Some sessions feel like work, and some feel like you’re just getting to quietly witness something really special unfold. This one was definitely the second.
I got to photograph my close friends Elly and Ethan Imel as they welcomed their first baby, a sweet little girl named Juniper Jane. I still can’t quite get over the fact that they’re parents now. It’s one of those life shifts that feels big and tender all at once, like everything changes, but in the softest way possible.
Walking into their home that day felt calm in a way that’s hard to describe. Not quiet in a tense way, but in that peaceful, newborn haze where time slows down and everything revolves around this tiny new person. Elly was curled up with Juniper in her arms, doing that instinctive new-mom sway without even thinking about it. Ethan was right there beside them the whole time, fully in it, already so protective and present.
We didn’t rush anything. Honestly, newborn sessions shouldn’t be rushed. Juniper decided the pace for the entire shoot, and we just followed along. A little feeding, a lot of snuggling, some wide awake stretches that quickly turned into sleepy, milk-drunk rest. Those tiny details, the way her fingers wrapped around Elly’s hand, the way she’d settle perfectly against Ethan’s chest, those are the things I kept coming back to.
There’s something different about photographing people you actually know well. It’s less about directing and more about noticing. I wasn’t thinking about poses or perfection, I was just watching them become a family in real time. And that’s what I wanted to preserve for them. Not a styled version of this season, but the real one. The slightly messy, deeply emotional, beautifully ordinary beginning of it all.
Elly looked like she had already stepped so naturally into motherhood. There’s this softness that comes with it, even in exhaustion. Ethan had that steady, grounding presence, swaddling when needed, always checking on both of them, always close. And baby Juniper Jane…honestly, she was just perfect in that newborn way that makes you forget everything else exists for a while.
At one point, everything went still, Juniper asleep, Elly leaning her head back for just a second, Ethan looking at both of them like he couldn’t believe this is his life now. That’s the kind of moment I live for as a photographer. Nothing staged. Nothing forced. Just love, exactly as it is.
I left that session feeling really grateful. Grateful for friends who trust me with moments like this, and grateful to be able to slow down and actually witness them instead of just passing through.
Elly and Ethan, you two are already doing such a beautiful job. And baby Juniper - your story is just beginning, but you are so, so loved already.
