Baby Photography – catch them whilst you can!

When it comes to photographing children and babies, I like to keep it natural. No studio settings, no illogical props, no dressing up. Instead, for me it’s about capturing the child in a natural and familiar setting, one where they feel comfortable, happy and safe. Natural light is much better than the distracting and sometimes upsetting intervention of studio lights.

Portrait sessions with babies change drastically month by month, as their own boundaries and skills develop. A newborn shoot is a very different kettle of fish to a six month old shoot, such as below, but they both involve a large amount of patience in waiting for the right time to photograph the child, to capture just the right moment when they’re receptive, expressive and ‘giving good face’. The actual period of time where the photographs are taken might only be a few minutes; but I may have been waiting for that perfect moment for an hour or more.

Take a look below at the ‘face time’ Henry is giving me, whilst playing in his nursery. At this age, he isn’t yet sitting for any period of time, and being on his tummy tires him out quickly, so I had to work fast to get the shots.

No Photoshop trickery, no funny props, no intrusive artificial lighting; just a muslin cloth to dab up the drool when it got too much! This is just how he is, and just how this moment should be remembered. Perfect.