Introducing Baby Charlotte

(My favourite image from the session - I love it when clients bring along props. This cuddly toy just might become a very significant keepsake in this little girl's life)

It is great when I get a second opportunity to work with clients because the relationship we build just gets easier and better with time. Julia had come in for maternity portraits as part of a training session for one of my students. Her and her son worked incredibly well during this exercise which, unlike private client sessions, tend to take longer and with less attention to themselves. Her little boy could not have been any better. His patience still astounds me. He did exactly what I wanted enabling me to produce this great portrait.

I love the connection between these two and know that this will be a fantastic image to look back on in years to come. I mean, can you imagine what they will both think of this in 20 years time when they both look so different and Mum can no longer look down at her son.

When Julia called to book in for the newborn session I was thrilled. And had no fear regarding Thomas and the likelihood of his co-operation. To make things easier for him though, since newborn sessions can be rather lengthy, we began the session while Thomas was still in school and made arrangements for him to arrive with us towards the end. I know he can be patient but I wasn't going to ask him to be that patient when it just wasn't necessary.

Before he arrived though we had a great opportunity to take many different images of Charlotte all on her own. As is sometimes the case, they don't always want to go to sleep during their session so we need to be patient and do what we can while they are awake. I always consider it a great bonus if I can get direct eye contact with a newborn which I was lucky to do with both the shot above and below.

(The blanket in this image was handmade by her grandmother - another wonderful addition to the portraits)

Again I got to use the cuddly toy and love this image for it too. This toy is really going to highlight just how much Charlotte is growing when they see its relative size shrink as she gets bigger. These little extras add value to the portraits and make them so much more interesting to look back on as time passes. So if you are considering a portrait session try to bear this in mind and bring along anything that matters to you.

I also love a simple sleeping baby portrait. They spend so much time sleeping at this stage of their lives that I think its important to capture how sweet and peaceful they look. This stage certainly doesn't last long.

And finally we have the weighing scales shot. I still love this as it includes the babies weight at the time this portrait was taken. Again, a lovely keepsake.

If you are considering newborn portraits the best time to do so is within the first 10 days. It is much easier at this time as they tend to sleep a lot so we have a much greater chance of a creating a variety of interesting portraits. In order to guarantee that we have space for you it is best to get in touch while you are pregnant so we can hold space for you around the time that your baby is are due.

You can get in touch by either ringing us on 01455 611069, following this link to our contact us page on our website, or sending us a message via our Facebook page here.

Comments

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com

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

Family Portraits with Fine Art Flair

I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog. Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vani

Introducing Claude - Another Fantastic French Bulldog

I know this breed is becoming very popular, I believe even set to take over the top spot for most popular breed from the Golden Labrador, but I never expected to get quite so many in my studio. Can't say I'm complaining though. They have such a wonderful character and I love to capture those adorable squished up faces. This client came in not just for personal portraits though. Instead she is developing a line of homemade all natural dog treats called Claude's Little Doggie Bag and these portraits are to be used in her labels. Which is partly the reason why these images differ quite drastically from my usual style. This client had a very specific idea for what she wanted on her labels. But again, this is perfect for me because I just love variety. I don't really want to be creating the same work over and over again. This gave me the opportunity to revisit a style I've not used in some time. This little guy was just 14 weeks old so as you can imag

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

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog