When is a Newborn Baby not a Newborn baby?
There’s a great debate amongst photographers about what is classed as newborn photography. Is it really a newborn photography after the baby is two weeks old? Many moons ago the only newborn photography option only included putting a baby in a bucket adorning them flower crowns that may have well been the case?! Don’t get me wrong, I have great admiration for posed newborn photographers, but it’s not my jam…. . I much prefer my relaxed unposed newborn photography. It’s why i fell in love with photography. Its what drew me lifestyle photography and why i stayed clear of posed images. Many mums are not ready to travel far in their first week postpartum. Opting for lifestyle newborn photography gives you much more flexibility.
In order to “pose” for studio based newborn photography you need baby to sleep. Typically, babies around the 5 to 10 day mark tend to be the sleepiest. Once the baby hit 14 days they wakes far more often and will have longer gaps between these sleepy periods. When this happens it becomes a lot harder to get the posed images many newborn photographers offer and that why they have set restrictions.
You not need to worry!
The joy of my relaxed lifestyle newborn photography is that we don’t pose a baby for the photos. We don’t need them to sleep and we aren’t reliant on them being still for hours . Gone is the worry about how many times they might need a feed. It doesn’t matter if they’re crying and they need a cuddle, bum change or your toddler is having a meltdown. Our session are scheduled with plenty of time for all the worst case scenarios you have in your head. Ive been doing this long enough to ensure we leave plenty of time for creating stunning images.
So you don’t need your Newborn Photography before 10 day?
For me, a Newborn photography can take up to about 4+ months old, but even after this milestone they will still be your baby. They don’t suddenly stop being small, or needing you. My images are all about capturing everyday life i the best way possible. This tiny bundle of joy will still need constant feeding, rocking, soothing whether they are 2 weeks or 2 months. They are new to the world in every sense, especially our extra special newborn lockdown babies.
Photographing slightly older babies always brings lots of positives to the session. They are more alert, they might be smiling, your toddler. They may have older siblings have had some time to get used to one another. Let’s be honest, by then you’ve probably got your s**t together a little bit more too.
As the brand new sleep deprived newborn fog lifts and life with a tiny human starts to feel more normal, well, a little bit more anyway.By more normal I mea you might have only eaten cereal for dinner 3 times this week 😉 Either way, there is no perfect time to document your new arrival, just whenever you are ready to make sure its the most relaxed session possible.
It’s all on your terms…
Another great thing about booking newborn lifestyle photography session is that the whole photo shoot is entirely led by the baby and any other children that you might have a home with you. With three children of my own I understand how hard to can be to juggle everything. I understand the level of snacks breaks that may be required to stop them from loosing the will to live! HA!
I’m conscious that it’s a big change for your older children and part of that adjusting to their new sibling doesn’t come easy to some. I like to make sure that I spend equal amounts of time with all of your children making them feel as special as they are. A lot of of our session is spent with me getting to know you. That might mean I get on the carpet and play trucks with your two-year-old toddler or start singing ( badly) along to the iCarly soundtrack with your seven-year-old, or chat Minecraft with your 10 year-old-gamer. Whatever it is I try and make everybody feel as comfortable as possible. This is the only way to achieve the images you desire.
Why book an at home Newborn photography session?
I’ve said it many, many times , anyone can take a photo they only need a camera or phone. What I do is far more than that, it’s why you invest in me. It’s me having 5 plates spinning in the air whilst balancing my camera on the end of my nose and clicking the shutter with my toe ( i am definitely not really this flexible – haha) I use my time wisely time, I watch, I anticipate, I build moments, create poses… I’m there to orchestrate the magic that I know exists in every family but can hide when it sees a camera. You are paying for so much more than somebody just simply pressing the shutter.
I have been there and i do understand so much about you all, before you even know you feel it. Anticipating that Dad is going to feel uncomfortable and isn’t sure where he should look. Preempting when suddenly you may fee like you sprouted a few extra limbs and isn’t sure what to do with his hands. I see mum discreetly adjusting her top to cover her rounded tum, feeling her worry. I’ve an inbuilt spidy sense that tinkles when i can see that mum’s angst is building as the older children work themselves up, going crazy or ignoring instructions? I see her wondering if I’ve managed to capture anything? I feel everything you feel and that is my job. There is nothing I haven’t seen or heard before.
I can’t make the decision for you whether or not you should invest in a relaxed newborn photography with me. All I can do is give you my assurances that for every worry you’ve ever had I’ve shot multiple families who have had exactly the same concerns. It’s important to me to give you this precious time your lives , tangible memories, ones that will adore the walls of you home for many, many years.
If you’re decided and you’d like to book a relaxed at home newborn session then you can click here.
If you’d like to see some more images from an older newborn session in home take a look here.
| [the_grid name=”Newborn Session – Relaxed at home Sophia Cousins”] |
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