March of Dimes Photo Shoot

A few months ago, the March of Dimes contacted me after seeing some of the images I posted of my 2 lb princess, Nicole from Northside Hospital. The organization was preparing for their Prematurity Awareness Month campaign in November and reached out to me because they needed images that illustrated the emotional experiences of families whose babies are born prematurely.

After weeks of planning, conference calls, and fine-tuning our creative brief, I flew to Little Rock for a few days to photograph 20 or so families and their sweet babies.

The experience was incredibly powerful for me. As someone who is used to planning sessions around baby's milestones, I felt torn for the families who had been in the NICU for weeks and faced challenges with their newborn every single day. They embraced me photographing their family because they cherished their time with their baby. Everyday was a blessing. And it was evident in the room as I quietly captured their family's tender moments.

The March of Dimes has graciously given me permission to post some of my favorite images from the shoot. These babies are incredible. Their families, equally incredible. What a blessing it was for me to witness such remarkable love and strength...

1 day old, alone in his isolette as mom recovers from the delivery.



A baby a few doors down and a few days older. Happy to model for the campaign and smile for my camera...



Tender moments with mom and dad. Skin-to-skin is recommended often between the parent and infant.
Research proves this to be very therapeutic for both parties. I love how their hearts are touching...







Big brother stands proudly beside his sister's isolette. He was a little premie as an infant too.



I loved this family. Such joy to be holding their baby after more than 10 weeks in the hospital.



And this mom, who proudly told me her baby was getting big. Look how tiny his foot is in her fingers...



Loved these all as well...





And the infamous purple hat of the March of Dimes. So snug on the baby's little heads...

This was such an amazing experience that I was so proud to be a part of. Here is the group after our last day of shooting. All worn out, but incredibly happy to have had the opportunity to work together on this project.

Left to right: Kristen, Lori, myself, Susan and Shanna

I left Little Rock with such a heavy heart for all of the families who experience premature births. You are all incredible...