I love the at home newborn family sessions that I do so I thought I would share some of the reasons why:
1) Photographs freeze a moment in time. I thought I would remember it all, but somehow as more memories are created, others fade a little. It probably goes without saying, seeing as I am a photographer, but photos are so precious. I find so much emotion in looking at pictures, they transport me back to remember that chapter, they remind me of things like how my daughter used to sleep with her arms through the crib, and that when she was a bit older that she liked to put her cutlery skills to good work by chopping up peas (thanks to a wonderful photographer friend for capturing this moment for me!)! Newborn moments can feel at the time like they are going on forever, but in the bigger picture they are fleeting and capturing those yawns, stretches and curled up legs is truly precious.
2) I love being invited into your home at this special time and I am really grateful for this. Your home is your safe place and it is where you spend a lot of that newborn bubble. You don't need to travel for my sessions, I come to you and I allow plenty of time. My session is up to 2 hours but you will notice that price wise it isn't much more than my 1 hour sessions. This is because I don't snap away the whole time and therefore my editing load isn't much higher than from my other family sessions. I allow time for you to meet the needs of your little one, feed, do nappy changes, feed again, do whatever is needed; the contentment of your little one and your whole family is important. Then around all of this I will capture a wide range of moments. I don't have a set schedule for the session, I have a head full of ideas but I go with the flow of you and your family. It is genuinely a privilege to be invited into your home and to spend this time with you all. Oh and by the way, I don't expect your house to be immaculate! You live there and more than that you are living there with a teeny newborn who somehow takes all your time, energy and attention!
3) I love that the whole family can get involved. A new baby is entering into a family, there may be siblings or pets who are all important too. During my newborn sessions there have been toddlers filling the mum's hair with as many hair clips as possible, games of hungry hippos, running around the garden and lots and lots of stories. There has been a very lovely cat, and a wonderful, playful, tummy rub loving dog! I will interact with and get to know siblings, I also regularly find myself getting stuck in with the story telling, singing and playing too. I love capturing all these relationships within the family.
4) I get to see the way you look at this new little human and how you look at each other. In the midst of the tiredness, the worry, the questions, I get to witness connection, care, joy and love. I encourage the whole family to be in the images, yes, I will capture the baby but I am also a big believer of parents being in the frame too. Last weekend a Dad spoke so beautifully about how much the cuddle he was having with his son meant to him, about how the way this tiny little one held his finger reminded him of their eldest doing the same thing, it was truly beautiful to witness and it felt so lovely that I could record this moment for them and give them images that will be a reminder of this moment. I also love seeing the connection between parents as you embark together on this new chapter, all of these relationships are so special and I love to capture these natural looks between you all. I hope that if you are unsure about being in photos that you can see from these images that it is worth it.
5) I love the opportunity to get to know you and I love how each session is unique because it represents your family. Before a session I get you to fill in a questionnaire so I can get to know a bit about your family and what you want from your images, I also offer the option of a zoom call. If you want a special item included in some photos, or some images that show something that is important to your family, let me know. This family wanted some images outside as well as inside as they love outdoor adventures. It is important to me to do all I can to make the session feel relaxed and tailored to you, and when you tell me I have been successful in this it means a lot. In a review from a newborn session in December Lotte said: 'We had such a lovely morning taking photographs with Collette. She was so friendly and made everything really easy for us, even with a newborn and a toddler!' I hope that taking this time to get to know you might also mean you want me to capture photos for you again in the future, it is really special when families want to re-book, to capture moments again a few months or a year later.
6) Finally, I love clicking send on a gallery of images that document a family and tell their story. (I also always get nervous waiting to hear back from clients at this point too, hoping that they will love their images as much as I do!) I am so grateful when people take the time to give feedback, I get such a buzz when I get messages like this from families when their gallery is delivered:
'We've got so many beautiful photos and I'm so grateful. It's not something we have done before but I would absolutely do another session with Collette.'
'We love them so much. You captured our family to a T.'
Knowing you have images you love, that capture your family as you are and record the details, means a lot to me.
There we go, these are just some of the reasons why I really love newborn family sessions. If you have any questions I would love to hear from you.
