As some of you know, recently I became a mum of baby number 2 and I was going through the dilemma of hiring a photographer. Even though I'm a photographer myself and I know the importance of capturing those precious moments, there were things that kept me postponing my own photo shoot. I had a chance to put myself in my clients shoes and understood that it’s not that easy to be on the other side of the camera. Below you will find a list of my excuses and why you shouldn't worry about them if you book a session with me.
Fact number 1: I hate being in front of the camera.
As soon as I hear a camera button being pressed my eyes automatically closes. If it’s my husband taking a picture I need to stay in one position for a long time and I start to make awkward faces that he doesn’t appreciate to say the least. Sounds familiar ?
That’s why I love soooo much lifestyle photography where you do not have to stay still and smile at the camera. I want my clients to enjoy the whole experience and I wanna make sure they feel relaxed. I will never force you to do anything you don't want to do but instead I will give you some prompts and guidance to obtain natural emotions and connections.
Fact number 2: my house is literally a mess.
With the arrival of a new baby my house started to fill up with plenty of new baby items: nursing pillows, diapers, changing mats, play mats, breast pumps, toys, you name it. In brief, my apartment definitely doesn’t look like the cover of a magazine.
But that's ok - to capture beautiful moments of love and connection you just need a source of light in your apartment and clean up a bit of the area around that place. Usually I take pictures in your bedroom and when I arrive at your apartment I will simply remove unnecessary objects from the frame ( I won't be checking when was last time you hoover under your bed).
Fact number 3: I’m still learning my baby cues and routine.
Like each of us my baby has good and bad days. Sometimes our mornings go smoothly, another day she will be crying, suffering from tummy pain or needing extra cuddles. Planning anything with a newborn seems impossible sometimes.
For this reason I never put my clients in a rush. When someone books a newborn session with me I already allocate my time considering that photo shoot might take longer than only 1 hour. My sessions are baby-led so in case you need to feed your baby or simply change a diaper we will pause (or take some more shots if you are willing to preserve those everyday moments).
Fact number 4: everyone seems to have good advice even if I don’t ask for them.
How many times have I heard questions or advice from strangers : why do you hold your baby all the time? Why don’t you pick up your baby? And personally my favorite one: she is crying she must be hungry; why don’t you feed her? The funny thing is I even heard that from nurses while waiting for my doctor's visit.
My golden rule is: don’t give advice when not asked. And the second one: don't judge. How many times before having kids I was telling myself: I will never do this with my baby just to see it later coming. So please remember when I enter your apartment that I am coming not to comment on your parenting style but to capture memories for you and your children.
Fact number 5: my older kid will be wild and won’t cooperate.
This is a big one for me. With my older child I went through different phases and I questioned my parenting methods thousand times not to mention feeling mummy guilt pretty often. This is just to let you know you are not alone if you feel the same. One thing I can promise you - I have seen a lot with my own kids and the behavior of your child doesn’t say anything about the parent you are.
Below you will find some highlights from a lifestyle newborn session of this precious little girl and her family.
If you are looking for more tips on newborn photography or simple you would like to have a little sneak peek to some more newborn galleries, please check out my blog posts:
If you think that lifestyle newborn photography is exactly what you are looking for, I would love to capture some memories for you. Just drop me a message here!
