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Those first few weeks with a newborn seem to pass in a blur. There are feeds, sleepless nights and lots of changes to get used to. So, booking a newborn photography shoot can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming.
Will my baby sleep? What if they cry? What if they need feeding halfway through? What if they simply don’t want to cooperate?
Don’t worry – that’s all completely normal.
A newborn photography session isn’t about expecting your baby to perform for the camera. Instead, we create a calm and relaxed environment. We allow plenty of time and work around your baby.
There’s also much more to a newborn shoot than the time spent taking photographs.
Our work starts before you arrive and continues after you leave. We prepare the studio, set up the lighting and carefully edit your photographs. Once everything is ready, we invite you back to see the finished images.
Before your newborn shoot
The experience begins well before you arrive at our studio.
We like to have a chat beforehand about the photographs you love. It’s also a chance to discuss what you’d like from your session.
You can send us images you’ve seen or ideas that have inspired you. We’ll talk through colours, wraps, clothing and the style you’d like us to create.
As one of our recent newborn families said:
“Before the shoot, Emma took the time to ask what kind of images we were looking for, and we were able to share some inspiration and have a pre-shoot consultation.”
This is an important part of the process for us.
Every family is different. We want to understand what you love before your session. We don’t want to photograph every baby in exactly the same way.
There’s also plenty happening behind the scenes before you arrive.
We prepare the studio and check all our equipment. Backgrounds, blankets and wraps are selected.
Finally, we set up and test the lighting. That way, everything is ready when you arrive with your baby.
Creating natural-looking light isn’t quite as simple as it looks
Our style of newborn photography is natural, soft and clean.
Ironically, making lighting look simple and natural takes knowledge and experience.
We don’t want harsh shadows or too much contrast. Equally, we don’t want photographs that look flat.
The light should flatter your baby and show all those tiny details. It should also create beautiful skin tones while still looking natural.
We carefully position and adjust our professional lighting to achieve this.
Hopefully, it’s something you don’t even notice in the finished photographs.
You simply see your baby :)
When you arrive
We know that leaving the house with a newborn can feel like an achievement in itself!
There’s no expectation to walk through the door and immediately start taking photographs.
We’ll welcome you in and have a chat. Most importantly, we’ll give everyone a chance to settle.
One of the loveliest comments from a recent review was:
“When we arrived, we were made to feel completely comfortable straight away. Emma and Ian took the time to get to know us and our baby, and there was absolutely no pressure or feeling of being rushed.”
That’s exactly how we want a newborn session to feel.
Calm, comfortable and unhurried.
Your baby sets the pace
Newborn shoots can’t be rushed.
Some babies sleep for much of their session. Others are wide awake and want to know exactly what’s going on.
Your baby may also need feeds, cuddles or nappy changes along the way.
All of that is absolutely fine.
During a recent session, the baby became unsettled halfway through. Her mum later wrote:
“We were given complete privacy and the time we needed for me to feed her, with no pressure whatsoever. We simply let them know when we were ready to continue.”
Those breaks aren’t interruptions. They are part of photographing newborn babies.
There’s no clock ticking while you’re feeding or settling your baby. We’d much rather stop and let everyone relax. We can then continue when your baby is ready.
Safety and experience
Your baby’s comfort and safety always come first.
Newborns are tiny, delicate and unpredictable. For that reason, posing is led by what your baby is comfortable doing naturally.
If something isn’t working, we change it. We never force a pose simply to get a photograph.
We’ve photographed newborn babies for many years and we’re parents ourselves. Patience comes with the territory!
As our clients put it:
“Throughout the whole shoot, so much care was taken to make sure our baby was comfortable and, most importantly, completely safe.”
For us, getting a photograph is never more important than your baby’s wellbeing.
And then the work continues…
When you leave the studio, the photography may have finished. Our work hasn’t.
First, we carefully select the images before beginning the editing process.
Newborn skin is rarely as flawless as it can appear in a finished photograph. Babies naturally have dry or flaky skin. They can also have little scratches, redness, milk spots and temporary blemishes.
Our job isn’t to make your baby look unrealistically perfect.
Instead, we carefully remove temporary distractions. At the same time, we keep everything that makes your baby look like your baby.
Each photograph is individually retouched. We may gently reduce flaky skin or temporary blemishes where needed. We also balance skin tones and make small adjustments to colour and exposure.
Most importantly, we don’t want your baby’s skin to look plastic or overly smooth.
Those tiny features are what you’ll want to remember. The expressions, wisps of hair, eyelashes, fingers and toes are all part of your baby.
Good retouching should be something you barely notice.
Seeing your photographs for the first time
Once your photographs are ready, we invite you back to the studio for your viewing session.
We could simply email you a gallery to scroll through on your phone. However, we love being able to show you the finished collection properly.
For many parents, the viewing becomes another special part of the experience.
Our recent clients described it perfectly:
“What we loved most was getting to return for our viewing session rather than simply having a gallery of images sent over. Seeing all of the photographs together was such a special experience.”
During the shoot, much of your attention is naturally focused on your baby. You may be feeding, cuddling or helping to settle them.
The viewing gives you a chance to step back and see what we captured.
More than the time behind the camera
It’s easy to think of a newborn photography session as the time spent taking photographs.
In reality, there’s much more involved.
We talk to you before the shoot and prepare the studio. We choose backgrounds and wraps, then set up and test our equipment. We carefully shape the light and safely position your baby.
During the session, we stop whenever your baby needs feeding or cuddles.
Afterwards, we select the strongest photographs. Each chosen image is then carefully edited and retouched. Finally, we prepare everything for your viewing session and help you choose your favourites.
All of that time and care is part of professional newborn photography.
There’s a lot happening behind the scenes. However, we don’t want the session itself to feel complicated.
We want you to arrive, relax and enjoy some time together as a new family. We’ll take care of everything else.
Perhaps the nicest description of the experience we’ve received is also the simplest:
“The whole experience was calm, relaxed and genuinely lovely.”
That’s exactly what we hope every family feels when they leave our studio.
A newborn shoot takes place during just a few hours of those precious early days. The photographs it creates, however, will hopefully stay with your family for generations.
If you’d like to chat through ideas for your newborn photoshoot feel free to call me on 07956396051.
Ian and I look forward to welcoming you to the studio.