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

Portraits Even a Teenager Boy Loves

Finally I've had the opportunity to photograph a young man in my studio again. And funnily enough this was the second time that week which is absolutely superb. In both cases these young men were just as enthusiastic to be involved as I was, which is something I don't often get when I'm working with very young children, my usual subjects. With young children I find my energy in their cuteness. But with young adults I get energy from their excitement over how the portraits are working out. I get such a buzz from the experience and that can keep me going for hours, often editing the photos straight after the shoot for hours more. Shoots for teenagers is something I've been wanting to focus on for some time. Its not something that I often get asked for though unfortunately. It tends to be parents of very young children who want to capture moments that are slipping through their fingers at lightening speed. Maybe its teenage moodiness that means these moments don...

London in Spring, Whats Not to Love?

Well I know there is still a lot not to love but I'm choosing to see the great things about London at the moment. I am having a ball this year visiting London as often as I can. Which is unusual for me since I usually prefer the comfort of my own home, in rural old Leicestershire. Staying home and avoiding people has always been the easy option. But this year, possibly due to the wonderful weather we keep having, has me longing for venturing out. Again, just like my last trip, I headed out with my good friend Panikos Hajistilly . Living in North London he finds it easy to meet up for our shoots. This time though I had more of an idea of the sights I wanted to use as the backdrops for my portraits. With it being spring I was in search of colour, preferably flowers. Admittedly. I didn't quite get what I was looking for. The white fronted terraced houses with pink magnolia trees we did not find unfortunately. But I did make it to Peggy Porchen's which was a must see on m...

Family Photos with Flair - Vanity Fair Style Family Portraits

This style of portrait continues to be the eye catching success I had always hoped it would be. Once again I created a beautiful family portrait that I am really proud of and I know this family loves too. Over the years I have developed this style through influences such as Vanity Fair and the many photographers I follow, though I hope that there is something in here that is entirely my own. Having my work easily identified as my own was a goal of mine from the start. Getting to the point where people will want not just a portrait but a Christina Lauder portrait is where I've always wanted to be and I'm hoping I'm on way. These portraits were created for the family of two professional photographers who wanted some portraits of their own. Family portraits isn't really something one can do of oneself, at least not easily. So they needed the services of another and I was honoured to be chosen for the job. They chose me not just for my style but also for my ab...

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...

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...