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Congratulations! You are awaiting the arrival of your baby, and whether it is your first or your fifth baby, you'd love to document this wonderful occasion with photos of the baby. You are hoping to get some portraits of the squishy details plus a few shots of you and your partner with the baby. You want natural family photos, not too posy, and yet you don't feel that comfortable in front of the camera. A lifestyle newborn portrait session might be just what you are looking for, and keep reading if you want to know more!

Timing: A newborn session occurs within the first three weeks of your baby's life. They are so fresh and new. They may still have flaky skin, wrinkles, or marks from the birth. These so-called imperfections are embraced with a newborn lifestyle session. These tiny details, along with their button nose, pudgy fingers, and squishy toes are all captured. These small details are just part of the story. The big picture is your new family, and that includes you in the family photos. A newborn lifestyle session gives you the small details as well as the big picture. It tells the unique story of your new normal.

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Location: An at home lifestyle session is held in your home, self-explanatory really. The beauty of being at home is that you get to stay at home. Getting out of the house in those first few weeks is a mammoth effort; one that fills new Mums with anxiety. So rather than cause you stress, I come to you. We can capture your baby asleep in your arms, in their cot or bassinette, or on your bed. There is no pressure to clean and make it magazine ready. Instead, we find the prettiest light and set up in that spot. We move any obvious distractions out of the way, but like keep it simple. I can make you a cup of tea or coffee, and while you finish getting dressed, I can steal some baby cuddles. It is, most importantly, calm and relaxed.

Style of Portraits: A lifestyle newborn session gives you relaxed and emotive portraits. All you and your partner need to focus on is your new love rather than posing. Of course, I will provide you with some directions and help you to feel comfortable. The biggest task you will have is to stare at your new baby with wonder, breathe in that fresh baby smell, and snuggle in tight. This is time to pause and forget feeding times, and nappy changes. It's an afternoon of adoration, and while you adore, I capture these moments that will one day be your memories.

Length of a lifestyle session: A newborn session usually last around 90minutes as I find we all start to whither if it goes much longer. But there is no rush, and if your baby needs feeding, or is a little fussy, we pause and wait. Of course, if you would like breastfeeding/bottle-feeding portraits, we use this settling time to capture these special moments. My style is to bring a sense of calm to a baby session. I want you to feel relaxed rather than pressured, and we take as much time as we need.

What to wear? At three weeks, you will still be carrying your extra weight, and that is normal. Most people don't drop their pregnancy weight like the Kardashians. I suggest that you focus on feeling pretty rather than squeeze into your pre-pregnancy clothes. Wear something loose and flowy that hides the bumps. If it feels tight and uncomfortable, look for something else to wear. You will notice it in the photos. I also suggest you wear something that covers your arms rather than a singlet or cut sleeve. Our eyes are attracted to the lightest object in the photo, and this is sometimes our upper arms. Cover them up with a light cardigan, or long sleeve shirt. and the problem is solved. Lastly, don't stress too much as I tend to crop a lot of the photos and get in close. I have a soft style to my photos, and this blurs the edges. I do this to soften any lumps or bumps.

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Editing and Delivery of your baby photos: Normally, my editing takes around two weeks. I hand-edit all of my favourite images from the session, and you can find out more about my processing here. For a newborn session, I like to give them a natural edit and not use fashionable presets or filters that will date the images. My goal is to have a timeless feel and include both colour plus black and white edits in the final gallery. I don't do a lot of editing in Photoshop to create perfect baby skin but will remove spots and marks. I will soften tired eyes and smooth out any lumps on Mum, but I am not heavy handed with my editing. I want you to feel good about yourself, but I don't create Barbie Mums. My hope is you see the imperfectly perfect you!

A Newborn Lifestyle session will capture the moments that will become your memories. It focuses on the details that will blur with time and give you natural family photos that you will treasure forever. Your future self will thank you for it!