Skip to main content

Baby Boy and Big Sister Portraits

I have to admit that this was one of the easiest newborn clients I've had.  They knew exactly what they wanted, which happened to be exactly the sort of portraits I like to create. They wanted brand new baby boy to be photographed in the baby weighing scales, a portrait of their daughter in her riding gear and then one of the two together.


Knowing what they wanted enabled me to concentrate on getting the best for them in each of those 3 portraits.  In the past I've found that I can spread myself too thinly trying to produce a multitude of variations in order that the clients have lots to choose from.  And although I still want my clients to have variety, I am increasingly aware that if I try to do too much I risk reducing the overall quality from that session. It is better to reduce the variety and maintain the quality in my opinion since quality is a very high priority of mine.


Not to mention, there is no point in causing a baby, or even a child, stress and aggravation of having to work to get a multitude of portraits when we can focus on what is actually wanted.


Amazingly we had an easy go of photographing this lovely little boy, particularly considering he was just over a month old, rather than the 2 weeks or under I prefer for newborns, and much to the surprise of Mum and Dad who didn't often get to enjoy such a lengthy amount of peace and quiet. Once we got him off the weighing scales where he wanted to continually stretch his legs out he lied peacefully and in quite a deep sleep on the beanbag leaving me to photograph him endlessly.


I love a sleeping baby and I could shoot for ages, forever finding different angles or a slightly better way to prop babies head up.  I actually have to consciously tell myself to stop before I shoot far more than we could possibly need, making more work for me during the selection stage.


And I'm finding that I really love being able to incorporate something about a child in their portrait, like in the one below, making it a more valuable keepsake for the future. The portraits mean much more to me so I can only imagine what they are going to mean to the family in years to come.  


So as always, if this is something of interest to you please get in touch. I offer no cost, no obligation consultations so you can meet me and see our studio along with everything we have to offer.  Its a great chance to discuss your ideas.  I don't ask you to book your session during these meetings so there is no need to feel obligated.  Pre-shoot consultations are also a great way to get to know each other before the session making it more comfortable and enjoyable for everyone.

To book call us on 01455 611069 or follow this link to send us an email.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...

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...

My Associate Panel

As I mentioned in my last blog, I achieved my Associateship in Portraiture with the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers).  I just thought I would share with you the panel I submitted.  Having sat through the assessment I see that there are a couple of images that I wish I hadn't chosen, more so due to not having enough variety rather than the lack of quality.  but overall I am pleased with my submission. I always thought that once I achieved my Associateship I would be done with qualifications.  Working towards a Fellowship just seems so unattainable.  I don't think I can just sit here not striving towards a goal though.  Besides, my husband has already set 5 year plan.  So I guess I've not seen the end of qualifications just yet.  But don't be expecting any news on this front for quite some time though.  A fellowship is on an entirely new level and its going to take a lot of work. 

Family Portraits - With the Entire Family

  I recently had the pleasure of photographing Mum and Dad, their Son and Daughter and their Son and Daughter's families.  It made for a portrait of 10 people altogether which of course comes with its challenges.  But we got their in the end and I'm thrilled with the results.  The hardest part of course is getting everyone looking their best in the same photo.  It rarely works out in such a large group but I managed to get several with only a couple of Photoshopping, head swapping requirements.  But my skills are up to that challenge quite well these days so I'm almost always quite confident that everyone will be happy with themselves in the final family portrait chosen.  And I have to admit I love the challenge of taking a great face from one image and making it fit so no one notices in another image.  As is usually the case, I also photograph the large group in smaller subsections as its a good opportunity, while everyone is d...

More Workshops for 2011!!

This year we've decided to launch a schedule of 5 training events.  Our training is designed as an introduction to lighting and workflow or a confidence builder for those who feel they've lost their way or never really got it straight in the first place.  The day is split in two with the first half looking at lighting.  We cover high key, mid key and low key set ups explaining each light required in detail with time allowed for each attendee to have a play with the studio lights themselves.  After lunch we then look at workflow.  We take your through importing and sorting images in Lightroom, making adjustments and enhancements in Lightroom followed by exporting to Photoshop.  We then take a closer look at the imges in Photoshop, going over the ways in which we treat all our images.  This includes the use of Kubota Actions.   These workshops are running on the following dates: Wednesday February 16th Tuesday March 8th Wed...