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By Kat Knuth, Longmont Newborn Photographer

One of the things I struggled with as a newborn photographer was learned how to wrap a newborn baby! I watched sooo many YouTube videos to try and learn but there’s just something different about doing it on an actual, squirmy wormy baby. I was grateful I was able to try out different techniques with each baby I’d worked with before my daughter was born. 

For this sweet boy, I did a newborn wrap technique that focused on showcasing his darling little feet. I loved the cheese cloth-esque wrap I’d bought and was satisfied with how it functioned as a wrap in general. 

For this shot for my daughter, I used a similar stretchy blue wrap but positioned it so that her arms and legs were mostly free. I nestled her in a donut pillow underneath a simple knit blanket. It kind of reminded me of a nest. The donut pillow helped the wrap position her limbs so that I could capture her in that cozy, dreamy moment.

For this little love bug, I wrapped her in a flannel blanket and then wrapped her with a purple stretchy wrap. It gave her more volume and would probably work well for those shots when you prop up the baby. This time, I concentrated on leaving her hands free and loved how she positioned them as she slept.

And finally, for this on with my daughter, I used a scarf as a wrap because I loved the color. Newborn wraps are kind of scarf-shaped, actually, so it was an easy transition to make. I did a twisted wrap technique to add a bit more texture to the picture as well. Same donut pillow as the blue wrap picture I took of her earlier in the week.

All-in-all, I’ve learned and improved quite a bit since I started! Always working on becoming the best Longmont newborn photographer I can be! 

By Kat Knuth, Longmont Family Photographer

When my son was six months old, he experienced his first Halloween! My brother talked me into commemorating the occasion with a pumpkin baby photo shoot. He wanted me to carve a pumpkin to put my son into…kind of like a pumpkin diaper. I mindlessly scrolled through the internet for ages trying to decide how to pull it off. 

My husband and I decided to pick up a large pumpkin at Chatfield Farms, a botanic garden with a seasonal pumpkin patch about a half hour southwest of Denver. We’d previously taken a goofy picture there announcing our pregnancy with our son. It seemed fitting to return and take a picture of our pumpkin alongside some actual pumpkins. 

We chose a nice huge, round pumpkin and brought it home. I carved it up, lined in with blankets, and took it outside to take one of my favorite pictures of my pumpkin baby son. He was teething pretty hard at the time and drooling all over the place but I managed to capture a goofy look that was so emblematic of his personality.

But my daughter was a newborn at Halloween. I wanted to take some pictures of her to celebrate the season, too, but knew that a giant pumpkin diaper was absolutely out of the question. Instead, I carved the pumpkin just by removing the top and the guts inside. I stuffed blankets and a fluffy teal rug in the pumpkin, setting it in the middle of a lovely, assorted pumpkin, gourd, and dried corn spread, creating a makeshift studio in my living room.

Here’s what I captured. 

I loved that she was awake for some of the shoot. She seems perfectly at home in her pumpkin baby bed, haha!

It was wonderful to do two different kinds of pumpkin shoots with each of my kids. What a great way to capture their first holiday experiences!

By Kat Knuth, Longmont Newborn Photographer

As a Longmont family and newborn photographer, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to take some choice pictures with my newborn baby girl. One of the pictures I’d always, always wanted to take was the kind with those big, poofy tulle skirts that absolutely dwarf the baby with their overall size and general ridiculousness. A flower crown or a tiara might help complete the look. 

I spent hours on the internet, scrolling through miles of Etsy, Amazon, and Pinterest listings looking at posing, outfits, and anything I could need to create the perfect newborn shoot. I ended up purchasing a sweet dusty rose skirt that the reviews said was so soft, with an oversized, satin ribbon bow on the back and a matching faux flower headband. I ordered a rhinestone crown to be able to change up the look just a little bit as I moved through the shoot.

But, as life often does, all my careful planning went out the window when my daughter was actually born. She had a severe ABO jaundice, was airlifted from Longmont to Children’s hospital in Denver, and spent a week in 2 different NICU’s before finally coming home. I was terrified and exhausted in a way that surpassed anything I experienced with my son. He’d also had ABO jaundice, but his took only a day to treat.

Once she was home in Longmont, I didn’t want to take pictures. I wanted to snuggle her, breastfeed her on demand, things I wasn’t able to do for a week while she lounged under those electric blue lights, waiting for her blood to clear. The idea of putting her down long enough to get those dreamy, sleepy, wonderful newborn shots was inconceivable.

So, after a few days holed up at home, her grandparents and father taking exquisite care of us, I was finally ready to get started.

This is my favorite shot from our newborn photography shoot. 

Her skin is so, so much clearer, a lovely normal pink instead of pumpkin orange. She’s sleepy, but not lethargic like she was as the jaundice raged inside her. I was finally able to appreciate her details for their beauty, instead of hyper-focusing on them in an attempt to memorize them before the nurses took her from my arms again. 

I fell in love with her all over again. I had the hardest time culling this album for myself. I just wanted to hold onto every all-too-adorable shot! Haha!