Contact — — little plum photography

little plum photography

I would love to hear from you! Please fill out the form below with details of the type of photography or service that interests you. If inquiring about birth photography and doula services, please include due date, where you plan to deliver and if you are interested in adding any photography packages.

310.985.9985

stephanie@littleplumphoto.com

I already had my camera packed up to go and was giving their little dog pets and kisses to say goodbye when I saw how sweet this little one looked on his dad’s lap with his hands folded. I had to capture that.
Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#newborn #dearphotographer #letthembelittle #losangelesphotographer

After the first post about Stella’s home birth, there was so much interest and questions about the cord burning ceremony. Stella shared with me her story about why she chose cord burning and what it means to her...
“About two months before my due date I came across a photo of a mother holding her newborn while the father was burning the umbilical cord. It looked very peaceful and beautiful.
I started researching this ritual and I fell in love with it.
I then spoke to my midwife and my husband and everybody was on board.
It is a really slow and gentle process that makes the separation of baby from placenta/mother even more memorable.
In addition to slowing things down, some cultures turned to cord burning to lower the chance of infection and bleeding after birth.
The high heat can sterilize the tissue and cauterize blood vessels.
For the ceremony we bought a beautiful “burn box”, made from recycled wood, which has grooves to hold the candles and collects the dripping wax. The whole process took about 20 minutes and neither the smell nor the smoke bothered us. We also incorporated a Celtic baby blessing that my Doula had written for us. She framed it nicely and read it after the cord was burnt. It was a lovely touch and made the event even more special and meaningful.
At the end of the ceremony, we burnt braided sweetgrass, which is known to be a sacred plant with a vanilla-like scent.
It’s burnt to promote happiness, open heartedness and harmony, sweetgrass has been used for centuries to invite the beautiful, blessed, positive energies and spirits into a space or ritual.
The three strands of the braid represent love, peace and harmony, or mind, body and spirit.
We absolutely loved the experience and we believe it was the perfect ending to our beautiful home birth and at the same time a powerful beginning and a magical welcoming to our baby girl.”
Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#cordburning #homebirth #whynothome #birthwithoutfear #birthbecomesher #birthphotogs #empoweredbirthproject #thebirthnarrative

“Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been aware. To such a woman, childbirth is a monument of joy within her memory. She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too soon.” ~Grantly Dick Read, Childbirth Without Fear

Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#homebirth #whynothome #birthbecomesher #birthphotogs #birthphotography #birthwithoutfear #mamaglow #birth #placenta #delayedcordclamping #empoweredbirthproject

That's the way it is with firstborns. Mom and Dad may think they're in charge, but the firstborn knows better, and so does the youngest sibling.

Kevin Leman, The Firstborn Advantage: Making Your Birth Order Work for You

Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#firstborn #siblings #olderbrother #brother #homebirth #parents #parenting #birthphotography #candidchildhood #magicofchildhood #documentaryphotography

It is in the shelter of each other that the people live. -Irish proverb

Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well

Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#love #trust #couples #together #malibu #elmatadorbeach #maternityphotography #losangelesphotographer #shelter

BIRTH STORY share!
Stella hired me to document photo and video for her second birth and her second home birth. Her due date was June 26th and I told her I had a trip planned to Europe June 11-21 but she decided to go for it and to have me join the birth team. I had back up while I was away and she was in good hands. Thank goodness her little one waited for me to return, and an entire week after I returned at that! I waited patiently all week and on standby as we all knew it may go more quickly, as second births often do and especially if the first was rather quick. On Saturday, the morning of June 29th she texted me at 5:19 am and said contractions had started. We kept in touch through the morning and she said it wasn’t too intense and wasn’t sure if or when I should come. In my 15 years experience as a birth worker, I know to go sooner than later with second time moms, even if they aren’t too sure. I decided to go ahead and get dressed and headed out around 11 am since it was an hour drive. I was about 10 minutes from her house and her doula texted and told me things were picking up and to come. I told her I was close by. Stella was so calm and incredibly strong through her labor, surrounded by her doula and husband and 18 month-old Leo. She got in the birth tub that was set up in the living room when her midwife arrived and she was 9 cm dilated. With her husband, doula, Midwife and 18 month old next to her, she gave birth to beautiful Luna Sophia at 1:49 pm.
After she moved to the couch, made out into a bed, she cuddled her family for a while followed by a cord-burning ceremony with a blessing written by close friends, read by her doula.
It was my first time to document a cord-burning ceremony and it took about 20 minutes for the cord to separate. It was so peaceful and meaningful and I love seeing the connection of baby and mother and placenta staying intact after birth. There was no rushing to do exams or anything else. Just connection and cuddling. It’s often referred to as “the birth pause”. It’s common practice in home birth and birthing center births.
We all celebrated after with homemade bread, made by her husband and Prosecco...perfect ending.

Stories teach us in ways we can remember. They teach us that each woman responds to birth in her unique way and how very wide-ranging that way can be. Sometimes they teach us about silly practices once widely held that were finally discarded. They teach us the occasional difference between accepted medical knowledge and the real bodily experiences that women have - including those that are never reported in medical textbooks nor admitted as possibilities in the medical world. They also demonstrate the mind/body connection in a way that medical studies cannot. Birth stories told by women who were active participants in giving birth often express a good deal of practical wisdom, inspiration, and information for other women. Positive stories shared by women who have had wonderful childbirth experiences are an irreplaceable way to transmit knowledge of a woman's true capacities in pregnancy and birth.
Ina May Gaskin, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

I had the honor of being the birth photographer and videographer for @knockedupandthen who is an amazing artist, mother to Scout and midwife to-be.
Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#birthwithoutfear #birthphotography #inamaygaskin #birthbecomesher #birthphotogs

I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come

Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you

And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling on a tin roof
While I'm safe there in your arms
So all I ask is for you
To come away with me in the night
Come away with me

Nora Jones

Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#norajones #comeawaywithme #couples #love #lookslikefilm #dearphotographerxoxo #unraveledacademy #happy #pregnant #malibu #elmatadorbeach

Welcome to the world Ester Honey... Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#losangelesphotographer #newbornphotography #dearphotographer_mag #unraveledacademy #lookslikefilmkids #loved #parents #clickinmoms #thefamilynarrative

I love how summer just wraps it’s arms around you like a warm blanket.
Kellie Elmore

Little Plum Photography | Los Angeles
#summer #flowerflields #losangelesphotographer #maternityphotography #clickinmoms #pregnancy #california

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