Ideally, newborn shoots should take place in the first 12 weeks.

When baby is under 6 weeks we can capture the newborn sleepiness, and they may still be very curled up as in the womb. From around 6 - 12 weeks, we can capture more awake photos, smiles and facial expressions.

However babies of any age make adorable subjects. With my natural style of newborn photography, we don’t a tight time pressure - unlike posed newborn photography (‘baby in a basket’) shoots which need to be schedule whilst baby is in the first few weeks.

When baby is sitting up but not yet crawling (usually around 6 months) we can get great portraits of baby smiling, clapping hands and playing - this is a great age for both indoor and outdoor shoots.

I recommend booking your newborn photo session before birth because at busy times of year I might be booked a few months in advance and would hate for you to be disappointed.

We don’t need to fix the date when you book, instead I allocate space in the diary for you. You can then schedule the exact date after baby arrives.

Depending on age of the sibling/siblings, I recommend getting photos of siblings together if we can. From experience, siblings under 3 years old can be trickier with a newborn, so usually I try to get these shots done first and if possible the older sibling to be taken to granny’s / nursery / somewhere fun whilst we get photos of mum & baby. Success here can be down to toddler moods - but I have plenty of tricks to try and get the shots I want!

Of course your house is a mess - you have a newborn! be assured, when I come to your house I won’t be judging you.

The only thing I ask is that you put fresh sheets on the master bed - or whichever double-bed in your house is the most suitable for photos. I usually take photos of mum and baby sat on the bed so it’s good to have a clean background here!

Any other mess I am happy to help move “out of shot” so it doesn’t appear in any photos. Where we take photos may depend on which rooms you like best, and also where the light is most flattering.

I usually allow 3 hours for newborn shoots, as babies are, of course, unpredictable. This allows time for feeding, changing, burping and cuddles.

It is not uncommon for baby to cry for an hour, especially if they are having a growth spurt, or you are having breastfeeding issues. Don’t think that the shoot will be a long ordeal, or worry that baby might not “perform”. A newborn shoot is a very relaxed stop-start process, as we accomodate baby’s every whim. And whilst we do we will just be chatting about all things baby and being a mum.