It was a high risk pregnancy and we weren’t sure how things were going to turn out, so it was kept very low key all round, hence no announcements on here that I was expecting. I started my maternity leave at 29 weeks at the end of February although I stopped doing sessions at the end of January as due to SPD (back and pelvis problems) I felt I was no longer able to give my best for customers. It took forever to get up off the floor after this shot with my children!

End of April, this little man was delivered via c-section:

Here he is at just four days old:

And here are a few more of him at 12 days old – firstly being prodded by his big sisters:

Trying out my new cocoons:

As you might expect, given I won’t really be working now until probably November, there will be a lot of this little fellow and his big sisters to come over the next few months!

I will probably start taking bookings for future work in late November (no guarantees for Christmas) by August/September time.

In the meantime I can do a few urgent sessions here and there in special circumstances and/or subject to quite a high minimum order (payable in advance) as I can only take a few limited days out of my maternity leave by law to work, so I wish to use them carefully which I am sure you can understand.

If any existing customers wish to order prints/products etc from a previous session, they can do so at any time – please contact me to reinstate your gallery.

I am looking forward to getting back to work though, and photographing all your amazing and gorgeous families again!

He was born just a few days before the new year, to absolutely thrilled new parents K and C:

He was by far the sleepiest baby I have ever photographed, much to the surprise of his parents as until now he’d not been a big fan of sleep at all!

He slept through anything, including posing with his dad:

He is a complete sweetheart and his parents were very enthusiastic about the shoot so I ended up with so many great photographs. It’s been really hard work narrowing them down!

Congratulations H family on such a beautiful baby boy! I hope you have enjoyed your sneak peek and I am very much looking forward to working on the rest of your images.

They are one of two Holiday Mini Sessions I did this weekend. These are quick sessions (30 minutes shoot time, with time on either side for setting up and taking down) in the customer’s home, and fewer proofs to choose from. I use a black background for these sessions, because it is so much quicker to set up for the session.

Meet the baby! Isn’t he a sweetie?

He had had a busy day, and probably wanted to rest a while but obviously with a mini session there isn’t quite the same amount of time to wait for moods to change but he did a wonderful job considering!

I leave you with a final shot of this brand new family, who are excitedly waiting for their first Christmas with a child!

Happy Christmas, J and Family!

This gorgeous baby belongs to this gorgeous mother! Here’s a link to that session in fact.

At the time of this new session, this adorable little girl was just five days old, and so tiny and sweet. Here she is with her mother L!

Despite being only five days old, this as-yet-unnamed (I can empathise – it took us three weeks to name our first!) beautiful little girl was wide awake for most of the session, so I got plenty of photos of her gorgeous big eyes.

Like last time, the mother, L, was game for all sorts of props and poses, so I got to try out plenty of the things I bring with me! She is clearly already a wannabe Princess – she seemed very taken with the tutu, and clearly likes roses!

We also tried her in a hat. This very sweet hat, like the one used in this newborn session here, was handmade by Jo at Halobaby who makes many gorgeous and cute baby things!

Finally I had a chance to try her out in the cocoon:

This was the first time I’ve met a newborn from a maternity session, so it was a real privilege. It was such great fun working with L and her family – thank you, and your mother too, for being such good sports, super helpful and very enjoyable to work with!

Newborn Baby Z having an interesting dream

It was also a chance to try out my new baby poser, which is suitable for children from newborn until they can sit unsupported. It was very easy to use and a worthwhile investment, along with the sheepskin rug I used for the photo below:

Newborn baby Z contemplates life on a sheepskin rug

He also got to try out my new basket too!

Newborn baby Z in a basket

I also took some photographs of Z with his parents. These have come out very well – here is one with his gorgeous mother.. I could not believe she’d recently had a baby!

Newborn baby Z and his mother

We did some family photos as well (he has an adorable older brother S who is two and a half who did brilliant “cheese”s for me!) which I will maybe share at a later date. The family were very enthusiastic and had lots of great ideas – it was great fun working with them.

In the meantime, I leave you with a photo of a very sweet Z in this gorgeous hat. Handmade by Jo at Halobaby (take a look, she has some fabulous stuff!) it really suits him!

Baby Z in a hat made by Jo at Halobaby.co.uk

Despite the gloomy light (thank you British summer!) we managed to get a lot of great shots, which I am very much looking forward to sharing with the family soon!

Baby Eleanor

Eleanor, like Alexander was born prematurely, in Eleanor’s case she was born at 33 weeks back in April. So although she’s actually a few months old, she’s very close to newborn age gestationally.

In a basket!

Despite this, she’s doing absolutely fantastic – she’s doubled her birthweight and starting to build up some adorable baby fat!

Sleeping

Eleanor was ever so good. Not only did she sleep for most of the session (I’m sure the hot weather helped with that a little!) but she graced us with lots of wonderful expressions when she was awake as well.

What's going on?

It was a real pleasure to meet mum Jacqui, and photograph sweet baby Eleanor, and I’m very much looking forward to post-processing the rest of the photos from the session!

Before I left, I did two more sessions on the weekend before, but until now I have not had a chance to upload them!

The first of these was a newborn session with handsome Percy, who was born two weeks past his due date – what a contrast to Alexander who was born 5 weeks before! Percy is just a few weeks old for this session.

Percy in a basket

Percy was not all that keen on sleeping, despite being so new!

But he was a good sport even whilst awake, giving lots of good poses.

Playing around

Watching the world

Trying to roll already

He spent a lot of time feeding, as newborns tend to do! So when he wasn’t feeding, he was making his thoughts quite clear..

Percy tries the taste of his arm

Percy has a full head of hair too.

Head shot!

Finally he fell asleep, and I managed to get some of him in the basket!

Sleeping in a basket

It was lovely photographing Percy and meeting his mum Chloe (and the rest of their family!) Percy is a gorgeous little chap and it was a real privilege to be asked to photograph him!

Sleeping baby

Alexander is the first newborn I have photographed since I decided to turn professional so he is extra special.

Still asleep

I used natural light through a window. Unfortunately the weather was wet and dull, but I managed to make the best of the available light.

In a basket

Alexander is very sweet, and pulled the cutest expressions!

What are you doing with that thing?

For a baby so tiny, he has plenty of personality and it was lovely to meet him.

Peeping up from the blanket

He didn’t sleep a lot, but with the help of his mum, I managed to get a few shots of him sleeping.

More sleeping

I really enjoyed this session – it was wonderful to meet Natasha at last, and Alexander is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you very much to Natasha and Joe for letting me borrow your sweet little boy!

There are plenty more to come, however due to my workload (and marathon training) over these last and next few weeks, I am only doing ten at a time from each session and will return to the rest when it is quieter in April.

I hopefully have another newborn to do shortly, and if anyone knows of any other newborns or about-to-be newborns, I am still seeking them (and maternity) for free portfolio-building sessions – these are the only new sessions I am booking for free at this stage.

To come in the next few days – portraits of Jo in the studio.. the first model for my new lights!