Theresa Butts
Editor - Creative Director Anamaria Brandt Graphic Design Kelli Campbell TEAM STAFF admin@anabrandtonline.com VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR FUTURE PUBLICATION DATES AND SUBMISSION CALLS WWW.ANABRANDTONLINE.COM MATERNITY GOWNS AND BABY www.bellybabywear.com FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/anabrandtonline YOUTUBE CHANNELS www.anabrandtvideos.com www.anabrandtlive.com INSTAGRAM #BELLYBABYWEAR
 SO WE CAN FEATURE YOU!
Annie Smack
IMAGE MAKERS We are so grateful to those who contributed images to this Magazine. This list is of those who contributed the Images you see throughout the pages.
Annie Smack
ABRAH SALK ZION ADAM HIRONS ALYS CARO AMANDA SMITH AMANDA TRENT ANA BRANDT ANGELA FORKER ANGI RANDALL ANNIE SMACK CAROLIN GRAHAM CARRIE CARPUNKY CASSANDRA JONES CLOUD CHEW GYPSY’S CORNER PHOTOGRAPHY JANICE MORSE JESSICA COOK JULIE WORTHY KARA TAYLOR KELLY HYNES CURTIES KIM SHIMER KRISTY BLACK KRISTEN NICTORA LEAH ISLINGER LILIANA SERNA LINA LODICO LISA CENTANNI LIZBE BOTHA LORI LESH MERIDITH SMITH NATALIE GALLAGHER NATALIE HOULDING OLESYA REDINA PAIGE LARO-CHARBY SHANNON LEIGH STUDIOS SILVIA LUGO SOFI GUERRA STEFANIE ADAMS-FIGUEROA TARA RUBY TIFFANY JONES ALEXANDER THERESA BUTTS TRISHA HARRIS
Gypsy’s Corner Photography
Angi Randall
Natalie Gallagher
From the editor
Our Superhero Issue came about by our related Facebook group - Super Hero Babies. Originally it started out as just newborns and children in Costumes. Then I realized there are real Super Hero babies out there that have gone thru some rough challenges just a few days new. Photographing a newborn is never easy, adding a baby with challenges and even a costume takes it to a whole new level. To the Photographers featured in this Magazine, we celebrate you. We congratulate you on mastering your craft and keeping the love alive for newborns, babies and children everywhere with your creative imaginations, perfect lighting and oh so adorable set ups.
This is our life - it is visual - it is amazing. Capturing it, celebrating and sharing it is what we do best - thank you!
Ana Brandt
Ana Brandt
Liliana Serna
Amanda Smith
Natalie Houlding
Abrah Salk Zion
Kim Shimer
Lina Lodico
Kara Taylor
Liliana Serna
Cassandra Jones
Angela Forker
Kristen Nictora
Gypsy’s Corner Photography
Some Tips for Photographing Newborn Super Heroes by Abrah J. Zion, of Miss Z Photography www.missZphotography.com www.facebook.com/missZphoto www.instagram.com/missZphoto
Photographing newborns is my passion. Though, I do a lot of timeless/simple setups, I am known for my highly stylized/fun setups. I customize all of my sessions based upon what the parents want - colors and themes. A favorite of mine is when Parents request a superhero theme. The end results are always adorable, but a lot goes into prepping for the superhero photos. Below is how I prepare and photograph newborns for superhero themes. Once the parents have told me their choice, I make sure that I have that costume/outfit. I purchase all of my newborn superhero costumes from Pitter-Pats creations as they are extremely well made and fit perfectly. On the day of the session, I pick out the backgrounds, or bean bag drops that I plan to use and set everything up before the families arrive. For my superhero setups, it’s very important that I get the baby(ies) into a nice deep sleep. I keep my studio very warm around 75 degrees. Then I use a little heater about 2 feet away from the baby. I also use the Baby Shusher to provide white noise. When the parents arrive, I find out when baby has last eaten. I make sure that baby is nice and full. If needed, I will have mom top baby off. All of the little movements of posing a newborn, don’t look like much to us adults. But it burns a lot of calories for these tiny bubs. If they are hungry, they will not stay in a sound sleep. So I like to make sure that I start the session with full and satisfied babies. I never go right into my super hero setups for the first setup. I start off with wrapping baby, even if they are already asleep. The wrapping lets me capture some beautiful images. If baby isn’t yet asleep, it helps to get them to sleep. Starting off with wrapping the baby also helps me to assess how deep of a sleep he/she is in, and how sensitive to movement they might be. Some newborn babies are more sensitive to being touched and posed than others. This knowledge is very important ahead of time as it helps me plan my workflow and the best way to prepare the baby for the superhero setup.
If baby is not overly sensitive to touch, I will gently and slowly unwrap them and gently and slowly dress them in the costume. I use very slow and gentle movements, often stopping between each movement and holding the baby’s arms/legs with a gentle but firm hold to prevent them from startling and to supply comfort to allow them to remain asleep. Once baby is in the costume and still settled and asleep, I will decide on what pose to do. Sometimes this decision is based on costume and what I think will l look best with that particular outfit. Other times it’s based on the baby and what position I think they will tolerate better. An overly gassy baby, doesn’t always do well on a tummy pose. I always have an assistant for my newborn sessions for safety reasons. So while I do the posing, my assistant will hold onto babies feet and arms to keep them asleep while I’m posing. She will also hold their heads while I adjust posers. A lot of babies like their bums patted so I will have my assistant do this as I position their arms and hands. My favorite poses for superheroes are the bum up and taco poses. It allows for me to place a small poser under the back of the cape so that it looks like the cape was up in the air from flight. However, for both of these poses, baby is on their belly. If they are gassy, this will cause some upset. They also need to either be sleeping or extremely relaxed, or they will startle out of the pose. While, my assistant is right there if this should happen, so that she can keep them safe, it doesn’t allow to capture an adorable photo if baby is flinging about. If I have a baby that won’t settle into a deep sleep, or is gassy, I will pose them into a potato sack for their superhero pose. This allows for them to not be on their bellies, they don’t have to be in a deep sleep, and if they’re not sleeping at all, it often lulls them into sleeping. Once I have baby in the pose that I want, I take a “test” photo. This is the photo before I put on a mask or in superman’s case, glasses. I always take this test photo, just in case putting on a mask/eye glasses wakes the baby and I lose my chance for getting the photo. Once I have this first test photo, with my assistant placing gentle but firm pressure on the baby, to keep them asleep, I slowly and carefully put on the mask or glasses. If they have remained asleep, I will then snap my photo. I always take it from a few different angles and then when culling my photos, I choose the one I like best. Photographing newborns is such a privilege. Turning these little cuties into superheroes is so much fun to do. The parents always love the images. I hope my way of doing these sessions provides you with some great tips for taking your own superhero newborn photos.
Abrah Salk Zion
Abrah Salk Zion
Paige Laro-Charby
Annie Smack
Natalie Houlding
Liliana Serna
Theresa Butts
Lori Lesh
Angi Randall
Cloud Chew
Shannon Leigh Studios
Shannon Leigh Studios
Lisa Centanni
Little Super Heroes by Tara Ruby Capturing newborn portraits is such a special genre, but when we add on the ability to customize a session for parents and families it makes it that much more special. I have found that bringing superhero costumes into a session is never a disappointment for both myself and for them. I have found that I am constantly challenged to create unique images that incorporate these characters. Superheroes have been around for decades with no possibility of them going away any time soon so I’m never told no by parents when I want to use my costumes. All of my different superhero costumes comes from Pitter-Pats Creations, who I’m honored to now call my friend. She continually works with me to make my ideas come to life. I typically shoot the babies on the Perfect Posie and then create a digital masterpiece with that image. My clients want their little one to be the only baby out there in that particular setup and I pride myself in being able to constantly provide that to them. My most recent image is of Wonder Woman in a coffee cup. The look on Mom and Dads face when they walked in and sat down and held the coffee cup in their hand as I told them what I was going to do was priceless, and then their reaction when the image was posted was worth every challenging moment I had coming up with that image. I can’t wait to help them print it large and to get that image up on their wall! Here are a few behind the scenes cell phone images my assistant took during the session. You’ll see that we wrapped baby girl up super tight so that she couldn’t wiggle out of the wrap, and then we put the super hero custom on her. I knew that I wanted her fingers to be outside of the cup, so when I posed her I made sure to be aware of those little fingers and their placements. Images like these require planning ahead of time, such as light placement, colors, tones and posing. If you know what you want your final image to look like, you’ll find that prepping for things like that will make or break your image. I hope this helps you create some super images of your client’s little super heroes.
Kelly Hynes Curties
Amanda Trent
Julie Worthy
Natalie Houlding
Tara Ruby
Trisha Harris
Angela Forker
Olesya Redina
Tara Ruby
Gypsy’s Corner Photography
Meridith Smith
Adam Hirons
My name is Paige and my vendor journey started just over nine years ago. I started out offering up-cycled sets and crochet bonnets. Almost two years into creating I made the first sewn Superhero costume for newborns. Superman and Batman were my first two of a collection that has now grown to over a dozen Superheroes ranging from Wonder Women, Captain America to even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My collection continues to grow in Honor of my dear friend Jamie Anderson, even from above she inspires me with each creation. As a Photography Prop Vendor I have created some amazing relationships with both photographers and parents. I’ve been touched by so many stories over the years and had the opportunity to create pieces for even the tiniest of Heroes. I create all year round but Halloween is my busiest time of the year. This is the time that my client base is mostly filled with moms who have shared with me their amazing stories of their tiny NICU Heroes fighting hard to survive. These tiny fighters have received open heart surgery, brain surgery, stomach surgery, premature complications and so many other battles making each and every bundle of joy a true Hero. I cherish every baby Hero no matter how hard or how easy their first few weeks of life have been. As a mother to two little girls, one who was born very ill and one born very healthy each and every baby is a true Hero and a true blessing. Creating is a passion I hope to continue for years to come! I wouldn't be where I am today without recognizing so many photographers who have helped me grow my collection. The collection started with Naturally Posh Photography, Shannon Leigh Studios, Trepid Images, JME Portraits and have continued with Lilly’s Photography by Liliana Serna, Janine Leigh Photography, Tara Ruby Photography, Carrie Carpunky Photography, and so many more. Most recently I have teamed up with Off My Hooks to help bring you costumes I couldn't complete without her. Each of these women have in some way inspired me, pushed me and guided me. I will forever be grateful and thankful. I look forward to new stories, new triumphs for all baby Heroes and bringing you new, never seen before Heroes. Paige Edwards Pitter-Pats Creations https://www.etsy.com/shop/pitterpatscreations https://www.facebook.com/pitterpatscreations/
Gypsy’s Corner Photography
Cloud Chew
Liliana Serna
Natalie Houlding
Not only do I have the immense pleasure of photographing tiny heroes, I am also a mommy to a hero, although she is not tiny anymore. These tiny heroes can teach us so much, the meaning of determination, what fighting REALLY looks like, and they will inspire your cape right off.
18 years ago, my daughter was born with Spina Bifida. (Spina Bifida is an incomplete closing of the membranes around the spinal cord.) I have watched her inspire, defy & amaze & the little heroes I get to see in the studio are no different. The little Captain America on the cover of this magazine was also born with Spina Bifida. He spent his first few months in & out of the hospital for surgeries & so he was a little older than most of the newborns I see, but he is the true definition of a hero baby. I have volunteered to photograph all of the Spina Bifida babes born in my area for free. I remember those first few months of stress & isolation & want to attempt to ease that for these amazing parents. When they come in for their session, it is a chance to not only relax, but they can rest easy knowing that their little hero is in good hands that have had lots of experience with most of the challenges they have faced.
Any of my babies that have put up a fight, whether that is a baby in the NICU, a baby born with a birth defect, or a baby just fighting to gain some weight is just a perfect match for my hero collection. All of my heroes come straight from the Super Hero Queen herself, Miss Paige Edwards from Pitter-Pat Creations. She is a sweet friend of mine & wouldn’t think of a tiny hero without her creations.
by Carrie Carpunky www.carriecarpunky.com
info@carriecarpunky.com
Angela Forker
Paige Laro-Charby
Leah Islinger
Liliana Serna
Trisha Harris
Alys Caro
Stefanie Adams-Figueroa
Lina Lodico
Lina Lodico
Tiffany Jones Alexander
ONE YEAR LATER Tiffany Jones Alexander
Silvia Lugo
Cloud Chew
Lizbe Botha
Julie Worthy
Lina Lodico
Lina Lodico
Janice Morse
Sofi Guerra
Jessica Cook
Let me start by introducing you to Oliver! Oliver's grandmother had an obsession all her life with Batman and she just thought he was the "BEST" Super Hero in the Marvel world. His grandmother and Batman had similarities, always doing more than she needed to help everyone around her, always putting everyone else first. His grandmother even fought the hardest battle of all, overcoming a serious car accident and being told she would never walk again, but yet again she battled through it giving her the nickname in the family "Batman". Oliver's grandmother defeated battles that life sent her way, walking after she was told she would never walk again. Three months after she started walking on her own, she passed away unexpectedly. The strongest woman, mom and grandmother the family ever knew. Sadly, Oliver was not born yet and was never able to meet the Super Hero of the family. Oliver's grandmother lay in her casket dressed in her favorite Batman pajamas and family members gathered at her services dressed in Batman t-shirts to honor her memory. Oliver was born after his grandmother passed away and he was her first grandchild. Oliver's dad was the son of this amazing family Super Hero and wanted to include his mother in his son's life as much as possible. Oliver's newborn session started with a Super Hero skyline backdrop and Oliver was dressed in his grandmother's favorite Batman suit from head to toe. What better way to honor his grandmother's memory than to start his 1 year session off the same way. The meaning behind this Super Hero Baby always brings tears to my eyes. I adore clients who share with me their personal and yet sometimes heartbreaking stories. The most important part of freezing these memories for clients is communication. Take the time to talk with your clients on a personal level. I want to feel what they feel when they are telling me their story. When you can feel the love, capturing what they feel in an image is the best story they could ask for.
"In Honor of Contessa (Batman)" Jessica Cook Photography
Natalie Houlding
Angela Forker
Lina Lodico
Lori Lesh
Jessica Cook
This handsome Super Hero is Grayson, he is named after Richard John Grayson who made his first appearance in 1940 as Batman's first sidekick, Robin. When I spoke to his mom about his newborn session his mom asked if we could in some way incorporate a batman themed picture. We began to go further in conversation about the history of his name and her childhood. Grayson's mom said when Marvel and DC comics turned their stories into film she was beyond thrilled. As a child she remembers reading X-Men comics and getting lost in each character's story. Growing up with comics she knew when she had children they would be named after the great Super Heros that she remembered. Luckily, when she married, her husband was on board with the Super Hero names. Unluckily, they waited until their children were born to see them and read through all the Super Hero names to finally agree on one. Grayson's "BIG" brother is Logan, named after Wolverine which she voiced was one of her favorite "misunderstood" characters. Then Grayson was born, he was named after Batman's sidekick Richard John Grayson. Every Super Hero needs a sidekick, even a lone wolf like Wolverine. Jessica Cook Photography


Alys Caro
Annie Smack
Tara Ruby
Sofi Guerra
Annie Smack
Lina Lodico
Gypsy’s Corner Photography
Carolin Graham
Shannon Leigh Studios
Kristy Black
Stefanie Adams-Figueroa
Lina Lodico
Lina Lodico
Meridith Smith
Carrie Carpunky
Want to be an Ultimate Vendor? Visit www.anabrandtonline.com for details.
• VINTAGE INSPIRED PROPS • CLOTHING, LAYERS, BONNETS, HEADBANDS, WRAPS, HARD PROPS AND MORE.
jasperandjunebaby.com
Use Code ANA15. FREE US Shipping $100+
Exclusive line of newborn props including vegan furs, wraps, headbands, bowls and apparel for newborn and baby portrait photographers. Our in-house prop designers work diligently to create cutting-edge newborn photography props that other companies can’t offer. Everything ships within 24 hours. A portion of all proceeds go to help rescue animals.
www.customphotoprops.com
Thank you so much to the Photographers that Contribute to this Magazine.
Abrah J. Zion www.misszphotography.com
Carrie Carpunky Carrie Carpunky Photography www.carriecarpunky.com info@carriecarpunky.com
Jessica Cook Photography Website http://www.jessicacookphotography.co/ Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-CookPhotography/209705025710035
Tara Ruby www.tararuby.com www.facebook.com/tararuby www.instagram.com/tararubyphotography