Introducing Charlie

When I first met Charlie's mom, it was a meeting in her furniture store about doing an ad for the newspaper. As I walked into her shop downtown on Wall Street, I noticed the amazing chair on display in the front window. It had a very antique feel to it, with a rounded, full back that was completely covered in signatures. Through the course of our meeting, it came up that Whitney had just gotten married last October, and that chair was the guest book at their wedding. What a creative idea for a guest book, and fitting when your family owns an established furniture store! Also through the course of the meeting, it came out that Whitney had gotten pregnant on her honeymoon. From that moment, I knew I wanted to shoot her baby in the chair when he was born.

Charlie finally made his debut, and I got my session. He's a little older than your typical newborn--he was about six weeks old for our shoot together. It's best to shoot newborns within their first seven days for a few reasons: a) they sleep constantly, and b) you can bend them in just about any position while they are sleeping. Once you start getting out of that glorious seven day window, they start getting more alert and less bendy. Charlie, although a beautiful little boy, was such a case. He was so excited for his first modeling shoot he just couldn't stand it. He wanted to be awake through the whole thing, and not miss one second.

So for two hours, we waited. Mom and I chatted. He ate. Again. And again. And again. I should have taken a picture of his swollen, happy belly before I left. We turned off the lights. Mom sang to him. She held him. Laid him down. Bundled him up. And fed him some more. Charlie just did not want to sleep.

Luckily I'm patient. And I had nowhere else to be. I was determined to get a shot of that boy sleeping in a chair that everyone his parents love dearly in this life had signed! And finally, after two hours, he slept. It was brief. But I got my shot. And it was worth the wait.

This shot just makes me laugh every time I look at it. I think Charlie is just as stubborn as I am. I think he threw me this look that says "oh, I'm going to sleep huh? Wanna bet?" I just love the look on his face, and those eyes! Why do I keep getting so lucky with children that have amazing eyes?

And finally, Charlie's birth announcement. Congratulations, Whitney!