Welcome home to Sydney, just two weeks old. And welcome home to me. This is my first Stacey Vaeth Photography shoot this month, as I took a bit of a break to focus on a personal project.

A confession: Newborn sessions are not typically my favorite shoots. I feel a combination of trepidation and inadequacy when doing a newborn session, because of the plethora of gorgeous and serene baby in a basket/bucket/pumpkin images out there (i.e. on Pinterest and in Anne Geddes calendars).

I feel that my clients expect this shot; this perfect, soft dumpling of a baby in an adorable, albeit totally unnatural pose. So I’ll strive for it. But when I follow my true inner vision, the expression of what I think that I’d feel like were I a mother, what I want to shoot is more like this. Exactly like this.

Feelings of inadequacy and imperfection are probably the hallmarks of an artist. It is the bane of our existence, and simultaneously what makes us who we are. Those instincts, untested and not-yet-vetted, are what makes any creation so scary. It can be really, really bad. An idea can stink. But the risk is: if it’s not out there, you’ll never know if it’s great or awful. Like making a souffle, it can fail to rise, or be a perfect, soft, dumpling of a thing.

So, as a New Year’s Resolution, I’m going to work more on trusting in my vision, on doing something different, on capturing the spirit of my client (and myself). Therefore, if you see me hedging on a thought, on a pose, on an idea, and you like what I do, please urge me that it’s okay to suggest it. Something very personal and really great might emerge. Then again, the idea might stink (or sink). And we will probably survive.

After all, there’s always a pumpkin that we can stick that baby in.