hand and realize — it’s not that baby hand anymore.

Document the small things. You’ll want them more than you know.

Photographed on film in Austin, TX. Ruét Photo offers a limited number of in-home film newborn sessions each month — inquire here to learn more.