As one of London’s top family photographers, taking photographs of newborn babies is one of the very special perks of my job. I love the fact that I get to help London families capture this very special stage in their lives, from the first few days of bringing their new baby home, through the first year and to the baby’s first birthday. In this blog post, I’m going to share ten of things you must make sure you photograph (or hire a professional to photograph) before your baby turns one.
The Newborn Stage
The newborn stage is extra special and I absolutely love capturing it for my clients. From the wrinkly fingers and toes to the hilarious yawns and first gassy smiles, and even the nappy changing adventures, every little thing is worth photographing and preserving! There’s nothing that compares to those first few days and weeks of bringing your brand new baby home, but it does go by in a blur of sleepless nights, so make sure you have photographs to remember it all.
Bathtime
From the very first bath at home or at the hospital, to when your baby is starting to sit up and enjoy playing with bath toys and bubbles, bathtime presents a fantastic photographic opportunity. When planning your baby photo shoot, consider incorporating bathtime into your time with the photographer. A great idea is to plan it just before your baby is about to go down for their nap: they will be nice and tired after a photo shoot, and the bathtime will make them extra sleepy.
Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding
During the baby’s first year, things are changing rapidly. One day you’re breastfeeding for hours on end, expressing milk and sterilizing bottles and wondering if you’re doing this thing right. The next, your routine is well established, you can feed the baby while cooking dinner and it’s a total breeze. And a few months after, it’s all done and you miss that closeness and that bond and that quiet time that breastfeeding or bottle feeding allowed you. When I’m photographing babies I always try to include breastfeeding or bottle feeding into our photoshoot with the family. It’s such an important memory to have, especially for the mother – and I know it only too well myself!
First Foods
You might think that photographing mealtimes, and especially hiring a professional photographer to photograph them is a bad idea, but I beg to differ! Mealtimes are a wonderful opportunity to photograph some special – and often hilarious – moments of your baby’s journey from milk to solid foods.
Starting to Sit Up and Pull Up
This is truly a milestone and we all know to capture it, both in still images and on video. If you’ve missed the newborn stage and wondering when is the best time to invest in professional baby photos, it’s a great idea to schedule a baby photoshoot around the time your baby starts to sit up independently. It will get you a greater variety of images from a single photoshoot, as well as capturing an important milestone.
The Little Details
Babies are only little for so long! Looking back at how tiny their fingers and toes were once is truly amazing and is sure to bring an avalanche of memories when they are older. Make sure you document it all with some close up photographs.
Sleeping
Sleeping baby photos are the sweetest. I often get to photograph newborn babies when they are asleep, but as your baby gets older and develops new sleeping habits, it’s always worth taking photographs of them asleep. What is their favourite sleeping position? On dad’s chest? In your arms? In their crib? With their bottom up in the air? It’s a wonderful memory to have as the time moves on.
Laughing and Crying
Babies have this unique ability to go from laughing to crying and back again within seconds. Remember, not all pictures need to be of smiling babies! Capture some frustrating moments too – they will be fun memories to look back on – and embarrass them with! – when they are older.
Baby with the Grandparents
We often forget to photograph our children with their grandparents – and great-grandparents, but it’s so important to do! Even when they protest and don’t want to hear about their picture being taken, makes sure you sneak some in when they visit next. Or, book a family photoshoot to include the grandparents, but make it less about posing for a picture and more about having a wonderful time together and playing with their grandchild, while the photographer candidly captures some authentic moments.
And Don’t Forget To Get in the Picture Yourself!
It’s too easy to just keep snapping and not be present in the pictures with your new family member. Don’t forget to show up so that in 10, 20 or 30 years time your child can look at these photographs and remember and relive all the love you had for them when they first came into your life.
