Lifestyle photography: My approach to newborn photography
Lifestyle photography is a guided approach to photography without the stiffness of holding a pose, and with enough flexibility to allow for nappy changes, feedings and changing of clothes in case of a poo explosion. Bringing a newborn home is a life changing moment and I consider myself lucky to be able to witness the moment a family starts changing.
Every home is different and the dynamics are also different from one family to another. Through the years, my aim has been to put the families I work with at ease to be able to relax and let the energies flow. My photography sessions are all about the interaction and memories we can create. I understand that families are ever changing and specially with a newborn, things change from one day to the next. When I arrive to your home, I will ask you to have a look around, this will allow me to workout what rooms of the house will work best for your sessions in terms of lighting. We tend to start in the main living room and then transition to the bedrooms if I feel that they will tell the story of where your family is at in that point in time: cots, and toddler beds are part of the story as they will change as your family grows and the interests of your child changes.
As we move around the house we can set up some small activities that I know interest your child, this will allow me to capture genuine emotions like n this image. During the newborn session with this family, while mum was changing the baby, this little guy told me all about his new Lego set. I asked if they wanted to keep putting it together with dad, and it allowed us to create a great moment of an activity that they have most likely done numerous times before, this encouraged some great interaction and candid moments to be captured during this session.
As we move around your home during the session I keep in mind the fact that I need to be aware and ready for moments that last only a few seconds, especially when pets are involved. I consider pets as an important part of your story, especially because they are around us for a shorter period of time. I am a cat and dog lover so it’s never an issue to include them in your session, as long as you think that it can be done safely.
All of the above images were shot in the same room. As you can see one of my strategies while doing newborn lifestyle photography sessions, is to look and work on different points of view that will allow me to tell the story of your family. Finding different points of view and also looking for details, helps me when building your photographic narrative.
During the process of your session, I tend to take my time while photographing you and your baby. For this, I always look around me for areas that are unique to your family, I want to make sure that I represent your interest, passions and history together.
I hope that this will give you a better idea on what to expect about your session. If you have any questions or if I can further help, please do not hesitate to shoot me an email. I would love to tell your story!
