Tag: newborn photography chichester

Chichester Newborn Photographer | Baby Alexander

You may remember my previous blog following Vanya and Chris’ bump shoot as part of their Bump to Baby collection? Here’s a reminder if you missed it. Baby Alexander was born in February to the proudest parents I have seen. We met when he was just 6 days old for his first photoshoot.

As a Chichester Newborn Photographer I have to be prepared for anything, and thankfully I was prepared for his size! Weighing in at a cool 8.5lbs already, I knew I wouldn’t need my small baskets!

Setting up the studio at their home near Arundel, West Sussex, I set about capturing his sleeping form in a selection of props. Alexander is a spreader, very keen to use the space he is settled in, while staying snuggly and sleepy at the same time!

When shooting a newborn session, the aim is to keep calm, relaxed and warm! We take our time, working with baby. Stopping for feed breaks as and when necessary. I also like to use props and accessories of my own as well as mixing it up with personal items. Chris and Vanya had a giant tiger which couldn’t not take part!

Capturing moments between the family is also high on my list of priorities as a Chichester Newborn Photographer, especially as these times are often spent with close friends and family. Having a memory to look back on is so precious as we can easily forget these quiet, early days. Vanya had lovingly painted an A.A.Milne mural on the wall with Tigger,Piglet and Pooh looking on at their joy.

I also spend time capturing those tiny details, the nose, the lips, the hand and feet etc. Babies grow so fast, we blink and we miss it!

As with all my Bump to Baby collections, the shoot was completed with a Baby Book. A handmade photo album made in Italy by Graphistudio.

Congratulations Chris, Vanya and Baby Alexander. I look forward to the next milestone!

Fiona

FionaMillsArt | Chichester Newborn Photographer | Baby Alexander

Newborn Photography Southsea | Harrison

Leanne and Tom got in touch last year looking for some visual documentation of the new stage in life they were approaching together. Leanne was in the nice, early stages of pregnancy so opted for a Bump to Baby session. The bump shoot happening in the studio in Bognor Regis and the Newborn Photography in their home in Southsea, Portsmouth.

As is the case of much of the bump photography I do, when capturing images of women in their fabulously pregnant state there is often various forms of lingerie and nudity on display. I rarely share those deeply personal and intimate images, but love walking away from a shoot having caught the U rated images too, as seen with Leanne and Tom above. The happiness, love and anticipation is evident. I have to add that that dress is one of the best, form fitting maternity dresses I have seen in a long while!

Leanne and Tom were due to welcome their new addition in the first week of January. Babies being babies, I was in a state of high alert from around Christmas. I needn’t have worried, after being 11 days late Harrison was born a whopping 8lb 9oz! I usually aim to do the Newborn Photography in the first 10 days of being born. After coordinating busy diaries and hospital appointments I was packing my car and heading off to Southsea to finally meet Harrison at 15 days old. Here he is snuggled into an old trugg, wrapped in a cosy scarf I had arm-knitted some time before.

What a lovely little man is Harrison. Leanne & Tom seemed to have taken to parenthood like ducks to water, doting on him with such love and affection. Leanne had also been busy buying cute little props to try out for his newborn photography session! This teeny turtle outfit was adorable, as is his teeny tiny frown!

As with all types of photography I do, be it weddings, bumps, newborns, portraits etc, I really love bringing as much of the subjects’ characters and personalisation into the imagery as possible. The image below shows Harrison sleeping in the plaster cast Leanne had done of her bump in the last few weeks of pregnancy; a pregnancy charm hanging off her bangle resting on a tiny foot during an embrace and a tender family moment with Tom while Leanne nursed Harrison, her wedding dress providing the back drop.

It was time for another outfit Leanne had sourced. A cute nappy cover and hat with ears combo that helped him look like a sleepy bear! Harrison did well being moved, dressed and repositioned for his shoot. He stayed nice and sleepy, albeit with the odd grumpy frown! Keeping the room really warm to keep him dopey had the adverse affect on us. Leanne and I were sweltering, opening windows for a breeze while Tom opted for a cheeky nap!

For the months before getting together for the Bump and Newborn Photography sessions, Leanne had been busy keeping me in the Pinterest loop, sharing her ideas and inspirations. She has a great eye for photography! I love being able to collaborate with individuals to create something they can cherish and love forever. Leanne had shared with me how she loved the close up, detail shots of newborn’s features which was great to know as I was also shooting images with a mind for how they may look in their finished album.

Both Leanne and Tom have an awesome tattoo collection. Pulling out the black backdrop for some low key images was a great way to showcase some of their body art. Harrison was just waking up too so all in all a perfect opportunity to capture those baby blues.

After a few hours of costume changes, milk top ups, coffee fixes and naps, our time together had come to an end. Leaving Leanne and Tom to relax with Harrison, exhausted after their busy day, I quickly headed for my studio to get the images down and edited. For their album Leanne had opted for the soft textured Tintoretto pages Graphistudio has to offer. Perfect for newborn photography. Leaving the design and image choices to me, I quickly got to work. To keep the design subtle and classic I chose a white box with sky blue writing on the top. Inside the lid a striking image of Harrison, with the box covered in sky blue with white writing and a light blue ribbon to complete the look. After being handmade and printed in Italy, the book was on my doorstep within 7 days. Straight back out by post to Leanne and Tom. I was barely out of bed on the Saturday morning when I received the following message from Leanne, “Parcel has arrived. I’ve opened it, smiled at the card, sent a pic of the amazing box to Tom, opened up the first page with a huge smile, opened the second page and now I’m in tears. Thank you so much for capturing such beautiful pictures, I can’t thank you enough xxx”

It is such a joy for me to hear and see the impact it has on people seeing their images in print. Treasured memories to hold and cherish for years to come. I look forward to seeing Leanne, Tom and Harrison again in the future as their family grows. In the meantime, I will be squirrelling away creating visual memories for others to treasure.

Fiona xx

Newborn Photography Bognor Regis | Elwood

About two and a half years ago I had the pleasure of doing a Bump to Newborn Baby Photography shoot in Bognor Regis for Gabi and Richard as they awaited, and then welcomed their (very) late arrival, Summer. As Summer had spent so long “inside” she was ready to stretch out and look around at her new surroundings, even christening my new crocheted pea pod prop with glee! Here’s a quick photo recap of those sessions…and the more peaceful moments:

Seeing Gabi, Rich and Summer prepare for their next addition has been great fun. Gabi’s parents were over from Brasil, her in-laws only round the corner and a little pocket of time booked out for me to swing by with the pop-up-studio ready to capture their new little man, Elwood, for his newborn photography session.

I had picked up this gorgeous metal trugg from somewhere a little while ago (it may even have been a local supermarket in their homewares dept), it was a lovely cream and eggshell blue which I knew would appeal to Gabi’s sense of colour and be a great starting prop for their little boy. Like his sister before him, Elwood wasn’t big on sleeping deeply through the shoot, so we had to be quick with each pose before he became unsettled, but he seemed quite comfy in the little grey blanket I had arm knitted myself some time before. I do love seeing those little hands and feet still crumpled and creased from their time in the womb, especially as the poke through soft textures and fabrics.

Another trugg, another pose…using one of my daughters favourite cushions (her ‘Lamby’ as she has named it!) and one of my favourite wicker baskets inspired me to capture some portraits with geometric shapes. I also wanted to experiment with a bold colour choice. I love the way, with a square constrain, the blue base frames the image:

During the shoot, Gabi’s parents had taken their grand-daughter Summer out for a walk to allow us some quiet time for image taking and coffee drinking (newborn photography is a very relaxed affair!). We remembered the last baby shoot and how Summer had managed to soil many props during the process. Oh how we laughed…..later we wished we had never mentioned it! Feeling lucky we removed Elwood’s clothes to settle him down for some naked poses. Boom, the baby heavens opened!! The photo below is showing a now-peaceful Elwood lying comfortably asleep in a nice warm squidgy mess that is thankfully hidden from view!! Maybe I should start a blog titled “The Secrets Behind Newborn Photography”!?!

After Elwood was washed and dry we decided to try out some low key shots for some black and white newborn photography. We had obviously got far too cocky with ourselves. I was still busy adjusting my settings, as a sudden burst of sunlight that had appeared from behind the clouds changed the lighting, when Elwood opened up again with a never ending stream that went everywhere….On Gabi, Richard, the floor, the backdrop and of course, himself! Quite sensibly we decided to knock the naked shots on the head and start working with some family time as Summer was due back any minute, but here is one quick shot from this downpour period that we managed to salvage:

After a quick food break for Summer and a feed for Elwood we took some family portraits. I am in love with Gabi and Rich’s oversized stripy armchair (yeah, I know, I have a thing for lines!!). It was a great spot to pop them in and benefitted from having a simple plain wall background to make it a feature. With natural sunlight pouring through the bay windows diffused by simple nets and a wriggly Summer eager to show off her baby brother, the natural ease of this family unit is clear to see.

Summer showed me her bedroom and reading corner where she shared some of her toys with Elwood. There was a lot of rolling around on the floor and easy distraction with all the fun things to play with, but it was a special moment when Summer plonked a quick kiss on Elwood’s head and he responded with a lovely smile.

As a parting gift to Gabi and Richard, there was a simple image I had taken of Elwood as he lay sleeping on the fluffy rug. As I am known to see things in pictures, all I could imagine was what Elwood was thinking of as he lay there. Armed with the print and a stack of Sharpie’s I found myself doodling these ideas on the image. Here is the original and the graffitied image before I framed it and presented it to them with their completed collection. Many congratulations Gabi, Richard and Summer, welcome to the world Elwood. I am really excited to see you all grow together in the future. xxx

If you feel inspired by the idea of a Bump to Baby shoot, or even just a Newborn Photography shoot to capture those precious moments while your new addition is so teeny and small, please do get in touch. Here are some more samples of my baby shoots to get your imagination flowing. I am based in the Chichester / Bognor Regis area, but I do travel further afield. I look forward to hearing from you.

Fiona xx