This newborn photoshoot took place at the family's home in Cheshire when baby was one week old. I was greeted at the front door by his proud big brother, and immediately taken into the playroom to see all his toys. Luckily we are both avid Toy Story fans, and I pretended to know who Zog the dragon was, so we were instant friends.
It's such a joy to be welcomed into a family's home at such a special time in their lives. I can relate to the daunting transition from a family of 3 to 4, as I've recently done it myself. You never quite know how the older sibling is going to react, and worry about giving everyone enough of your time. But once your new little bundle arrives, somehow everybody gradually finds their place and those new bonds start forming. It's such a privilege to photograph those intimate, authentic moments when a new baby joins a family.
My lifestyle family photography approach involves gentle posing and direction, that then allows you to relax and interact together while I capture it all. I involve the older siblings as much as they're comfortable with. If they want to have a gentle cuddle with their new brother or sister, great! If they want to run off to play with their favourite toys, that's fine too. In my experience, they tend to come and go, depending on how interesting I seem at any given moment. But I'll always aim to get a few photos of you all together as a family (and I'm not above using bribery to seal the deal! My toddler is a fierce negotiator).
But overall, I cannot stress enough how important it is to get in the frame with your babies! So often when I scroll back through our family photos from the year, I realise that someone is missing from them - me!
I was on that holiday, holding them in the pool, feeding them their ice cream, building sandcastles... and I was there in the days after we bought our new baby home, cuddling and comforting them, kissing them, burping them, swaying them (etc etc!) But from our family photos, you often can't tell (apart from the odd dodgy selfie), because I'm always behind the camera or phone.
When your kids are older, they'll want to see these amazing, precious moments with you that they won't remember. They'll want to see you holding them, they'll want to see what your home and family life looked like.
Invest in your memories and book a newborn or family photoshoot with me. I promise that you'll never regret having those photos.
Visit my portfolio pages to see in-home newborn sessions and outdoor family photoshoots in Cheshire, Shropshire and the north west.
See more from my session in Nantwich with this beautiful family below. The squishes, the laughs, the toddler cheekiness - it had it all!
