What happens during a newborn shoot?

Next I settle the baby to sleep

Once you have fed baby, I’ll take baby from you and start settling them to sleep so I can take those ‘sleeping baby photos you’re after.

I do this rather than you so that we don’t disturb baby once they are sleeping by moving them between us. It doesn’t take much to wake a baby!

The poses

I start off with undressed poses on the beanbag, showing off those gorgeous curly shapes.

For the more complex positions, I may ask you to support the baby with your hands while I take the photograph. But don’t worry, I edit your hand out of the photograph in the image processing stage later.

If siblings are involved, then how we pose them with your newborn is guided by their age and willingness to cuddle their new sibling safely and follow instructions. So, I might suggest we start with sibling shots or I may suggest that we leave them to settle in the studio for a little while before involving them in any photos. Ultimately I will aim to get sibling images done as early as possible, that way if you prefer either dad or a friend can take them out of the studio, as they often struggle in the heat.

I will also then position them in some of the props, this may be a bucket, a basket  or a bowl.

And, just to set your mind at rest, I’ll make sure that there is no risk of your baby falling, rolling or tipping out of the prop’s. All the buckets and baskets are weighted so that there is no risk of toppling over.

Since babies like to be swaddled, once I have completed the undressed poses, I will then swaddle your baby. Wrap them make’s them feel safe and secure.  I use coloured stretch wrap’s that keep them secure, but also allow them to move.  I’ll be careful to make sure your baby is comfortable at all times.

The safety of your newborn is my number one priority, this will take precedent over capturing certain images, so if your baby is not happy in any position I will not proceed.  So everything I do during the session will be done with this in mind.

For each setup that I do, I’ll take a lot of photographs so that you have a variety of images to choose from.

I’ll include close-up shots – capturing the baby’s gorgeous features, if I’m lucky, I may catch an lovable smile or yawn.

I keep my setups and colour schemes simple. i want to keep all the attention on your newborn baby.. All  the fabrics i use  are soft to touch and cosy for newborns. My large range of hat’s, headbands and outfits are all available for you to select from.

Usually, I do parent shots at the end of the session as your baby may be awake by then, and they don’t need to be asleep if they are being cuddled by mummy and daddy.

After your newborn baby photoshoot

After your session, I will start on the editing of your newborn’s photos. Some of the composite images I took at the beginning of the session are brought together, or where I have had to ask for your support and so need to remove your hand from the image.

I will also take time to edit out the odd stray hair and some of the patches of red skin or where the skin is flaky. Your baby may also have milk spots, and i will remove the worst of those.

Viewing and ordering your newborn’s portraits

Once your image gallery is ready to view, I’ll send you an email inviting you along to a preview session.

This viewing and ordering appointment is a chance to not only see all your gorgeous images. And I can give you advice on photo products and wall art (but don’t worry, it won’t be a hard sell!)

My newborn photography prices are available to view on my website, and images start from just £295 for ten photos on a bespoke USB.