More Newborn Baby Portraits in Hinckley Leicestershire

I have been having such a great time with newborns recently. It really is a pleasure, once I get past the worrying about whether or not baby will settle. Because I always find that inevitably baby does eventually settle. So there is no reason to worry. It just feels odd sometimes when you spend the first hour of a session not even taking a single photo. But that is all part of a newborn session.

Both myself and the parents present at the time of a newborn session must be relaxed and patient. If we feel stress baby will feel stress. And if we rush anything we risk baby not being fully asleep when we try to position them or move them and of course that means they wake up and we have to start all over again.

Its just much easier to be patient. Then when baby falls asleep we can do so much more. Baby Daniel, as seen in these photos was a treat to work with. Our first shots on elbows worked perfectly. I love his hands in this photo. Normally we are able to open their hands and place their fingers around their cheeks. But Daniel was having none of that. In the end it worked out even better.

As in all my newborn sessions we have times when we are shooting and times when baby needs taking care of, whether that's feeding, nappy changing or cuddles. Our sessions allow for that though. There are no time constraints on our part and we expect a session to last between 2 to 4 hours. Again, this takes some of the pressure off by not having anyone else booked in straight after.

In this session mum arrived looking beautiful, no sign of the sleepless nights she must have been having, so I suggested we do a few that included herself. And I'm glad I did. I love how serene she looks holding her baby. I'm sure this is an image Daniel will love to see when he is older.

And here again is an image in my lovely Silver Cross pram. I think I'm going to have to start a collection of these prams. Plans have already been made to purchase a shed to store my collection of props and eBay has become my late night addiction. I just love what each of my props add to my portraits.

Comments

Winner of the Master Photographers Association's UK Family Portrait Award

This year for the first time I decided to join the MPA (Master Photographers Association). As a qualified member this entitled me to compete amongst other professionals throughout the UK. Last night the awards ceremony was held at the Hinckley Island Hotel (amazingly close to home for a change) where I received the news that my family portrait won its category. I am over the moon that it was a unanimous decision from all judges who felt it stood out against all others in the category making it the clear winner. And to have John Stoddart, a man who has photographed a great number of A list celebrities, present the award telling me this is a fantastic image was the icing on the cake. I'll admit that I have never really regarded family groups as my strong suit. They are hard work and not always the most challenging creatively. Until now that is. This project which I consider to be a joint effort along with my clients involved much planning and creativity. Together we came up...

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe ...

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me...

Its a Dog's Life

When life gets tough I always look at dogs or my cats and think how lucky they are. I know not all are treated well but those lucky enough to be in a good home, like the ones who come into my studio, have a really great life. They look so happy and its a wonderful thing to see. I honestly love photographing dogs. They are a joy to work with and its almost impossible to produce a bad portrait of a dog which does of course make my life a little easier. I am someone who really needs to love the work I create. I can't help but love the portraits I've created of all the dogs I've photographed over the years. And this shoot was certainly no exception. I found it a real pleasure using a lighter background this time too. I do often gravitate towards darker looks but seeing as this dog had a light coloured coat I thought I'd produce lighter images. This gave me the chance to use a canvas I painted a couple of years ago but never really used and I absolutely love it...

Headshots and Portfolio Shoots: Here's What we Offer

Headshot requests are becoming more frequent so I thought I'd put together a post to share some recent work and explain the packages I offer in greater detail. Headshots are typically a simpler and quicker session so my packages are also a little simpler than what I offer in my full studio sessions. If headshots are what you or your child need its really important that you get good quality headshots that can stand out amongst the crowd. A headshot is a representation of you and often the first impression you are giving out to your audience, whether its casting directors, agents or college officials considering your application. A good headshot is more likely to get you noticed and ultimately get you further along your path. Making your headshots the best they can be should go a long way in helping you progress in your chosen path. I offer 2 different levels of service in order to make it as affordable and appropriate as possible. The first is a simple straightforwa...

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog