Yaffa Koff : Newborn Photographer in Silver Spring, MD
Hi! I figured I’m way overdue for a long drawn out post all about me. I know I have my introduction page on my website, but I figured I’d expand on all of that so you can get to know me a little better! What did make me decide to become a newborn photographer in Silver Spring? I’ll tell you all the story of how I got here…
When I was in high school I got really into photography. As a creative person I’ve always looked for different outlets beyond the typical idea of what an artist is. I never really got past using my first camera on “auto”. It was a Canon rebel film camera, and I had zero idea of what I was doing. I never dreamed that my journey would lead me to become a Newborn Photographer in Silver Spring.
Fast forward to college. I really wanted to go into photography (obviously to eventually be a newborn photographer in Silver Spring), but alas, my parents weren’t thrilled with that idea. I guess they wanted me to find a more stable dependable degree that I can count on financially. So I decided to get a very practical degree in history! Yes, I have a Masters (ABD) in Civil Was era history. My focus was on the clothing during the antebellum south. I loved getting that degree since I love history! Guess what I did with that degree…nothing, absolutely nothing!
In middle of me getting my masters degree I got engaged, married, moved to a new country and got pregnant. In the beginning of my pregnancy we discovered that I had contracted something called CMV during the first trimester. If I had been living in the states, I probably wouldn’t have known because they don’t test for that here. But I was living in Jerusalem, Israel at the time and they did test for it there. After much debate we decided to move back to the USA because I was having a difficult time managing the medical situation with the language barrier.
When my first daughter was born, after much stress and worry, she was taken straight to the NICU to be monitored. Thank God, she was cleared with a wonderful bill of health and she had no issues at all! (Do not Google CMV, the problems that could possibly occur are super terrifying!) I know, I know, you’re wondering when I’ll tell you about becoming a newborn photographer in Silver Spring…I promise you, this is all important backstory. We’re getting there!
Ok, fast forward 18 months (yes, I know, crazy!) My second daughter was born. The whole pregnancy I was just relived not to be going through the stress and worry I went through with the first. Except that about an hour after she was born she started having trouble breathing and she was rushed to the NICU. Not again! That’s all I could think about. She somehow was born with pneumonia and had to be in the NICU for a week to get medication. The first few days she was on breathing tubes and all the other NICU things.
The hardest part for me was that I myself was under the weather and they wouldn’t let me go in to see her. I couldn’t hold my own baby! It was one of the hardest moments of my life. My poor baby was in the NICU without her mama and all I could do was watch her from outside the nursery glass. (Now if you’re paying attention you’ll start to see how this is all leading to becoming a newborn photographer in Silver Spring)
Let me rewind for a minute. While I was in college I was working in a school as a kindergarten aide and then a teacher after a few years of experience. After my husband and I moved back to the states I got a job in another school teaching kindergarten once again while I tried to finish my masters degree. I kept toying with the idea of opening a studio in my apartment in my extra bedroom so that I could do something fun for me, but ultimately it never happened.
We moved to Silver Spring, Maryland in 2010 so that my husband could go to Georgetown Law School. Once again, I got a job teaching kindergarten because that was where all my experience lay. I spoke about going back into photography one day, but didn’t really see a way to make it happen. I didn’t see that my dreams of being a photographer, a newborn photographer in Silver Spring were actually closer then I thought!
Fast forward 4 years. My husband got his first job as a lawyer, I had had baby number 3 (a boy) and then was ready to have baby number 4 (another boy!) I was DONE! I had zero energy left to teach and also be present for my own children. I had 3 littles with another on the way and I was ready to switch jobs. One day in the park with my kiddos I met someone, a photographer who would soon become one of my really good friends. We got to talking and she reignited my long lost love for photography. (We’re almost there, here’s the part where I become a Newborn Photographer in Silver Spring!)
Talking to her I started thinking about making my dreams a reality. She mentored me. I bought a new camera, a digital one this time. I took classes and started to explore the different types of photography genres that were out there. I started doing it all! The more I did the more I realized what I connected with the most. I realized that the newborn stage, that very first few weeks, was what made my heart sing. After all the drama I had been through with my first two little ones, I wanted to help new moms have those first moments documented forever. I became a Newborn photographer in Silver Spring, Maryland!
Now I love what I do. I help new parents remember those precious first moments, when life seems to be lived in a fog. As a newborn photographer in Silver Spring I’m able to help parents all over the DMV document their precious first moments and remember them for a lifetime!
Naturally being a newborn photographer, parents wanted the same style images for their babies milestone sessions so I started doing those as well. Lately I’ve fallen in love with maternity sessions and all the glamour and beauty of motherhood that those bring out. So if you are looking for a Newborn Photographer in Silver Spring or surrounding areas, I’m your gal!
The best part of what I do, is that when I had my 4th and then 5th (another girl!) I was able to take monthly photos of them and now I can look back and see how much they grew in that first year! It also helped establish me as a newborn photographer in Silver Spring since I was posting my cute babies!
Cover photo and Cherry blossom images taken by Norma Fayak Photography