Newborn photoshoot as first time parents

As a natural, baby-led newborn photographer based in the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye, my studio is easily accessible from the local areas of South Wales, Bristol, Hereford, Worcester, Malvern, Forest of Dean, Bristol, Cheltenham and the Cotswolds.

The thought of getting out of the house in the early days after having a baby can seem like utter madness, however during those first 2 weeks your baby will sleep more soundly, especially during a decent drive. The main thing is preparation, sleep will not always be on your side so if you can prep as much as you can the night before it really helps!

Don’t panic if baby needs a big feed or does a big poo just before your planned departure time, simply keep me posted when you’re on your way. I always allow plenty of time with my newborn shoots, generally if this happens and then you have around a half hour or more drive baby will already be in a great sleep when you arrive at the studio.

As a mum of 2 and over 7 years photographing newborns I have so much experience on getting them to settle. There are so many factors for a happy baby but one of my biggest aims in a session is to make you both as new parents feel happy and confident that your baby is being well looked after and is very content.

I’m totally aware of the heightened emotions from everyone when you bring a new baby out on one of their first outings and will make sure you both get lots of lovely cuddles in and can come and give baby attention at any time you like.

How do I know if a newborn shoot is right for me?

Naturally every parent wants lots of beautiful portraits of their little one, you’ll already know when baby arrives how quickly their features change on a daily basis so believe me you’ll absolutely want to capture their dinky little feathers, tiny toes and fluffy shoulders (yes they do tend to have fluffy shoulders!). Parenthood flies by quicker than you can imagine!!

Newborn shoots generally work out for when baby is 5-10 days old.

I provisionally hold a slot in the diary around 10 days after your due date, this is very flexible as you can imagine as we never know exactly when baby will make an appearance. I then suggest getting in touch with me, I’ll then give you a couple of date options and we can then get an official date secured.

My newborn sessions tend to be booked in for a morning slot, babies are far easier to settle as they tend to cluster feed in the afternoon. This way it makes it far less stressful for you as parents, plus you can make it home in time for a lovely family nap (fingers crossed!).

I’m a first time parent and I’m worried about getting out of the house in the early days for a newborn shoot

Naturally there can be many complications after birth, you tend to not know exactly how you’ll be feeling until you get there so I’m more than understanding if you would prefer to have abit longer to recover before having your shoot. There’s no problem with this, we can simply keep in touch and pencil in a date a few weeks later.

With my natural newborn photography style, my newborn shoots can take place anytime before your baby is 3 months old. They sometimes are harder to get into a deep sleep when they get older but regardless of this you are still able to capture beautiful newborn portraits.

What if my baby doesn’t sleep?

Some babies definitely fight sleep more than others, I’ve really experienced it all with the newborns I have photographed. Naturally babies can’t stay awake forever, so the likelihood is that they will fall asleep at some point. It maybe more when they’re clothed and swaddled so we’ll simply see how it goes during the session.

This is not the end of the world during a shoot, as long as baby is content it doesn’t matter if they’re not absolutely sound asleep. Plus getting shots with their eyes open is absolutely wonderful!

We’re not sure we want to be in any photos?

Lots of my clients are unsure if they want to be in any photos themselves. After god knows how many nights in the hospital, sleepless nights at home and being flooded with guests wanting to meet the baby you do not always feel your most presentable.

I always gently encourage you to get in the photos, these don’t have to be full facial shots, you can simply be snuggled up to baby and looking at them rather than staring at the camera. These can in fact end up being your more favourite images.

There are also plenty of shots we can do with your hands wrapped around baby which are just perfect!! You can always remember how tiny their little body was and how their head fitted so perfectly into the palm of your hand.

Tissues at the ready….so many parents get emotional during the shoot ( I always take this as a compliment as you could only do so if you feel nice and relaxed), this only intensifies when you get to look through the gallery a few days after your shoot. When you still can’t believe that you have created such utter perfection!!

Can we bring along our dog to our newborn shoot?

Yes yes yes!!!! When I was in the process of choosing my new studio space one of the main things I wanted was to allow dogs. With the wooden floor and only a couple of rugs it’s ideal for your fur babies, I welcome them with open arms and they’ll be snoozing happily on the sofa before you know it!

I have no idea what to wear!!

Yes this is another concern for new mums. Your body doesn’t feel like your own at all during those first couple of weeks post baby (if I’m honest I didn’t feel comfortable within myself until my first baby was over 12 months old!).

The studio wardrobe is fully available to you so feel free to try on anything and have a look through it all. I absolutely love a co-ord set, matching loungewear is perfect if you’re wanting to buy yourself something. Plus you’ll end up living in similar items in the first few months so they tend to be welcome investment! Think wid-leg stretchy trousers and a matching style top.

Tummies are naturally everyones worry area, I tend to focus on your top half during the shoot so this does not need to be a concern! Please do let me know if there’s anything else in particular you feel worried about, believe me I have heard it all and most likely have had exactly the same concerns myself!!