If you’ve already had a look at my portfolio then you’ll have realised that I don’t pose newborns. Popular poses like the ‘froggy’ and ‘potato sack’ do not feature in my workflow. I simply don’t believe that a baby’s fragile body should ever be posed in a way that their muscles won’t naturally allow. If you book a newborn photography session with me, you will also not find your baby shoved into a drawer or placed in a flower pot. I prefer to take a more natural, authentic approach.
I have deliberately kept well away from the posed and prop-heavy style that has become synonymous with traditional newborn photography. I don’t have a pre-determined list of poses to tick-off or an exhaustive variety of props to incorporate. My baby-led sessions are exactly that. I believe the best images I can give you are largely unplanned and inspired by your baby’s uniqueness. I want to capture images that resonate with parents; images that show the way their baby likes to sleep or how they stretch and yawn and wiggle. All the little details and mannerisms that are beginning to develop, even at this early age. I photograph newborns using natural light, in a studio room in my home which is always warm and clean, with baby comfortably cushioned on a soft beanbag. And, above all, I stick to safe, natural positions.
I often start with a gentle swaddle, most babies love to be wrapped in this way, it’s calming, reassuring and they are more likely to settle to sleep. From here, I am able to transition through a workflow without moving a baby too much. Using different angles to add variety rather than continually repositioning them. And I love to incorporate hands, after all there’s nowhere safer for a baby to be then in a parent’s hold. If they’re asleep, I’ll often switch to my macro lens to capture all the little details; the eyelashes, the lips and the hands and feet. I’ll transition from fully wrapped to unwrapped without overly disturbing them and, if they are sleepy enough, we’ll finish with those comfortably curled shots that everyone loves. For babies under 14 days old, this is still a very natural position for them to be in. Most find comfort in maintaining the position they had in the womb; bent elbows, hips, and knees; arms and legs tucked close to the front of the body.
After all, your baby won’t be this small for very long and soon it will be almost impossible to imagine that they were ever inside you; my newborn photography sessions are designed to provide a lasting memory of this special time, in a beautifully simple, timeless and, most importantly, natural way.
