I offer lifestyle (in-home) newborn shoots as well as traditional studio newborn shoots – a guide to help you choose the right one for you.

A new life begins…

 So, the birth is over and you now have the most perfect newborn baby. You can’t take your eyes off this little wonder as they sleep quietly, all curled up and cosy in your arms. I remember that time myself, and how quickly it’s gone. That’s why I love photographing new-born babies, so mums can have a keepsake of those first precious days.

Ideally, the best time to photograph your newborn is between 6 and 10 days (or a bit older for lifestyle shoots) – at this stage they really do make the perfect little models with their sleepy, curled-up poses. My studio in Bedfordshire is all ready for you both, with a selection of super-soft organic blankets and hats for your little one to snuggle into. It’s a perfectly adorable look that will leave you with cute-as-a-button photographs of your newborn.

Newborn Shoots

I offer two types of newborn photography, bespoke studio packages and pre-sold lifestyle packages.  I know that it can be hard to work out which one might suit you best, so this post is here to help with just that, an explanation of these two very different ways to capture those precious early days! Both shoots are baby-lead, meaning I work around the needs of your little one, ensuring that safety and comfort are paramount – because of this, they can take some time to do well. 

Studio Newborn Shoots

These are generally the expected type of newborn photography session, bespoke sessions in the studio when baby is ideally under 10 days old.  Lots of staged images and baby in sleepy poses and obligatory family pictures as baby allows.   The studio sessions are calming, with parents often nodding off in the comfort of the studio. Being baby-lead, my style is more natural in feel to some newborn photographers, I wont ‘push and pull’ babies into unnatural poses and I ask for parents to discuss any particular requests with me before your session and prefer more comfortable positions for babies. 

Whilst we do always aim to get some nice ‘awake’ shots to showcase your babies doubtless beautiful eyes, the majority of these images are taken whilst baby is fast asleep and keeping little one snoozing soundly can be the biggest challenge of studio sessions. These have a session charge of £35 which includes your favourite image as an 8×6” print (additional images are available to purchase separately afterwards)and can be booked HERE

Lifestyle

Lifestyle sessions are a little different and we pre-sell packages to cover additional travel and setup times. These shoots are done in the local radius (around 30  miles from the studio) and in the comfort of your own home.  

These shoots result in less ‘polished’ and more natural feeling images.  The sessions are more about capturing your early days as a family together, baby in their nursery or perhaps mum nursing… real moments captured as naturally as possible.   We can do a few sleepy/staged type images if you would like (see the stdio newborn section for examples), but the majority are more lifestyle in feel. 

Some parents simply prefer the feel of this kind of image.  For others, it has some great advantages, the comfort of your own home, being able to do the sessions later in development (these can be done later than the studio suggested under 10 days timeline). Sleep is also less importance when baby can be cuddled instead, so an opportunity for quite different pictures, occasionally some couples even choose to do both shoots! 

These shoots have a session charge of £125 including 3 8×6” prints of your choice (additional images are available to purchase separately afterwards). This can be booked HERE

I hope that this has helped you to decide which type of newborn shoot is right for you! Both shoots can be booked directly HERE and I am also always happy to help,
just in touch here with any questions

Esmé