One of the great things about working in newborn photography is how different every day is. And how many wonderful people we get to meet. Thanks partly to Lancaster University we are very lucky to have clients visit us from all over the world.
This week the Harrison’s from Nigeria, came to see us for their newborn photography session. Idorenyin is studing for her PHD in environmental science at the University. She has one year left to complete, and intends to finish on time even with her brand new baby!
Newborn and Family Portraits
Every photo shoot we do is tailored to our individual clients needs and ideas. On the run up to a photography session we chat these over with our clients so we can provide a unique experience every time. Idorenyin wanted her session split between images that focussed on her newborn baby and photography of her family. Her mother and sister also came along to the newborn photo shoot too, so this was a good opportunity to create portraits for them as well. Our lovely big studio in the centre of Lancaster has plenty of room to accommodate family groups. Our on site car park makes it very easy to visit us too.
Baby Soothing
We started Idorenyin’s session by snuggling her baby onto our posing bean bag. Newborn’s love the bean bag because we nestle them onto a heat pad and play soothing white noise to them. We’ve got lots of techniques for baby soothing that we love to share with new parents. Our time together round the bean bag is very relaxing and often involves plenty of interesting chat. Each shoot is run at baby’s pace and we pay close attention to their needs. We put plenty of time aside for newborn sessions so we can stop for feeding and cuddles as often as we need to.
Newborn Photography Ideas
We have a lovely range of backdrops and hand knitted wraps at the studio, but we always ask that our clients bring something along from home too. We want to make each portrait session unique and add your own personal flavour to it. Idorenyin brought along a gorgeous lace romper which is in the portrait above. And a really cute wrap and head scarf, that looked very vibrant in her newborn photography. Her little one looked so gorgeous all wrapped up and nestled on our weighing scales. 
Cute Outfits
Clients are often asking where they can get these lovely outfits, and we’ve found that Etsy is really good for special bits for newborn photography. Make sure you give plenty of time for your order to arrive though as we’ve found the wait is often a few weeks.
Being in the Portraits
Almost every parent that comes to see us, tells us that they are not photogenic and that they don’t like to be photographed! It’s such a shame that we can’t all be as un-self aware as our little ones are. To help you get over feeling self conscious, we have a range of techniques that we hope will make it easier for you to be in some of your photographs. We’ll pose you and get you to focus on your baby, so that you don’t feel so self conscious.
During Idorenyin’s newborn photography session, we all had a really good time so that making the portraits felt more like fun, rather than some kind of torture!
The more portraits we made, the more relaxed everyone felt. I love this series that we created of Israel and his daughter, they are so natural and full of love, which is exactly what a newborn photography session is all about!
Proud Grandma
We finished off Idorenyin’s photo shoot with some portraits for her Mum and sister. I think her little one will really cherish these one day. What a lovely record of her cuddled up with her proud Grandma and Aunty.
Choosing Newborn Photography
After we’d finished Idorenyin’s session, I showed her our lovely range of samples and different pricing options. She explained what she wanted from the session and we booked her in for her viewing. Viewings are usually booked in for about one week after a session. This gives parents time to go home and discuss all the different packages, and think about what they want. Idorenyin already had a clear idea of what she wanted though. With her family visiting from Nigeria she had a tight time frame so we booked her in for a viewing the following day to accommodate her needs.
Showing the Portraits
During every photo shoot we like to show a little of what we are doing as we are going along. We want to reenforce our clients confidence in choosing us to create their newborn photography. Plus we love sharing the buzz of creating such gorgeous images; showing them as we make them on camera is a great way to do this. At the viewing though, we project them on the big screen so you get a wonderful cinematic experience. A tear or two is often shed at this point. Idorenyin really enjoyed her viewing. She chose a beautiful collection some of which she has been kind enough to let me show here. Before we finished, she booked her daughter in for a six month Milestone session in the summer.
Creating your Finished Newborn Photography
A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes once you have chosen your newborn photography. We take care to keep all the photographs we create looking very natural. We use photoshop to take out all the elements that will be a distraction in your gorgeous portraits, milk spots, dribble, tired eyes etc. These are portraits that you are going to enjoy for the rest of your life, so we don’t want anything to detract from their beauty! I’ve made a start at Idorenyin’s, now it’s time to finish them and get them sent for print.
