In just six years, photographer Nikki Cee has become one of the most sought after newborn photographers in the country. Based outside of Washington, DC, her portfolio features photographs of babies reimagined in ways that are guaranteed to provide happiness and baby fever to anyone who views them.
Cee tells Because of Them We Can that her journey to newborn photography wasn’t an easy one.
“No one would let me take their pictures at first so I begged coworkers and people close to me so that I could practice. Ironically enough, when I first worked with a newborn baby I was horrible and vowed to ‘let newborn photographers have that’ because it was so hard and the baby screamed the whole time I tried to photograph her.”
Although she tried to focus on other areas of photography, the idea of not being able to do something made her determined to figure it out how to pose the little ones.
“I took to Youtube university and started looking at different photographers behind the scenes videos and I started focusing on how they calmed the babies, transitioned the babies, and overall handled the babies. I was determined to do a successful newborn shoot that fit into the professional standard but that also had some sort of ‘me’ in it. So once I felt good handling a baby in baskets and simple props, I started the creative prop ideas and any and everything I saw that a baby could fit in, I put a baby in it!”
Figuring out how to incorporate her personality and creative vision into her work paid off.
“My very first viral post was of a baby in a little desk with a book bag on. I’ve since done a million different poses with that prop and tried to make each original and different in its own right.”
One of her most recent viral photographs included a baby posed as a mini-Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Cee said she made the shirt and the hat on her own because she just had to do the Fresh Prince theme.
While she has no desire to be famous, she does want her work to be known.
“I want to be world renowned, but not famous. I want my work to be famous. I want to bring happiness, baby fever, and endless smiles with these forever captures.
As a self taught photographer, Cee has discovered her purpose helping newborns and their parents dream big.
“Being an entrepreneur is the toughest role I’ve played and I’m forever learning and growing and I’m just forever thankful for every word of encouragement, every trusting client and their beautiful babies, every inspiration, every set back, and every disappointment. They all work together to shape me and my everyday dealings with this photography thing and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Visit Nikki Cee’s website at www.nceephotography.com to view more of her work.