I got to work with baby brother for his newborn pictures about a month ago. I was so excited he brought his sisters back for a follow up session. Big sister loved everything about the session. Posing for me, telling her sister to pose, helping me push the button to take pictures - she loved it! Little sister was just there for the fruit snacks and showing me her "little sister" necklace. And brother, he didn't really care what was going on. This sibling session was so much fun and I think momma is going to love having this (crazy) phase of life captured forever.

I think follow up sessions are a wonderful idea for bigger families! Newborn sessions are long, parents are tired and your little one is still trying to figure out life outside of the womb. This session was pretty quick, we had a lot of laughs and baby brother didn't have to go through even more baby yoga and outfit changes. Everyone wins!

A cell phone camera is better than no camera!
Just because you don't have that "fancy" DSLR doesn't mean you can't take awesome pictures on Christmas. A cell phone camera is better than no camera. Keep in mind that iPhones don't handle low light very well, so make sure you have as much light as possible.

Camera Ready?
After you read this, you're going to say, "Duh!" In reality though, how many times have you gone to take a picture and your card is full, your battery is almost dead or you get the dreaded white box that says "not enough room." The last thing you want to do is keep your kids waiting because you need to delete pictures that have been on your camera/phone since July. On December 23, make sure you have a clean card and full charge.

Clutter...
Have you ever taken a super cute, perfectly timed picture of your baby only to discover (after you've already posted it on Facebook) that the laundry basket full of your underwear is in the background? Embarrassing. After the kids have gone to bed, take a second to do a sweep around the house and tidy up. Or you can do what I do and throw everything in the master bedroom, close the door and call it good!

Let there be light!
Like I said before, iPhones don't handle low light very well. Even nice DSLR cameras perform better when there is ample light. Quality is just as important as quantity. Natural light is better than house lights which are better than no light. Our house gets almost no natural light (it's horrible, really) so I am going to run around before the baby wakes up and open all of the blinds to get as much light as possible.

Get in the action!
There are several ways you can get in the action.
1. Most cameras have some sort of self-timers that will run continuously. You can set your camera to take a picture every minute and then you can enjoy the action while your camera snaps away.
2. Buy a cheap remote. I got one at Best Buy that works like a charm. Keep it by your side and click the remote every so often so that you are in the action instead of behind the camera.
3. Time lapse. I think I'm going to set up a time lapse on my iPhone so I can re-watch Christmas morning in 30 seconds.